# Aversion to cucumber and melon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 31, 2011, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426 "2011-10-31T20:57:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![hosihime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ad7895/32.png) [@hosihime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hosihime)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/41 "2013-01-02T14:32:03Z")
_GASP_ I also **HATE** cucumber, melons AND watermelons! And people always consider me odd šŸ˜‘ I find them bland with a somewhat bitter taste. Ugh. I donā€™t mind pickles though. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/42 "2013-01-02T15:03:14Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > Yup. Itā€™s probably the [cucurbitacins](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucurbitacin) that cuke/squash/melon haters are having problems with. I donā€™t like all of those too. Now I know that thereā€™s a reason! Especially cucumbers. If theyā€™re in something, they ruin it for me even if I pick them out. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/43 "2013-01-02T15:18:15Z")
There are such things as bitter melons, or even poisonous ones (depending on the species). There are versions of lots of vegetables and fruits with toned-down flavors for super-tasters/hypertasters/whatever. There are ā€œburplessā€ cucumbers for those whose G.I. tracts apparently hyperventilate on exposure to normal cukes. For those with palates too sensitive for regular tomatoes, try white or other pale-skinned types, which have essentially no flavor that I can detect. Small yellow pear tomatoes are especially tasteless. I anticipate the next big thing in prepared foods (after the gluten-free phenomenon) will be tasteless foods. Come to think of it, theyā€™re most of the way there already. šŸ™‚ ---
**Author:** ![furdmort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@furdmort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furdmort)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/44 "2013-01-02T15:29:54Z")
> [@brittekland](#): > > **Cucumber ā€œadds/introducesā€ freshness,** rather than ā€œflavorsā€, to otherwise meaty or starchy dishes but I guess that depends on whether you can tolerate cucumber. > > One of our familyā€™s traditional side dish is cold mashed potatoes with extremely thinly sliced cucumber and onion (along with butter, mayo, salt and pepper to taste; mix them into hot mashed potatoes and let it cool). Cucumber is incapable of adding freshness. It can only add puking and gagging. It contaminates all food with which comes in to contact. Cucumber tastes like watermelon rind, and youā€™re not supposed to eat that. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/45 "2013-01-02T15:39:09Z")
You know, Iā€™ve never actually met a person in real life who reviled cucumbers? Didnā€™t care for them, yes, but someone who gagged when the cucumber is brought to the table? Never seen it. I may start carrying one around with me to wave at people to see if I can smoke one out. ---
**Author:** ![Space\_Vegetable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Space\_Vegetable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Space_Vegetable)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/46 "2013-01-02T15:42:20Z")
> [@Lord\_Mondegreen](#): > > If someone claims to like something, they canā€™t really then claim that they taste of nothing, otherwise thereā€™s nothing to "like. Some might like the texture or crunchiness or scent of a food, even if it has little taste. I like cucumbers and melons well enough, but edamame, ick, most horrible food ever. I was intrigued to find soy products on the linked ā€œsupertasterā€ wiki page. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/47 "2013-01-02T16:28:10Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > You know, Iā€™ve never actually met a person in real life who reviled cucumbers? Didnā€™t care for them, yes, but someone who gagged when the cucumber is brought to the table? Never seen it. I may start carrying one around with me to wave at people to see if I can smoke one out. One of my weirdnesses is that I adore pickled cukes, but canā€™t stand them raw. The power of vinegar and/or lactic acid, I guess. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/48 "2013-01-02T19:24:08Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > I may start carrying one around with me to wave at people to see if I can smoke one out. You can smoke a herring, but you canā€™t smoke a cucumber. ---
**Author:** ![CathyC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8491ac/32.png) [@CathyC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CathyC)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/49 "2013-10-03T21:09:15Z")
So good to hear other people having problems with melon and cucumber - my family have ridiculed me for years, although my eldest daughter does have the same problem. Generally we all love our food and will try anything. There is just one other food that I cannot tolerate ā€¦ Celery. And I can detect it in any dish! Nobody seems able to understand this. At 50 years old, I seem to have recently developed a quite severe allergic reaction to gherkins ā€¦although I like them. Interestingly I have never had a reaction to Macdonalds gherkins and Iā€™ve had plenty of them over the years. If anyone can make any more sense of this, Iā€™ll be grateful! Iā€™ve been told thereā€™s a link to my hay fever / rag weed allergy which again has developed only very recently. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/50 "2013-10-03T21:21:18Z")
My husband has the same aversion to melon and cucumber. I donā€™t know if heā€™s a supertaster or not, but he has a rare ablilty to smell very small amounts of cyanide. Might they be related? I know the cyanide detection is genetic. Maybe all of you who canā€™t stand melon should check in with Home Land Security and see if they have an opening. Oh, never mind, theyā€™re closed. Seriously, hubby was headhunted for a DoD project just for this ability. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/51 "2013-10-03T21:40:48Z")
Hmmmā€¦ I canā€™t stand melons, am indifferent to cucumbers, and love squash, which is interesting since theyā€™re all related. I donā€™t have that ā€œPoison!ā€ reaction to any of them ā€“ though I do have a similar reaction to many fruits, especially peaches, raspberries, and strawberries. (Maybe Iā€™m fructose intolerant?) I hate beets, and as I said Iā€™m indifferent to cucumbers, but other than that Iā€™ve yet to encounter a vegetable that I donā€™t love. ---
**Author:** ![Dax-ion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@Dax-ion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dax-ion)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/52 "2013-10-03T22:13:52Z")
Had a cat that I swear got stoned from cantaloupeā€¦ craved it but would get all weird like with catnip. Drooling, hyper, paranoidā€¦ it was scary. Whatsup with that? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2013, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/53 "2013-10-03T22:28:43Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > I honestly didnā€™t know there were people with such anti-cucumbrist sentiments, because they donā€™t seem to have any strong flavor of their own. After all, itā€™s not like weā€™re taling about spinach or broccoli. OTOH I have heard of people whose digestions cannot tolerate them very well. Thatā€™s interesting, 2 year old post, because Iā€™m quite fond of broccoli and spinach, and I donā€™t find their flavors overpowering at all. I eat around the cucumber in a salad and endure the residual flavor it has left on everything it has touched, but I wouldnā€™t recognise that a dish even contained spinach unless I saw it. Iā€™m quite certain Iā€™m not a super taster. I just find the taste of cucumber distinct, overpowering and unpleasant. ---
**Author:** ![empresslaura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/db5fbb/32.png) [@empresslaura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/empresslaura)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/54 "2014-05-23T19:29:42Z")
It is soooo nice to hear Iā€™m not in this world alone - LOL I get the strangest looks when I tell people I canā€™t stand the taste of cucumbers and melon (okay, I do like watermelon, but it is the only one). Somebody mentioned being able to eat cucumber if it is enclosed in sushiā€¦I poke it out with my chopstick. Canā€™t stand the crunch or the flavor. Iā€™ve gotten to the point when Iā€™m at a restaurant of telling them that Iā€™m allergic to it. Keeps the odd looks and comments of ā€œhow can you not like it, they donā€™t taste like anythingā€ā€¦Anyway, thanks peopleā€¦I feel human again - LOL ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2014, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/55 "2014-05-23T23:06:52Z")
Cantaloupe = makes me literally vomit Watermelon = meh, the seeds & texture turn me off, but it tastes OK Cucumber = nothing. Marinate in salt/vinegar and itā€™s pretty good. So thatā€™s my data point for youā€¦ nothing interesting, except I donā€™t meet many people like me who literally get nauseated at even a whiff of cantaloupe/muskmelon. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/56 "2014-05-24T02:18:56Z")
Well, the oral allergy syndrome thing for cucumbers is real. However, mine only rears its itchy head when Iā€™m concurrently bedeviled with the corresponding pollen allergen. Cucumbers in the winter are fine. As far as flavor, to me there isnā€™t much, but they can be a bit bitter close to the rind in large fruits. The best, freshest, sweetest ones I ever tasted were yard-long (also known as burpless) ones I grew one year that got frost-kissed. Other oral allergy syndrome items that have bothered me at times are turnip roots, carrots, cabbage, strawberries, walnuts, kiwi fruit, celery, melons, and pineapple. The problem (itchy soft palate, tongue, and gums) only happens with the raw items. Cook them, and no reaction occurs. Thatā€™s too bad, because I really like raw turnips, carrots, and cabbage. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hey\_Hey\_Paula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_Hey_Paula)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2014, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/57 "2014-05-24T02:58:13Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > One of my weirdnesses is that I adore pickled cukes, but canā€™t stand them raw. The power of vinegar and/or lactic acid, I guess. And Iā€™m the opposite - love fresh cucumbers, but NO NO HELL NO to pickled cucumbers of any type. Sweet, dill, whatever, they all taste like nasty, sour poison to me. ---
**Author:** ![noebry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9de053/32.png) [@noebry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noebry)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/58 "2014-06-23T21:01:28Z")
So glad I found this board. I thought I was alone. People think Iā€™m some kind of nut because the smell of cantaloupe or watermelon makes me sick. So many people tell me that I canā€™t smell lettuce or cucumbers. I can tell when lettuce has been taken off my bread. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/59 "2014-06-23T21:14:09Z")
I donā€™t really like cucumbers, although they donā€™t disgust me, and watermelonā€™s ok, if not my favorite. I canā€™t get into cantaloupe/muskmelon though. They smell like theyā€™re starting to rot, and that grosses me out. ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426/60 "2014-06-24T00:58:12Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I think watermelon and cucumber taste extremely similar and extremely awful, but Iā€™m the opposite of a supertaster. Iā€™m aā€¦ hypotaster or something. Because its extremely subjective, you have to take the the definition extremely loosely. Because you object to a food that doesnā€™t actually taste really strongly, the pathway is the same, the supertaster pathway between a bitter taste and ā€œrevoltā€. That is, you objectively measure the taste as not strong, but your brain kicks in with a subjective" OH yuck !". [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aversion-to-cucumber-and-melon/601426.md?page=4)