I'm a big texture person...

The texture of bananas makes me gag, but I can deal with banana flavored things (i.e. banana bread). Mushrooms are too slimy (but I can eat raw fish, go figure) and pears are too gritty. I have tried for years to like yogurt, but it grosses me out.

And here's the weirdest thing, my two least favorite things in the world (so, please give me a banana yogurt mushroom and pear sandwich first) are coffee and donuts. I hate the smell (fresh ground is okay) and taste of brewed coffee and donuts totally gross me out. And no, I'm not some sicko health nut that objects to the fried sugary doughy-ness of donuts. I just think they're gross.

I know. Weird.

Veal-subtle undertaste that puts me off.
Creme soda-makes me weak just thinkin' about it.

Holly of Uptown wrote:I can't say I love almonds, but I do like them and I can't stand anything with almond extract in it. All those cookies and cranberry muffins wrecked!

So EXACTLY how I feel about almond extract. It just ruins everything it touches.

OK, now I KNOW that it takes all kinds to make the world go around because of these three things that were posted:

Root Beer
Cream Soda
Doughnuts

I can understand lobster, canned tuna, brussels sprouts, eggs, lamb, etc, BUT Root Beer and Cream Soda? AND.... Homer J's quintessential reason for being... no, not.. THE DOUGHNUT!!!! There is a doughnut hater? How can this be??

seebee wrote:BUT Root Beer and Cream Soda?

Perfectly understandable. The amount of foreigners I've met that enjoy root beer I could probably count on one hand. It seems to be largely reviled outside the US. I can understand why. If you didn't grow up with root beer, it does have a rather strange, medicinal, herby taste to it. As a kid, it reminded me of toothpaste, for some reason.

No offense to HJS. I know the donut thing is strange. I've never found another person that can't stand one. Every now and again, after someone convinces me that Krispy Kremes are fantastic and I should try one, I indulge. And when I've eaten it, I'm back to not liking them. Growing up this was torture whenever we had a homeroom teacher kind enough to bring them in.

Agreed, Binko- I actually do like root beer, but it can taste a bit odd, and root beer popsicles taste really wintergreen-y, like Pepto.

Binko wrote:As a kid, it [root beer] reminded me of toothpaste, for some reason.

One of the primary flavorings in rootbeer is wintergreen. Now when you taste it it will be obvious.

Yeah, more than anything wintergreen and vanilla dominate modern American root beers. At a custard stand in Cleveland I once had a root beer float with vanilla custard. Even with the custard, it was overwhelmingly minty, and really ruined what would otherwise have been excellent.

Such a shame.

It's likely that folks from overseas don't like root beer because the flavoring agent, sarsaparilla, is derived from the roots of tropical members of the lilly family that are indigenous to the New World (Mexico to Peru), so folks form overseas would not have encountered the flavor at all before visiting.

The reason it probably tastes "mediciny" is that, not only was sarsaparilla originally sold as a medicine, it has long been used to mask the taste of other medicines.

I will say that, if you have a chance to try a real sarsaparilla soda, you may find that you like it better than root beer. I know I do. I like wintergreen lifesavers, but don't fancy it quite so much when mixed with sarsaparilla to make root beer.

This abomination and mockery.

Jay K wrote:

This abomination and mockery.

Ha! the s/o quite likes the halibut packs(NOW! w/o SPINACH! so reads the label)

yeah...they're an aquired taste...sweet and gluey

Cynthia wrote:I will say that, if you have a chance to try a real sarsaparilla soda, you may find that you like it better than root beer. I know I do. I like wintergreen lifesavers, but don't fancy it quite so much when mixed with sarsaparilla to make root beer.

That's fascinating to me, because I love root beer and HATE wintergreen. But then, it must be the mixture of flavors (and with wintergreen, aromas) that works. Which makes sense, because I have a moderately long list of "hated" common foods that, nevertheless, I can handle and even very much enjoy when they are used as an ingredient or condiment:

Tomatoes -- can't handle them fresh and plain, love them cooked into almost anything or raw when adorning a sandwich. (And yes, I realize the fresh-from-Dad's-garden, picked-with-his-own-damn-hands variety are not the same as the grocery store, Styrofoam, gassed and preserved variety .. . I have eaten bushels of them (being polite) and hate them even more, because they actually taste like tomatoes. The Jewel packaged type at least don't taste like ANYTHING.)

Olives - I will eat them plain to be polite or when nothing else is at hand (say, at a bar), but not a fan. Put them in a sauce or on a pizza or a salad, and suddenly they are great.

Pickles - I've never been able to eat a plain pickle. I've made efforts to force myself to eat them, but it never paid off. However, slice one up on a hamburger, grind it up in a relish and apply with mustard to a hot dog, and suddenly I'm all over it. And, for whatever reason, cornichons I like.

There are others, but the principle seems clear: mask the "true nature" of the offending food, and my reptile food brain apparently is fooled into liking it.

(By the way, the number of Miracle Whip haters, and vehemency of their hatred, have suggested a corollary question for this Miracle Whip lover -- namely, what are the widely loved foods that are hated by a minority that you love? ) .)

I have tried and tried and tried....but I can't get myself to like sushi, of any sort. I respect it for it's artistry and love reading accounts of how good it could be, but as soon as any type of roll or whatever passes my lips I want to urf. Give me the bento box and I'll be fine...

Oh, and fruit salad. Fruit touching other fruit...their juices slipping all over the place, intermingling in an orgy of goo of imminent rot...really skeeves me out.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:
I have a moderately long list of "hated" common foods that, nevertheless, I can handle and even very much enjoy when they are used as an ingredient or condiment:


(By the way, the number of Miracle Whip haters, and vehemency of their hatred, have suggested a corollary question for this Miracle Whip lover -- namely, what are the widely loved foods that are hated by a minority that you love? ) .)

Yeah -- I have some stuff that must be mixed with something to be enjoyed -- for example, anchovies. Can't stand them plain, but put them in a caesar salad or green goddess dressing or a nice salade nicoise, and they're perfect. They are also the perfect back note in Worcestershire sauce. It's sort of that old adage, "the dose makes the poison."

As for loving Miracle Whip, you are certainly not alone. I used to work at Kraft, and we all knew that, with only Velveta and Miracle Whip, we'd still be making money -- not as much, but they were definitely the biggest part of the business. I just grew up with mayo, and MW simply tastes to me like mayo that has gone wrong. So it's not so much that I don't like MW as it is that I LOVE mayo.

Cynthia wrote:It's likely that folks from overseas don't like root beer because the flavoring agent, sarsaparilla, is derived from the roots of tropical members of the lilly family that are indigenous to the New World (Mexico to Peru), so folks form overseas would not have encountered the flavor at all before visiting.

I actually grew up drinking root beer (A&W was pretty popular)! And there is local drink in Singapore and Malaysia called Sarsi (after sarsaparilla). But I agree, none of my HK friends seem to like root beer... More for me I guess! =)

Food I can't stand:
Tomatoes (but I like ketchup and tomato sauce).
I need to be in the mood for it, and it is usually when I am at a Farmers' Market!

Olives
Ewww....

Feta and Blue Cheeses
Too strong

Cottage Cheese
Too lumpy

Cilantro
Which is wierd since they put it on everything when I was growing up

Steamed Fish
I don't like eating things that do not look different when cooked.

Stuffed Grape Leaves
and generally anything too sour... =|

I mentioned mayo, but forgot a couple other feared and hated condiments:

Yellow mustard. Just awful. I think it's the acid and turmeric, as I have no problem with dijon, spicy brown, etc.

Non-refrigerated pickles: I grew up on Claussen, and family-made pickles cold-packed. Rubbery, sour, yellowish pickles (that turmeric again), low on salt and garlic, blech. Especially bread-and-butter and hamburger dills. Just nasty.

CrazyC wrote:Cottage Cheese
Too lumpy

Assuming this is a contest, you win! Best reason ever. Best possible reason ever.

eatchicago wrote: I loved them and I never understood all the jokes about kids hating Brussels sprouts.

Michael, I think those kids (including me) had only tried frozen Brussels sprouts, which turn rubbery as Superballs. When I first had them fresh, in college, I was shocked to learn that I liked them. Alas, they do not like me!

My theory about foreigners and root beer - the wintergreen flavor reminds them of some medicine from their childhood. An Irish ex-girlfriend told me this.

Same reason I can't eat orange creamsicles or drink orange cream soda - they taste like the St. Joseph's aspirin forced on me as a youth. Not to mention Nyquil and Jagermeister.

I'm another one who doesn't like plain, raw tomatoes. As an adornment or garnish, they get in the way of tasting whatever they're on. Get them the hell off my club sandwich! Strangely enough, now, I'll eat the picked off tomatoes with my fries. I can also eat a caprese salad, but of course, with the wisdom of adulthood I learned the difference between an out of season tomato and a real one.

I can appreciate a good olive. But I really can eat only one.

Hash browns or deviled ham forced on me would make me talk as quickly as any other torture.

Coffee. Coffee the beverage, coffee-flavored ice cream, coffee-flavored anything. Can't stand it.

Love this topic...

I can't stand wintergreen, either. It's just too reminiscent of forced Pepto feeding from childhood. Makes me want to wash my tongue.

Mushrooms -- I can't stand anything about mushrooms. I think it's the overall idea that they're fungus -- although I don't feel the same way about the mold in cheese. I just ignore that. However...i turn into a 2 year old being forced to eat beets when confronted with shrooms. I remember distinctly being at a barbecue with a group of my friends and having them convince me to eat a piece of grilled portobello, giving me the line that "it tastes JUST like steak!".

HA! What a friggin' lie. I chewed and it was like eating dried nasty dusty FUNGUS. Not at all like a fine piece of cowflesh. They all found my portobello rejection quite humorous but I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth for at least 2 or 3 scotches.

Custard of any sort makes me melt into a puddle of happiness. Texture, taste, fat content....it's probably my favorite dessert item.

Lobster has the same effect -- it kicks endorphins off in my head the second I see it.

Not partial to salmon -- although I don't loathe it. I just don't care for it -- I've had a lot of dry salmon experiences. I do, however, love smoked salmon -- and that's about it for me and raw fish. Had a bad experience with sashimi in Tokyo when I was much younger and I just can't get past it.

While I'm a tomato lover, i only like raw fresh tomato accompanying things -- on burgers, in salsas, as toppings for tacos -- alone, they just seem incorrect. I go eat breakfast occasionally at a place that likes to put slices of roma tomatoes on plates as garnish -- and I just don't get that. Orange slices are at least something I'll eat.

and...I'd trade almost anything for a good batch of au gratin potatoes.

earthlydesire wrote:They all found my portobello rejection quite humorous but I couldn't get the taste out of my mouth for at least 2 or 3 scotches.

Your post-mushroom remedy reminds me: I loathe scotch. Funny, becase I like bourbon OK. The smokiness of the scotch is just something that makes me wince. And the distilled spirits overall are not my favorites -- especially in sweet drinks, though I like rum and fruit juice in the summer. I'd rather have an interesting wine or beer.

And I'm another wintergreen hater. Artificial spearmint flavor, to me, is the work of the Devil, but I love peppermint and fresh mint. Actually, I know that spearmint makes me nauseous because my brothers used to chew spearmint gum in the car on long trips when I had motion sickness. Kinda like the Pepto Bismol problem people have with wintergreen. (I like root beer, though.)

Tapioca is another childhood item that I think is disgusting, but I brought myslef to try the large bubbles in a passionfruit bubble tea and it wasn't so bad. Not any worse than jello, that is.

Wintergreen(and rootbeer/sarsaparilla/birch beer) lovah over here!

I really can't abide peppermint or spearmint(blecch). Wintergreen anything(including Pepto Bismol)...yummo! My mom had to keep the Pepto hidden away because I liked the taste and texture so much.

fresh mint is a thing of beauty...but peppermint oil, candy...

okay...Dr. Bronner's is tingly and fun, peppermint bark(white chocolate!)...I'll go along with those...

spearmint...ugh...

I think those kids (including me) had only tried frozen Brussels sprouts, which turn rubbery as Superballs.

I think you may be right, now that I think of it, that is the only way my mother ever prepared them, and she only did it once or twice as we wouldn't touch them, and there was a big fight at the supper table.

Things I love but others widely hate, canned smoked oysters, drained, generous dousing of lemon and Frank's hot sauce. Put on good wheat cracker.

greygardens wrote: I know the donut thing is strange. I've never found another person that can't stand one. Every now and again, after someone convinces me that Krispy Kremes are fantastic and I should try one, I indulge. And when I've eaten it, I'm back to not liking them.

Replace Donut / Krispy Kremes with polish or italian sausage for me above, and that's a perfect explanation of my aversion.

Ok, I get the Root Beer now, but there can't be an explanation for a not enjoying a Vanilla Cream soda, can there? Seems like heresy. (JUST KIDDING!!!! everyone is entitled to not like something.)

I grew up on brussel sprouts sauteed with real butter, and a splash of white vinegar. Still enjoy them to this day, although 3 or 4 of them is PLENTY.

LOVE Bleu!
HATE Feta! HATE IT HATE IT HATE IT! YUCK!

Olives - only one brand worth my money so far. In a can no less. Sold at Whole Foods. Can is a teal-ish color Think the brand name is Early California. Black olives. 50% less sodium. All others just disgust me. This brand, I can eat the whole can, and then some. Absolutely delightful.

I have tried that supermarket sushi.****
Once.

Tomatoes:
Can I have the ones you pick off?

And a side Q&A to to JimInLoganSquare's "what are the widely loved foods that are hated by a minority that you love?"

Q: What are foods widely hated that you love?
A: I'm almost sad to admit that I really love canned sardines with a little vinegar and hot sauce w/ sliced onion on white crackers.
AND
I LOVE that stuff in the canned potted meat section of the grocery store that everyone whisks by in a hurry, or only stops to read the labels as part of some sick twisted humor streak, since nobody in their right minds would EVER purchase and consume: Underwood Chicken Spread.
('cept me ) Oh geez, It's been at least two years since I've had any of that stuff - guess what's for lunch on Saturday now.

White bread, chicken spread, and plain ol yellow mustard!

***Mitsuwa Marketplace and the place down the street a piece south of Mitsuwa is usually worlds apart from that stuff.

seebee wrote:Q: What are foods widely hated that you love?
A: I'm almost sad to admit that I really love canned sardines with a little vinegar and hot sauce w/ sliced onion on white crackers.

I share your love on this. I'm a sucker for any canned, oily fish, whether it be sardines, sprats, mackerels, whatever. My lunch table must have loved me in high school, as canned Croatian mackerel was a usual part of my brown bag lunch.

I also like those disgusting looking processed loafs--you know, like pimento loaf, olive loaf, that sort of stuff.

The scotch post reminds me that there is one drink that I have never grown accustomed to: gin. Only in a gin and tonic do I enjoy it (strangely enough, I'm not much a fan of tonic water, either, but when combined with gin and a twist of lime, the whole is worlds apart from the sum of its parts). But in a martini? Yuck. Dry martini, wet martini, I can't stand it.

I've finally been able to come up with something -- smoked cheddar. Can't stand it. Love all stinky, moldy, pungent cheeses but smoked cheddar is just a buzzkill.

I can't think of a whole lot of things I don't like. Sauteed or even grilled beef liver. Don't like that. I used to dislike raw tomatoes (even the smell nauseated me). But I kept at it, and now I can eat them with things (caprese salad, on sandwiches) and can eat the best tasting tomatoes by themselves. I don't like Pepto but do like root beer (though will I next time I have one, think I am drinking Pepto?).

Above posts on other's likes reminded me of more of my hates: white chocolate can pretty much go to hell holding hands with canned black "olives"(or whatever they really are).
The canned meat discussion reminded me that when I was 15 I honed my hard-boiled edge my washing down an Underwood deviled ham on Wonderbread with a 1/2 pint of Wild Irish Rose. A more harmonic union you will never find...