Foods that you are *supposed* to find delicious?

[Fugu]

Jury is still out on Natto. My senses just don't understand this ingredient yet.

[Natho]

Hmm dunno how many of these I'm "supposed" to like but anyway..

Cooked carrot - I can take it raw no problems but i hate HATE it cooked

Pumpkin - The sweetness and texture makes me gag

Fish - Pretty much any breed except tuna

Asparagus

Brocoli

Beans

Heineken

Whisky

Bourban

Pine Nuts - Except in pesto

Pate

Kidney - Steak and kidney pie is one of the 4 pies of the appocolypse

Cabbage

Shiraz

Canned champignons

Most chilli chocolate mixtures because the chilli mostly used is lame so that people who can't handle the heat can eat it. It therefore ends up tasting like chilli capsicum (or peppers for those of you in the US of A). The lindt version is however fabulous..

[potsticker]

cottage cheese. i've had half of a bite in my entire lifetime, and that's half a bite too much.

[Ce'nedra]

I can't stand avocados by themselves, but love them in guacamole or even just slices in sandwiches.

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Same situation with me right here!

Hmm I've come across more than a few people who dislike milk and when I tell them I often drink milk warm/hot, they give me this look of shock and horror LOL!

Oooh I love milk hahhaa! So pure and white...

Oh and I also dislike anything that is or tastes like mint -eek!

Mutton must be cooked right for me -I despise the stinky kind

Shrimp must also be cooked right for me...

Oh yeah, I hate licorice with a passion too -those so called raspberry 'licorice', lime 'licorice' and so on are fine though (of course that's because it's not really licorice at all)

[Pierogi]

Eggplant. Any variety, any ilk, any preparation. Moussaka, parmigana, grilled, in a gratin, baba ganoush, you name it. I've tried it, and tried it, and tried it and just, well, don't like it. Not at all. I can sort of handle the long, skinny Japanese variety, in small (very small) doses. For me its both a textural and taste thing with it. Its probably one of the most beautiful foodstuffs around, that color is spectacular, and the French word.......aubergine......is so delightful, pity it applies to eggplant.

And Jell-o, or anything obviously "gelatin-y". THAT is totally textural. Instant gag reflex.

[Fugu]

Mint jelly...ewe! Toothpaste on lamb?

[fryguy]

Steak and kidney pie is one of the 4 pies of the appocolypse

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What are the other 3?

[Prawncrackers]

Steak and kidney pie is one of the 4 pies of the appocolypse

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What are the other 3?

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Pestilence, famine and war of course!! mmm, pestilence pie

Me, i'd eat anything - all foods have a virtue. Some more than others though, for example Courgettes, what is that all about? I don't find it offensive but to me it has a negative flavour, it's frustratingly bland!

[heidih]

Me, i'd eat anything - all foods have a virtue.  Some more than others though, for example Courgettes, what is that all about?  I don't find it offensive but to me it has a negative flavour, it's frustratingly bland!

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I am kinda with you on courgette (zucchini in America) To me they only have flavor when almost mushy cooked in a ratatouille or caponata. The flowers however are a favorite. I plant them just for the flowers to do wonderful things with, and then will use super youngster zukes with other flavorful ingredients more for texture than flavor. Of course you can let them get the size of a baseball bat and carve them like a jack-o-lantern or harvest the seeds and toast for a nice snack.

[Natho]

Steak and kidney pie is one of the 4 pies of the appocolypse

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What are the other 3?

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Hmm..

Fish pie

Zuchini Pie

um..

I'd have to get back to you on the last, maybe after reading Revelations again..

[rasputin1072]

What foods do you dislike that are supposed to be delicious and "everyone" likes them?

For me it is bone marrow.  Tastes like snot to me! 

I imagine that the circle in which everybody is assumed to like bone marrow is an extremely narrow one. I mean, I like it fine, but even among eGullet members, I don't think there's any such assumption: and in the non-foodie world (at least in the US), marrow and the people who love it are looked on with some suspicion...

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Yes we are. My mom gave me the most uncomfortable sideways look the first time I brought home marrow bones when I was 13. (I have been cooking since a very early age)

[mrsadm]

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.

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Good points Linda. I suspect there's more than aging of taste buds involved but I don't know of anything scientific that has been done to examine the subject. I remember from the Bourdain DVD, during his visit to Ferran Adria's lab, they tasted something that some people perceived as bitter, and others could not taste anything. It made me wonder what other, perhaps hundreds, of flavors people perceive differently.

Then again, some people are just picky eaters!

[MSRadell]

Hmm dunno how many of these I'm "supposed" to like but anyway..

Cooked carrot - I can take it raw no problems but i hate HATE it cooked

Pumpkin - The sweetness and texture makes me gag

Fish - Pretty much any breed except tuna

Asparagus

Brocoli

Beans

Heineken

Whisky

Bourban

Pine Nuts - Except in pesto

Pate

Kidney - Steak and kidney pie is one of the 4 pies of the appocolypse

Cabbage

Shiraz

Canned champignons

Most chilli chocolate mixtures because the chilli mostly used is lame so that people who can't handle the heat can eat it. It therefore ends up tasting like chilli capsicum (or peppers for those of you in the US of A). The lindt version is however fabulous..

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While I agree with a couple of your choices (cooked carrots, kidney pie and canned chanpignons, you're certainly missing a lot of good food with many of the others! Fish if prepared correctly is wonderful and is broccoli and man can live on Bourbon (and whiskey). Of course women need chocolate in any form to survive!

[handmc]

The fourth pie of the Apocolypse: Mincemeat Pie

Why not just vomit in a crust bake and serve. Bleck!

Ever Christmas my mother in law bakes one and the dam thing sits there in the corner glowering at me.

[christine007]

The fourth pie of the Apocolypse: Mincemeat Pie

Why not just vomit in a crust bake and serve. Bleck!

Ever Christmas my mother in law bakes one and the dam thing sits there in the corner glowering at me.

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are you my long lost sib?

My mom makes the most vile fruitcake, it's the ugliest thing on the planet.

It's really dark, think black, and covered in marzipan, of all things, and iced with confectioners sugar icing.

ick.

[MSRadell]

The fourth pie of the Apocolypse: Mincemeat Pie

Why not just vomit in a crust bake and serve. Bleck!

Ever Christmas my mother in law bakes one and the dam thing sits there in the corner glowering at me.

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Why is it that some of the oldest most traditional holiday foods such as Mincemeat Pie and Fruitcake always get such a bad rap? They're both very good eating is made correctly.

I'd put my Mincemeat Pie (my grandmother's recipe) up against against any flavor pie anyone else makes (accept my Strawberry Rhubarb Pie) and come out ahead 9 times out of 10. Why is it that nobody likes it anymore?

As for fruitcake if made by a traditional recipe is usually contains a large quantity of fruit and nuts in a sweet cake base. Many times it is also soaked in Brandy or another liquor to make it even more irresistible.

I think many people have never tried either of these when made correctly and only talk badly about them through lack of knowledge. Everyone needs to try a well made Mincemeat Pie or Fruitcake before talking badly about them!

[Ted Fairhead]

I think many people have never tried either of these when made correctly and only talk badly about them through lack of knowledge.  Everyone needs to try a well made Mincemeat Pie or Fruitcake before talking badly about them! 

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Hear! Hear!

I'm tired of the same old jokes revived every year about this time

[Prawncrackers]

I think many people have never tried either of these when made correctly and only talk badly about them through lack of knowledge.  Everyone needs to try a well made Mincemeat Pie or Fruitcake before talking badly about them! 

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Hear! Hear!

I'm tired of the same old jokes revived every year about this time

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Look if mincemeat pies were any good, we'd eat them all year round! They're not so we don't

[pax]

Anything that came out of the sea. Not happening.

No lobsters. No clams. No scallops, no tuna, no octopi. Jellied eel, just the smell of it is such a gag factor I don't even look in fish cases. No. No thank. Really.

If it's land based, I'll eat it although there are many other choices I would make before organ meats.

[MSRadell]

Look if mincemeat pies were any good, we'd eat them all year round!  They're not so we don't 

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Mincemeat Pie like many items are a holiday tradition and as such are reserved for the holidays. How come people don't eat a Turkey for the 4th of July? It's because the traditional meal for the 4th is hamburgers and Turkey is the traditional meal for Thanksgiving (and possibly Christmas). It's the same thing for Mincemeat Pies and some people like them year round (me included).

Try a good Mincemeat Pie and see what you think, I think you'll be surprised!

[project]

Fresh spinach in a salad? Okay.

Cooked spinach? Instant upchuck.

Asparagus? Even smelling it, run from the room with upchuck.

Eat it? Never was able to get down any at all.

[theisenm85]

I intensly dislike watermelon.  And all melon.  And especially fruit salad with those sherbert-colored melon balls for breakfast at restaurant in the Holiday Inn.

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Pretty much exactly the same for me. Beyond that I have some likes and dislikes, but no real issues with anything. I think I'm coming around on watermelon... I try to eat it when I can.

I haven't gotten much into the world of fermented things/stinky cheese (other than wine/beer/liquor and things of that nature). My nose/gag reflex is a bit strong for stuff that smells strongly for the most part. I'll try anything... even if I'm 95% sure I'm not gonna like it. What if I get surprised?

Edit: It was really eerie that someone had the exact same food issue that I do on the first page...

Edited December 19, 2007 by theisenm85 (log)

[Fibilou]

Sea Urchin. Vomit.

Raw tomatoes

Poached eggs. Even more vomit. I have never even eaten one, the thought of all that slippery white makes me physically retch

Tea with milk in it

Avocados

Edited December 19, 2007 by Fibilou (log)

[MaryJ]

This is my first post, so hope I don't mess up too badly! I already accidentally clicked on the "added" button; don't know what that did.

For me, it's snails. I don't even like looking at pictures of the little beasties. I think I associate them too much with garden pests.

Oddly enough, I love clams and oysters, even though I know they're cousins to snails. Maybe it's just that I don't expect to see them in our yard chomping on our plants.

Edited December 20, 2007 by MaryJ (log)

[JimH]

It's really suprising to see so many people who don't like everyday run-of-the-mill food items. I will not eat brussel sprouts, I don't care how they are cooked or how much you'll pay me to eat them. I tried Sea Urchin, it had that "truck tire" taste to it so I don't know if it was fresh. I'm almost there on a good swiss cheese by itself on a cracker. I'm not a big fan of mackrel but I can eat it.

Zucchini, slice thin on a mandoline, hit the slices with olive oil, salt & pepper then grill. MMMMM Good!

I could not live without raw onions, cilantro or avocados.

Grilled portobellos are second only to good dry aged steak ( which I enjoy still twitching)

Beer, It wasn't until I started homebrewing it that I was able to differentiate/appreciate all of the different flavors of a well balanced brew.

I love garlic and it's funny that so far no one has listed that as a dis-liked spice. I like it both raw (hot) and cooked (sweet). It may be why I have no friends.

ETA: mushy cooked slices of tomato are also a no go.

Edited December 19, 2007 by JimH (log)