# Crazy food aversions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 18, 2015, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003 "2015-04-18T19:58:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/101 "2015-04-23T17:56:50Z")
Bell pepper as a default on pizza? I never heard of that. Around here (Philly area) anything other than sauce and cheese is considered a topping. Hamburger isn’t all that odd a pizza topping (although it’s called ground beef on the menus around here). Black olives are also a common offering. I don’t think I’ve ever seen green olives on a pizza. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/102 "2015-04-23T18:10:28Z")
Random tidbits. I knew a guy that hated green bell peppers. Because they were “hot”. Methinks it was in his mind. And olives on pizza? Apparently in some places in the world they put olives on pizza with the pits still in them. WTF? That’s like having a chicken sandwich with bone still in the chicken. ---
**Author:** ![prettydorky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/103 "2015-04-23T19:27:05Z")
I have one brother who hates all forms of rice. He grew up to marry a Japanese girl who has rice with almost every meal. Another brother hates eggs. Gets pissed off when other people cook them, even, he hates them that much. This one I can kind of see, since they do smell sort of gross to me too. I can’t do cantaloupe. Took me 3 tries just now to even spell it correctly. I can’t eat it, can’t eat the other fruit that’s touched it, the smell alone makes me nauseous and actually trying it (I do every few years), makes me gag. I know I ate it as a kid, but somewhere along the way my body said no. No idea why. My poor son, he loves it, and I have to restrain myself from shuddering if he eats it in front of me. Honeydew is like a weaker, less potent cousin of canteloupe. All other foods I dislike are just a preference issue, but I definitely have a full on aversion to cantaloupe. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/104 "2015-04-23T19:50:57Z")
> [@prettydorky](#): > > I can’t do cantaloupe. Took me 3 tries just now to even spell it correctly. I can’t eat it, can’t eat the other fruit that’s touched it, the smell alone makes me nauseous and actually trying it (I do every few years), makes me gag. I know I ate it as a kid, but somewhere along the way my body said no. No idea why. I don’t gag or anything if I have to eat cantaloupe, but I don’t like it much, mostly because it smells pre-rotten even when it’s perfectly ripe. This doesn’t seem to bother anyone but me (and probably you) though. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/105 "2015-04-23T19:52:15Z")
> [@Lorene89095](#): > > Runny egg yolks. > Meat that “bleeds” onto the plate. > Turkey tastes weird. > Frog legs (blarg) > Most seafood/fish > Oysters (ick) You are the anti-me. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/106 "2015-04-23T20:44:39Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Definitely not my experience growing up in Ohio. Which is good, because I don’t like bell pepper. Warren and Youngstown, late seventies and early eighties. Plenty of time for things to change. I still don’t like bell peppers on pizza. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/107 "2015-04-23T20:47:16Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Warren and Youngstown, late seventies and early eighties. Plenty of time for things to change. Oh, those wacky NORTHERN Ohioans. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/108 "2015-04-23T21:05:24Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Bell pepper as a default on pizza? I never heard of that. Around here (Philly area) anything other than sauce and cheese is considered a topping. Hamburger isn’t all that odd a pizza topping (although it’s called ground beef on the menus around here). Black olives are also a common offering. I don’t think I’ve ever seen green olives on a pizza. I worked at several different pizza places before and during college, and green olives were on the menu but I could count on one hand the times someone ordered them. Black olives, OTOH, were a very popular item. I grew up eating green olives, never black ones, because my mother, who did the grocery shopping and cooking, didn’t like them. I don’t really have a preference one way or another, except that I don’t like kalamata olives. I will eat them if they’re in something, but I won’t seek them out. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/109 "2015-04-23T21:07:06Z")
> [@prettydorky](#): > > I have one brother who hates all forms of rice. He grew up to marry a Japanese girl who has rice with almost every meal. > > Another brother hates eggs. Gets pissed off when other people cook them, even, he hates them that much. This one I can kind of see, since they do smell sort of gross to me too. > > I can’t do cantaloupe. Took me 3 tries just now to even spell it correctly. I can’t eat it, can’t eat the other fruit that’s touched it, the smell alone makes me nauseous and actually trying it (I do every few years), makes me gag. I know I ate it as a kid, but somewhere along the way my body said no. No idea why. My poor son, he loves it, and I have to restrain myself from shuddering if he eats it in front of me. Honeydew is like a weaker, less potent cousin of canteloupe. > > All other foods I dislike are just a preference issue, but I definitely have a full on aversion to cantaloupe. Cantaloupe aversion is not uncommon. I vaguely recall reading or hearing somewhere that it may be related to latex allergy; do you have that? In any case, if you have that strong an aversion to something, it means that you are not supposed to eat it. ---
**Author:** ![prettydorky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/110 "2015-04-23T21:08:10Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I don’t gag or anything if I have to eat cantaloupe, but I don’t like it much, mostly because it smells pre-rotten even when it’s perfectly ripe. This doesn’t seem to bother anyone but me (and probably you) though. YES! Very sickly and cloying to me. I think it’s the sheer strength of my reaction and the lack of any reasoning or negative associations that cause me to find my cantaloupe aversion crazy. ---
**Author:** ![prettydorky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f04885/32.png) [@prettydorky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prettydorky)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/111 "2015-04-23T21:09:20Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Cantaloupe aversion is not uncommon. I vaguely recall reading or hearing somewhere that it may be related to latex allergy; do you have that? In any case, if you have that strong an aversion to something, it means that you are not supposed to eat it. Wow, I didn’t know it was an actual thing. And I am not allergic to latex, but I am sensitive to latex condoms. Interesting! ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/112 "2015-04-23T21:19:37Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > Bell pepper as a default on pizza? I never heard of that. Around here (Philly area) anything other than sauce and cheese is considered a topping… Yep, and if you put anything in your cheesesteak except thin shaved steak, cheese and _maybe_ fried onions, you’re a bumpkin. And if you like your soft pretzels with anything except salt and mustard, or put mayonnaise in your Italian Hoagie instead of virgin olive oil, or eat Jimmy Dean sausage with your eggs, instead of Habbersett Scrapple…you better back out of town real slow, pardner. Regards, Tibby (former South Jersey & West Philly resident) ---
**Author:** ![Airk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9de053/32.png) [@Airk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airk)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/113 "2015-04-23T21:20:48Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I may win the thread here. I know a guy who has an aversion to chocolate!! I know someone who dislikes chocolate. She likes ‘fake’ (Swiss Miss, etc) hot chocolate because it tastes like sugar water, but anything that actually tastes like chocolate is a no go (though can usually be drowned in enough sugar). My uncle likes to “joke” that he only eats food that is brown or white. So for example, meat needs to be cooked until there is no red. No ketchup. No mustard. No pickles. No vegetables that aren’t potatoes, pretty much. There are probably foods that are brown or white that he won’t eat, but if it contains color, it’s probably safe that he won’t eat it. ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/114 "2015-04-23T21:26:11Z")
> [@Kimballkid](#): > > I may win the thread here. I know a guy who has an aversion to chocolate!! I wouldn’t call it an aversion, but a friend of mine doesn’t like chocolate. How can you not like chocolate?😕 ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/115 "2015-04-23T21:30:13Z")
My husband dislikes a lot of fruits, particularly peaches and cherries, and his mom makes the most delicious peach and cherry pies. More for me! ---
**Author:** ![67java89](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/aeb1de/32.png) [@67java89](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/67java89)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2015, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/116 "2015-04-23T21:43:51Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Definitely not my experience growing up in Ohio. Which is good, because I don’t like bell pepper. That’s so funny, because I grew up around Austintown and I remember the pizzas with green peppers. As a child I found it disgusting. ---
**Author:** ![GrumpyBunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bc8723/32.png) [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/117 "2015-04-24T01:35:35Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I don’t gag or anything if I have to eat cantaloupe, but I don’t like it much, mostly because it smells pre-rotten even when it’s perfectly ripe. This doesn’t seem to bother anyone but me (and probably you) though. I feel the same way about bananas. Blurg. ETA: I love cantaloupe, but can’t eat it. It is a relative of ragweed, to which I’m highly allergic. Cantaloupe is at its best locally as the ragweed is coming out. The reaction I had one year when the cantaloupe was especially tasty was not pretty. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/118 "2015-04-24T01:35:46Z")
It’s very insensitive and judgmental to call food aversions crazy. People can’t help what they like and don’t like. It’s **not** a choice. ---
**Author:** ![Lorene89095](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a8b319/32.png) [@Lorene89095](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorene89095)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/119 "2015-04-24T02:25:02Z")
Oh - wine tastes like rotten grapes – now I’ll admit I never tried “good” (expensive) wine. Beer smells like spoiled grain and tastes worse. I do like Bailey’s Irish Cream,but that may be the chocolate. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003/120 "2015-04-24T20:04:34Z")
> [@Lorene89095](#): > > How does everyone feel about Lemon Chess Pie… You know,custard with a little corn meal in it — or eggy sorta sweet cornbread in a pie shell… I don’t like any eggy sorta sweet anything. Eggs are meant to be savory, according to my taste buds. No flan or creme brulee for me, thank you. I also dislike all of the creamy sauces mentioned, plus creamy soups. I do like actual cream, though. I think it’s a thickness thing. My weirdest food aversion, I think, is the sudden-onset, sudden-offset (?) kind. As in, there are foods that I like just fine, or even love until one day, usually mid-bite, that certain food will suddenly completely gross me out. It’s usually a texture thing (shrimp and hard-boiled eggs being 2 recent offenders). Eventually, it fades and I like the food just fine again. Then more eventuals later, it will gross me out for while. Rinse and repeat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/crazy-food-aversions/718003.md?page=7)