Foods your significant other thinks they hate..

[FoodMuse]

I was thinking today about my father who would go all squeamish at the site of butter and would say he never ate it in any form. My mother of course cooked and baked with butter and had to sometimes hide it from him.

Anyone else do this?

When I first started dating my partner he said he wouldn't eat mushrooms. I thought it was the squeaky texture so made a duxelles of some great portobello shrooms and snuck it on his plate. He loathed it. We are now a mushroom free zone. I recently met someone who I think explained it best. She said mushroom taste like dirt. I guess I like dirt. Maybe it's genetic, similar to folks who think cilantro taste like soap?

Anyone deal with partners food idiosyncrasies?

[Mel Z]

My partner thinks broccoli rabe/rapini tastes like soap (but strangely not cilantro). I love it sauteed with pine nuts over wheat pasta, but sadly, I only get to eat it when we're out! Then again, we both hate mushrooms.

[CaliPoutine]

My partner is of polish decent and hates sour cream!! I can't imagine not having sour cream on pierogies. She also hates most sauces, maple syrup( what?) and cream cheese.

[therippa]

My girlfriend hates creme brulee (says it's a texture thing). Saddens me to no end, that's my favorite go-to easy dessert.

[Alex]

Ms. Alex intensely dislikes olives of any variety (but not olive oil). That's fine -- more for me (and I never cook with them except for the very occasional Greek salad). Every few years she'll gamely give it a go, but nothing's changed in the 20 years we've been together. It's probably a combo taste/texture thing. She does avoid rice noodles (a.k.a. slimy noodles) and raw oysters, but likes okra. Go figure.

[mkayahara]

My husband refuses to eat pumpkin, in any form, sweet or savoury: pie, muffins, curry, on its own as a side dish... He's fine with any other squash under the sun, but pumpkin is a no-go. Apparently, when he was a kid, he was always stuck with the unpleasant task of removing the seeds and strings of the Halloween Jack-o'-lantern, and can't get past those memories when faced with it as a food. I've been known to sneak it past him by serving him "spice loaf," though.

[Snadra]

Asparagus, known as spargel in our house after a trip we took to Germany in May a few years ago at the height of the asparagus season (every restaurant had exactly the same 6 or so asparagus items on their menu, including the chinese restaurants) is always refused. I can sneak it into a a stirfy, but he finds out eventually, and comes out of the bathroom all accusing! It turns out he only knew it out tins growing up and enjoys the taste if it's fresh and lightly cooked. But he'll still refuse to eat it if he knows about it in advance. I used to try harder to get it past him, but these days I just figure: more for me!

(edited to fix punctuation)

Edited October 18, 2010 by Snadra (log)

[suzilightning]

husband will not touch lamb - i can't even cook it when he is home. keema and lamb burgers when he is away on business or visiting his family.

[KarenDW]

Goat cheese! DH doesn't like the "earthy" taste. Fine then. More for us.

And, Daughter#1 also commented about Mushrooms tasting of dirt. Daughter#2 does not like celery, but has evolved enough to accept that it exists in most combination foods.

[ChrisN]

My partner will not eat cauliflower or brussel spourts--the latter is my favorite vegetable by far.

ChrisN

[Jenni]

Are we talking things they don't like, or things they say they don't like but that you sneakily feed them anyway?

[Amy D.]

I think the sneakily feeding is far more interesting - probably because I had to do this a lot over the years

my other half was a fussy eater when I met him, he'd just turned vegetarian (which is fine because I tend to only have meat or fish once or twice a week myself) only he was one of those vegetarians who didn't like vegetables, being students when we met he was basically living off pizza and beer. I used to do a whole lot of chopping things up very finely or blending and not tell him what it was until after he ate it. Then I progressed on to being able to have large pieces of the vegetable in a sauce I know he liked. Broccoli was one of the big early successes (initially thanks to a cheese sauce), raw sliced tomatoes was a more recent addition (this time in a balsamic dressing).

He is actually a relatively adventurous eater now and will try anything (vegetarian) at least once. Though he still has his moments - for example last Saturday whilst I was eating a bowl of yoghurt (and honey) he was pulling faces of disgust, I always find this one a bit odd because I tend to cook with yoghurt quite a lot, and sure enough the next day as the OH was thoroughly enjoying one of his favourite dishes of Chatt (in this case a spicy chickpea and potato dish topped with yoghurt) and he surprised me by remarking "I don't know why I don't eat yoghurt more often I actually quite like it".

[Dakki]

No SO currently but one dear friend of mine refuses to eat anything with the slightest hint of garlic - his girlfriend, not to be outdone, has decided she won't touch anything that's been within six feet of an onion. Two other friends will not eat anything hotter than a bell pepper, and yet another one cannot stand the sight of pink on meat. Planning a dinner party can be a bit of a hassle.

[Rico]

No SO currently but one dear friend of mine refuses to eat anything with the slightest hint of garlic - his girlfriend, not to be outdone, has decided she won't touch anything that's been within six feet of an onion. Two other friends will not eat anything hotter than a bell pepper, and yet another one cannot stand the sight of pink on meat. Planning a dinner party can be a bit of a hassle.

You are a patient soul, Dakki. I likely would have given up on them and found new friends!

And my futurewife used to not like lamb, but we've since made some progress on that particular issue. She still doesn't like raw mushrooms, though. Patience, Grasshopper.

[CaliPoutine]

I forgot to mention that my SO hates tomatoes, but likes salsa. She also hates avocados, but loves guacamole. She wont eat a piece of cheese( and she's from Wisconsin), but she'll eat melted cheese( grilled cheese, quesadilla). I really dont get that. I loath tomatoes(raw), and I wont touch salsa with a 10ft pole. I do love marinara sauce though, but to me those 2 things taste totally different.

[Doodad]

Mushrooms were taboo in our house for years. I love them. One day I roasted chanterelles and now my wife can't keep mushrooms in stock. Daughter still hates them though.

When my daughter was a kid she hated broccoli. We would eat the heads and tell my daughter the stems were truffla trees from the Dr. Suess book. Problem solved. She did finally notice that we ate broccoli everytime the truffla trees made an appearence.

[percival]

She hates and will not eat spicy food, lamb, olives, cilantro, feta, blue cheese, duck, mussels, abalone, oysters, jellyfish, any offal, any game. She hates but will eat beef, onions. And she says she is not a picky eater. Her younger brother is far, far worse -- and he's 31. My one year old can eat all of the above...

[Beebs]

Hubby says he hates liver. But he eats and likes sauteed pork liver, rabbit liver, duck liver and chicken liver in all its incarnations. He loves, loves, loves pate and foie gras.

[chileheadmike]

Mrs CHM will not eat: Seafood of any kind, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, lamb, any offal. Actually the only meat she will eat is beef, chicken, and pork. All must be extra super well done, and with ketchup added. She will not eat cheeses other than the grocery store variety of cheddar, mozz, parm, no blue, no goat. Offal of any kind. She hasn't tasted most of the above, but she will not eat them.

Entire cuisines are out, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican (unless its On The Boarder or Chilis). She does like Americanized Chinese, as long as its sweet and not too authentic. She likes crab rangoons, as long as there isn't any detectable crab in them.

I used to go out to dinner/lunch and/or cook with my oldest daughter, who is quite adventurous. She's away at college now. Its been kind of depressing, I've been stuck eating mostly convenience food or in chains since she's moved out.

[sheepish]

Any offal. This is fine for brains and kidneys - more for me. It's a lot of lungs and liver to get through having had 4 pigs slaughtered in the last month. Cooked mushrooms, raw are OK. Anchovies, although I sneak those into ragu. Hare. Lentils. Octopus. All shell fish except scallops. Laverbread. Sashimi. Foie gras. And fried eggs.

I have managed to convert her to the joys of blue cheese, raw beef, and, I'm sure there's something else, but I forget.

[Kouign Aman]

Stone fruit. Of all the things to not like, he wont eat any thing with stone fruit. No peaches, plums, nectarines nor any of their hybrid offspring.

I have to keep scaling down the summer recipes because I cant get thru an entire cobbler or pie while its still good.

[prasantrin]

Mrs CHM will not eat: Seafood of any kind, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, lamb, any offal. Actually the only meat she will eat is beef, chicken, and pork. All must be extra super well done, and with ketchup added. She will not eat cheeses other than the grocery store variety of cheddar, mozz, parm, no blue, no goat. Offal of any kind. She hasn't tasted most of the above, but she will not eat them.

Entire cuisines are out, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican (unless its On The Boarder or Chilis). She does like Americanized Chinese, as long as its sweet and not too authentic. She likes crab rangoons, as long as there isn't any detectable crab in them.

I used to go out to dinner/lunch and/or cook with my oldest daughter, who is quite adventurous. She's away at college now. Its been kind of depressing, I've been stuck eating mostly convenience food or in chains since she's moved out.

I remember my mother and I talked to your wife about her dislikes, so it's funny to read your post. Hope your daughter is doing well, and that she comes home to eat with you soon!

[chileheadmike]

Mrs CHM will not eat: Seafood of any kind, mushrooms, brussels sprouts, lamb, any offal. Actually the only meat she will eat is beef, chicken, and pork. All must be extra super well done, and with ketchup added. She will not eat cheeses other than the grocery store variety of cheddar, mozz, parm, no blue, no goat. Offal of any kind. She hasn't tasted most of the above, but she will not eat them.

Entire cuisines are out, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican (unless its On The Boarder or Chilis). She does like Americanized Chinese, as long as its sweet and not too authentic. She likes crab rangoons, as long as there isn't any detectable crab in them.

I used to go out to dinner/lunch and/or cook with my oldest daughter, who is quite adventurous. She's away at college now. Its been kind of depressing, I've been stuck eating mostly convenience food or in chains since she's moved out.

I remember my mother and I talked to your wife about her dislikes, so it's funny to read your post. Hope your daughter is doing well, and that she comes home to eat with you soon!

That's right! At Lidia's for the Heartland get together. She didn't like the food there much. She did enjoy meeting and talking with everyone though. Notice she was no where to be found for the rest of the events.

[FoodMuse]

Fantastic responses here!

@CaliPoutine Who the heck doesn't like maple syrup? I have a good friend who also has tomato issues. Raw will not abide. Salsa or cooked is fine! Maybe there's something about the acid.

@therippa I'm with your GF, I hate Creme Brulee. I don't know why. I love creamy things. I like caremel. There's no accounting for it.

@Alex No to oysters, but yes to okra? Odd

@mkayahara You can totally sneak pumpkin into lots of things.

@Snadra Sounds like you were trying to be sneaky like me. LOL

@percival Whoa that is a long list. Good luck with that.

I don't think I could be with someone who wouldn't eat garlic and onion.

Out of time, but you all have wonderful stories. Please keep them coming.

-Grace

[toolprincess]

I have been with my SO now for almost 10 months and the food proclivities make me bonkers...

He will eat onion rings occasionally and bloomin onions from Outback but turns up his nose at anything that he thinks or suspects has onions in it. I LOVE onions....

He "hates" sour cream - but I put it in a variety of foods and he doesn't even know.

He "likes" shrimp and fish but only when they are fried.

He eats no vegetables except iceberg lettuce and cucumbers.

He will eat corn but only if it is cut off the cob.

He doesn't like ham unless it is boiled ham.

He doesn't care all that much for bacon. (I know its SICK)

He likes french fries but not roasted or boiled potatoes or even pan fried potatoes. He will eat baked potatoes.

He could happily live on hotdogs (boiled), chicken breasts (fried or bbq'd), french fries, and pizza (no veg).

Edited to add: he will only eat sweet and sour chicken (no sauce so basically chicken nuggets) at chinese, won't even consider thai or indian and made 1 attempt at teriyaki chicken while I ate sushi and said it was "gross".

It makes my head hurt. Not to mention my palate...I love asian flavor profiles and spicy curries.

Edited October 20, 2010 by toolprincess (log)