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In my family three of us are fairly adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. One of us is not. My younger sons eats about ten things, with variations. That makes cooking a challenge, and I increasingly tell him to make something for himself.
I have noticed that either an experimental or picky attitude to food starts at a young age. I am not sure what causes it. I don’t think that I indulged pickiness in my son, but perhaps I did and the die was cast. My parents, on the other hand, indulged nothing and I grew up eating whatever was put in front of me. Some of it was pretty weird. I ate eel and squid, for example. So I got used to giving most food a try. Still, I at least like to know what is going in my mouth.
When I traveled to France during a summer in college, I stayed at in a French university dorm and ate at a student dining hall. Every day for lunch there was a full meal. One choice, take it or leave it. Let’s just say that it helped to be either adventurous or clueless.
Several times I found myself confounded by the food. The American students would confer among ourselves as we inched down the line and tried to figure out what would be put on our plates. What was that?
The women serving always had an answer for us. In English, no less. I think their managers rehearsed them. I am pretty sure that sometimes answers were lies.
Once the meat appeared a little odd. Beef, I was told. Only it tasted a little different, and had a different texture. I think I ate horse that afternoon. They do that in France.
Another time the “chicken” had a bone structure such as no chicken I had eaten before. One bite and I knew why. It was rabbit. I recognized the taste since I had eaten it before. I didn’t tell anyone else. If they were happy with their chicken, so be it.
The most suspicious meal consisted of sauce drenching oddly textured “quenelles.” But those are long and narrow fish or meat dumplings, and these ambiguous little misshapen mounds were not dumplings at all. I think they served us brains that day.
In all of these cases we were given an answer that would avoid the “ick” reaction they expected from us. Their stereotype of American students included a lack of adventure when it came to new foods.
Not only will I will try most things, I even like some of them. Even some organ meats, which have an ick factor that is hard to surmount. (Hint: Don’t dwell on what it is any more than you dwell on what that steak really is.) I have tasted most of them and even like some of them.
When DH and I were first dating, he took me to a casual restaurant that had liver and onions on the menu. That item kept drawing my attention. Maybe I had an undiagnosed iron deficiency, because I found it very appealing. I looked at future DH who at the time was a promising catch that I wanted to keep hooked. Um, do you like liver, I asked? No, he did not. Are you the kind of person who can’t stand even seeing it or smelling it? He realized why I was asking and told me to order it if I wanted. I did. He did not break up with me. He did, however, have a story to regale friends with for years to come. (So I take her out to dinner on our fourth date and what does she order? I’ll bet you can’t guess. . . .)
In many other countries they eat a lot of organ meats. In Florence, a fast food lunch is a tripe sandwich bought from pop-up lunch carts parked just off the main drags. It is worker food, and cooked unlike you would expect, stewed in a tomato broth with lots of herbs. My parents used to make it the same way and I have tasted it. I disliked everything about it— smell, taste, texture and especially the looks of it, and dreaded when mom cooked this “delicacy”. It has a huge “ick” factor for me, so I when I visit Florence I forgo rubbing shoulders with the natives at lunch time, or even looking in the pot on the cart.
What foods are “ick” for you?
What foods that you like are ick for lots of other people?
Are you a picky eater or an adventurous one? What is the weirdest food you ever ate?
(I will be giving away an advanced reading copy –ARC– of my Feb. 26 release, The Conquest of Lady Cassandra, to one comment poster today)
165 Comments on “Weird Food”
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BRAINS!!!! Too gross people. What were you thinking. I can smell them.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 3:53 am.
I won’t gross you out more by describing anything about the experience of eating them.
I agree that the idea is sort of repulsive to me. Hard not to dwell on it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:36 am.
I am a very picky, non-adventurous eater. Possibly because we could not afford much more than we raised: Beef, pork, chicken, green beans, raw carrots and peas. Radishes, kohlarobbie, lettuce, cucumbers, potatos, and corn.
I have gotten so I can eat broccoli smothered in something, a small portion of spinach, salmon or perch fish, some pasta dishes and recently beef broccoli at a chinese restaurant will agree with my system.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:19 am.
Not a huge fan of fruits, really dislike juice, mexican food and most chinese disagree with my system. Do not like seafood.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:24 am.
So when you ate what you raised, did you eat ALL of it. In fancy restaurants there is this whole nose to tail trend in meats that includes all the parts most of us think should not be on the table. Pigs ears have been very trendy. Snouts too. I’m not very adventurous when it comes to that, especially if it looks like that.
Oddly enough, broccoli is one of the few green veggies my picky son will eat. Go figure!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:39 am.
Broccoli is the only veggie that my 3 year old will eat. It boogles my mind at times. Everything else makes her gag. When she was younger I had to mash up veggies and add them to her yogurt, just so she would get her daily intake of them.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:14 am.
I am both picky and adventurous. In recent years I tried for the first time caviar (the cheap variety), asparagus (tasted similar to green beans), tofu (really good when done by Asian noodle takeaways), mussels (huge ick and I had messed myself as a result). I tried pressed tongue once which wasn’t the best and I did play with steak and kidney once which turned out pretty good. I do want to try steak tartare but won’t touch anything with oysters.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:28 am.
I suspect that most of these things are good or not depending on who is cooking them. I have had asparagus to die for, and other times it was inedible. I do like mussels, but that was another thing my mom would cook, so they are just normal food to me.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:42 am.
I always considered myself a picky eater. Ever since childhood.
First, I don’t like a lot of dairy products such as milk, butter, sour cream, and many sorts of cheese. My intake of calcium is limited to ice-cream and a bit of yogurt.
Second, I dislike many vegetables when cooked (or, should I say, overcooked) such as boiled carrots and peas, fried onions, fried cabbage, boiled beetroot, etc. Bad childhood experience, I guess.
But then again, I eat and enjoy lots of organ meats which many will find weird. This may come from the fact that both my parents grew up on a farm, got used to eating and all kinds of meat products, and passed it on to me.
For instance, I love pork liver (chops, cutlets or a stew in tomato sauce, yummy!) and beef tongue (delicious! a real delicatessen where I come from). I can also eat heart (beef or pork) and chicken stomach without any problems (when cooked, of course). Everyone in my family loves blood sausage or blood pudding, but that is something I can’t stand. Never could. One more weird “meat” dish that I personally haven’t tried but know some people who did, and liked it at that, is pork testicles. Imagine eating that! Not for me, thank you.
So, to sum up, I guess I am what one may call an adventurous eater. And quite picky. But a queer kind of picky. Because I gladly pick some things others wouldn’t touch with a bargepole and leave other foods generally considered “normal” out of my diet.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 6:42 am.
If you turn away from dairy it could be that you are lactose intolerant and your body just knows not to want those things. My sister was like that. I’d call you adventurous if you have eaten all those organ meats. I don’t think I could ever overcome the ick factor with testicles. Sorry, but. . . But I have tried tongue. While I would not seek it out, it was not too bad.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:45 am.
I am a picky eater. My kids are turning out that way, too. The most adventurous thing I’ve ever eaten was haggis. It was not my favorite. Yuck. I had calamari once that was divine. I ordered it a second time somewhere else and it was rubbery and icky. I haven’t eaten it since. That’s about as adventuresome as I’ve ever gotten. Oh, a raw oyster once – snot on the half shell. Yeah, I am that American the French were worried about. There’s nothing I like that most other people don’t as well. Ah well. I do the cooking in my house so everyone gets what I like and I’m happy.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 7:25 am.
well, anyone who tries haggis gets a star in the adventurous category, to my mind. I’m with you on the oysters. Been there, done that, and decided I would not do it again. Yucky texture.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:48 am.
You’re right my finicky habits were entrenched by 5 yrs. old. I have a carnival food diet. I’ll eat disgusting things like hot dogs but wouldn’t dare eat fish or seafood. Yes, not even tuna. I didn’t really eat hamburgers until college and I’ve never had a fast food burger but I’ve tried all forms of fast food chicken.
I knew I had improved when I realized I could have just asparagus for dinner. Ain’t I continental?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 7:49 am.
I am astonished. I really thought you would come on and write how your family ate what my family did. That we would be clones again.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:50 am.
Nah, Mom is NOT Italian so it was very different in our house.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:21 am.
Unfortunately I am picky through necessity. I have a highly sensitive gag impulse if I eat tendon, fat, gristle, calamari, undercooked meat, clams.
It’s a consistency, and for some reason it causes me to instantly start heaving. Blindfold me, put vicks under my nose, feed me a variety of foods with the above in them and insta-hurl.
My brother has the same issue, so I think it’s hereditary.
With that said I was raised with you eat what’s on your plate. So I ate what I could (parents understand when their kids throw up at the table a couple of times.) Besides, as I said, genetic, our maternal grandfather and two of our aunts, whom we were NOT raised around had the same issue.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:27 am.
I expect you can tell on sight if a new food would start the reflex, too. Yeah, it sounds like that texture thing. Texture is a big part of whether I like a food or not even without your condition.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:53 am.
I am picky when it comes to meat. I will usually try any fruit or vegetable, but when it comes to meat, I stick with what I know. I am not a big seafood eater, either. I like shrimp and lobster and Haddock if it’s covered in a nice crispy batter, everything else has an ‘ick’ factor for me.
I have tried beef tongue and heart, but that’s as adventurous as it gets for me, and I only tried them because I was staying with my BFF and her mother served them. So, I tried a little bit, but mostly filled up on other things.
I was watching a cooking show the other day and they were making blood sausage! Now that has a major ‘ICK’ factor for me. Any food that starts with the word blood will never enter my mouth.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:41 am.
So many cooking shows and into the weird food, not just the weird food shows. It is that trend. I wonder how many mouths are following the lead. Not many, I suspect. I’m with you on the blood sausage. In the days when such things were created in order to use all of an animal,it made sense. I’m not inclined to waste the calories on it, even to try. With most sausages, it doesn’t do to know what is in them anyway.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:55 am.
What about blood oranges? I recently tried some blood orange
Sorbet and it was To Die For. It was more intense in flavor than the green apple and I love me some apple flavor.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:48 am.
Organ meats are an ick for me. I love escargot and that can be ick for a lot of people.
I’m not picky but I’m not too adventurous either. The weirdest thing I ever ate was alligator and that probably isn’t too weird.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:41 am.
Of course it’s weird! (shaking head)
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:40 am.
Really? I thought that was passe by now.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:45 am.
Escargot is major ick for lots of people. It is mini ick for me. I don’t care for the texture, and it is one of the foods that taste to me like they need butter to hide what they are. But my husband really likes them like you do. I also tried alligator when in New Orleans. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t all that unique tasting either, as I remember. I expected something more exotic.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:58 am.
I tried alligator in NO too. Must be their thing, or one of them.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:10 am.
I will eat any vegetable with the exception of Brussel sprouts. I like beef and chicken liver. I’ve eaten beef tongue and lived. I don’t think I will try snails though. I love seafood. My son had a different problem with food when he was a child. He would only put one thing on his plate at a time. He said that his stomach had compartments. Going to a buffet was difficult. He did outgrow this.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:46 am.
Just plain boiled brussel sprouts are a problem for me too. But I have had a couple of recipes using them in the last few years that were really good. I’m glad to meet someone else who likes liver
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:00 am.
My parents were like yours Madeline – you ate whatever they put on the table or you went hungry. The only things I will not eat are things you think or reproduce with. Probably the strangest things I have eaten are head cheese (no brains or eyeballs) and blood sausage made by my FIL.
Green peppers upset my stomach since the birth of DD1 so I now avoid them but they are not an ick. I am not outgoingly adventurous but not picky by any means.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:01 am.
I like your limitations regarding what you will eat. How well put. I don’t even know why head cheese is called that–it makes it sound so much worse than it is. My mom had that sensitivity to green peppers. I wonder what causes it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:03 am.
This topic has been on my mind for a while. I would love to say that I’m an adventurous eater. Alas, I fear that I’m not. I would love to like sushi. I cannot wrap my brain around eating raw fish. I don’t know if this is because when I was a kid Grandma would make fish dinners, and I always had to drown mine in some sort of sauce to choke it down–and Grandma made decent fish–or if it was because we live smack in the middle of the country and we can’t get fresh fish like people on the coasts can. I’ve even tried sushi with cooked shrimp, and I still gag even when dipped in the sauce. It is horrible. I want to love quiche as well. I just can’t eat baked eggs with cheese. A bite hits my mouth and it’s all over.
I used to like liver and onion. Several years ago, MIL made it and had us over. I was excited. She prepared it perfectly. Three bites in, and my body started screaming “No!” at me. I haven’t tried it since, and I haven’t had a yen for it, either. Weird.
I will give anything a try once, but I know after one bite, maybe two, if I’ll like it or not. SIL raises rabbits and eats them. Cheaper than buying meat for her family, but I can’t wrap my brain around eating Peter Cottontail. Same with deer. Living in a rural-ish community, there are plenty of hunters around but unless that deer is processed into summer sausage, then I’ll pass. I just don’t like the gamy flavor that is part of it. However, if all the other protein sources dried up, I’d be the first Elmer Fudd out there going “kill the wabbit” then stewing it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:07 am.
I love sushi! They do have things like teriyaki chicken which is okay but the main thing to get used to is the seaweed wrap. Once you’re used to it though it can be addictive.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:30 am.
It’s the wrap that gets me. I don’t know why I don’t like it, or that it makes me gag. I love green veggies. I have no clue why seaweed is different for me. Daughter, however, loves the stuff.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:33 am.
I’m with you Amanda. Gag on the sushi.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:59 am.
That’s me, too. I don’t mind raw seafood or rice or anything else in sushi. I just don’t like the taste of the seaweed wrap.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:58 pm.
My brother hunted, so we also had deer sometimes. My mom stewed it in a sauce that included vinegar to “cut” the gamey taste—sort of. I am not a fan of that gaminess either, so I did not look forward to those meals. As for sushi, I was lucky in that the first time I even had it, an Asian neighbor had made it and the fish was so fresh it did not taste like fish at all. I am a bit skittish about eating it now. I don’t trust the fish to be just out of the water fresh.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:06 am.
Not a fan of sushi either. And that sauce – yuck!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:59 pm.
I’m rather adventurous with food and like to try new food, but I usually tend to go back to my favorites.
It’s funny, but some of my foods that are “ick” for others seem very common to me – pomegranats, smoked salmon, but that might be because I live in a small city in the midwest. My “ick” foods are probably internals – intestines, brains, etc. I haven’t even been able to try those.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:22 am.
I love smoked salmon. Love it. On a bagel with cream cheese and red onions.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:07 am.
Never crossed my mind that someone might dislike smoked salmon. Just like you, I think it’s delicious.
And pomegranates, I ask you. What fault could anyone find with them? One of my favorite winter fruits. And they are just beautiful. Like tiny jewels. To me it’s important that the food also looks nice not only tastes it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:15 pm.
Hmmm my “ick” food would be a lot of things LOL but I am a semi adventerous eater. I will try some new things knowing what they are and some I’d rather not be told till after I’ve tried it. I think brains would definitely qualify for the later. LOL
One food I LOVE that most people don’t….brussel sprouts. My husband hunts so we eat what he kills on that score my family is flexible. We are a meat & potatoe family and sadly I have a hard time getting my crew to eat veggies LOL
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:25 am.
Cheese sauce is the only way I get one of mine to eat veggies. I like most of them, but I am too lazy and busy to cook them fresh, and that is how they are best. You are right about not being told what it is. Those brains I ate that summer, for example—- I figured it out after I ate them, and while I ate them. I would have not touched one bite if I had known in advance.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:11 am.
I am SO picky!!!
even though I grew up with stuff like shredded shark fin and frog’s legs in my freezer, I subsisted as a kid on mashed potatoes, hot dogs and pb&j sandwiches.
My dad was a very adventurous eater and my mom was a plain cooking cook. made for some interesting meals.
I still don’t like spicy but have discovered filet mignon, beef wellington and pasta! my mom didn’t know how to cook pasta and dad didn’t like it so I first ate it at my sister’s. didn’ even have Kraft dinner until I was 16- it just wasn’t in the house.my brother loved liver and onions and while it smelled yummy when he cooked it( it was the onions), I could not bring myself to try it.
Still have yet to try lobster or crab or shrimp. when your dad lets the lobsters and crabs crawl around like giant bugs on the kitchen floor when you are about 8- it scares you enough you don’t want to touch them for the rest of your life. ew!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:26 am.
Wow, no pasta. Just, wow. As an Italian American, you can imagine how much of that I ate growing up. You really should try crab and lobster some day, though. Already cooked, of course, and where you won’t see them live. Maybe already out of the shell, too. I think you will like them.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:13 am.
DH brought home a lobster and crabs a couple of months ago. Kids, who are 8 and 10 thought them crawling around on the floor was just cool, but they didn’t stay out long. They did eat their share once they were cooked. Cat, however, was freaked out by them.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:35 am.
When I was a kid, I was an incredibly picky eater. I mean it came to the point when I didn’t like any kind of food if it was red. Very strange, I know. I sympathize with your son. As I grew older, I started experimenting more and more and I’ve adopted the philosophy that you have to try it at least once. For me, the “ickiest” things I’ve ever eaten would have to be southern-style fried chicken liver and gizzard (shudder) and Chinese pig’s feet! Needless to say, those weren’t items I ever ate again. I’ve improved as an eater, but not that much!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:33 am.
My mother had a way of cooking liver, gizzards, hearts of chicken that, by the time she was done, you had no idea. Cutting up small, sauteing with lots of onions in olive oil, then herbs and some tomato sauce. I don’t know how to spell what she called it, but it sounded like Seu-frite.
If you ate pigs feet, you are braver than I am. The first problem is that they look like pigs feet!!!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:16 am.
I absolutely will not eat corned beef hash with apologies to those who like it it looks and smells like dog food to me. I’m not adventurous enough to try haggis or escargot but am fairly flexible about trying new things.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:44 am.
I would have tried haggis before I saw it being made on Diners, Drive ins and Dives. Even without the sheep’s stomach, the color and texture had me gagging along with the host. It was one of the only times he did not at least pretend that the food was appealing.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:18 am.
I am an extremely picky eater.. my daughter too, now my husband is adventurous and grosses both of us out lol..
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:48 am.
Does you husband indulge his adventurous side in restaurants, or does he take over the kitchen sometimes?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:18 am.
growing up we had to try something at least 3 different times (& more than a tiny taste) before we could say we didn’t like something. 1st time mom made city chicken I didn’t like it, but it later became a fave “special occasion” meal. Of course just cause we didn’t like it, didn’t mean we didn’t still have to eat it (mom didn’t beleive in making seperate dishes for everyone) just that we were aloud to moan some & not eat much of it. I never learned to eat liver (even drowned in ketchup & potatoes), luckily for me (unlike my sisters who had to eat it almost weekly) by the time I came around, mom didn’t cook it often but got it out instead.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:01 am.
The whole watch your cholesteral movement saved many a kid from liver. It has hugs amounts and pretty much got banned from many kitchens. When I was growing up, we were allowed to not eat one thing, so we each had one meal we did not have to force ourselves to swallow. This was not hard on me (no tripe! yeah!) but my sisters each had about four things they just hated.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:21 am.
I am not a picky eater, but absolutely will not eat oysters, escargot, tripe or okra. I grew up in a bohemian family and there were all sorts of different foods. I do like liver with onions and bacon, which is something a lot of people don’t like and I love just about all other seafood. I have one sister growing up that would only eat bologna and mashed potatoes. My Mom tried hiding peas in the potatoes once – that didn’t go over very well
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:15 am.
I think your list is very sensible. I hope that you will forgive me if I find the notion of bologna and mashed potatoes sort of ick
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:23 am.
oh god, I forgot about okra. Who knew a vegetable could produce snot.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:00 pm.
Well, when I was growing up, you had to eat one serving spoonful of everthing on the table, whether we liked it or not. We didn’t have to have seconds, and and we could get seconds of what we DID like, but we had to eat one spoonful. Most of the time, Mother tried to make stuff that she knew we liked, but she would occasionally make peas, which I despise, and other things like that.
As an adult, I will usually try most things, but I’ve found that sometimes it’s better not to know everything that goes into something. For example, I absolutely LOVE tamales. A lot of people won’t touch them because of what goes in them, I just put it out of my mind.
Not really a big fan of liver, but more because of the consistency than the flavor. Quail actually tastes a lot like chicken liver. I wasn’t a big fan. Not really a big fan of deer–too gamey for me. I have to say though, I don’t have a sensitive ‘gag reflex’ as someone mentioned above, but that Bizarre Foods show with Andrew Zimmern is usually entirely TOO bizarre for me, and I’ve had to turn my head more than a few times for fear I’d toss my cookies. 
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:17 am.
So now I am wondering what the heck is in tamales. Time to Google a recipe. I had no idea they had ick potential, but then I don’t think I have ever eaten one.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:24 am.
Tamales are mostly harmless and not ick at all. Usually filled with pork or chicken. Sometimes the masa is made with lard, but that is no biggie.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:54 am.
If you do them up right, they use a pig’s head and use all of the meat off the skull. It’s very tender meat, but it’s a long process.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:05 pm.
I just posted the peach enchilada recipe on evlqn’s response if you are still interested!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 3:01 pm.
Icky for me is anything reptilian. Gator, rattlesnake, frog…bleh!
I like spinach, lima beans and prunes. Go figure, right?
I’m not picky, but I like what I like and the older I get, the less I vary. I will try some things as long as I can’t tell what they are. So calamari and escargot are definitely out. Never could eat those chocolate covered ants either.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:24 am.
I think it helped a lot that when I ate gator, it came all cooked and did not loot in the least gator
Now, when I ate eel, yeah, it looked like snake. But, and I have no idea if this is true of actual snake, it is very good. Mild and quite sweet.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:30 am.
Absolute no-no for me is liver from any source. Makes me gag. My kid sister had the best description of it — it tastes like dust. That said, I’ve eaten just about everything else. It was not unusual for for us to have eel, octopus, sea urchin, snake, bear meat. My grandmother made the best Rabbit Cacciatore you’d ever want to taste. Venison was a staple. My daughter is pretty much the same way, but my husband is a different story. We used to go hog-wild when he wouldn’t be home for dinner. Now that he is completely retired, dinner is borrrrrrring.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:27 am.
Rabbit was always done cacciatore in my home too. I thought it was okay. It has more flavor than chicken. As for liver—I asked future DH about even being near it, because I know many people who can’t abide the smell of it. I understand that, and often the way it is cooked doesn’t help any.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:32 am.
With 5 kids in the house, we weren’t allowed to be picky eaters. Mom’s philosophy was “I’m not a short order cook and this isn’t a cafeteria. Take it or leave it!!”
The only thing that she broke her rule for was liver. She couldn’t get any of her kids to eat it. Something about the consistancy just turns my stomach. BLECH!!! Any other food I will try, but liver?? *shudders* HECK, no!!!!
As to foods that I like that make others squirm, I like frogs legs, calimari, pickled herring, sushi, eel, and other foods.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:33 am.
ooh, I also love pickled herring. I learned recently that DH can’t understand why. But I have always liked it, especially mixed with sour cream. I don’t dislike frogs legs as such. I just have a problem in that when I see them, I see them still attached to the frog and that gives me the weebie jeebies. Oddly enough, I do not see a chicken leg attached to a chicken.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:35 am.
Picky, picky, picky. Always have been, always will be, and I’m fine with it. Foods have a very strong flavor for me—I have super concentrated taste buds—and there’s nothing I can do about that. Coffee is bitter and so is dark chocolate. Blech. Yes, coffee and tea are ick foods for me.
Can you imagine that?
The thing about being a picky eater is that, if I were served with food that was ick to me, (taste/smell/texture), I just wouldn’t eat it. My parents did not make special meals just for me. My mom made dinner and if I didn’t like what was on the table, so be it. I didn’t eat it.
I would rather not eat than eat something that makes me gag. Go figure.
The list of foods that are ick to me would put Zeus on his ear.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:38 am.
I have another friend like you when it comes to food. Her list is so long, and so full of items that most people consider normal and not weird at all, that I never know how to pick a restaurant. Irish pubs are the only safe bet.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:37 am.
Don’t like coffee either. Just like you, find it too bitter, even with sugar. And tea as well (black tea, that is). If I drink it at all, I make it very, very, very weak – only dip the teabag three times for about one second intervals and that’s it. Family find it weird. Glad to know I’m not the only one like that.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:26 pm.
You’re lucky. My mom used to force me to sit at the table until I ate my dinner. I HATE mushrooms, and she knows it. She knew it then, and she knows it now. The bad thing? EVERY MEAL growing up had mushrooms in it. I can’t tell you how many dinners I had to sit there until I fell asleep with my face smushed on the table.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:27 pm.
I’m a vegetarian – the only one in my family, so I guess you could say I’m a picky eater.
When I was a kid, before I knew better =) we once were given python soup.
If you are ever in South East Asia try a fruit called “durian”. The smell itself will kill you for sure.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:43 am.
My B-I-L married a Thai woman and she loves Durian. He makes her eat it outside.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:54 am.
I have heard of durian. I think it was featured on Bizarre foods for its smell. I am sort of surprised that more vegetarians have not weighed in here. Maybe the talk of organ meats grossed them out so much they hit the back button really fast.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:39 am.
There’s a durian flavoured gelato at a place I like to go to. It smells like garbage. Literally. Rotting garbage. I swore I’d never taste it and I still haven’t. Does it taste like it smells?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:23 pm.
I do have some “ick” foods in my list, brains and eel are definitely there. Of course being portuguese I´am used to see my family eat them with delight! We have a lot of “ick” foods in the portuguese cusine, but I must say I have tried most of it..better not start a great description, but one of my favorite is made with organ meats of pork (it actually includes the blood) and rice…yes sounds really gross…but I love it!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:57 am.
Most European cuisines have a broader range of everyday foods than we do. I am not sure I would want to know what is in that dish with the blood and rice
If I were not told, I might like it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:41 am.
I am not a picky eater. I just dont like fish of any kind. Other then that i usually wat any kind of food as long as it tastes good.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:22 am.
One of my sisters was a no fish person. To me most fish is so bland as to be boring, but she could not stand it. I always wondered if it was the smell that did it to her.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:43 am.
I lived in Paris for 6 years so I can honestly say that I do believe I’ve tried it all! I love all those yummy things like escargot and salads with gizzards and all kinds of raw periwinkles and oysters and clams and, well, I could on but I don’t want anyone to throw eggs at me! As far as an ick factor, the only thing I can think of was when we were at a meeting in Spain, the hostess insisted we try something and would not tell us what it was until we ate it. Well, it was brains. After she told me, I had a short moment when I wasn’t sure if it would stay down, but it did. She told me that brains are usually fed to little children because it’s easy to digest. OK. I’ll leave it to the children then!!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:23 am.
Yeah, they don’t taste like you would expect, although I’m not sure what would be expected. They are very mild compared to most other organ meats. I’ll leave it at that, except to say that their other characteristics leads me to agree that people would think they are easy to digest.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:45 am.
I am somewhat adventurous – more with veggies and fruits than meats. I am not a fan of organ meats, the texture icks me out.
I think the most adventurous trip eating was in the Amazon and other parts of Peru. We had alpaca, guinea pig, piranha and all sorts of unusual fruits and veggies. Oh.. and then in Singapore I had these squid ink dumpling things.. they were good, but I had no idea they had squid ink in them.. so I had this black stuff all over my hands.
One food that I cannot stand is cilantro. HATE it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:56 am.
I’m with you about cilantro. Hate hate hate it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:07 pm.
I can handle cilantro. I hate sage, however.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:17 pm.
My mother is Puerto Rican and my Dad is Cuban. Every day as we were growing up all we ate day in and day out was rice and beans with some kind of meat. Don’t get me wrong. My mother is a very good cook but when this is all you are fed day in and day with very, very little variation it’s no wonder that as a grown up the last thing you want to eat is rice and beans. Even now that we are grown ups they still eat rice and beans with a variety of meats on an almost daily basis unless it’s Lent when they give up me and then it’s either bacalao or tuna fish. Hopefully once I’m on my own again I can start cooking again so I can make a variety of dishes.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:58 am.
It is enough to have one look forward to Lent, huh? Too much of anything can make it high on the list of foods I’d rather not eat. I feel that way about some of those ten things younger son will eat. No, please, not again!!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:19 pm.
I’m generally not a picky eater, but one common thing I cannot eat is canned sweet potatoes. My stepfather forced me to eat them when I was young, knowing I didn’t like them. Yuk. I can eat the fresh ones baked in an oven without the marshmallows, but canned, no way! I’ll pass on the blood foods and head cheese, whatever that is. Would try haggis, although don’t know how far I could get with it.
Love escargot and squid. Oysters are okay if they’re fried. Love liver and onions, with a little bacon thrown in. Also chicken livers, hearts and gizzards. I like some sushi and most seafood. I’m adventurous when it comes to foods although some have been mentioned here I’m just not sure about.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:02 pm.
You seem to have tried a of the ones many people won’t touch. It sounds like the idea of most foods doesn’t stop you. And I think the only reason we think we would eat haggis is because we are hoping it will impress some hunk in a kilt
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:21 pm.
Not adventurous. Hugely picky. I don’t eat guts or snails or reptiles or seaweed or . . . the list goes on. But . . . my father was a hunter and I was raised on elk and deer and antelope. Hated the antelope. And don’t try and fool me with the chevon. I don’t eat goat.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:08 pm.
What does antelope taste like, if it does not taste like deer? I just figured anything with antlers tasted similar. No, huh?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:22 pm.
Antelope tastes like sage brush. There no disguising it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:42 pm.
I love the story about liver. I love liver, but could only have it when my father was away on business, which was about once every five years!
I am not too picky. I try new foods to me. I’ve had alligator, ostrich, moose, elk, black pudding, and yes… the aforementioned haggis. Trust me, I don’t think I would have ordinarily. I was at a dinner party and didn’t want to offend my Scottish friends. The only thought that ran through my head was that I was going to get sick. Luckily that didn’t happen. It wasn’t too bad.
The ick foods for me are things like anchovies, caviar, and artichokes. I don’t know why.
You also mentioned that about the beef. Did you know the beef in Canada tastes different than the beef in the US?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:08 pm.
Wow, I like most of your ick foods. even anchovies. Love artichokes, but you have to know how to prepare them right. I had heard that about beef. Is it the grains or the water?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:24 pm.
I was raised with the idea that you have to have one bite of anything served. If you don’t like it that’s fine but you have to try with an open mind. I was 35 when I discovered I liked green beans when they are fresh and steamed. My mom had only served canned beans. With two boys I raised them both the same way and one will try anything now and the other will only eat certain things. The only thing I’ve never tried a second time is escargot. The first time it was gritty and I couldn’t handle the texture. I’ve been told that that grit isn’t there if it is prepped correctly but I haven’t had a chance since to try it again and I don’t plan on going out of my way to try.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:10 pm.
Grit in food is a major ick for me. This weird food has to be metiulously cleaned or it is really gross.
Canned veggies ruined many a kid for any veggies. The only canned veggie I like is corn. Canned corn has its own taste and isn’t bad at all.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:26 pm.
When I was younger I used to eat oysters, fish, liverwurst, and mushrooms. Now, I absolutely cannot eat them. With anything that comes from the water, the fishy smell nauseates me. It happened when I was pregnant with my son and got worse when I was pregnant with my daughter. Mushrooms are a texture thing. Taking anatomy and learning what your liver does, turned me off of liverwurst. Of course, taking anatomy turned me off lots of meat for a semester or two.
I’m always up to try different fruits and vegetables. Meats, it depends. I liked ostrich. The purple colored meat was kind of odd.
My 9 yo dd is a PICKY eater. She ate more food when she was a toddler than she does now. She flat out refuses to eat stuff that she used to eat, and I’m not sure why. I do wonder if she has Selective Eating Disorder because she’s SO picky about food.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:27 pm.
I have heard of pregnancy doing that to people. I never took anatomy. I’d probably go vegetarian like you did if I knew all the details.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:28 pm.
Hi Madeline! Clearly you have a live topic here!
Our house was similar to yours…if Mom put it on the table, you ate it (or wore it). I’m usually willing to try about anything, but do have some things that trigger the gag reflex….Tuna, Mushrooms and Peas….put them all together, and what do you get? The nastiest casserole known to man. I HATE tuna and noodle casserole! Ugh!
Also, not a huge fan of sushi…I think it’s the texture and the whole “not cooked” thing. I’m a farm girl at heart…meat and potatoes are my friend.
I think the weirdest thing I’ve eaten are mountain oysters (of the mutton variety) or escargot. Wasn’t a big fan of either one, but I tried them!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:32 pm.
Are mutton oysters what I think they are?
I still make tuna noodle casserole. No peas, though. DH is not wild about it, but he dosn’t complain. It is one of second son’s 10 food items, too. You would probbly think mine is nasty too.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:30 pm.
I’m a picky eater. I mean, I like Mexican food and Chinese and Indian, etc., but it has to be something I recognize. And I won’t eat raw fish (or any fish but tuna), or anything that could potentially eat me (alligator, snake, shark, etc).
My nephew, though, will try anything. He ate a grub at an bug show.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:46 pm.
How old was he when he ate the grub?
I’d think eating those who could eat you would be easy to do. Chomp, chomp, so there, I win!!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:31 pm.
He was 9. 10 now, he’s the same fella who prefers to order halibut or mahi-mahi when we go out to eat, while I get a burger. *g*
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 6:14 pm.
I’m not a picky eater, but the DH sure is, which was a bit of a shock when we got married. He won’t eat ham and my family loves ham, so suddenly half my recipes were no good. I think he belongs to the “10 food items only” club that your son is a member of.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 12:49 pm.
Yep, it is a big club. I have friends who are in it. Whole lists of what they won’t eat. I like ham every now and then. I will cook a whole one, then give hunks of it away. No one much has a family big enough for a whole ham anymore. That must be why you had all those recipes for it—to use the leftovers?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:33 pm.
Hmmmm…growing up in Trinidad in the Caribbean we have a multi-ethnic history influenced by African, Indian, Syrian/Lebanese, Chinese, Spanish and French backgrounds, so there are a lot of things I will eat, vegetables, root vegetables (we call them ground provisions), blood sausages, pigs feet, “wild” meat including armadillo to name a few. I think I will try tasting somethings once I don’t know what they are. That being said, I don’t think I would eat rabbit because I always think of Thumper from Bambi. Weird huh?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:34 pm.
Not weird at all. Hunters have never forgiven Disney for making Bambi.
Armadillo, huh? Just preparing it must be a day’s work.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:35 pm.
I wonder if there’s anyone else here who doesn’t like olives. Have tried them many times and my reaction was always the same – ugh!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:35 pm.
I don’t hate olives, but I am not wild about them either. I will remove them from recipes if they are optional, like my layered taco dip. The brine in which they are prepared is a factor, plus the green ones are often bitter.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:36 pm.
I’m probably more of an adventurous eater than cook–I fall back to the same old tried and true stuff for meal preparation. Weiderest thing I’ve ever eaten? Hmmm…gator? shark? (both are better than escargot!)
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:39 pm.
I don’t think I have ever had shark. I expect it tastes like other meaty fish like tuna or swordfish. My mother once mentiond in passing at my sister’s house that when in Japan she had eaten dolphin. OMG, my nieces were hysterical with shock that anyone would eat a dolphin, due to their intelligence. Poor mom. She did not know what to say when they piled on her for that one.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:44 pm.
My mom cremated the liver when I was a kid. Many years later she had improved her method and I really enjoyed it. Other ick factor foods when I was a kid were sweetbreads, beef tongue, and frog legs. I remember being in the meat market as a kid and looking at that huge tongue really grossed me out. However I had tongue stew at a Basque restaurant and sweetbreads at a French restaurant and they were great. I still can’t imagine eating frog legs or snails, and certainly not horse, but I’m getting better at trying unusual foods.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:45 pm.
Seeing some of this raw does not help at all. When I had tongue it came in thin slices, so it did not look like a big tongue. If it had, that might have done me in.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:39 pm.
Picky. Like all on my father’s side of the family (my father, his cousin, his cousin’s children,…) through all generations. So I don’t think it has anything to do with how I was raised.
I do not like any seafood (my father doesn’t eat anything that can fly) so it wasn’t easy for my mom. But I refused to eat it and would go hungry to bed.
I’m still picky with vegetables and salad – but I eat more of these nowadays and try more.
I hate liver – for me it is sandy and dusty. I didn’t try any other organs and will avoid it – if I can.
I do love cheese, especially Parmeggiano Reggiano, Grana Padamo, Gorgonzola, Appenzeller, Gruyère, Roquefort
I started eating goat cheese, I even like some. I wouldn’t have tried it a few years ago.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:53 pm.
I wonder why you father would not eat things that flew. Was it taste, or philosophy (like, they are so beautiful they should not be eaten)?
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:41 pm.
He had to eat a lot chicken when he was in hospital as a boy. He never ate it again. He didn’t eat meat as a child, because he didn’t like it the way his mother cooked it. That changed later on though. He grew up on potatoes and sauce basically.
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 5:01 am.
I am medium-picky, I guess. My mom was not an adventurous cook so my palate was rarely challenged. We did eat a lot of Chinese and I grew up near San Francisco so it was good Chinese. Mom didn’t like Mexican food which is now a staple for me here in SoCal. But I admit to being very, very picky about fish and I would never eat organ meat knowingly. The dh fondly remembers liver and onions from his childhood. That’s fine, as long as it’s just a memory.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:56 pm.
My DH has fond memories that will never be experienced again. In his case it is lima beans. I am not fond of any beans but especially not those. No way to dress them up so they don’t taste beany.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:45 pm.
Anything with little feet, antenna or eyes still attached. I don’t want to recognize something that was at one time living as something I’m putting in my mouth.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:57 pm.
That makes sense. It affects me too. Not so much with something like lobster. But those frog legs—man, they really look froggy.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:46 pm.
Liver & onions…a dish whose cooking odors could literally drive me from the house when growing up.
When I was a child I was a member of the “I only eat 10 things” club.
That expanded quite a lot as I matured but the quantum leap into strange foods came when I fell into a crowd of vegetarians 20+ years ago.
Fortunately I live in an area crammed with ethnic food choices. When my future husband began taking me to Ethiopian, southern Indian, Burmese and Thai places I fell in love with vegetarian foods.
Over time meats, especially organ meats, became completely disgusting to the eyes and nose.
IMO a masala dosa is so much better than any burger or steak. Better for you, better for the cow, better for the planet.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 1:59 pm.
As you can tell from my blog, I know how the smell of liver can make some people sick. I even understand why. It is strong and distintive.
Asian vegetarian seems more interesting than American vegetarian food. The american version relies too heavily on beans for me.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:49 pm.
Had to laugh at your tale of your first date. Mine was similar, only in reverse. Hubby took me to a Cuban restaurant and ordered (for himself) squid paella, which is squid and rice cooked in the squid ink. Now, having grown up in Thailand, I’d eaten plenty of squid in my life and liked it. But squid ink? That did NOT sound appealing. I ordered some seafood thing. Turned out, his dish was the best in the place. I tasted it, and it was delicious. After that, I was all about the squid paella.
The weird thing is, Hubby is a picky eater. He’s kind of adventurous (and if he likes it, he doesn’t care what it is), but he has only a limited number of foods he’ll actually eat regularly. It’s a bit odd.
Meanwhile, I am very adventurous. I’ll try anything once, as long as it doesn’t have mayo! But there are certain things I don’t like–cilantro, gorgonzola and blue cheese, horseradish, and liver when it’s just by itself and not part of a dish (I LOVE a little bit of liver in something and I love liver pate–just not liver by itself). I don’t think any food grosses me out. I’d probably try the bug thing even. But there are tastes I don’t like.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:07 pm.
Oh, and as for how it relates to how you were raised, I hated mayo from a young age. My mom made me eat it. One day when I was about 12 she caught me holding my nose while I swallowed cole slaw whole so I wouldn’t have to chew and taste the mayo. That’s when she gave up on trying to get me to eat it. *G*
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:11 pm.
I hate mayo, too. It’s gross. I only use it when I make potato salad, but there are enough of the other flavors – relish, onions, mustard, etc, that you can’t taste it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 3:34 pm.
Potato salad is my idea of hell.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 6:01 pm.
I’m with you. I can’t stand mayo. Yuck.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:17 pm.
I don’t like blue cheese either. Can’t get over the idea that it’s spoiled. Mould on food = bad food = not-to-be-eaten food.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:16 pm.
I was going to say the same thing about blue cheese.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 3:31 pm.
Im okay with blue cheese. I get the mayo part. I use Miracle Whip, since it tangs it up, but I rarely use mayo.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:52 pm.
And mayo on hamburgers is one of my ick foods. I just can’t understand the appeal at all. I think the very idea is gross.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:53 pm.
I don’t like Miracle Whip either. To me, they’re the same. Ugh!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 6:02 pm.
I love pate too. Not enough to go to the trouble to make it. But I will often buy a little for myself, along with a really good french roll.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:51 pm.
I like liver pate, too. My mom used to make me sandwiches with it for my lunch at school. I’m sure my friends all thought I was odd, but I LOVED it!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:19 pm.
After reading all these comments, I can say that compared to most of you, I am NOT adventurous. But I don’t think I’m really picky either. One food that I have loved since childhood is scrapple. It’s impossible to find where I live so I went online to search for a source and learned that there are two distinct kinds of scrapple makers: those who use snouts and those who don’t – and it’s apparently a point of honor!. My mom and I laughed and laughed over that. One of my last memories of her.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:12 pm.
Ahhh, scrapple. Never had it. I don’t think it would stop me even knowing now about the snouts. I doubt I would love it, though.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:54 pm.
Ick foods for me is any and all organ foods except beef liver and chicken or turkey gizzards, love them! And I hate all seafood, in all of its guises. I will eat tuna or halibut if my options are nil but I won’t like it.
For me the weirdest ick food I ate was octopus, it was like chewing a chunk of rubber.
I have never eaten kim chee but after smelling my downstairs neighbor cooking it over the course of 8 years I have absolutely no desire to rectify that.
I will eat most things with good grace but I want to know up front what is going in my system so I can make an informed choice. If someone wants to feed me snake or insects I am informing you right now, it is not going to happen.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:18 pm.
Peach Enchilada recipe!
1 stick butter
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
6 oz. Mountain Dew
1- 8 pack crescent rolls
1- large can peaches, or fresh
Melt butter, sugar, and cinnamon.
Roll peaches in crescent rolls.
Grease pan, place crescent wrapped peaches in pan. Pour buttter sauce over peaches. Pour Mt. Dew over all.
Bake at 350 for 40-45 mins. *we topped with vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 3:00 pm.
Thanks Kelly, we will try this very soon,
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:13 pm.
Oh YUM!!! Can’t wait!! Thanks, Kelly!
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 9:17 am.
Octopus is one of my ick foods. I don’t even want to taste it. In this case it is much like tripe—I am repulsed by the looks of it.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:55 pm.
Oh, when the French served you brains, they just took a sheep’s brain and plopped it on your plate. I *think* they’ve stopped eating them now that we know where mad cow/Creutzfeld Jakob disease comes from, but I wouldn’t guarantee it. But then, I ate in a French high school cafeteria with almost all French people, so they didn’t sugar-coat things.
And the quenelles *might* have been brains, since they’re made of sort of leftover bits of meat. Usually, they’re just random chicken or something. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quenelle
As for me… liver, raw onions, any weird organ meats… I count my years as a vegetarian as a reaction to my time in France. I’m not anymore, but there are things I still won’t go near.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:39 pm.
Oh and someone mentioned blood sausage. SHUDDER. And tongue. GAG.
And I’m with Sabrina Jeffries on the mayo. I sort of like it now with a chicken sandwich or even sparingly in egg salad (which I eat about once a year), but my mom used to make cole slaw and save out a portion of the cabbage (which I would eat – I hate it now, though) without dressing for me.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:46 pm.
I like cole slaw made without mayo. There are recipes that are more vinegar dressing based. In general mayo is okay to me if it is sparingly used. And it is a major ick if it is heavily used.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:58 pm.
My mom makes world class coleslaw and she uses mayo and that is fine with me. I can eat it in potato salad, which I make very well, beyond that I really hate mayo. I don’t even like the smell of it. I will substitute sour cream or ranch whenever possible.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:55 pm.
I can’t deal with any organ meats, either. I also can’t deal with the sight of raw chicken, it totally grosses me out! I’m of Italian descent, so I love cheese, but I don’t like gorgonzola & any blue cheese variety. I could do without sushi, too, any raw fish isn’t for me.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 2:46 pm.
I totally understand what you mean about raw chicken. In general, I would stop eating chicken if I could afford to. I hate to handle it, and it always needs extra cleaning now that they use machines. I buy mine aleady cut up now—not having to tackle the naked dead bird is worth the few extra pennies.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 4:59 pm.
I was a very picky eater as a child but have become an adventurous eater as an adult. I still retain my dislike of mushy foods though. Never could stand jello (and they still tried to feed it to me as a kid when I was sick) or oatmeal. I’m a lot better about texture now but of all things I can’t stand grits. The texture just makes me gag. Even looking at them is icky to me. And yet they are a favortite of so many people. I’m happy to live in the northeast where I don’t encounter them very often.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 5:38 pm.
Every now and then I see grits, but I have never tried them. I guess they are a “carrier” food— you put other stuff on them like syrup and butter to docter up the flavor? But they do look pretty mushy, so I’ll bet they are tops of your ick list.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:36 pm.
I don’t consider myself adventurous, but like you, I ate what was put in front of me (my sister and I still ponder that unknown we called mystery meat), so will give almost anything a try. Not a fan of organ meats, but they graced our table a time or two to expand our children’s palates. Hate lima beans, but they, too, made it to the table. Surprisingly, two of the kids like them; only one sided with Mom. I’ve discovered I like some sushi, but not all. Calamari is still a favorite even after I discovered what it is. Picky eaters in our house left the table hungry, so teneded to get over the problem fairly quickly.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 6:14 pm.
Considering how I was raised, I am astonished at what a wimp I have been with my own kids on this whole question. I’d like to say it is a matter of picking one’s battles, but I was a wimp in other things too.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:38 pm.
I’m not a fan of organ foods either. I was somewhat picky as a kid but have ventured out a little more as I have gotten older. My mom served us frog legs under the guise of chicken and we had rabbit and venison occasionally. I even remember turtle soup but I have no idea if it had anything to do with turtles and I don’t think I want to know. As an adult I have eaten rattlesnake and buffalo. Hubby is meat and potatoes and likes a limited menu so it’s pretty basic stuff at my house.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 6:16 pm.
What does buffalo taste like? I gather it is a very lean red meat, low in fat? The turtle soup probably did use turtles if your mom had access to frogs legs
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 8:39 pm.
It’s been awhile but I don’t remember too much about buffalo. I think it was OK. I also have had beefalo (cross between cow and buffalo) and I remember that I did enjoy it.
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 1:55 am.
Liver. So totally gross. It filters toxins out of the body, so why would you want to consume all those toxins?!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:07 pm.
I was very adventurous until I developed a million food allergies and intolerances. Now I’m very limited in what I can eat. It’s very sad- I think I miss the seafood the most.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:20 pm.
I like all kinds of food. Tripe is a little odd.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 9:45 pm.
I will try it at least once. I am daring.
Growing up here in Alaska I got to try different types of native foods….and there are some “different” ones. I also have friends from the Philippines that have cooked different dishes for me. I have a few that are my favorites.
I also had the chance to enjoy a Scandinavian (sp??) Christmas. There was some foods there that I really enjoyed.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:12 pm.
I’m not terribly adventurous when it comes to food… though there are many foods that I’ve heard of that I’d love to try.
For me, the ‘ick’ foods are squid, mushrooms, and onions. Yuck. Will never, EVER eat them if I can avoid it.
One thing that I LOVE that tends to be a bad one for others is olives. YUM! I can eat olives straight out of the jar, any kind, too… green ones, calamata, black, you name it, I’ll eat it.
When I went on my trip to Scotland last May, I promised myself that I’d try anything and everything. I didn’t want to miss out on anything good… so when it came to eating black pudding and haggis… well, I had a go. And I LOVED them!! My husband thought they were so-so, but I absolutely loved everything about them; the smell, taste, and texture. Yum!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:14 pm.
OH, and I once tried my husband’s plate of shark… It was very odd… it had the taste of chicken, but the texture of fish. It’s not something that I would go out of my way to get again, but it wasn’t terrible.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:16 pm.
My ick food is a polish dish that my dad used to eat. It was called chanina, which means duck blood soup. I don’t think that I’m too picky, but for some reason I don’t like polish dishes and I’m polish!
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:19 pm.
Growing up I was 1 of 7 kids and there was no being picky. You ate what was on the table, and be thankful if something was.
As an adult, I eat just about anything with the exception of Italian sausage and shellfish ( allergic to it). Oh and lemon pound cake, gag me with a spoon.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 10:43 pm.
I’m a very picky eater, despite my mother’s trying to make me eat anything she gave me. Many is the time I sat at the table long after dinner was over because I hadn’t finished my vegetables. The food that everyone seems to love and has a total ick factor to me is lobster and crab. They look like giant alien bugs and I won’t eat anything I have to eat with a pair of pliers.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:43 pm.
I would say I’m picky eater at times but I try to try things at least twice. My mother would also say how dumb we were if we didn’t try food that she has tried and tried to bring it on us. She would even call my father dumb at times because he (and my younger brother) are the most picky eaters in our family if they won’t try the food. Yet he eats chicken brains and eat chicken blood jello-pudding? I would say I tried chicken brain before and liked it but that was years ago. At the moment I don’t eat a lot of food most people eat, like yogurt, but then I love yogurt ice cream.
Posted on January 15, 2013 at 11:46 pm.
I’m a pretty adventurous eater. I like to try everything, especially when we’re on vacation in a foreign country I like to try some local specialties.
The most weird food I’ve eaten are either escargots or haggis I think.
Posted on January 16, 2013 at 5:04 am.
I can do liver as long as I don’t see it in its raw state but anything that wobbles like oysters is too hard to swallow -Also caviar..
Posted on January 18, 2013 at 12:43 am.
Sexy Saturday Round-Up « Lady Smut says:
[...] You know my little foodie heart loves this one. The Goddess Blogs on weird food. [...]
Posted on January 19, 2013 at 6:24 am.