Your top 10 most hated foods, with a twist

[Dogdeacon]

Wow, I had no idea how picky so many are. Did you all grow up on chicken nuggets & pizza or old school with forced spinach & other kid hated veggies?

For me:
1. Water chestnuts - worthless texture and no taste whatsoever I think we made a mistake thinking this is food
2. Sour cream flavored potato chips
3. BBQ flavored potato chips
That’s it

 

[8893]

I like coconut in most forms.

York Street Noodle House is one of the best values in New Haven.

There is no food in the country that has had a better awakening in the past decade than Brussels sprouts. Went from one of the most maligned and feared to one of the best. Apparently no one knew how to cook them until now. I've had them lots of tasty ways since I got hip to them, but the best remains the way they do them at Bistro Mediterranean in East Haven (also in Westbrook): julienned with a sunchoke (or something like that) dressing and shaved black truffles, served over a fried risotto cake.

Buffalo cauliflower is decent, as is the cheesy cauliflower thing my wife makes at Thanksgiving, with pancetta too. I've also had some cauliflower "rice" dishes that were pretty good.

The only good use I have ever seen for a green bell pepper is a classic Italian stuffed pepper, which seems to roast the nasty out of them.

 

[Mano]

Wow, I had no idea how picky so many are. Did you all grow up on chicken nuggets & pizza or old school with forced spinach & other kid hated veggies?

For me:
1. Water chestnuts - worthless texture and no taste whatsoever I think we made a mistake thinking this is food
2. Sour cream flavored potato chips
3. BBQ flavored potato chips
That’s it

You gotta remember DD, some of these guys are so old they didn’t have a lot of these things available to them until after their formative years, lol. I’m kidding, kind of.

Onions are probably my favorite vegetable. Raw, cooked, volcanoed, all good.

Brussels sprouts halved, cooked in bacon fat with shallots and finished with a dollop of whole grain mustard and a squeeze of lemon with the bacon crumbled over the top. Damn.

About the only thing I dislike is Tofu and peeps or other marshmallowy type things.

 

[Fishy]

1) Pasta
2) Meatballs
3) Veal
4) Oranges
5) Anything cranberry-related
6) Corn on the cob, off the cob, popped or creamed.
7) Cabbage
8) Any kind of cooked tomatoes
9) Corned beef
10) Cooked vegetables

I don’t care what you think about pasta. I don’t like it.

 

[Chin Diesel]

A few other quirks.

Green Bell Peppers- Not a fan of them, would never put them in any recipe on my own, work around them when added to dishes by others. Have no problem with red bell peppers. Actually like most peppers but not green bell peppers.

Aoli- putting spices in to mayonnaise still makes it mayonnaise.

Brussel sprouts- Not that I'd expect any Yankees to do this, but they are phenomenal in a crawfish boil.

Dijon mustards- I'm okay with whole grain and browns, no to Dijon.

 

[Husky25]

Aside from what I wrote above, there is a food technique (for lack of better word), that I cannot stand and anyone who suggests it deserves a Fishy Throat Punch®. That technique is the food imitation.

Make no mistake. I'm not talking about what I recommended in my above post above in subbing one hard cheese, grain, or cured meat for another. No. That is called substitution and there are rules. I mean trying to pass off a food for something it clearly is not. Worse is when there is an intent to deceive.

Yes, most of us should be more than a little more health conscious, but I don't care how good you think your bocaburger is. Experience tells me it will not satiate my craving for charred cow. Also, don't tell me that I really shouldn't have that big roll with my burger and that a burger wrapped in lettuce is just as good. It's not. There is something missing and you are probably going to overeat in search for it.

There is a whole industry dedicated to Eat This Not That. The problem is they lose credibility when they say to sub mustard for my barbecue sauce or tomato soup for Italian wedding. I actually got into Sharitake noodles for a time, but I found they were really only acceptable in Asian infused dishes, but not in high quantity or on their own.

Other suspects:
Tofu (which is fine when it's called for, i.e. miso soup. Not as a chicken or pork substitute).
Cauliflower pizza crust
Spiralized zucchini or sweet potato and calling it macaroni
Anything-intended-to-synthesize pork bacon

 

[8893]

Aside from what I wrote above, there is a food technique (for lack of better word), that I cannot stand and anyone who suggests it deserves a Fishy Throat Punch®. That technique is the food imitation.

Make no mistake. I'm not talking about what I recommended in my above post above in subbing one hard cheese, grain, or cured meat for another. No. That is called substitution and there are rules. I mean trying to pass off a food for something it clearly is not. Worse is when there is an intent to deceive.

Yes, most of us should be more than a little more health conscious, but I don't care how good you think your bocaburger is. Experience tells me it will not satiate my craving for charred cow. Also, don't tell me that I really shouldn't have that big roll with my burger and that a burger wrapped in lettuce is just as good. It's not. There is something missing and you are probably going to overeat in search for it.

There is a whole industry dedicated to Eat This Not That. The problem is they lose credibility when they say to sub mustard for my barbecue sauce or tomato soup for Italian wedding. I actually got into Sharitake noodles for a time, but I found they were really only acceptable in Asian infused dishes, but not in high quantity or on their own.

Other suspects:
Tofu (which is fine when it's called for, i.e. miso soup. Not as a chicken or pork substitute).
Cauliflower pizza crust
Spiralized zucchini or sweet potato and calling it macaroni
Anything-intended-to-synthesize pork bacon

I thought I was going to agree with your premise, and I was waiting for the biggest offender: "sea legs," i.e., the stuff places try to pass off as some sort of seafood salad crap.

But the things you've targeted are things I most often see in the context of people who are making dietary choices for allergy, health or ethical reasons. No one is claiming that veggie burgers are hamburgers or that spaghetti squash is pasta. But if you're a vegetarian or have celiac, you need to find workarounds, and those things work for a lot of people (including people in my family). If you are deceived by any of them, I've got to wonder who deserves the throat punch.

 

[meyers7]

As fat as I am, one wouldn't realize how picky I am (or so I've been told by my wife) (hey I know what I like why bother with something I don't?)

1. Brussel sprouts. The stench of them cooking makes me nauseated.
2. Eggplant. Just gross. Reminds me of mucus.
3. This is a strange one. Peanut butter cookies, cakes, pies, syrups, etc. I love peanut butter though. I could live on PBJ sandwiches. Love Reece's. Can eat PB right out of the jar. Just don't put it in stuff. If you put PB cookies in with other cookies, I can't even eat them....the smell has contaminated them.
4. Cauliflower. Used to love it as a kid, but no more.
5. Coconut. Might be more texture than taste??
6. beets, turnips, yellow squash, red and yellow bell peppers if I can avoid them, lot's of non green vegetables really.
7. most shell fish (although I do like shrimp) oysters, mussels, etc. yuck. slimy mucus.
8. Maple. don't really like real maple syrup, maple bacon. or again the smell of it
9. Chickpeas or any product therein, i.e. hummus.
10. I like chopped up tomatoes in salads, tacos etc. Like tomato based sauces. Don't like slices of tomatoes or like grape tomatoes.

Bunches of other things that I'm sure I wouldn't like so I never even bother trying them.

 

[Husky25]

I thought I was going to agree with your premise, and I was waiting for the biggest offender: "sea legs," i.e., the stuff places try to pass off as some sort of seafood salad crap.

But the things you've targeted are things I most often see in the context of people who are making dietary choices for allergy, health or ethical reasons. No one is claiming that veggie burgers are hamburgers or that spaghetti squash is pasta. But if you're a vegetarian or have celiac, you need to find workarounds, and those things work for a lot of people (including people in my family). If you are deceived by any of them, I've got to wonder who deserves the throat punch.

There is a difference between people who legitimately have Celiacs (for whom I have every sympathy. I dated a girl in my much younger years who could not keep anything down because of it.) and someone who thinks gluten is the base evil of all existence, just because they heard it somewhere. For example, I recall a commercial a number of years ago for Chex cereal. At the end, the actor-mother stated something to the effect of, "and the best thing about it is that Chex is gluten free," as if to say it is by far a healthier option breakfast cereal for her children. Chex may be gluten free. Chex might be a marginally healthier alternative than to, say, Frosted Flakes. Chex is in no way, shape, or form healthier than Frosted Flakes solely because it is gluten free.

It is my position that the Celiacs sufferer has no choice. Certain vegetarians and vegans are a slightly different proposition. In general, I have no problem with anyone who wants to live that way...until one of two things happen (and if the first occurs, the other is not far behind it, typically if the the sole reason is ethical objection.).

1) Proselytization. I'm very libertarian in this regard. I won't judge your "quirks" (out loud) if you keep your comments to yourself about mine.
2) The person attempts to synthesize the texture and flavor of the very substance they made a conscious decision they can do without.

Finally, I said, "intent to deceive." That is not on the consumer.

 

[8893]

34 posts and no mention of kale? Color me shocked.

 

[G0UCONN]

As fat as I am, one wouldn't realize how picky I am (or so I've been told by my wife) (hey I know what I like why bother with something I don't?)

1. Brussel sprouts. The stench of them cooking makes me nauseated.
2. Eggplant. Just gross. Reminds me of mucus.
3. This is a strange one. Peanut butter cookies, cakes, pies, syrups, etc. I love peanut butter though. I could live on PBJ sandwiches. Love Reece's. Can eat PB right out of the jar. Just don't put it in stuff. If you put PB cookies in with other cookies, I can't even eat them....the smell has contaminated them.
4. Cauliflower. Used to love it as a kid, but no more.
5. Coconut. Might be more texture than taste??
6. beets, turnips, yellow squash, red and yellow bell peppers if I can avoid them, lot's of non green vegetables really.
7. most shell fish (although I do like shrimp) oysters, mussels, etc. yuck. slimy mucus.
8. Maple. don't really like real maple syrup, maple bacon. or again the smell of it
9. Chickpeas or any product therein, i.e. hummus.
10. I like chopped up tomatoes in salads, tacos etc. Like tomato based sauces. Don't like slices of tomatoes or like grape tomatoes.

Bunches of other things that I'm sure I wouldn't like so I never even bother trying them.

Speaking of seafood...

 

[Excalibur]

34 posts and no mention of kale? Color me shocked.

I don't mind it, but only certain preparations. Sauteed it's ok so long as there's a citrus or vinegar element with it. Raw, or toasted, it tastes (as stated in my kid's Audubon Arts camp play last summer) like lost hopes and dreams.

 

[8893]

I don't mind it, but only certain preparations. Sauteed it's ok so long as there's a citrus or vinegar element with it. Raw, or toasted, it tastes (as stated in my kid's Audubon Arts camp play last summer) like lost hopes and dreams.

I'm with you, but I noticed that a lot of people hate it and am surprised it hasn't been mentioned yet because it has been so trendy in the past few years.

 

[Deepster]

Wow, I had no idea how picky so many are. Did you all grow up on chicken nuggets & pizza or old school with forced spinach & other kid hated veggies.

Agreed. What a bunch of babies. There’s nothing in this thread I don’t like so far. The one thing I can’t seem to get down is head cheese and I think that’s pretty normal.

 

[storrsroars]

Agreed. What a bunch of babies. There’s nothing in this thread I don’t like so far. The one thing I can’t seem to get down is head cheese and I think that’s pretty normal.

Actually, depends on what country's head cheese you're eating. Some of it isn't bad. IMO, the greater the aspic content, the grosser it gets. I dated a 2nd gen Norwegian for awhile whose dad used to eat blocks of sylte for breakfast. The key is to have a good, strong mustard to dip in. No worse than eating a true mortadella.

I've had weirder meat products, the only one I couldn't put down was the vastedda sandwich at Ferdinando's in Red Hook.

 

[Dogdeacon]

Actually, depends on what country's head cheese you're eating. Some of it isn't bad. IMO, the greater the aspic content, the grosser it gets. I dated a 2nd gen Norwegian for awhile whose dad used to eat blocks of sylte for breakfast. The key is to have a good, strong mustard to dip in. No worse than eating a true mortadella.

I've had weirder meat products, the only one I couldn't put down was the vastedda sandwich at Ferdinando's in Red Hook.

Yes, I've had head cheese and haggis - I wouldn't describe either as delectable, but done right you can see why it hits for its niche.
I think all of the coconut haters are pissed about grabbing the wrong Russell Stovers candy & obviously have never had a proper macaroon (almond macaroons from The Nantucket Bake Shop are best I've ever had).

A higher end example is Fishy doesn't like veal, well don't order it at the Olive Garden where it probably isn't really veal, definitely isn't fresh & will be leathery. You order veal at a very good, old school Italian restaurant where you know they've paid thru the nose for the most innocent & tender baby calf & its not been in the freezer ever since Godzilla stepped on Bambi.

 

[storrsroars]

A higher end example is Fishy doesn't like veal, well don't order it at the Olive Garden where it probably isn't really veal, definitely isn't fresh & will be leathery. You order veal at a very good, old school Italian restaurant where you know they've paid thru the nose for the most innocent & tender baby calf & its not been in the freezer ever since Godzilla stepped on Bambi.

Fishy doesn't even qualify as an American with the list he put out. Pasta? Meatballs? Tomato sauce? Corn on the cob?

 

[Dogdeacon]

Fishy doesn't even qualify as an American with the list he put out. Pasta? Meatballs? Tomato sauce? Corn on the cob?

True that, and he's probably eating corn on the cob in November - June and wondering why it sucks. Then come August when its time to pick up fresh corn directly from the farm and eat it that night he's cowering in the corner with a sippy cup of apple juice.

 

[Cheddie]

Broccoli - George H.W.Bush, I feel you
Kale - not as a side, in a smoothie, or as chips
Salty foods - on a lower sodium diet, and too salty foods are inedible
Liver - wouldn't touch it as a kid, won't now
Pecan pie
On the other hand, as I've gotten older - ok, old - I've eaten things I'd never dream of eating as a young man ... bone marrow, kangaroo, sea urchin, crocodile, ostrich, pork cheek, etc.

 

[JCSuperstar]

Looks like most of mine have already been hit:

Swedish Meatballs
Meatloaf
Mushrooms (Egg foo young is the worst with this, they're so stealthy in there)
Raisins in anything other than the red box they came in (not in curry, or a bagel, or any recipe)
Shredded Coconut
Whole peppercorns in cured meats ruin the whole slice
Shrimp when you don't de-vein the thing first (looks like they caught this one after Thanksgiving feast)
Circus Peanuts
Sun dried tomatoes
Cucumbers (tastes like dirty milk-water)

 

[HuskyHawk]

34 posts and no mention of kale? Color me shocked.

Tastes like dirt.

 

[HuskyHawk]

There is a difference between people who legitimately have Celiacs (for whom I have every sympathy. I dated a girl in my much younger years who could not keep anything down because of it.) and someone who thinks gluten is the base evil of all existence, just because they heard it somewhere. For example, I recall a commercial a number of years ago for Chex cereal. At the end, the actor-mother stated something to the effect of, "and the best thing about it is that Chex is gluten free," as if to say it is by far a healthier option breakfast cereal for her children. Chex may be gluten free. Chex might be a marginally healthier alternative than to, say, Frosted Flakes. Chex is in no way, shape, or form healthier than Frosted Flakes solely because it is gluten free.

It is my position that the Celiacs sufferer has no choice. Certain vegetarians and vegans are a slightly different proposition. In general, I have no problem with anyone who wants to live that way...until one of two things happen (and if the first occurs, the other is not far behind it, typically if the the sole reason is ethical objection.).

1) Proselytization. I'm very libertarian in this regard. I won't judge your "quirks" (out loud) if you keep your comments to yourself about mine.
2) The person attempts to synthesize the texture and flavor of the very substance they made a conscious decision they can do without.

Finally, I said, "intent to deceive." That is not on the consumer.

Gluten is a protein. By any logical definition, except for those with Celiacs, gluten is the most healthy thing you can get from wheat. The other components are simple carbohydrates and oil/fat.

 

[J187Money]

Don't really hate any foods - my biggest beef is when things get TOO spicy and then they are just hot without having any flavor (at least to my palate). There are a lot of things I avoid because I prefer other things but I won't act like a child and not eat something.

Strange fact - prior to 2017 I had never had a Brussels sprout. Now they are my go to vegetable.

 

[8893]

Gluten is a protein. By any logical definition, except for those with Celiacs, gluten is the most healthy thing you can get from wheat. The other components are simple carbohydrates and oil/fat.

Some people have a sensitivity without having Celiac.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Some people have a sensitivity without having Celiac.

I think most of them are imagining it. Yes, I know some of them, and I still think that. It's an all too convenient scapegoat.