Foods that you are *supposed* to find delicious?

[Bonnie Ruth]

There seem to be a few items that crop up here more than others. Licorice, olives, eggplant. Licorice is so big a dislike for me that I wouldn't have thought to mention it; I mean of COURSE I don't eat it! Did I mention I hate pickles? The cilantro thing is interesting; the first times I had it, I detested it. For a long time I thought it could ruin any dish. Finally I must have started getting used to it, and now I use it a lot and would miss it in any dish that is supposed to have it. I don't think I could ever get used to yogurt or pickles or olives that way. I love chocolate but won't eat one with a soft center, like cream. Only exception is chocolate covered cherries; otherwise I want my chocolate solid or with nuts...well, maybe caramel. As a child I thought squash was the most horrible thing in the world, and now I can't imagine disliking anything so sweet and flavorful. I am pretty sure I tasted something in it then that I don't taste now. Does anyone else remember some foods really tasting different when you were a child?

[Kim Shook]

Am I the only person who finds cooked cabbage gross?  The smell, the texture, the appearance...I don't like cabbage rolls, smothered cabbage, grilled cabbage, fried cabbage, cabbage casserole.  I can tolerate it in pork & cabbage egg rolls.  But I do really like raw cabbage in slaw, goi ga, or other salads.  Weird, I know.

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Oh, God, and it squeeks, too! <shudder>

[Lilija]

-eggs. i'm fine with them as ingredients (use them by the dozen when baking) but they gag me, both from taste and texture, by themselves. this is a real handicap at brunch. and omelettes LOOK so good, and are such a great idea. i wish i could enjoy them.

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Wow, you totally nailed that one, I couldn't have said it better myself! I try them once in awhile, but am always dissapointed.

Other things:

Mushrooms. (if one more person tells me "There's some mushrooms in this, but I swear you can't taste them!" I'm gonna go postal. I can SENSE the slimy little bastids.)

Shellfish/Mollusks. Texture, again. I like crabmeat in stuff, and the flavor of shrimp, but the texture of all of it (plus the idea of eating oceanic bugs, or the entire whole of an animal digestive system and all, just kinda turns me off).

I'm not so into veal either, it always felt kinda mushy to me, and bland.

There's very few chicken preprations that I really love, maybe a perfect roasted chicken, or some great barbecued or fried chicken. Outside of that, I can think of 10 other proteins I would rather have. Mostly, I eat chicken as an excuse to eat whatever sauce it's in, or whatever's accompanying it. I think it's just dull.

Same with tofu. The texture and un-flavor bugs me. Too close to eggs? Maybe. I like the really dense chewy kind, or dried fried tofu, but the snowy white blocks are kinda spongy and bland.

I feel kinda eh about eggplant, too. It always feels like I'm eating a mouthful of slimy fat. If it's chopped fine, in with a lot of other stuff, then fine. If its in cubes or chunks, then I pick around it. Breaded fried eggplant is the exception, because somehow that doesn't get that slimy fatty texture.

I know I've replied to a thread like this before, but I love it. I always feel less alone, when I see other egg or mushroom haters. I think it's because we go through life getting the "you hate EGGS?! What the hell? Who hates EGGS!?" treatment.

[phatj]

Am I the only person who finds cooked cabbage gross?  The smell, the texture, the appearance...I don't like cabbage rolls, smothered cabbage, grilled cabbage, fried cabbage, cabbage casserole.  I can tolerate it in pork & cabbage egg rolls.  But I do really like raw cabbage in slaw, goi ga, or other salads.  Weird, I know.

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Oh, God, and it squeeks, too! <shudder>

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I loathe cooked cabbage (with the aforementioned exception of egg rolls, and I also don't mind it in stir fries), although not for that reason. Your mention of it reminded me of water chestnuts, though. I used to complain that their crunchiness had a "squeaky" quality that set my teeth on edge.

[johnsmith45678]

I suspect I'm supposed to find all of the recipes on Good Eats/in AB's books delicious, but I've found many of them not to be:

- powerbar with unshelled sunflower seeds

- coleslaw (his draining method left way too much salt)

- crackers

- several others I'm forgetting

[mojoman]

Truffle oil always smelled very much like a petroleum-derived product. I've had canned truffles and they were nice. I need to try some fresh ones at some point.

I'm not as fond of lamb as I'm "supposed" to be.

Otherwise, bring it on.

[walternewton]

I have no problems with most of the things mentioned so far - in fact I love sushi, stinky cheeses, raw oysters, mushrooms etc.

Grapefruit...yuck.

I've never liked the taste of whole wheat bread.

I'm not crazy about a lot of bitter greens like arugula.

And I doubt it's the sort of thing most foodies would say you're "supposed to find delicious" but I find the lingering, chemical smell of microwave popcorn absolutely revolting, and am amazed that if someone makes it at work or something I'll actually hear people say things like "Mmm...smells good...that's making me hungry"!?!?

[SheenaGreena]

liquorice makes me gag

and

milk

and american cheese (I think everyone hates that)

[azureus]

Citrus and chocolate. I just don't get it.

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Right on! I've never liked those combinations, either.

Other dislikes: Tuna sushi, caviar, canned olives, saffron, cooked carrots, any canned

vegetable

Former dislikes: cilantro (it still tastes and smells like soap to me, but it seems to add

necessary flavor notes to salsas), mushrooms, baked potatoes,

squash, and raw onions

Also, as I've gotten older, I've started to like bitter flavors more and more.

April

[FoodMan]

I do not trust someone who does not like cheese...or chocolate. Very odd.

(yes I am kidding...sort of )

I think a Big Mac tastes horrible and wonder why on earth are all these people waiting in line to get one for lunch. It is not a burger, it's a Big Mac..evil...very evil thing. McD's French fries that every American and his mom seem to think are great taste like old grease too.

[Rebecca263]

Can I admit something here to my dear fellow eGulleteers? I can't drink ale, beer, lager, or what ever you want to call it. I just can't! What I do, is, if someone gets one for me, I add some fresh juice to it. Then, it tastes tolerable. But, I find those beverages taste too much like fermented bread for my taste. I am assuming that my deficiency in this area is due to my own parents never drinking the stuff, and most people I was with during my formative drinking years found wine and hard spirits to be much more entertaining.

I mean, I don't even remember seeing beer during my dating years, and the one man who ever brought me beer, turned out to be the horror story of my life!

Still, I am game, and do take a sip from time to time, hoping for the epiphany.

[divalasvegas]

Citrus and chocolate. I just don't get it.

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Right on! I've never liked those combinations, either.

Other dislikes: Tuna sushi, caviar, canned olives, saffron, cooked carrots, any canned

vegetable

Former dislikes: cilantro (it still tastes and smells like soap to me, but it seems to add

necessary flavor notes to salsas), mushrooms, baked potatoes,

squash, and raw onions

Also, as I've gotten older, I've started to like bitter flavors more and more.

April

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About the chocolate and citrus, I always have to double-check when ordering a chocolate dessert in a restaurant since it seems to be a common assumption that EVERYONE loves citrus and chocolate. Blech!

Funny you should mention your aversion to cilantro and how you're able to handle it in salsas. Me too. I still don't like it, but as I've said before, the only cuisine I can partake of that uses cilantro is Mexican and even then in a limited way. My theory is that there's something about the combination of ingredients in salsa or even pico de gallo that negates that awful soapy dirt taste--tomatoes, onion, jalapeño's, garlic, etc. But that's about it for me and really if Italian flat leaf parsley was substituted, I'd be just fine with that.

[Milagai]

Funny you should mention your aversion to cilantro and how you're able to handle it in salsas. Me too.   I still don't like it, but as I've said before, the only cuisine I can partake of that uses cilantro is Mexican and even then in a limited way. My theory is that there's something about the combination of ingredients in salsa or even pico de gallo that negates that awful soapy dirt taste--tomatoes, onion, jalapeño's, garlic, etc. But that's about it for me and really if Italian flat leaf parsley was substituted, I'd be just fine with that.

I'm curious: so you don't like cilantro in Thai, Indian, etc cooking?

Even in dishes in those cuisines that incorporate tomatoes, garlic,

chilis etc.?

Milagai

[-sheila mooney]

pine nuts. the reason i'm only so-so for pesto.

[LB Howes]

When I was a child, adults would often say to me "I can't believe you don't like________, everyone likes________. Stop being so fussy and just eat." So this is the perfect thread for me!

I do not like and will not eat:

Raw onions - It's the squeaky texture and the biting sulfurous sharpness even found in sweet onions. However, cook them until they lose their crunch and begin to caramelize and they transform into a delicious foodstuff.

Raw tomatoes - It's their slimy texture that gags me, along with the raw taste. And as with onions, cooking creates this magical transformation, the sliminess dissapears, the taste deepens, and I find them delicious.

Avocadoes - Another food I always get grief about not liking. To me they taste like a puree of oily green leaves blended with crisco. In guacamole where they are diluted with lots of other ingredients, they are tolerable.

Melons of all kinds - I used to be able to eat them but now they make me gag and give me a horrible upset stomach if I eat a bite of fruit salad that has melon pieces in it.

Boiled cabbage - Another poster mentioned the squeak it emits as one eats it. Not only is it awful, but chewing it makes me shudder like scratching nails on a blackboard makes me shudder. However, cabbage prepared in other ways it can be pretty darned good.

Uni - ack! It's just so "uni". Someone wrote earlier that they cracked open a fresh urchin on the Maine coast, and it was awful. I agree. I've had fresh from the sea uni as a child in Hawaii. There is nothing one can do to make this creature taste good.

Chamomile tea - Another ack! It's just so "chamomile" Unique and uniquely awful. Even the smell of it puts me off.

McDonald's, Burger King and most all fast food hamburgers and fries - The overpowering taste of salt, grease and whatever mystery ingredients are added to these food turns my stomach.

Here's something I do like:

Everyone who doesn't like foods I don't like.

Everyone who likes foods I don't like.

E-gullet is the perfect website for all of us passionately picky/discerning eaters and you are all my pals in the truest sense of the word!

[divalasvegas]

Funny you should mention your aversion to cilantro and how you're able to handle it in salsas. Me too.   I still don't like it, but as I've said before, the only cuisine I can partake of that uses cilantro is Mexican and even then in a limited way. My theory is that there's something about the combination of ingredients in salsa or even pico de gallo that negates that awful soapy dirt taste--tomatoes, onion, jalapeño's, garlic, etc. But that's about it for me and really if Italian flat leaf parsley was substituted, I'd be just fine with that.

I'm curious: so you don't like cilantro in Thai, Indian, etc cooking?

Even in dishes in those cuisines that incorporate tomatoes, garlic,

chilis etc.?

Milagai

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You know Milagai you've kept me up until the wee hours of morning pondering this very question. Just kidding. I love those cuisines--Thai, Indian--and many more where cilantro plays a predominant role as an ingredient but I always finds that it just gets in the way and really detracts from whatever dish to which it's added.

For instance, I had lunch with a girlfriend at an Indian restaurant and we both ordered something vindaloo. Well, it was delicious and very spicy and loaded with tons of minced cilantro. Upon being served we both looked at our plates and I said "Gee, is that what I think it is?" To which she replied "***sigh*** Yes, but that's okay" and we proceeded to diligently remove every visible particle of the stuff which took a few minutes actually. We then ate the dish which was as I said very delicious. Also, we did try a taste of it before going through all that, but just couldn't eat it. At the end of the meal while we waiting for our check, the manager quietly came over to our table with a smile and whispered "Next time just tell us to leave it out." We all burst out laughing since apparently he had been surreptitiously watching us "de-cilantrofying" our food all the while. BTW, we didn't send back the food since it was our fault for not asking if cilantro was in it and it was lunchtime so we didn't have all day anyway.

Back to Mexican cuisine, pico de gallo and most salsas are composed of raw or sometimes roasted ingredients. I had dinner at someone's house who had made the usual tomato based salsa, a tomatillo/green chili salsa, and a roasted vegetable salsa. They all contained cilantro but I ate them all and liked them. Perhaps it's that the ingredients commonly used--lime juice, garlic, tomatoes, jalapeños, seranno chilis, onions, etc.--have a fair bit of acid to them and are strongly flavored in their own right, especially when raw, so that the cilantro doesn't dominate or detract from them, at least for my tastes. OTOH, the buttery delicate taste of avocado in guacamole is completely ruined for me by adding it. As for Indian food, the only thing I can tolerate it in is a raita made with (I think) yogurt, garlic, cucumbers, and lemon juice, but even then I'd really prefer parsley or mint; please correct me if I've gotten the ingredients wrong.

Hope this answers your question.

[Milagai]

^^^^

Thanks Diva...

The question is answered, but the curiosity continues, so we'll

let it be at that.

Re raita: there are lots of recipes for raita, so almost anything

you concoct would work. Though garlic is pretty unusual

(raw garlic would ruinously overwhelm other ingredients).

And many raitas and salady dishes do include mint.

Never parsley: it's just not an Indian ingredient....

Same for Thai food I guess, with the addition of basil

Cilantro cultures vs. parsley cultures...

Milagai

[pauladsous]

Roquefort, Stilton, Gorgonzola--any blue cheese. It's really too bad. I keep looking for a cheese that has a similar amount of fat and tanginess, to substitute in recipes. I love all sorts of really stinky cheeses, but I just can't get past the moldy taste of the blues.

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Same here -- I can't eat more than a taste of blue cheese. Blue cheese dressing ruins a salad for me. I suspect maybe it'll possible for me to someday acquire a taste for blue cheese, but I dunno.

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Lord thank you people! joke aside, I feel very bad for not liking blue cheeses any more( as a 2-year-old, I would only eat veggies and white fish whenever they would have some roquefort on top ...), especially as my Uncle actually has ewes and sells their milk to the coopérative in Roquefort to make the latter...

Also, Lasagna, Spaghetti and meatballs, mussaka, couscous (cannot stand the "semoule"), Paella (I would only eat the shellfish and chicken pieces, which is VERY rude and NOT filling at all...), Chili con carne, Hachis Parmentier...basically most dishes that are carb-based...Atkins would thus be easy for me to follow albeit very expensive since I live in Switzerland where meat, dairy, fish and the likes cost a fortune and cheap alternatives such as pasta do not appeal to me that much..

Green peas, beans of all sorts(except for string and green), celeriac remoulade, grits, cantonese fried rice, nasi goreng, bananas, duck à l'orange or rabbit with prunes although I LOVE sweet and sour Asian dishes ...

Whisky, gin, vodka, tequila, "eaux de vie" in general, grape soda, root beer, red bull, gatorade...

Smoked fishes (except for salmon in small portions or doses), truffles, hazelnuts, baked salty snacks, green tea, rice-, soy- and wheat- milks and mock dairy products...

And there are probably many more but just spilling the beans that way is already a relief

[lexy]

Can I admit something here to my dear fellow eGulleteers? I can't drink ale, beer, lager, or what ever you want to call it. I just can't! …

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Yech, I don't like beer either. I suspect I could probably train my self to like it, but why bother to force myself to like beer? I usually drink wine or spirits instead, or cider in a pinch.

[ludja]

...

grape soda,...

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I read the whole thread and I finally found something that I can agree with in not liking--grape soda (and grape juice and grepe jelly).

That being said, I've had some nice non-alcoholic sparkling grape drinks from Navarro Vineyards so I think my objection is really just to the cheap, commerical incarnations of "grape flavor". I like grapes including Concord grepes.

(I"m exlcluding the few less common dishes mentioned so far like iguana.)

Tastes that I learned to like as an adult or after multiple exposures:

black olives (had initially only been exposed to canned black olives and disliked that incarnation very much; still do)

cilantro: It shocked my tastebuds at first but now I really love it.

anise/licorice: Hated licorice candy as a kid and this is still not my favorite form, but I learned to enjoy the flavor very much in smaller/milder doses such as anise seeds, fennel, anisette used in cookies/desssert.

uni: The texture and appearance startled me at first but as a lover of raw oysters it only took a second taste for me to become a big fan.

[foodiehall]

-eggs. i'm fine with them as ingredients (use them by the dozen when baking) but they gag me, both from taste and texture, by themselves. this is a real handicap at brunch. and omelettes LOOK so good, and are such a great idea. i wish i could enjoy them.

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Wow, you totally nailed that one, I couldn't have said it better myself! I try them once in awhile, but am always dissapointed.

Other things:

Mushrooms. (if one more person tells me "There's some mushrooms in this, but I swear you can't taste them!" I'm gonna go postal. I can SENSE the slimy little bastids.)

Shellfish/Mollusks. Texture, again. I like crabmeat in stuff, and the flavor of shrimp, but the texture of all of it (plus the idea of eating oceanic bugs, or the entire whole of an animal digestive system and all, just kinda turns me off).

I'm not so into veal either, it always felt kinda mushy to me, and bland.

There's very few chicken preprations that I really love, maybe a perfect roasted chicken, or some great barbecued or fried chicken. Outside of that, I can think of 10 other proteins I would rather have. Mostly, I eat chicken as an excuse to eat whatever sauce it's in, or whatever's accompanying it. I think it's just dull.

Same with tofu. The texture and un-flavor bugs me. Too close to eggs? Maybe. I like the really dense chewy kind, or dried fried tofu, but the snowy white blocks are kinda spongy and bland.

I feel kinda eh about eggplant, too. It always feels like I'm eating a mouthful of slimy fat. If it's chopped fine, in with a lot of other stuff, then fine. If its in cubes or chunks, then I pick around it. Breaded fried eggplant is the exception, because somehow that doesn't get that slimy fatty texture.

I know I've replied to a thread like this before, but I love it. I always feel less alone, when I see other egg or mushroom haters. I think it's because we go through life getting the "you hate EGGS?! What the hell? Who hates EGGS!?" treatment.

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YESSSS! I'm right with you on the egg thing. I certainly use them in baking...but as for egg dishes (I'm OK with quiche as long as it's loaded with meat/veggies/anything to cover up the eggy taste), custards, creme brulee, deviled eggs, chopped egg additions----noooo way. Frankly, I think that onion-haters (and I know a few) miss out on more good stuff than I, the egg-hater.

[hjshorter]

Uni. I gave up trying to like it after trying it 3-4 times. And lobster. I love most seafood but don't get what the fuss is about.

Radishes with butter and salt.

I love all three components separately. But I don't get how they are meant to complement each other. It's a textural thing for me, I guess.

Try this (encountered first at Busboy's house, since adopted at my home): slice black radishes thinly on a rickety mandoline, then pile them on a slice of thickly buttered baguette and sprinkle with crunchy salt. Makes a super-easy hors d'oeuvre.

It took me a while to warm up to truffles, but now I love them. My daughter tasted truffles for the first time recently. She took a bite, her eyes lit up, and she said "Wow, this tastes just like dirt!" Not the reaction I was expecting.

Edited March 31, 2007 by hjshorter (log)

[tommy]

The most riduclous thing I think I've ever heard in a description of wine was "hints of toast."

Hints of toast? 

Hints of toast#@!? 

This is the fruit of vine, jack, this ain't no frothy lager, there ain't no toasted grains in there.  Maybe some of that Egg McMuffin® from this morning found it's way in the ole pushbroom and managed to slip into into your glass unbeknowst to your person.

my (very basic) understanding is that the (very complex) process of fermentation creates compounds in the juice that in fact exist in other foods. when you smell banana in falanghina, for example, you may very well be smelling a compound that exists in bananas.

science isn't ridiculous. sensing and enjoying flavors and aromas in wine which are not normally associated with grapes isn't, either.

Edited April 2, 2007 by tommy (log)

[Lindacakes]

This is an old thread, but I found it somehow, and for the record: when we are born, we have a lot of taste buds. They die as we age. Which is why children find lots of strongly-flavored food (broccoli, for instance) yucky. Which is why making children eat those foods is actually rather mean.

When you're older and some of those receptors die off things like martinis and olives and truffles taste much better.

Which is not to say it is a hard and fast rule, but it's why people keep trying. Because taste does change; anatomically, for certain.

That being said, I hate liver, I have always hated liver and I plan to continue hating liver.

[Tri2Cook]

Foie gras, pate... basically any and all liver that I've had the misfortune of trying so far as well as the "gourmet" products made from it. Doesn't seem to matter if it's from beef, pork or poultry, they all taste like nasty to me.