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46 Comments
Baconist
January 10, 2016
I find that fennel and/or anise are particularly unnecessary in almost any dish. Their flavors never blend with the other ingredients and always act as a distraction to me. Same with green bell pepper - just just doesn't blend and is particularly objectionable when raw. I call these flavors culinary outliers and avoid them whenever I can. BTW, red, yellow and orange bell peppers are fine - their flavors actually work in most dishes.
Sarah
May 13, 2015
The soapy tasting cilantro aversion is due to an enzyme certain people produce when they eat it, at least that's what I've heard. I love it. Arugula, raw tomatoes and mushrooms, turkey not so much.
Niknud
May 12, 2015
Unfortunately for my waist line, there really isn't a whole lot I don't like. After enough bourbon, I will even confess to experimenting with fermented tofu with my dad. Not saying I'd enjoy it 100% sober.....
Stephanie
May 12, 2015
Avocados. It's not the texture really, it's the taste. I hate them. Guacamole? Hate it. Every once in a while I'll try it again, in hopes that my taste buds may have changed. But no, still hate them.
And cold shrimp. I rather enjoy warm shrimp, right off the grill, in paella or pasta. But that slimy, rubbery, cold cocktail shrimp....Pass.
And cold shrimp. I rather enjoy warm shrimp, right off the grill, in paella or pasta. But that slimy, rubbery, cold cocktail shrimp....Pass.
Aliwaks
May 11, 2015
Tuna Melts- I think they smell.
Quinoa - reminds me of fingernails
Cream Sauce - No!
Cheese sauce on vegetables, fish or meat- I will throw myself on the floor to avoid that (the only exception is a late night Philly cheese steak, but I don't live in Philly anymore)
Chocolate Cheesecake or Oreo Cheesecake- when I am dieting I visualize chocolate cheese cake and it makes me not want to eat food.
Multi meat items, like short rib stuffed burgers with bacon and foie gras - toooo much
Gravy- Overrated even when I can tell it's good I just can't get excited about it
Poutine- Gross
Uni- I am obviously a troglodyte
Large pieces of raw fish- because the feel like dead cold tongue in my mouth ( i like small thin pieces though)
Raw egg - I feel like I would die from eating it- and I've swallowed a live goldfish (not habitually but once in college at a frat party)
Liver, brains, kidneys, sweetbreads, blood - No Thank you (Except Chicken,Duck or Goose-liver)
Kraft Mac & Cheese- Sweet & weird
Blueberry or chocolate chip bagels- an abomination
Quinoa - reminds me of fingernails
Cream Sauce - No!
Cheese sauce on vegetables, fish or meat- I will throw myself on the floor to avoid that (the only exception is a late night Philly cheese steak, but I don't live in Philly anymore)
Chocolate Cheesecake or Oreo Cheesecake- when I am dieting I visualize chocolate cheese cake and it makes me not want to eat food.
Multi meat items, like short rib stuffed burgers with bacon and foie gras - toooo much
Gravy- Overrated even when I can tell it's good I just can't get excited about it
Poutine- Gross
Uni- I am obviously a troglodyte
Large pieces of raw fish- because the feel like dead cold tongue in my mouth ( i like small thin pieces though)
Raw egg - I feel like I would die from eating it- and I've swallowed a live goldfish (not habitually but once in college at a frat party)
Liver, brains, kidneys, sweetbreads, blood - No Thank you (Except Chicken,Duck or Goose-liver)
Kraft Mac & Cheese- Sweet & weird
Blueberry or chocolate chip bagels- an abomination
Judy C.
May 11, 2015
That was really a fun piece, so here are my thoughts; cilantro, otherwise known as soap, almost all Mexican food it all takes the same, fishy fish is a no-no, Indian food, as it is all over spiced in my opinion, but I do like liver and onions in case you think I am too picky.....
Shmmm
May 11, 2015
Mac and cheese. I don't understand Americans' obsession with it. And believe me, I have tried it in all the permutations and combinations of different cheeses, pasta shapes, add-ins (even bacon didn't help, and I LOVE bacon), various grandma's recipes, etc. I just don't get it.
Well S.
May 11, 2015
I will never understand people's love if cilantro. It tastes like soap. Stop trying to appear cool just because you eat cilantro!
Whole liver. I will cook chicken livers on occasion for my husband but I can't get them past my lips. I do enjoy a nice pate but not whole liver.
Whole liver. I will cook chicken livers on occasion for my husband but I can't get them past my lips. I do enjoy a nice pate but not whole liver.
[email protected]
May 11, 2015
Parsnips, liver, kale, canned peas, celery, chick peas. No rhyme or reason to it. The list is very, very different from when I was a child. Except for the liver and parsnips. Day to day, there are foods I really don't feel like and that list is exceedingly fluid.
rosainverno
May 11, 2015
Raw+carrots.+I+will+eat+just+about+anything+else+and+I+love+carrots+cooked,+but+something+about+them+raw+just+tastes+wrong+to+me.
Jessica C.
May 11, 2015
I've been cooking professionally for years and I'm sad to admit I still can't stand uni. Urchin roe is just one of those things I can't learn to love despite thinking it's an extremely cool food and an ingredient I really respect. Also, cantaloupe, even the smell bothers me, I will endure honeydew, love watermelon but can't even put cantaloupe in my mouth. Also, not into green bell peppers. Love liver in processed forms, pate, mousse and terrines etc, but I'll never enjoy just seared liver of any kind.
ambradambra
May 11, 2015
Raw onion on anything (nasty, acrid overpower-everything food); kidneys (taste like the stuff they filter); pomegranate (lovely to look at, gritty when eaten); beets (beetroot here in Australia); processed coconut water (tastes nothing like the natural beverage);
AntoniaJames
May 11, 2015
This question popped up on the Hotline a few years ago. I started to make a list. I stopped at about 40 items. Most of them had been contest themes. Yes, I'm quite possibly the pickiest eater over the age of 10 that you'll ever meet. But I actually have, thanks to Food52 (the Ottolenghi hummus recipe featured in the Genius column) actually struck one item from that list in the past 2 years. ;o)
drbabs
May 11, 2015
My list is over 40 items, too! The only person I know who's pickier than I am is my husband.
Karen H.
May 10, 2015
Any color bell pepper, jalapeno peppers, cilantro, lamb, couscous, coconut water, anything that's spicy hot, quinoa. I'm sure there are more but that's what I quickly came up with.
beckbjj
May 10, 2015
I'm on a mission to learn to like some of the things I hate, because I think I'm just being childish. I love classic yellow mustard, but am trying to learn to like others like dijon, brown, whole grain, etc., and also horseradish. I like the heat from chilies that's in your mouth, but the sinus clearing thing (which everyone calls heat but isn't heat to me) is a real challenge to me. Once I conquer mustard and horseradish, my next project will be blue (or otherwise moldy-on-purpose) cheese. To my palate, blue cheese tastes absolutely no different than does moldy cheese cheese that isn't supposed to be moldy. I don't quite get why one is considered good while the other is bad. It all tastes like it needs to be tossed to me. Somehow, someday, I will conquer this.
Liz D.
May 10, 2015
Arugula. Liver in any form; I don't care how much butter or brandy is in your pate, it still tastes like liver. Organ meats. Foods that are too soft.
louanne
May 10, 2015
Arugula! My whole family says the same thing "arugula tastes the way petroleum smells."
Stephanie J.
May 10, 2015
Liver = ground dirt; anchovies, all those little hairs, ugh; and eggplant, why waste time on a no taste, soggy vegetable when there are so many good tasting Vegas around?
Barbara C.
May 10, 2015
I'm such a picky eater, there isn't room for all the foods I dislike, but onions and cucumbers top the list.
Yvette H.
May 10, 2015
Bell peppers, yuk! Green, yellow, red... Cold or warm, doesn't matter and in they're in EVERY vegetable mix in the supermarket :(
Faithann H.
May 10, 2015
Cilantro
Eggplant
Hummus
Fresh celery
Cornmeal anything - the texture is like sand is seafood and makes be want to puke!
Anise flavored anything (including fennel)
Fake cheese
Nut milks and rice milk because seriously it's boiled but water with the nuts pressed out. Icky!
I also hate lamb. It smells terrible it tastes weird and it's just awful.
Eggplant
Hummus
Fresh celery
Cornmeal anything - the texture is like sand is seafood and makes be want to puke!
Anise flavored anything (including fennel)
Fake cheese
Nut milks and rice milk because seriously it's boiled but water with the nuts pressed out. Icky!
I also hate lamb. It smells terrible it tastes weird and it's just awful.
Julia C.
May 10, 2015
Ditto on salmon. I also dislike catfish and halibut, turmeric, fresh basil in salads, Miracle Whip, Cool Whip, and artificial vanilla.
Melissa
May 10, 2015
I love avocados and I love toast. Put the, together and I can hardly swallow it.
Deanna H.
May 10, 2015
I know I might get kicked out of the food community for saying this since its put in everything...but I detest celery...cooked or raw!
Ashley H.
May 10, 2015
Then I'm getting kicked out with you- I hate it. To this day, my mom will make tuna or egg salad with celery, without fail, and tell me to be less sensitive when I make a comment. My brother, however, won't eat anything green at all, and all meals are planned around his dislikes. Sigh.
Samantha L.
May 10, 2015
Before having tried what passes for coconut water in North America (until recently I've only ever drank it fresh when vacationing in the tropics) I would have never understood why anyone would dislike it. The so called "coconut water" they sell here is absolutely putrid, I imagine it's what petroleum jelly emulsified into starchy sugar water gone stale would taste like. I went from thinking that it was only natural that people caught on to drinking coconut water to wondering what the heck is wrong with people....
cookinalong
May 10, 2015
I've come a long way, but I was the picky eater in the family when I was a kid. Back then, anything green was verboten. Ditto for onions, garlic, cauliflower,any cheese but Kraft singles. But, luckily my palate has matured. Nevertheless, I still cannot abide rhubarb, cooked spinach (raw is OK), rutabagas, octopus, squid, haggis, collards, tuna, sushi, anchovies, green peppers or red beets. Last summer my cousin served us yellow beets she'd cooked on the grill. Those were ambrosial. But red ones....still a big no-no.
dymnyno
May 9, 2015
I have never liked the combination of peanut butter and chocolate. Also, really dislike crunchy raw celery.
Greenstuff
May 9, 2015
Thanks, everyone more for me. Though you can keep the peanut butter.
Hilarybee
May 9, 2015
None for me, either. I don't really like any nut butters, so please don't give me the cashew, almond, sunflower or whatever else they are making into butter these days.
hardlikearmour
May 9, 2015
I have a terrible (though not so secret) aversion to salmon! My gag reflex gets triggered if I even try to eat a bite of it. Sadly it's been served 3 times when I've been a dinner guest. Why do people think it's a universally safe and delicious food?
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