Food dislikes-as guest, but will politely eat

[Medianox]

I just cannot handle the taste of black licorice in any form, anise, whatever.
It gives me a physical reaction immediately if tasted accidently....yecch.
The other thing that I will not eat is liver of any kind, beef, chicken, no way.
I guess also you could include any organ meat, though I have never had anything but liver, the idea of eating something's brain (or kidneys or heart, etc) just makes me want to vomit.

And bugs. I will not ever knowingly eat a bug served to me (though my mom tells me I used to eat ants when I was a kid, but I gave it up when I was 3), like a grasshopper or crickets or grubs or anything like that. No thank you. I had a co-worker a few years ago who was very adventurous and signed up for a "Cooking with Bugs " class. He came back and told us in glowing terms how yummy all the stuff was....and maybe it was, but we never let him sign up for any pot lucks after that.

I never buy, order or eat veal either, but thats more of a personal choice. I grew up liking lamb because my grandmother would make it a lot, but one day my oldest son (who is 8) overheard me talking about cooking some and burst into tears, crying out, "thats not fair-those lambs never hurt anyone-they are just LAMBS! You can't eat lambs!".
Made me cry too, and I haven't mentioned it since.

Beyond those things, not a picky eater.

[shootingstar]

Shootingstar, what are traditional Canadian Thanksgiving foods?

I'm not super picky in general (though left to my own devices I certainly have my preferences).

As I have responded throughout this thread, I will eat alot of things, without complaint. But I personally do have preferences..

Ever since as a child born and raised in Canada, there is no particular thxgiving food tradition we observed. For myself and my extended family, thxgiving is another day to have a bigger more special meal, usually with dishes we normally don't cook /prepare on a regular basis. Often a great excuse for others to try something new.

For my dearie, though his background is German, his family rarely had turkey. It's North American type of dish --roast turkey. For traditional German in past, goose or duck was a more a special occasion fowl. But we don't have these bird meats at home.

His daughter has alot of food dislikes, verging on phobias and won't eat:
brussel sprouts, asparagus,
most Chinese mustard greens (there's about 6 different varieties. This would include even neutral stuff like bok choy, Shanghai/pak choy, gai lan, you choy, etc.)

green tea
all root vegetables - that means no squash, beets, celery root, turnip, parsnips, pumpkin nor kohl rabi. But yes for for pumpkin pie,
carrot &potato
mushrooms
escargot
some meats (lamb, veal, pork, rabbit. She has a pet rabbit.)
a couple more things/food groups which I can't remember right now.

She is 31 yrs. old.
Honest, it takes the fun out of preparing a special, interesting meal on certain occasions. At least she likes sushi/sashimi, strong smelly cheeses, wine, etc. So we do go ahead to prepare 1-2 dishes that she doesn't like, along with stuff all 3 of us would like.

[shootingstar]

For thxgiving dinner, he's making a carrot soup, a seafood dish (not yet determined). I'm making 2 different focaccia from scratch, one of them smoked salmon with dill and focaccia, other one is a dessert one embedded with fresh grapes, flavoured with ginger,honey, anise, etc.

Probably 1-2 more items. Not sure. Probably serve a strong lovely smelly cheese. Our thxgiving dinners are pretty eclectic. We like it that way. Other years, dinners have been way more elaborate.

No, ever since I've been with him we have never made the effort to cook a whole bird. I don't even know how to cut up a chicken properly to cook or post-roasting/baking. If I prepare chicken, I buy chicken breast. Lazy me.

[malkin]

His daughter has alot of food dislikes, verging on phobias and won't eat...

She is 31 yrs. old.
Honest, it takes the fun out of preparing a special, interesting meal on certain occasions.

At least she likes sushi/sashimi, strong smelly cheeses, wine, etc. So we do go ahead to prepare 1-2 dishes that she doesn't like, along with stuff all 3 of us would like.

You're very accomodating. I'd probably tell her to bring her own Happy Meal.

[shootingstar]

Well, malkin I'm not a parent so maybe I'm not seeing certain things right here. I dunno.

But I was totally impressed to see my little 18-month old niece dig her hands into and stuffing her mouth with, chopped up steamed bok choy, pasta bow ties, mashed squash, rice, etc. She likes...green olives. Wow.

Her mother believes.. a parent should try a food (provided child is not allergic/sick from it) cooked in different ways...on a child 15-20 different times, before parent gives up. Of course, that could be over a period of months, years. She thinks alot parents don't gently try hard enough. It does take alot of patience.

Mother is a doctor.

[Onix]

I'm a vegetarian...so...meat is off the table. I also don't eat fish--so that is off the table too.

Otherwise...umm....I'll try anything just about once.


I can usually get my self out of anything though with a simple: "It looks really good, but my stomach has been really off the last few days, and I think I've got to stick with the boring stuff "

[ginny]

this is fun...

Um, the only food I really really hate is onions. Even in a nice restaurant, I will take the time to pick onions out of something, or I just won't eat. I swear there is some compound in there that only the onion hating among us can taste...

I have mild food allergies to peanuts, corn and soy. Unfortunately, I really like all three of those things, but as I get older, I learn it's just not worth it to eat corn chips, or yummy, salty peanuts.

I have had fresh Durian... I won't go out of my way to eat it again. If I found myself in Singapore again and it was offered to me once again, I would eat it to be polite. I also will not eat fois gras or veal from personal convictions. I was at a formal dinner last year, where the menu (not revealed prior to arriving at the dinner) involved BOTH fois gras and veal. I ate both as it was already prepared and set before me. I felt horrible about it.

I like the idea of gently trying foods a number of times. My SO will not tough asparagus. I'm sure he would appreciate it if I could hide what it is - though, if he did the same to me with onions, I would not be pleased, so we have eliminated asparigus from our diets.

[Mr. Bloom]

onions and garlic exile me to another room

boiled okra - yuck!

hog jowls and blackeyed peas - not since my mother force it on me in 1972! - Double Yuck!

Squash - eke

Grits - Despite my southern upbringing - NEVER!

Tea - Pass out allergic!

Coffee - can't stand anything with that flavor

[MomOnBike]

This thread makes me wonder (yet again) if, when we say we just don't like a food, what we are responding to is an allergy to whatever it is. For example, I have wondered if I have a banana allergy, they just tast & feel wrong.

DH says that cucumbers just don't agree with him, so all his cucumber slices magically translocate to my plate. Allergy? Intolerance? I have to wonder.

BTW, I'll help with any tea, onion, squash or root vegis anyone doesn't want.

Oh, and T-giving in our house has a group of Very Specific group of recipies I must fix and Cannot Be Altered! Turkey with a specific stuffing which includes a bread I make special, chorizo, various vegis & wine, brussel sprouts with garlic mustard butter, butterhorn rolls, Cranberry Chop-Chop good stuff (a mix of cranberries, onion and jalepeno) and a cranberry pound cake. Yes, this is caloric. I thank whatever is in charge of things I only have to cook this way once a year.

[malkin]

I would certainly not turn down any of the food at MomonBike's T'giving table!
And I would probably be found loitering around, schmoozing for that Chop Chop recipe...
*hint*

[Tuckervill]

I want this one:

garlic mustard butter,

Karen

[tctrek]

I am an incredibly picky/fussy eater. I cannot cook at all, so DH does all the cooking. He eats anything that will not eat him, but he usually cooks for me.. the fussy one.

DH and I explored why I am the way I am about food and we discovered that my mother was an awful cook -- I used to stuff my mouth with her food and run in the bathroom to get rid of it. We had to clean our plates, so that was how I did it. I wasn't bulimic or anything like that, just couldn't stand the taste of it!! For most of my childhood, I lived on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

It took me over 50 years to discover the roots of my food aversion -- now I try to eat different things, but I'm not always successful. I eat foods that I know I like and that are healthy for me but a limited menu. Sigh... I know DH would love it if I was more adventurous.

[Owlie]

I will not eat boiled or canned veggies unless someone serves it to me, the guest. The first time I went to visit DBF at his house in AZ, he had BEGGED his parents to make what his family usually does for Christmas dinner when I was there. They always do Norwegian meatballs, lefse, cranberries and...green bean casserole. DBF, thankfully, won't eat green beans in casserole form. That still meant choking down a serving of tinned green beans.

I will not eat liver or organ meat in any form. Nor will I eat anything gooey, squishy or gelatinous, invertebrates, or veal. If said gooey/squishy/gelatinous thing is of vegetable origin, I'll try a bit to be polite. (And occasionally, it turns out to be good!) If it's of animal origin...no. I have mild allergies to "undercooked" soy products and peanuts. (I can eat tofu, soy sauce and roasted peanuts with no trouble--if it's been fermented or cooked at high temperatures, I'm good. But no soy milk or edamame for me.) I don't particularly like red wine or beer (well, for the most part), but I can get through a glass.

DBF is a picky eater on top of having odd food allergies. He's allergic to bananas, melons with the exception of one hard-to-find variety, black olives and sulfites. I do most of the cooking, and have yet to make something that he doesn't like (his mom was amazed) but I'm waiting. Oh, and nothing can be touching anything else on his plate. I let him serve himself. I've broken him of that habit at least for curries and things. (No, dear, the sauce goes ON the rice...)

[PamNY]

Wow, I'm staggered by the range of things on the dislike list. My aunt used to call me the "human garbage can" and now I know why. In my defense, I do know and value quality in food.

I don't eat meat, but otherwise I will try and likely enjoy anything. I haven't learned to like natto or Marmite, but you never know.

This is OT, but I am truly sickened by the smell of meat, though I try to be impeccably polite about it. I guess the only foods I dislike are foods I have to eat while smelling meat.

Pam

[Owlie]

Oh, forgot one big one: Dried fruit. I hate the texture. Also, why would you dehydrate a perfectly good grape/apricot/whatever? The juice is the best part!