Things You're Dismayed you Don't Like

After the excellent decision of beginning yet another re-read of 'Ulysses,' followed by the not-so-excellent decision of following Bloom's footsteps in picking up a package of lamb's kidneys (I realize his were pig, but no luck at the market) at the farmer's market, and commencing to make what would have been an otherwise delicious steak and kidney guinness pie, were it not for, well, the kidneys, and the attendant realization that i just don't like a golden shower in my mouth at the dinner table (actually, anywhere), I went to recoup my tongue's dignity by doing what Gwiv taught me to do best--throw some shit on the WSM (not literally):



With a short overnight brine in unfiltered apple juice from apples I picked and pressed myself (the majority of which are headed for a more glorious afterlife--hard cider) and some new zealand honey, cinnamon and cloves, the turkey was great, even if the skin wasn't as crisp as I'd like.

But, the real question that kept burbling back up with every tryptophanic bite was, What the fuc* is my problem? Why can't I like offal, like other, more adventurous eaters.

I know there was a thread of things that people hated that other people liked, but being genuinely dismayed about not liking something is not the same as claiming you'd sooner watch Captain Ron repeats on TNT the entirety of your only day off with your only company a tin of Juicy Juice and the exhumed body of Christopher Hewett than eat another oyster.

(I also realize this thread could be moved to "other food chat" or whatever, but, seeing as I haven't seen the top chef finale, I'm afraid of going into that section of the site, in case there's some thread that starts with "congrats ____ for top chef glory!".)

Any others?

Funny, yeah, I must admit, when confronted by a stack of kidneys or a steak, there's no contest.

Oddly, I've just recently been able to eat cinnamon -- for years, I found the flavor unpleasant, to the point that I was fairly convinced that no one actually liked the stuff -- they just said they did (kind of like opera).

All veggies are my friend...except green beans. Small, French haricots verts are fine, but the big green ones feel, on my tongue, kind of...hairy.

David Hammond wrote:All veggies are my friend

This reminded me of Salad is Stupid.

I am a fairly big eater of offal, but I don't like lamb kidneys, unless they are chopped up with other organs and heavily seasoned like in Montalayo. As a child, my mom used to try to get me to eat them. I still remember my first steak and kidney pie at age 7. The first bite was all steak, and I thought "this isn't bad", then I hit a kidney. Man, talk about bait and switch.

I think the two things I wish I liked more are real Neopolitan style pizza and sushi.

tatterdemalion wrote:

David Hammond wrote:All veggies are my friend

This reminded me of Salad is Stupid.

Thanks for the memory.

Coffee. It at times affects the social life. If someone asks me if I want to go get a cup of coffee, I cannot in good conscience say yes. I can't linger with a cup of coffee after a fine meal. I can't participate in the pre-morning meeting praise of coffee. I can't participate in anything coffee-related, which is nearly everything. It smells good though.

Oddly, I have the same problem with organ meats, except for liver. Love chopped liver, fegato a la veniziana, kreplach, plain old sauteed chicken livers and eggs, pate, you name it. And liver ain't exactly shy in the flavor dept.
For me, the problem with kidneys is the texture. Too much like mushrooms made of meat. Somehow, the rubberiness, when not actually a mushroom, grosses me out.
Haven't tried hearts of anything, or hagis.
Tried tripe, both in soup and out, can't do it.
I imagine I wouldn't handle ortolan well. I can eat soft shell crabs, but in general the mixing of meat, with crunching bones makes me blanche.

mrbarolo wrote:Oddly, I have the same problem with organ meats, except for liver. Love chopped liver, fegato a la veniziana, kreplach, plain old sauteed chicken livers and eggs, pate, you name it. And liver ain't exactly shy in the flavor dept.
For me, the problem with kidneys is the texture. Too much like mushrooms made of meat. Somehow, the rubberiness, when not actually a mushroom, grosses me out.
Haven't tried hearts of anything, or hagis.
Tried tripe, both in soup and out, can't do it.
I imagine I wouldn't handle ortolan well. I can eat soft shell crabs, but in general the mixing of meat, with crunching bones makes me blanche.

Funnily (or not so) enough, haggis may be in the top-five things I've ever had the privilege of eating:
http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?t= ... ght=haggis

But I think this is in part on its absolute pepperiness. My favorite was by MacSweeney's (I think--though I'm not sure if i'm confusing the brand with the online magazine of the same name though different spelling.)
I had bad haggis, though--and it just tasted of that gamy organ flavor. Not offensive, but not good.

HB wrote:Coffee. It at times affects the social life. If someone asks me if I want to go get a cup of coffee, I cannot in good conscience say yes. I can't linger with a cup of coffee after a fine meal. I can't participate in the pre-morning meeting praise of coffee. I can't participate in anything coffee-related, which is nearly everything. It smells good though.

I drink 4-6 cups of coffee on most days and throughout the day.

However, when I used to run a kitchen, the kitchen opened at 4:30 am. Being a night person whose wife would get home at 11 pm and want to talk for a couple of hours, I never got enough sleep.

The two things that would make me feel nauseous - the smell of bacon and the smell of coffee. I could take them later on in the day but the initial blast of odor at 5 am was enough to keep me running to my office all morning.

If you think it to death and allow your Wonder Bread-eating acquaintances to corrupt your mind, you're never going to enjoy it. When I was a kid, my Grandmother from Krakow lived with us for a while before she passed, and she would cook up some tasty vittles that I enjoyed the hell out of at the time. Things like kidneys, pigs feet, liver, etc. I'll tell you, those kidneys were delicious. If they're not prepared properly they suck though, but don't give up on them.

I even came to like raw oysters with a shot of hot sauce and lemon juice on them, but now somehow they make me violently ill within 15 minutes. Cooked, they don't bother me. Strange.

Still, I must admit that I haven't tried any tripe yet, despite it's high praise by many foodaholics here. Something about the way it looks, I think.

Boutique or "wild" mushrooms. I can't tell you how disappointed I was to discover this, being a true lover of plain white mushrooms and their cousins, criminis and portobellos in all their forms: I'll even eat canned mushrooms if I have to....so when my local grocer offered packaged "wild mushroom mix" I joyfully bought some and sauteed them up. I found I specifically don't like oyster mushrooms and probably also chanterelles - and I'm not overfond of shitakes, either (unless used as a discreet flavoring) Possibly I didn't prepare them correctly, but more likely it's a failure of palate

Fortunately, this seems to be specific to the species housed in prepackaged "wild" mushroom mixes; I like most Asian mushrooms, and I do like Morels...perhaps there is light at the end of this tunnel...

Yeah, its my dirty little foodie secret, but I can't eat even the slightest amount of blue cheese. Even the mildest cambazola blended into four other cheeses, I can still pick it out. Just can't eat it in any form. Same thing with olives, capers, and caviar. Maybe its the brine thing? Can't explain it.

Yeah -- it's inconvenient to not like innards. Especially the "haute" ones, like sweetbreads. Oddly, I adore foie gras and have really loved all the haggis I've sampled. But I don't like chopped liver or grilled liver or any other kind of liver except foie gras, and kidneys and heart don't make me happy. And while I can get sweetbreads down when they're included in a tasting menu, I wouldn't actually order them. These are hip things to like, and often cheap things to prepare, so it is disappointing.

I also don't like really strong, fishy fish. Another inconvenience.

However, now that English-style cider is widely available, I no longer have to mourn disliking beer, as there is something else I can consume in a beer glass, making me look more convivial than I did when ice water was the only alternative to that nasty hops-ridden stuff.

Hi,

On Sunday I sampled fresh from the vine hops from the exterior of Three Floyds in Munster, IN. I gave it a hearty chew, then spit it out. I now have the definitive taste of hops contribution to beer. It also lingered in my mouth for at least 45 minutes.

Ugh!

Regards,

winediva wrote:Same thing with olives, capers, and caviar. Maybe its the brine thing? Can't explain it.

Um, it is my not so dirty secret, though a little troglodytish, that once in college after none-too-few keg beers I heard some people daring each other to down a little jar of caper juice, and thinking myself a jack of all tastes, grabbed the jar and did just that.
I can now only stomach capers if they are fried.
Oh, the horror.

chicken gizzards.

How can you be dismayed that you don't like a gizzard?

It just hit me--"good" beer. I sure wish I could go out, order a respectable beer and love it, but the sad truth is that I only really like Labatts Blue, Amstel Light, etc., and these are a step up from the MGDs of my twenties. I've tried lots and have just never acquired a taste for anything stronger. What's wrong with me? I've never gone to Hopleaf because I'd just feel like a loser.

Holly of Uptown wrote:It just hit me--"good" beer. I sure wish I could go out, order a respectable beer and love it, but the sad truth is that I only really like Labatts Blue, Amstel Light, etc., and these are a step up from the MGDs of my twenties. I've tried lots and have just never acquired a taste for anything stronger. What's wrong with me? I've never gone to Hopleaf because I'd just feel like a loser.

I used to work w/ a bunch of homebrewers and the constant belittling and ridicule when we'd go out is what cured me

I guess mine would be sushi. I've had it and really does absolutely nothing for me. I can't fathom making an entire meal out of it.

Tofu. I keep ordering it knowing that it is a healthy alternative but the lack of taste makes me question the popularity of it. I know tofu absorbs the flavors of the food it is cooked with but I still know that it doesnt taste like anything. I guess I'll keep looking for that magical tofu that will make me love it.

Also never liked tofu until I had Ma Po tofu. I like LSC version.

Jesse wrote:Tofu. I keep ordering it knowing that it is a healthy alternative but the lack of taste makes me question the popularity of it. I know tofu absorbs the flavors of the food it is cooked with but I still know that it doesnt taste like anything. I guess I'll keep looking for that magical tofu that will make me love it.

Not on thread topic, but just trying to help....

Once you stop trying to find tofu that tastes like something other than tofu, you might be able to enjoy it. Tofu is tofu. It is not faux anything. It tastes like tofu. It is not supposed to taste like steak, and if you cook it along side steak, it tastes like tofu cooked along side steak. If you fry it in bacon grease, it tastes like tofu fried in bacon grease. To me, extra firm tofu tastes like a combination of eggs, and spackle. I eat it. I like it. Soft tofu has less flavor to me. I eat it. I can't say I LIKE it, but if I like how it's served, I like it. I make fajitas with extra firm tofu instead of meat all the time (tofitas.) It is a substitute for meat, but it is not supposed to taste like meat. I also love buying the pre-fried stuff, and throwing it into a stir fry with meats. You'll rarely come across a preparation that will have you wanting tofu instead of a good pork dish*, but it is an alternative that can be tasty, and healthy to boot.

*When I lived in Denver, I came pretty close to a tofu dish that would have pure carnivores doubting themselves. "Sesame Tofu" from a little place on Broadway in Englewood.

seebee wrote:

Jesse wrote:Tofu. I keep ordering it knowing that it is a healthy alternative but the lack of taste makes me question the popularity of it. I know tofu absorbs the flavors of the food it is cooked with but I still know that it doesnt taste like anything. I guess I'll keep looking for that magical tofu that will make me love it.

Not on thread topic, but just trying to help....

Once you stop trying to find tofu that tastes like something other than tofu, you might be able to enjoy it. Tofu is tofu. It is not faux anything. It tastes like tofu. It is not supposed to taste like steak, and if you cook it along side steak, it tastes like tofu cooked along side steak. If you fry it in bacon grease, it tastes like tofu fried in bacon grease. To me, extra firm tofu tastes like a combination of eggs, and spackle. I eat it. I like it. Soft tofu has less flavor to me. I eat it. I can't say I LIKE it, but if I like how it's served, I like it. I make fajitas with extra firm tofu instead of meat all the time (tofitas.) It is a substitute for meat, but it is not supposed to taste like meat. I also love buying the pre-fried stuff, and throwing it into a stir fry with meats. You'll rarely come across a preparation that will have you wanting tofu instead of a good pork dish*, but it is an alternative that can be tasty, and healthy to boot.

*When I lived in Denver, I came pretty close to a tofu dish that would have pure carnivores doubting themselves. "Sesame Tofu" from a little place on Broadway in Englewood.

Thanks seebee. I will keep this advice in mind.

Oysters. I long to love raw oysters on the half-shell. They're so grown-up. But I loath them.

The husband adores oysters, and I always goad him into getting a great big shaved-ice-covered platter, because it's such fun to watch someone enjoy something so much. Once a year I'll give it another try (my husband calls it the Annual Great Oyster Attempt) but the taste-texture combo stops me in my tracks every time.

This, after I introduced him to sushi, which he thought he despised.

The outcome of your Great Annual Oyster Attempt, Sassafrass, may depend on the sort of oyster on which you're giving it a go.
I love oysters, and am a proponent of chewing (as opposed to letting it slide down my throat unhindered), but some larger oysters, such as blue points, or any Gulf oyster (New Orleans is not kind to my love of raw oysters, sadly), I find mostly unpalatable. I could list a bunch of names for these oysters that are smaller, but it's better just to ask either the fish monger or the shucker which of those available suit your needs (both size and salinity).
Last time I was at Swann's Oyster Depot, in San Francisco, my girlfriend and I enjoyed a full range of them--including ones that were only the size of our thumbnail. Perhaps these are best to start on.

Sound advice. You may make an oyster-lover of me yet. At least an oyster-tolerator.

My attempts usually coincide with a visit to New York and the oyster bar at Grand Central, but this calls for a stop at Shaw's. And fried oysters are always my Plan B.

Thanks for the Plan A. Or perhaps Plan O.

All things gelatinous from head cheese to the most exquisitely prepared aspic dishes. Genuinely dismayed since I grew up eating many distinctive other foodstuffs, the product of a Polish grandmother who spent her life cooking in addition to being a farmer, butcher shop owner (Schmitz Meats on Avondale) and tavern keeper (Quo Vadis on Division).

I never was able to appreciate raw oysters until I lived in VA and found some really fresh, high quality offerings at the local venues. A little lemon and hot sauce, and down the hatch.

But a few years I developed an intolerance to them. Now, they will make me sick in about 10 minutes flat, without exception, so I avoid them like the plague. Cooked oysters are no problem though, and they do have a better flavor, IMO.

BEER – For someone who enjoys eating food so much (and, so much food), not liking beer is dismaying for two reasons: 1) it just seems to go with food; and 2) you get a lot of strange looks when you express your opinion about which part of the horse the beer comes from.

Like so many other members who have posted in this forum, I would make annual attempts to overcome my dislike of beer. No help. Four beers over four years of college was a good introduction to what became an annual event when I worked on State Street, just north of the river. On Fridays in summer, it was common to get a phone call just before 1:00 and pick up the phone to hear someone whistling “Take Me Out To The Ball Game”. All of us Cubs fans knew that you could be in your seat for the opening pitch if you were in the State Street subway stop by 1:10. There we were, in the field boxes between home and first (this was a long time ago) in our dark suits, white shirts, striped ties and fourteen-pound black wing-tip shoes, under the hot August sun. By the third inning, the beer vendors knew to come directly to our seats when they got a refill. I’m sitting on the aisle and passing beers down the row like the Russians were in Wilmette and heading south. By the seventh inning, the beers started to look good enough to try, even for me. If you don’t like beer under those conditions, it just isn’t going to happen.

In retrospect, not liking beer has probably saved my life. If I were a beer drinker – on top of my chronic inability to stop shoveling into my mouth whatever I’m currently enjoying – I would no doubt weigh three hundred pounds. I’m thinking that’s probably not good for someone who is 5’4” tall.

But sometimes – with some really good Q or some fine mole verde or an outstanding breaded steak sandwich with red gravy and hot giardiniera – it’s dismaying to see someone else get that look of blissful gratification as they quaff their brew. Makes you wonder what you’re missing.

jimwdavis wrote:If you don’t like beer under those conditions, it just isn’t going to happen.

Have you ever tried drinking types of beer other than the kind they sell at the stadium?