If you happen to follow me on various forms of social media, you may have seen that yesterday’s Photo A Day Challenge prompt of “Disgust” inspired me to post a photo of a big bunch of cilantro (shudder!)… and the subsequent stream of comments that followed indicated that people seem to have VERY strong opinions (one way or the other) about the stuff!
In keeping with the topic of taste preferences, I thought it would be fun to revisit and update the list of foods and flavours that don’t particularly appeal to me, and give you a chance to air your own food and flavour grievances. In my case, there really aren’t all THAT many – I’m not a very picky eater (much to the peril of my waistline!) – but there are definitely some tastes that I don’t much like and will go out of my way to avoid.
So let’s go!
My Food Dislike List
(ranging from “blech!” to “don’t prefer” and everything in between)
- Cilantro/coriander. I can handle a very, very, very little bit. I don’t like it, but I can handle it. Any more than a very, very, very little bit has the potential to ruin a perfectly good meal. And I discovered yesterday, after handling fresh cilantro for the first time (to position a bunch of it for my photo), that the smell of it actually makes me nauseous.
- Spearmint. It’s fairly low on the dislike scale, but I had to add it to the list as I really don’t care for the taste of it. I do love peppermint and wintergreen, though.
- Durian. I had this once. You know that swampy fluid that collects in the bottom of your kitchen garbage pail when the bag springs a leak? And how that liquid smells? That’s what durian tastes like to me. *shudder*
- Liver. No. Just, NO. Unless it’s in the form of highly spiced pâté, I absolutely refuse to touch it, and as a matter of fact, don’t even want to sit next to you if you’re planning to touch it. And to anyone who says, “Well, I don’t love liver, but I don’t mind eating it if it’s breaded and cooked the right way” – I beg to disagree. My mom (AKA an AMAZING cook) couldn’t even make liver taste good to me, so I don’t believe it’s possible.
- Tongue. I had cow’s tongue when I was a kid and never touched the stuff again. I can’t say I remember a whole lot about the taste, but the texture and density is unbelievably gross and unappealing to me.
- Kidneys. If the thought of their function in the body isn’t enough to put you off eating them, the smell when they’re cooking most certainly is!
- Any tea containing even a hint of rooibos. I don’t know what it is about rooibos, but it actually makes me feel a little queasy.
- Lapsang Souchong tea. Want to read a vintage 2009 Alphabet Salad post all about Lapsang Souchong? Here you go.
- Artificial sweeteners. Though at one time I drank Diet Coke like a fiend, these days I find the taste of any artificial sweetener to have a nasty, rather bitter aftertaste. I drink water when I’m at home, and if I order a soft drink when I’m out it’ll most likely be ginger ale.
- Stevia. The response I have to this supposedly miraculous sugar substitute is much the same as the one I get from the taste of rooibos. A shame, really.
- Eel. It’s the texture. And the thought that it’s a little bit like a snake.
- Octopus. Texture, once again. But for whatever reason I do like squid.
- Dark chocolate. I want to like it… I really do… but it’s just too bitter for me. I’ll take milk chocolate every time.
- Beer. Do not like.
- Rabbit. Whoever claims that rabbit tastes “just like chicken” is wrong, wrong, wrong. Because it really, really, really doesn’t taste anything like chicken.
- Escargot. To be fair, I’ve never actually tried escargot. And I won’t. I have a pathological fear of slugs, and as far as I’m concerned snails are just fancy slugs. I don’t care how much butter and garlic sauce you soak them in, it’s not gonna happen.
Really, that’s not too many dislikes, is it? It doesn’t look like I’m in danger of malnourishment anytime soon!
So how about you? What foods or flavours do you dislike?
Please share!
