Foods you're embarrassed to hate

[frdagaa]

I'm a hard-core foodie and love experimenting with different tastes. Not squeamish a bit, have an adventurous palate. Like almost everything.

But every time I try truffled whatever (usually in the form of truffle oil used in a dish at an excellent restaurant) I literally almost throw up. Obviously, I've leaned not to order the stuff, but I continue to intermittently taste those dishes in the hopes of getting used to the taste.

I realize that it's kind of a vanity thing...given my culinary and gustatory proclivities I'm expected to like the royal fungus. But I don't. In fact, my reaction is so dramatically negative and so unlike my reaction to any other food, that I wonder whether I have some genetically hard-wired revulsion to the truffle taste.

I've rarely had fresh truffles and I seem to be significantly more accepting of black truffle oil than the white (even used the former in a celery root puree that turned out quite well). So maybe there's some hope for me.

Still can't believe people can not only stomach truffles, but actually place them on a vaunted pedestal of culinary experience.

Do I have any like-minded souls out there? If not for truffles, then for some other "foodie taste"?

[tejon]

I'm pretty much neutral on truffles - they don't thrill me, but I don't dislike them, either. As for things I'm embarassed to hate, well, the list is longer than I'd like. I used to joke that I could never go to cooking school because I can't stand fish or most seafood other than shrimp, olives, liver (or any offal, to be honest), caviar, or blue cheese. And I'm not too fond of mushrooms. Or coffee. Really strongly flavored foods are almost painful to eat, not sure why.

[frdagaa]

I think of truffles as a strong taste.

Everything else you mentioned I like. Neutral on mushrooms.

[tejon]

I've only sampled truffles once, and it was the tiniest sliver. Didn't really taste like much of anything, but that could be a reflection of the truffle in question.

[Boris_A]

The truffle thing is fascinating:

1) I remember still the first time im I had a dish with a lot of fresh white truffles in Piedmont. Divine.

2) Years later, when the smell of a truffled oil got to my nose, I had the same feelings like you. I never tasted truffle oil ever since. But I still adore (sic) fresh truffles.

3) Theres's a window at my home which I use to open daily. Some months ago, every time I opened it there was for one or two seconds a distinct smell in the air not unlike that of truffles. After days I found the dried body of a dead bat hooked under my window board outside. Even when removing it, I smelled truffles. An experience which supported my idea that some fermented food (cheese, some cured meat) appeals to very old regions ans memories of our limbic systems, when rotten food was still appreciated as food. (I heard once that jakals go a long way to find their stuff. They clearly *prefer* it over fresh meat, it seems.)

I believe, like in art (horror movies) or sex or many other fields, there can be a fine line between lust and disgust. Sometimes, riding on the line can be great entertainment. But crossing the line can only provoke revulsion.

I think you have to wait for fresh truffles in order to determine your line in this area.

[tanabutler]

3) Theres's a window at my home which I use to open daily. Some months ago, every time I opened it there was for one or two seconds a distinct smell in the air not unlike that of truffles. After days I found the dried body of a dead bat hooked under my window board outside. Even when removing it, I smelled truffles. An experience which supported my idea that some fermented food (cheese, some cured meat) appeals to very old regions ans memories of our limbic systems, when rotten food was still appreciated as food. (I heard once that jakals go a long way to find their stuff. They clearly *prefer* it over fresh meat, it seems.)

I believe, like in art (horror movies) or sex or many other fields, there can be a fine line between lust and disgust. Sometimes, riding on the line can be great entertainment. But crossing the line can only provoke revulsion.

I think you have to wait for fresh truffles in order to determine your line in this area.

I believe you have the beginnings of an article here, Boris A.

Fascinating.

[frdagaa]

Thanks for the perspecive. I'll keep an open mind about the fresh truffles. I've always felt I might tolerate them much better than the oil.

I agree that the bat story is great.

[nessa]

Caviar. Nasty salty fish egg slime. Granted, I've not tried it in years..... I'd love to be all cultured and stuff and go into orgasmic wriggles when I ate caviar, appreciate the finer nuances of beluga, but ew. FISH EGGS!!!. Oh. And sweetbreads.

[nice_guy1812]

Not a food, but, um, I don't really care for wine

I like it in cooking, but to drink, I'd much rather have something else.

Also, I don't like beer, but I'm not embarassed about that.

[GG Mora]

Interesting about others' reaction to truffle oil. I think fresh truffles are delicious; I even sought out Clement Bruno's resto in Lorgues so as to partake of truffles through an entire meal. The restaurant is overrated, as it happens, but the truffles didn't disappoint (a whole truffle baked in puff pastry? Yum).

I brought home a bottle of Bruno's truffle oil and made a dish of gnocchi & truffle oil, which was delicious, but the aroma of the truffle oil made my gorge rise. A few weeks later I drizzled some of the oil over mashed potatoes & nearly gagged on the smell. The bottle of oil is still sitting in the fridge & every so often I lift off the top and take a whiff...and retch a little. I know truffle oil degrades over time, but not to worry – I have no intention of using it.

Boris, your post made me think of a piece that ran in Granta several years ago. Sean French's excellent First, Catch Your Puffin is a hilarious meditation on the pleasures of rot and decay:

The problem is that we've all been taught that food should be fresh and wholesome, just as we've been taught that sex should be all about uncomplicated, rational pleasure. Some sex should be like that, of course, and there is no charm in a five-day-old sardine, but much of the pleasure of food is a flirtation with the processes of decay. The richness of fresh milk makes me gag, but when it rots, it becomes cheese, which I love. Beef should not be sold red and fresh but should be hung until it is grey. Some of the most wonderful food of all teeters on the boundary of what's edible.

Do follow the link for an entertaining and worthwhile read.

As for caviar, I remain largely nonplussed. I try it every time it's offered (I keep thinking I must be missing something). Salty, fishy, crunchy goo. Whatever.

Edited August 17, 2004 by GG Mora (log)

[misstenacity]

Also, I don't like beer, but I'm not embarassed about that.

Alright! Another proud lager-phobe... :-)

Many people say its an acquired taste, to them I say, "why should I?".

Love sweetbreads, love wine, (learned to) love sashimi and rare tuna and mussels, but still not quite there on:

- foie gras (currently neutral, and the "meat flavored butter" description hasn't worked yet)

- truffle flavor (generally like it but not so much as to pay what's its worth)

- black coffee (but have migrated from crappy sweetened additives to just half&half, so I'm almost there)

Andrea

http://tenacity.net

[elfin]

Not embarrassed but wonder why I don't like these global favorites:

flan, creme brulee, polenta, puddings, meringue pies, egg plant, beer, white wine and champagneand sashimi.

[Jason Perlow]

I hate foie gras, and -others- are embarrassed I hate it.

[tommy]

beer, white wine and champagne and sashimi.

good god what else is left to eat??

[Andrew Fenton]

beer, white wine and champagne and sashimi.

good god what else is left to eat??

larb?

[ScorchedPalate]

Great topic!

I used to be a terribly fussy eater, but I am in recovery. A lot of the things I thought I hated as a child and young adult were really because I hadn't had a good example -- tomatoes and chicken being prime examples.

Learned to love: Sushi, avocado, sour cream, fresh fish, fresh oysters, nuts, tomatoes, white meat chicken

Nice but not worth the expense, to me: Caviar, foie, most lobster

On the fence: Beets, dark meat chicken

Ongoing embarassments: Eggplant, most lamb, most duck, clams, cooked shellfish, dark meat turkey

[hshiau]

Caviar. Only place where it didn't totally wierd me out was Per Se. Didn't taste as fishy.

[Brad Ballinger]

Interesting topic. I guess I'm more embarassed that I hate more pedestrian foods rather than the exotic ones like truffles, foie gras, caviar, etc. I can understand the reason for embarassment -- How would someone so into food not like the chi chi fare?

But I'm looking at embarassment differently. I'm embarassed that I don't like some relatively common things, things that are certainly harder to avoid than caviar or truffles, and, therefore, get exposed more often.

Peanut Butter in/on anything. This is one that is very hard to avoid. I don't do Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, peanut butter cookies, peanut butter Rice Krispie bars, Butterfinger. The only exception is peanut sauce in Thai cuisine. But the rest I won't even eat to be polite.

Mayonnaise. I like everything that goes into it. I just don't like the sum of those parts. At least it's less embarassing to order mayo on the side. But if a sandwich comes pre-loaded, it's tough to put it in my mouth.

Prepared Mustard. Similar to mayonnaise. I've tried to like this stuff, and I just don't. So, in combination with mayonnaise, it's embarassing when answering someone who asks why I haven't eaten any potato salad.

Pickles. I've tried very hard to like these as well, and it just isn't to be. In combination with mustard, it means having to order special ad Mc Donald's. Since I don't eat there anymore, the embarassment is more part of my childhood and teenage years. But I'll still be at a casual restaurant, diner, and infrequently someone will ask "are you going to eat your pickle(s)?"

[Sandra Levine]

I can't stand celery, either raw or cooked.

[hshiau]

Pickles. I've tried very hard to like these as well, and it just isn't to be. In combination with mustard, it means having to order special ad Mc Donald's. Since I don't eat there anymore, the embarassment is more part of my childhood and teenage years. But I'll still be at a casual restaurant, diner, and infrequently someone will ask "are you going to eat your pickle(s)?"

I don't like pickles either but I'm not embarrassed about it.

Should we be making a distinction between what we're embarrassed about or not embarrassed about? I'm sure there are lots of things I don't like that don't bother me at all.

[tommy]

I can't stand celery, either raw or cooked.

if i've learned one thing about you over the years sandra, it's that you hate celery.

[GG Mora]

I can't stand celery, either raw or cooked.

if i've learned one thing about you over the years sandra, it's that you hate celery.

A little free time on your hands today, Tommy?

[Betts]

I cannot abide milk as a beverage, all melons, blueberries and beer.

Caviar and sushi do not give me the pleasure others swoon over but at least I can appreciate the artistry of sushi.

Most fish I can take but prefer to leave and I have rarely met a piece of seafood that I didn't like.

If it came down to starvation or eggplant I'd opt for eggplant eventually.

Isn't it interesting that even the seemingly most enthusiastic omnivores have their limits.

[Thesorus]

But every time I try truffled whatever (usually in the form of truffle oil used in a dish at an excellent restaurant) I literally almost throw up.

...

Do I have any like-minded souls out there?  If not for truffles, then for some other "foodie taste"?

I pretty much eat everything, and like you, I have some "doubts" about truffles.

I have to say that my truffle experience is limited to truffle oil, which I tried for the first time a couple weeks ago when orderning a salmon tartar with truffle oil, to my surprised, it was overwhelming, and was told that it's the way it supposed to be.

So, I might wait a bit before trying the "real" stuff, if I can find some relatively fresh truffles in Montréal.

M.

[Susan G]

Single malt scotch. More for the rest of you, no?