I like all 25 of America's most hated foods. Which ones are on your "no buy" list?

This list is absurd. Avocados? Really? Spinach? I like most of the things on this list.

Of the foods on their list, I don’t buy:

Black licorice (I never developed a taste for licorice)
Cottage cheese (before cottage cheese, I never met a cheese I didn’t like)
Spam (this is considered food now?)
Okra (generally makes me want to vomit whenever I eat it)
Lima beans (just never saw the appeal)
Liver (I can’t get past the idea of its function)

I don’t understand people who “hate onions”. They’re in almost everything and in all kinds of cuisines.

Either way, the ones I hate are:

Mayonnaise (gross)
Eggplant (gross texture—if it’s in food, I just eat around it)
Anchovies (I don’t like most seafood in general)
Tuna (smells awful, doesn’t taste much better)
Oysters (it’s like eating snot)
Spam (what @dappled_leaves said)
Eggs (this one I know is weird for me to hate. But honestly, they smell and look hideous, why would I want to eat it? Though I don’t mind them in baked goods).
Liver (never tried it, never will)

As for sour cream, I don’t mind it in dip, but leave it out of Mexican food, please. :P

Anchovies
Slaw dressing
Velveeta
American Cheese
Ham hocks and other unrecognizable pieces of a pig
Deli meat that has been processed (roast beef is OK, pressed turkey or bologna, no way)
Liver.

I have to agree on:

eggplant (a vegetable version of a sponge)
mayonnaise (just disgusting)
anchovies (guts and brains and bones?)
turnips (why?)
licorice (gag!)
buttermilk (also gag!)
spam (not evenpretending to be a foodstuff)
brussel sprouts (smells like dirty feet)
okra (makes it’s own snot!!)
liver (<retching noises>)

Not a big fan of sour cream plain, but everything else on the list is good if you know how to use it. How can you make gumbo without okra?

I only dislike okra and brussel sprouts, and avoid much tofu for the same reason you avoid Spam.

@Adirondackwannabe I’ve never tried gumbo. I suspect that I might appreciate it… for its cultural role.

@dappled_leaves A good gumbo fills you up and makes you sweat. I’m in NY and I love a good gumbo. It’s also very flexible, anything goes.

I like less than 5 things on that list. Grossest being mayo & eggplant. I admit to being a picky eater.

I’ve never put okra in my gumbo. I do put a lot of file’ powder, though.

Liver is the only thing on that list I refuse to eat under any circumstances.

I used to love having spam baked with a honey mustard glaze and dotted with cloves, or fried with eggs or french toast.

I don’t choose lima beans, but would eat them without complaint if they were served. Okra is fine although slimy. I would not eat eggplant as my mother used to prepare it, but eggplant parmigiana is delicious. And I only have anchovies on rare occasions.

Everything else is either a favorite or a regular part of my diet.

My hate list includes bacon, liver, peanut butter, blood sausage, bacon, american “cheese”, bacon, canned grated parmesan (you take a genuine intact slab, or none at all, you uncultured swine), bacon, tripe, tongue, bacon, pig’s feet, and bacon.

I gotta say, I think the majority of the items on that list are ridiculous. The only ones I don’t eat are the meat items, but I’m a vegetarian so that makes sense. Oh, and the brussel sprouts, but I know a very large number of people who actually love brussel sprouts.

Honestly, it disheartens me that so many of those food items are really healthy.

“Honestly, it disheartens me that so many of those food items are really healthy.”
that is why the colonials hate them lol

Do Americans call “American cheese” “American cheese”?

I used to call it “plastic cheese” when my parents tried to serve it.

maybe they should rename it “freedom cheese”

No! That would only be appropriate if it were originally “French cheese”.

And the French would never claim such a thing.

Mayo
Eggplant
Tofu
Buttermilk
Oysters
Cottage Cheese
Non-fried Okra
Liver

I like 9 of the things on that list but that’s only because I haven’t even tried most of the other things on that list. The only thing there that I know really hate is liver.

The foods on the list that I am a fan of are:

Mushrooms
Eggs
Broccoli
Peas
Raisins
Onions
Tuna
Spinach
Mayonaise (although, I wouldn’t eat it on it’s own)

How ‘bout this? um,um good

Ridiculous list. What did they do? Interview 5-year-olds? Oh wait! The survey was done on Facebook. ‘Nuf said. I’d eat and enjoy everything on that list. – but not at the same time.
Anchovies and crackers. Delicious snack when you are by yourself..
Avocado dip – yum and usually a prelude to some activity that burns off calories.
Oysters – Yum – see above
A Spam and spinach sandwich with mayo? Sign me up for a few a year.
Tuna – a healthy staple in my diet.
Eggs – If you don’t like them, you’re making them wrong.
Tofu – healthy, versatile and see above.

There are very few foods I don’t like, and even fewer I won’t eat.

If food is prepared for me, I will eat and enjoy it. To me, the thought and the effort that went into lovingly preparing the meal are worth much more than the actual calorie and nutrient content.
But then again I’m older than 5.

hings that are never on my shopping list:
turnips
licorice
Spam
Brussels sprouts (but a relative has a sprouts dish that is great, Even I like them.)
Lima beans
liver (but I love chicken livers cooked well, not overdone.
(I’m surprised that mayonnaise is on the list)

Wow, buttermilk and mayo are not foods. Spam, no shit everyone hates it. It isn’t real. That list is annoying, of course spinach and onions and eggplant are on it, we Americans don’t like real foods like that we like frozen turds!

I should clarify one item. I keep Spam as an emergency food in case of disaster. I eat it when the can is very old and it’s time to replace it. I do not buy it to eat the same day, (or year).
Also note: I do not throw food away.

Food enemy list:
Eggplant
okra
spam
turnips
brussels sprouts

Not sure about liver. Haven’t had it since I was a kid except in pate, which I like. Depends on which kind of liver, I guess. Love goose liver.

Everything else on the list I eat and some of it, I really like.

Does anyone believe that our bodies know what they are doing? So if we don’t like something, there may actually be a good reason for it?

From that list, I love:
mayo
avocado
spinach (if it’s raw)
black licorice
tuna
onions
raisins
sour cream
cottage cheese
eggs
mushrooms

The other items are usually on my “barf” list, although I do like broccoli if it’s in chinese food and I like okra if it’s fried.

@wundayatta Actually, I agree with you about foie gras… I totally dissociate it from the organ.

I’d have to agree with:
mushrooms
avacados
peas
brussels sprouts
liver
black licorice
okra
spam
anchovies
beets

Never tried turnips or tofu, though I mean to at some point.
Peas are associated with a traumatic event as a child, to this day I cannot look a pea in the eye, much less put one in my mouth. Everything else on the list I would be amenable to trying again, or further experimentation.
Except beets. I’d rather put a stick in my eye.

Abhor anchovies, oysters, SPAM, and liver.

I eat “all the veggies”.

It would be quicker if I just list what I like on that list: eggs, raisins, broccoli, mushrooms, and onions.

Here’s the whole list to save going through the slide show, and the only three items I never buy are liver, brussel sprouts and and slimy okra. And I used to like liver but organ meats are sky-high in cholesterol.

Mayonnaise
Eggplant
Avocado
Tofu
Anchovies
Spinach
Turnips
Black licorice
Canned tuna
Onions
Buttermilk
Raisins
Oysters
Green peas
Sour cream
Cottage cheese
Broccoli
Spam
Brussel sprouts
Beets
Okra
Eggs
Mushrooms
Lima beans
Liver

These guys are picky, I’d eat any of this, even the ones I dislike if they’re cooked well.

Yuckies on the list:
buttermilk
raisins
spam
anchovies

Everything else is either my favorite (eggs, oysters, avocado, mushrooms, black licorice) or can be wonderful if cooked right (eggplant parmesan, ocra in gumbo, Harvard beets, broccoli, spinach, turnips, liver and onions, tofu in Japanese soups). Can’t understand why anyone would not like staple things like mayonnaise, sour cream and cottage cheese.

A lot of people are saying they hate buttermilk, but I’ve never even had it. Is it a regional thing?

I think most people are forced to try it as children by sadistic parents.

Who the hell doesn’t like mushrooms? What’s not to like about a roasted portobella? OKRA? COME ON GUYS HAVE YOU EVER HAD THAT SHIT FRIED? Or in gumbo? Okra is my personal jesus.

I don’t like liver except in pate.

Tofu (I can eat it; I just don’t see the point.
black licorice (contraindicated because of health reasons)

My parents were sadistic. They constantly tried to force me to eat bacon. They even mixed it into spaghetti. It was absolutely disgusting and it made me close to throwing up every time.

I only had it once. It is not something a person normally would try. I think I had a recipe that called for it, so decided to try it. It sounds good, so why not? Ugh – sour milk!

@deni Exactly! A lot of people have just never had these foods prepared properly. Cracker Barrel restaurants have fried ocra as a side dish and it is wonderful. Even my picky co-workers were stealing them from me. I love liver in pate and as an entree – liver and onions. It is something that really has to be cooked right or it will be dry, hard and bitter. @ragingloli I can’t imagine not liking bacon. Have you ever had bacon-wrapped scallops, water chestnuts or asparagus? You wouldn’t survive at my house. We don’t cater to picky eaters. It was always “eat it or wear it.” Just kidding – I never made my kids eat anything – I would just say, this is dinner. Eat it or don’t eat it – I don’t care, but you aren’t getting anything else.

@Skaggfacemutt Exactly right back atcha. I think it’s important to keep trying foods you don’t like….I mean, I don’t like tomatoes raw, in salads or burritos or whatever, so I don’t eat them in that form. But any other tomato based sauce or curry or anything, I’ll try it and usually I’ll love it. The taste and texture are completely different and there are endless things you can do to any one vegetable really, so….I think a lot of people shut themselves off to things too early on and don’t realize that they’d actually like it prepared different ways!

I dislike liver and spam. I’m not American but this list seems farcical to me :/

@Skaggfacemutt
Just look at it. It even looks disgusting.

Sorry, @ragingloli . There is nothing about bacon that I don’t like. Is this a picture of bacon? Looks like a hunk of brie cheese or something. Or maybe salt pork. It’s just a chunk of fat. Where’s the meat?

@Skaggfacemutt
Yes, that is a picture of bacon.

No wonder you don’t like bacon, if that is what you are calling bacon. Are you from America? Our bacon doesn’t look like that.

@ragingloli & bacon buffs check out the link I posted above labelled um um good.

@deni it’s not the okra, it’s the frying. Frying makes anything good, Deep frying imakes it twice as good. Add a beer batter; priceless.

I won’t eat anchovies, oysters or liver but I like everything else! For me, some things just have to be cooked a certain way (like okra) or must be raw (spinach).

I love liver and most of the other items. Maybe not eggplant and cottage cheese. Spinach and Brussel Sprouts were an aquired taste I’m glad I aquired as they are very healthy.

Love Black Licorice.

@Aster I was really scared to try oysters on the half shell for the first time. I was afraid they would be slimy, like the ones you get at the store in the jar. They weren’t! And with the brine and all the condiments they serve with them, they are delicious! Someone just had to show me how to eat them. Kind of like sushi for the first time.

Anchovies are SO yummy! I was recently inspired (by Jane Espenson, but that’s another story) to order a pizza with anchovies… I had not thought about them in so long. I am having a Pavlovian response as I write this!

I don’t like eggplant, okra or liquorice. I’ve never had lima beans or oysters (but I’m sure I would like both). I can’t have sour cream because of my dairy intolerance. I like all the others although I rarely buy spam (because it’s nutritionally rubbish) or liver (because no-one else in the house would eat it but me).

Darn it! With all this talk of tuna and anchovies I popped open a can of sardines, put them on a hamburger bun and am enjoying it with green tea. Yum.
There are couple left in the can if anyone wants ‘em.

Never mind. I finished them.

@Skaggfacemutt thank you. I’ve never tasted them but yes, they do seem like they’d be very slimy and disgusting. Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever had a meal with anyone who was partaking, thank heavens. lol I’ve seen people slurp them down and it looks as though they don’t chew them. yuk?

I think licorice is the only thing on that list I don’t like. Several of them were my favorites. But I do have a childish aversion to peas. I wouldn’t put them on a list of 25 most hated foods, but for some reason, I always dodge the peas if I can.

I don’t like liver when its improperly cooked – and its almost always improperly cooked. But liverwurst is pretty good.

@keobooks Peas can’t be canned (mush!), and have to be swimming in butter, salt and pepper.

I hated peas when I was a child, because my parents only served canned peas. I don’t eat much of anything that comes in a can anymore. And I love green peas.

Also oysters. I had the same squishy feelings about oysters on the half shell that have been expressed here – until I tried them. They are wonderful. You can chew or not chew, @Aster – they’re delicious either way. :)

I like canned peas.

Canned vegetables can certainly leave the wrong impression. Canned peas, asparagus and spinach would make you never want to try the fresh version. I have discovered, too, that frozen brussel sprouts are bitter. I always try to stay with fresh. The taste is the difference between night and day. Or maybe the difference between liking it or not liking it.

Wow… well, the only items on the list that I do like spinach, onions, green peas, and mushrooms (though I have yet to try some of the veggies like okra, turnips, and beets.) I’m a picky eater and most of those many my nose turn up. My significant other sneaks a bit of anchovy in sauces for flavour and I don’t mind mayo if it is used as a base for something, but other than that… yuck.

Eggs obviously are not on my no-buy list because while I do not like eating them on their own, I use them in baking quite often.

@Skaggfacemutt I’m always surprised to hear people say they hate brussels sprouts – maybe that’s the reason.

I am not American but thought I’d have a chirp. What is spam? and what is okra? other than that love sprouts and liver, specially chicken livers in Peri sauce, I am drooling now!!

I avoid polony which I think could be spam? and sausages since most ingredients are dodgy I hear, and I simply hate runny egg. Else all the rest if well done and prepared correctly are ok for me.

Liver, Spam, black licorice, and oysters are the only things on that list I refuse to eat. I was surprised to see a lot of the things that are on that list! Sour cream? Mayo? I thought everybody loved sour cream and mayo!

Foods I love from the list (among my favourites):
Broccoli
Sour cream
Brussel Sprouts
Mushrooms

Foods I don’t like (or haven’t tried) from the list:
Eggplant – I’ve never tried it but I’m sure I will at some point.
Anchovies – Never had it and never will.
Spinach – I don’t like spinach for the most part .. so we never outright buy it.
Turnips – I don’t think I’ve ever had turnips but I may try it at some point.
Tuna – I don’t eat tuna (my partner does though, so she buys it for herself).
Buttermilk – Never had it and most likely never will.
Oysters – Never had it and never will.
Green Peas – I really don’t like cooked/canned peas. Raw peas though.. I love.
Spam – Never had and never will.
Beets – Ever since I was a child I’ve hated beets. Bleh.
Okra – Never heard of it until now, lol.
Lima Beans – Bleh, no.
Liver – We had to eat this when we were kids…quadriple bleh. Nasty of nasties.

So about half of them I have never had (never will) or never liked :)
And when I say I will never eat something on this list, I mean under normal circumstances :P

I’m not American either but I don’t think this question required it, lol.

I’m gonna comment on all items, just cuz.

Mayonnaise?? Mayonnaise is awesome!
Don’t think I’ve ever had eggplant before. Avocados either. They look good though.
Tofu, meh. I don’t dislike it, but I won’t go out of my way to eat it. my mom always force fed me her fuckin tofu Lol that sounds so wrong.
Anchovies, never had em. But I love seafood, things like oysters and all. I’m sure these aren’t bad.
Spinach rocks, as do turnips, love both.

Black licorice; aaw fuck, gross. I hate that shit. Hate red licorice just as much.

Tuna? People don’t like tuna? Pfft, tuna is magnificent.
Onions are great. I like em fried, raw, whatever. When my mom was cooking and preparing onions, I always asked for a little piece of raw onion to eat. I bet not many kids asked for that haha.
Never had buttermilk. Sure looks gross though. I’d try it anyways. That reminds me, I hate powdered milk. Tastes like menstruation.
Raisins, eh not a fan. And I don’t like it when they’re in bred or cookies. Fuckin raisins, get the hell out of my food!
Oysters; fuck yeah!
Peas? What kind of murderer doesn’t like peas? Peas rule. I like canned peas way better than frozen peas though.
Sour cream is delightful. Cottage cheese too.
And I love broccoli. They look like little trees, so it’s fun eating them, and pretending that you’re a giant eating a forest.
Spam. I love spam, and you can do a lot of things with it. I eat it even if I actually have money.
Brussels sprouts. I’m pretty indifferent.
Human hands are pretty good, although it’s annoying if it’s some lumberjack’s hand, since the skin is all tough and coarse, makes it difficult to bite through.
And beets, FTW! Love beets, and that little ’‘spicy’’ taste they have.
Okra; I don’t even know what the hell that is.

Eggs?? Man, this list is the stuff of heathens. Eggs kick ass! ...mushrooms?? I loooove mushrooms, especially raw. Incidentally though, I bloody detest mushroom soup.
Lima beans, not too bad.

Liver. I agree with the list for that item, 100%. Besides blood pudding, that’s one of my most hated foods ever. So gross. Just looking at it and then thinking about eating that, no way in hell. It’s all…perfect looking, and shiny, blargh.

I used to think I’d eat anything, but I guess I’m a little more picky than I thought. Still, a few foods I don’t like are on the list, but otherwise, besides things I haven’t had, I like most of that stuff.

@Symbeline Lol “Tastes like menstruation.” Now I have this horrible, yet humorous, sentence in my brain for the rest of the day.

Let’s just say I love 18 of the 25 items on that list and leave it at that. There are an awful lot of heathy foods there that have great nutrition value to a healthy diet.

Haha, dish the dirt, @creative1!

The food I enjoy on that list are below, which I must have miscounted because its actually 19 of the 25….
Broccoli
Sour cream
Brussel Sprouts
Eggplant
Spinach
Turnips
Tuna
Oysters
Green Peas
Beets
Okra
Lima Beans .
Liver
Mayonaise
Black Licorice
Eggs
Raisins
Cottage Cheese
Onions

What’s wrong with bacon? Bacon is good! What’s bad is ranch dressing. That crap is getting out of hand. I even refuse to chips that have that flavor.

This list is beyond stupid. Most of the items are terrific if you know how to prepare them.
Even items I don’t buy are not things I would put on a list of things I hate.
The only item on the list that would be a deal breaker for me is black licorice, which tastes like anise (pronounced “A-NUS”).
I actually laughed when I saw Avocados on the list. It immediately told me this list is bogus.

I will buy and eat the following from the list:

Mayonnaise
Eggplant
Tofu
Anchovies (preferably as part of a sauce)
Spinach
Turnips (especially roasted!)
Black licorice
Tuna fish
Onions
Raisins
Oysters
Peas
Sour cream
Cottage cheese
Broccoli, but only raw
Spam
Brussel sprouts – but they have to be roasted
Beets
Eggs
Mushrooms

Not:
Avocado
Buttermilk – except to bake or make pancakes/waffles with
Okra – I suspect I haven’t had it prepared correctly though
Lima beans
Liver

So in short after seeing the top 25, (a lot of) Americans don’t visit the greengrocer’s?

@filmfann ” anise (pronounced “A-NUS”).”

Uh… what?

ETpro You are absolutely right about the idea that it just needs to be prepared properly and many a food aversion could be remedied.

I like all of the foods on the list provided they are fresh, of good quality and prepared properly, meaning to my taste,lol. Dining in good restaurants has taught me what the foods should taste like if prepared properly. I love how eggplant , which is sort of bland on its own, can be like a “sponge” and absorb all kinds of delicious seasonings! Mushrooms likewise. Avocado, it’s tricky, has to be perfectly ripe but not over ripe. I had the most amazingly delicious salad a couple weeks ago that was so simple. It had avocado (perfectly fresh and perfectly ripe) with sliced Hearts of Palm (also, perfectly fresh, not canned) and endive drizzled with balsamic glaze. It was unbelievably good. Canned Hearts of Palm which are the standard fare in most places just cannot compare taste and texturewise.

Things on the hate list that I love include:
Black licorice (may be genetic, my Dad loved it too)
Mushrooms
Avocados
Raisins and Tuna (one of my favorite dishes, Tuna Moroccan Style has both tuna and rasins!)
Mayonnaise?? I cannot imagine anyone not liking mayonnaise. It is so versatile,
Eggs! I love them almost any way you can cook them and also of course in baked goods.
Some things on the list I am not overly fond of and Brussel Sprouts I could probably pass on.
Do people realize that anchovies are a key ingredient in Caesar Salad???
Onions?? I can’t live without them! I make the best French Onion Soup ever! And I use them for flavor in so many dishes.

I have never been a picky eater. I think the secret is in fresh food, well prepared.
The thing I hate most is bland food.
I can however, understand why oysters gross people out. And liver. But I love them both, if well prepared.

@rebbel most don’t even know where to find a greegrocers. If it ain’t frum Walmart they ain’t eatin’ it.

That is a surprising list. I too like almost everything on it except liver and okra, I hate the taste and texture of both!

Everything else is fine although there are some I only eat in conjunction with other foods, not something I would sit down and eat with a spoon.

@DominicX – I couldn’t drink buttermilk straight, but in biscuits or bread or as a coating for fried chicken or fish, it is pretty good!

@dappled_leaves black licorice definitely tastes like anus.

My hate list:

Creamed corn—OMG! If this was the last food on earth I’d eat dirt. Obscene it is!

Black licorice

Cooked slimey spinache raw is great

Liver

Any organ meats

Head cheese, and most lunch meats gag!

Buttermilk

Giblets Gag!

Pate—Never, never, never, I have pet geese.

Yep, Okra for sure

Beets! nasty pickled, nastier cooked

I LOVE Brussels sprouts with Mayo. haha

Tofu ick

Sushi double ick

LOVE:

Mushrooms
Eggs
Mayo
Tuna
Avacados
Cabbage

…head cheese.

@Symbeline WTF! WHO in the hell invented head Cheese and why? Mmm….pig snouts in baloney with god knows what those other hideous bits are. Forget classic torture, I’ll tell you anything you want to know if you wave a loaf of head cheese in my face. lololol

Oh, oh, Cow tongue! Aaaagh….I am going to have nightmares! haha

Of the items on the list, Spam is the only one not likely to be in my shopping cart any given Saturday. But if someone handed me a Spam sandwich, I’d be all over it.

I note that a lot of the things near the top (bottom?) of the list can be ruined by improper preparation: Liver, Lima beans, eggs and okra are all terrible if you don’t start with fresh food or if cook them badly. But they are heavenly if you cook them well.

Oh, Lima beans too, and there is no way to prepare them that makes a difference, unless it is a 40 to 1 ratio in a soup. easily swallowed whole. lol

And lamb. No goose, no lamb, see my little friends in my avatar? They would feel sooo betrayed!

@Coloma But your friends are so delicious!

@dappled_leaves Aaaagh….nooo! But they would like your dappled leaves. lol

The list contains 11 items I would not ever consider putting inside of my mouth.

My yuck list:
Avocado.
Black Licorice.
Tuna Fish.
Onions.
Raisins.
Spam.
Beets.
Mushrooms.
Lima beans.

Never even had:
Eggplants.
Anchovies.
Buttermilk.
Oysters.
Okra.
Liver.

Chocolate covered raisins are yummy. Raisinettes for everyone! ;-P

Prunes! :-/

Raisins can kiss my Viking ass. But I like chocolate! :D

I don’t see anything wrong with that list of foods. I didn’t like liver much until I moved into northern Pennsylvania Dutch country. They make these thing called liver dumplings. Excellent! I don’t eat much licorice because I don’t care for sweets but as far as candy, it’s pretty good.

I think it’s good to try new foods, that’s none of the things I do when I go to China and India. There are an amazing variety of vegetables that are never seen in North America. The only place that I’ve seen with less variety than the U.S. is England. They eat canned pork and beans for breakfast! I was there for month and lost 30 pounds. The only good restaurant in the village was Indian. That’s where I learned the reason for the British Empire, they were just looking for decent food.

My grandmother could make very tasty liver. Everyone else I’ve known makes terrible liver. An aunt told me the secret. You need to soak the liver in milk for a day to get rid of the bitter flavor. You also have to be careful not to over cook it.

I am getting tempted to try it just to see.

Aside from the yellow sausages of questionable origin served on my Air China flight, one of the worst things I did not try were the pans of fried duck heads in the asian night markets when I traveled in asia a few years ago.
Mmmm…. fried duck heads on a stick.
The sea snails in brine were not too bad with the local beer. Then again I had enough beer in me to try them to begin with. lol

Wow, so many vegetables! I just can’t wrap my head around that. I get vegetable cravings the way people get chocolate cravings. A lot of my favorite foods are on there.

eggplant
avocado
tofu
anchovies
spinach
brussels sprouts
onions
broccoli
beets
okra
mushrooms

Seriously, my mouth is watering right now. Maybe people just don’t cook veggies right? If you eat canned vegetables or overcook them, they can be soggy and weird-tasting. Like, there’s a world of difference between beets from a can and taking some fresh beets and roasting them. Or soggy, overcooked spinach vs. some tender, lightly sauteed spinach with lemon juice and olive oil. And most of all, don’t crowd the mushrooms!

@Haleth I totally agree with you! I grew up in a home where everything was either from a can or grossly overcooked. That house was like a torture chamber for food. My tastes have changed so much after years of learning what to do and not to do to food, that I can no longer rely on any of my childhood tastes. Sadly, a couple of my siblings (though not all) still claim to hate just everything, because they never again tried foods they hated at home.

Oh, @Haleth reminds me that Anchovies and sardines or any potted fish with their faces still attached are another never, ever. Blech!

I love veggies, especially okra, beets, brussel sprouts and limas.
you can have the spam, liver and licorice, and the anchovies.

I love all of the veggies listed except okra and eggplant. And even I have eaten okra in some Indian and Middle Eastern dishes where it was pretty tasty, although I wouldn’t buy it, but eggplant is just awful, mostly because of the texture. But all the rest of dem veggies are a regular part of my diet (being a vegetarian as you ma know). Love avocado and Brussels sprouts and turnips, especially, and broccoli. Yum, yum : b Lima beans are a take ‘em or leave ‘em prospect. Not so good by themselves, not bad in Indian curries. Raisins are good in things, but I don’t like them just out there loose.

Tofu is on my definitely gotta have it list.

Also like eggs and mayonaise and sour cream and love Love LOVE buttermilk!!!

Anything that was meat, like spam or liver or oysters or anchovies I don’t eat because I’m a vegetarian, but I recall that Spam was pretty tasty, although it’s probably terrible for you. I would not could not with a goat, would not could not in a boat eat oysters or liver. The thought of those 2 foods makes me shudder. I accidentally ingested an anchovy a few months back, in what I thought was a vegetarian salad. I almost threw up. It tasted how stinky feet smell.

Black licorice sends a cold sensation of fear up my spine. Eeeeeeeeek!

Except for the memory of yummy tuna fish, I would put fish on the list of gross things. Although I kind of don’t know, because I became a vegetarian before ever tasting anything other than tuna, shrimp and cod in fish and chips, but all of it smells awful and looks very scary to me, but it’s a non issue.

Other non issues (that I wouldn’t eat even if I wasn’t veg) are pork rinds, lard, black pudding, blood pudding, organ meats, brains or testicles or intestines or any meat coming from sheep or lambs or exotic animals. Like I said, it’s a non issue, but those things just sound awful to me.

Wow. What was the demographic of the test group? Eight-year-old white girls? About the only food here that ever made me gag was okra. It was like swallowing a ball of snot with with a two-day beard. But I love jumbalaya, so… I think as you get older and have a more experienced palate fed by more experienced cooks, most of these foods become acceptable. I couldn’t have a ceasar salad without anchovy in the dressing and I really miss anchovi on pizza which is hard to find nowadays. I’m really glad that I don’t live anywhere near where these unadventurous, unimaginative test group live.

Pass the mayonaise and Wonder Bread, please.

I wouldn’t consider mayonnaise a food. When I think food, I think about something you could just eat by itself (cooked or seasoned as you would) I love mayo ,but I wouldn’t just scoop up a bowl and chow down. More than half a teaspoon or so and it’s just too much. Same goes for ketchup, mustard, horse radish..

Am I the only one thinking condiments shouldn’t count as food?

@Kardamom I am really surprised to see you come out against eggplant! I’m sure you must have had ratatouille before, with your vegetarian repertoire – did you find the texture unpleasant even cooked that way? Also, I would recommend eggplant sliced, breaded, and baked. Yum.

Of course, I’m totally with you on okra. Ha!

The word ’‘ratatouille’’ cracks me the hell up. XD

@dappled_leaves I have literally tried eggplant in just about every incarnation you can think of and I just hate it. Mostly because of the texture which reminds me of waterlogged corrugated cardboard or dead embalmed bodies. I’ve tried it every way from eggplant parmesan to breaded and fried to ratatouille,on top of pizza, stir fried and made into slouvaki. It just makes me gag. And I will eat just about any other veggie, including occasional recipes (not many) with okra, which is just about the second gnarliest veggie.

All of those preps make me throw up a little bit in my mouth. The only way I’ve been able to tolerate eggplant is in “Indian curry” and even that has not been my favorite, as a lover of Indian cuisine.

Thanks to all. I had an answer to each of you crafted last night but when I got about half-way though, I inadvertently closed the window and noting I tried was able to recover the lost work. So here’s trying again tonight.

@tom_g I’m with you. That’s all good food. I’ll admit that some on the list can be pretty unappetizing if not prepared correctly. But handled in the right manner, they are all delicious.

@dappled_leaves I guess I had the good fortune of learning what I liked before learning what the animal parts did.

@DominicX I will grant you that with it’s saturated fats and its nitrites, it is questionable how Spam gets classified as a food. That said, it’s delicious in omelets, or just fried and served on a bed of applesauce or with pineapple slices on top. I only eat it once in a year or two, tough, because who needs all the goop in it?

@elbanditoroso Deli lunch meats can be a real disaster zone for healthful eating. Salami and bologna are two of the worst. It’s too bad, because I love a Dagwood sandwich for lunch, and it’s often tough finding “meats” that aren’t overflowing with preservatives, saturated fats, nitrites, etc. When you do, they are way higher in price than the mystery meat crap.

@syz To each his own. Eggplant can run from disgusting mush to a delightful side dish, or even main course, as in eggplant parmigiana. You really have to know how to prepare it if it’s going to be palatable, though. My Dagwood sandwiches always have a generous portion of low-fat mayo on one slice of bread, and a spicy Dijon mustard on the other. Anchovies. I’m not sure how much brains you gain from eating the fish whole, but the bones are a great source of easily absorbed calcium. With so many people suffering from osteoporosis in their later years, and with lots of the calcium supplements just passing though the system doing next to nothing. anchovies and herring are a taste worth acquiring. Turnips are another veggie that can range from delightful to disgusting depending on how they’re prepared. Licorice I can’t help you with. You either do or do not like it’s unique taste. But of what’s on the list, this is one that costs you nothing in essential nutrition if you avoid it. Buttermilk I can totally understand. It’s great in recipies, but I wouldn’t be likely to chug a 16 ounce glass on a hot summer day. Spam—commented above. Brussel sprouts. Don’t overcook them. Steam them lightly. They are best when just startling to get tender. Garnish with some butter, vinegar or lime juice, and sea salt. Okra has to be chopped into ¼ inch long segments and cooked in a sauce such as tomato sauce. Gumbo is a delicious okra based dish. Liver is only good when lightly sauteed. Overcooking brings out the bitterness, destroys the tender texture and makes it almost inedible.

It’s getting late. More specific responses tomorrow.

Okay, I concede on the Okra, as I do like Gumbo. But a heap o’ Okra just sitting there on a plate is cause for trauma. lol Back to my Banana Tootsie Pop

@Coloma Copy that. First time I tried it as a kid, Grandma had just cooked upi a batch of the stuff in some salt pork. I shoveled in one spoonful and had to run and barf.

I’m still wondering how @Kardamom can compare eggplant to “dead embalmed bodies!”

You’re scaring me a bit now, but you are vegetarian, aren’t you???

:-)

Lol @rooeytoo… “dead embalmed bodies” had me laughing for awhile after reading @Kardamom ‘s post.

@Plucky – she is vegetarian for sure, isn’t she, heheheh!

@Kardamom That is too bad – I am sorry that eggplant has failed you so spectacularly!

Kardamom I love eggplant!!! There are so many different ways to cook it. One of the simplest is roasting with a little olive oil brushed on and sprinkling with salt. It’s better than potato chips!....but then, I love seaweed too. Anyone for seaweed?

I love Eggplant too, haven’t had it in years but remember a few times and it was delicious, it;s all in the prep. ;-)

Hey…nobody has mentioned one that has to be in the top 10…FRUITCAKE! :-P

@Earthgirl I do like seaweed, I’ve had it in Japanese salad (the kind that’s sort of like rubber bands and bright green) and I like the dried kind they use for snacks and then there’s another one, I think it’s wakame that they put in miso soup that’s delightful.

I’ve had eggplant as you describe, and to me it’s one of the worst things on earth. And believe me, I’ve tried eggplant in almost every manner that I can think of. There are 2 ways that I have actually enjoyed eggplant. The first is in an Indian chutney/pickle like This and these Middle Eastern Eggplants Stuffed with Walnuts. I almost didn’t taste these because they literally look like preserved giant whale testicles floating in slime.

What’s worse is if I go to a restaurant (not of my own choosing) that is not vegetarian friendly, often the only choice on the menu for me is a grilled eggplant sandwich! I can feel my stomach heaving at the thought of it.

@rooeytoo LOL, yes I am definitely a vegetarian. It’s just that the inside of eggplant has that sickly gray color that looks like an embalmed body. And when you bite into it, you kind of get that trickle of nasty tasting juice and the texture of wet cardboard.

@Coloma Me and my Mom are the only 2 people that I know that like fruitcake. My step-grandma (r.i.p.) made the best fruitcake ever. It was actually quite moist and loaded up with walnuts. I wish I had a piece of that right now.

I’ve choked down okra on occasion, but I have actually eaten okra at a restaurant in San Diego, when I was visiting a friend a few years back that was not only good, it was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my life. Not exactly sure how they did it, but it was flash fried (not deep fried) in such a way that it became crunchy and crispy with a texture similar to those thick kettle cooked potato chips, but it had no grease and no slime, then it was coated in some type of Abysinnian spices. It’s an appetizer called Teff Encrusted Bamya from Muzita Bistro If anyone gets to San Diego, I highly recommend this restaurant and this dish. And this is from an avowed okra hater.

@Kardamom Oh my, now you have me thinking about fried zucchini…to die for! Loaded with fat and then dipping in ranch dressing…but OMG, sooo good!

@Coloma I love going to the county fair each year. It’s my one day a year where I allow myself to eat stuff like fried zucchini. This one booth also has fried mushrooms, avocados and tomatoes that are incredible! I was watching The Neeley’s cooking show about 6 months ago and they were beer battering and deep frying green beans! They looked so good!

@Kardamom Yes! Fair fare! A rare treat. Oooh, fried green tomatos!

I loved the deep fried tempura veggies at Japanese restaurants!

@rooeytoo Me too! Especially when they do up those really thinly sliced onions. Oh gracious, and the mushrooms and the sweet potatoes! I think I need to be a lone for awhile. : P

@rooeytoo I was puzzled too as to how @Kardamom, an avowed vegetarian, would know what dead, embalmed bodies taste like. Oh well, to each their own. Maybe the people tasted were all in an advanced vegetative state at death.

@Earthgirl I’ve never tried making chips of eggplant, but now I have something new on the culinary horizon to look forward to. Great idea. And my time in Japan was sufficient to teach me how delicious an nutritious seaweed can be. Like dandelion greens, the thought of eating any sort of weed strikes me as a public service.

@Coloma I just love fruitcakes. If all those Americana who think anything other than hot dogs, pink-slime loaded hamburgers, and grease and salt laden chips are not food would just send me their Christmas fruit cakes, I would have desert for a year and never tire of eating it.

@rooeytoo & @Kardamom Oh, me too. To die for. Eat too much, and with all the grease and salt, you just might.

@ETpro A good fruitcake is a rare bird indeed. ;-)

Oooh, years ago my family had these Polish friends and the wife made these donut sort of things called “Karustas” or something like that. They were deep fried figure 8 types pastries rolled in powder sugar, if I could find that recipe I’d die a happy woman.

But hey…I JUST found a cheese I had thought was extinct a few weeks ago, a Caraway Jack cheese and ordered $60 worth of gourmet cheese including 4 blocks of the Caraway Jack…OMG..I am in cheese heaven, Have Caraway Jack, a garden jack, a salami jack and an extra sharp cheddar. I am a cheese-a-holic, no shame, gotta die from something, might as well be wine and cheese overload. lol

@Coloma I can’t think of a much better way to go. Sitting in a ricking chair for 40 years watching the world go by ain’t my style.

@ETpro A “ricking” chair, is that like a rickshaw with rockers? lol
Hey, rocking chair rickshaws, great idea! haha

^^ Cheese and a ricking or rocking chair sounds delightful. I love cheese shredded, sliced thin, sliced thick, melted, cold, made into a sauce or cubed into a salad. I could eat it with a goat, I could eat it on a boat, I love green eggs and… I mean cheese!

But I want to know more about this ricking chair. Does it have anything to do with the chair being shaped like Alan Rickman? If so I’ll buy one of those chairs, immediately!_

@Coloma That’s what I get for Druthering flunk. But yeah, now that I have invented the rocking rickshaw, I want one. What a great way to roll through life.

@Kardamom Hang onto your cheese @ETpro is about to tell us all about the ricking chair! haha

@Coloma I’m just picturing myself feeding some delicious Gouda to Severus Snape whilst being ridden around in a ricking chair and him shouting out Expli-yum yum!

Oh, and the rocking rickshaw must have a sideboard ctocked with the finest cheeses and wines.

I edited ctocked to stocked—but for the sake of later posts, I edited it back before it was too late. This is hilarious.

Ctocked? Whoo, that sounds interesting too!

Hahahah..you guy’s you’re making the the Blue Moon moment priceless!

The “the the” chair is ricking!

Officer I’m sorry, but I was ctocked in a ricking chair but now I’m kind of glad for the experience. Is any of this against the law?

And another Fluther axiom was created on this date!

I;m inventing the rocking Rickshaw…it will transform travel, cheese and wine as we know it. I can feel it now, ricking through Thailand. Step away from my cheese!

The triathlon of moderation, yes, we are guilty!

So I got a head-start on the wine and cheese. See what a creative burst that brought us?

Seriously if you guys are SERIOUS about your cheese. All organic, to die for, gotta try the Caraway Jack.

www. loletacheese.com order before May, no shipping this precious cargo in the heat of summer. ;-)

@Coloma If you ever get down to the Southern California area, you must visit, or buy some cheese from the Winchester Cheese Company This Gouda cheese is fantastic.

Closer to your abode is the Cowgirl Creamery

I’ve had cheese from both of these places and both were near nirvana cheese experiences.

Now if I could sit in a ricking chair whilst noshing on these cheeses, I might die a happy woman.

@Kardamom Oooh, more exotic cheese sources, thankee ma’am! I can think of nothing better, cheese while rocking in the Rickshaw. I will NEVER forget this moment…haha @ETpro Do you have any idea of what inanity you have unleashed? Somewhere in Northern California a wacky women will be telling your ricking chair story for a good long time!

@Coloma My first journey in my new ricking chair will be to Loletachese.com to order some Caraway Jack. Then it’s off to Winchester Cheese Company and Cowgirl Creamery. I really love it when cowgirls cream. And I am looking forward to experiencing a ctocking or two while sitting in that ricking chair, traveling cross country. Sounds rather sexy, in a gay sort of way.

@ETpro Wear your Sunday finest for this excursion. ;-)

Lol thank you for the laughs everyone. Had a rough day…nice to read all this at the end of it. :)

I am surprised to see so many people say “never tried it and never will” or “I hate it. I’ve never had it.” I don’t understand how someone can say they don’t like something that they have never tasted.

The look or smell of some things can turn me off. I can’t get it past my nose, such as kidneys or limburger cheese.

@rooeytoo Well, that is understandable. But how can someone say that about eggplant or beets?

what is an eggplant?

@ragingloli A dark purple bell-shaped thing that has no flavor by itself. You slice it thin longways, dredge it in breading and fry it until golden brown. Then you take the pieces, roll up like a jelly roll with ricotta and mozarella cheese inside. Place in a baking pan and pour spaghetti sauce over. Bake and be prepared for some YUM!

That is an aubergine. Why do you call it eggplant?

Because I am American, I guess.

that is no excuse

I don’t need an excuse. That is what we call it. You call it whatever you want.

We call it its real name.

This is what the dictionary has to say. I didn’t know the raging one was a brit???

aubergine

noun
1. Chiefly British . eggplant.
2. a dark purplish color.

egg·plant
 
noun
1. a plant, Solanum melongena esculentum, of the nightshade family, cultivated for its edible, dark-purple or occasionally white or yellow fruit.
2. the fruit of this plant used as a table vegetable.
3. a blackish purple color; aubergine.

GA @Skaggfacemutt

But the real question is, if aubergine is a purplish color, what do you call a white or yellow eggplant???

I am German. It is Aubergine in German, too, as well as French. We certainly do not call it “Eierpflanze”.

@ragingloli and in America “Humour” is “humor as well”. ;-)

@ragingloli – And omg, we all know you are German. By the way have you googled obesity in Germany lately, apparently y’all are eating more than purple vegetables.

@ragingloli I have to admit that eggplant is an odd name for something that looks nothing at all like an egg.

@rooeytoo
It is not my fault I constantly have to remind you of my superiority.

@ragingloli I don’t think it’s superiority you remind us of, arrogance would be more like it.

It would be arrogance if I were american.

@ragingloli Whatever

good

@ETpro actually these eggplants do look like eggs. I think these are the type that they use in the eggplant dish that I actually liked, the one with the walnuts inside and then pickled in brine. They end up looking like floating whale testicles, but this is how they start out LOL.

Any type of smelly cheese or other foods. I don’t care how it tastes, if I don’t like the smell of something I’m not eating it. I’ll add liver, lowfat/skim milk and artificially flavored foods onto that list as well. I’m not a big seafood eater either but I do love breaded/battered shrimp for some reason.

Ragingloli, is that English for mad popsicle?

@Skaggfacemutt I said I’d “never tried it and never will” for the meat items (I’m vegetarian). That was my reasoning :)

@Kardamom Oh wow. They have a dish with vegetarian floating whale testicles and I haven’t eaten it yet. I gotta get busy topping off my list of bizarre experiences.

@Paradox25 To each their own. I could go vegetarian or vegan if it were not for seafood.

@Plucky I guess being a vegetarian is reason enough to skip a meat product—if Spam is a meat product. I’m not sure what it really is. Some say it’s a byproduct of liposuction.

Umm… @ETpro.. Shhh…. Don’t tell anyone but… I like fruit cake too. I enjoy the texture of the soft nuts, the stickiness of the faux fruit, the sweet taste contrasted with a cup of hot coffee…. I’m salivating here.

I like fruit cake too, especially with some tea or coffee, or at least milk. It’s just so sweet and dense and heavy I wouldn’t be able to get through more than a few bites without a drink to mellow it out.

Someone should open a warehouse and collect wayward fruitcakes than can then be distributed to the needy fruitcakeless. lol

Fruitcakes for the fruticakeless. We can bring this idea to fruition, I just know it! lol

@Coloma Fruitful idea!

ME TO! I like fruit cake. My son-in-law soaks it in brandy so much that you get a buzz from eating a piece. It’s the perfect food and never goes bad. I think there is an edible cake from King Tuts tomb.

You fruitcakers, you’re in a league of your own. lol

We’re very special people…

Like @Keep_on_running “very special people” and probably a little tipsy.

I can see it now, the I.C.O.F. International convention of fruitcakers. lololol

LOL Fruit cake may be the perfect food, it has cake, fruit, and booze. All three food groups.

… and nuts… like them.

I have 67 of them in my garage left over from Christmas’ past. Come and get them if you want them!

@rooeytoo I’m reporting you to county health, that’s a bio hazard! haha
You are risking burning down your neighborhood with highly flammabe fruitcakes in your garage. I’ve heard they can spontaneously combust when exposed to high tempertures.

@coloma I believe you were referring to the Fruitcake and Ring-cake Eateries, Advocates and Kitchens Society

I cannot read all of this!!! I just want to say that the secret of a good fruitcake, as any Jamaican will tell you, is a good RUM!!!!

I had 12 year old rum in the Dominican Republic. Oh man that was smooth.

Adirondackwannabe Check this out. Mmmm, rum cake is sooooo manly. Especially when it ages for a long time as West Indians like to do it!

@Earthgirl Oh god I’m drooling so bad. That’s really weird. I really am harmless.

Adirondackwannabe Don’t worry, I know that. :)

@Coloma What a great idea.

@Earthgirl You’re breaking my heart here. Indeed, great fruitcake is only as great as the rum it’s cured in.

All of you would be Hansels and Gretel Flutherers, I say we build a house, not of gingerbread, but of Fruitcake! Is anybody with me???

@Kardamom Build me a rum cured fruitcake prison asn see how long it takes for me to eat my way out.

@Kardamom Only if it’s decorated with whoppers. lol

Fruitcakes would be a big hit over here for the raccoons. Let them eat fruitcakes! They already love my blackberry cobbler. Inebriated raccoons on the prowl, rummied up and ready for a rumble. lol

@ragingloli Aubergine derives from Catalan alberginera, from Arabic al-badinjan “the eggplant,” from Pers. badin-gan, from Skt. vatin-ganah.

So Americans took the time to translate it into English. And the white variety does look like an egg.