# Do you prefer strong flavours? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533 "2010-09-21T13:29:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/1 "2010-09-21T13:29:14Z")
From the lamb thread: > [@Oh, dear. Too much lamb.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oh-dear-too-much-lamb/554500/15): > > I’ve never had lamb that I disliked. Unfortunately, my husband DOESN’T like it, so I rarely make it at home. I’ve heard several people say they don’t like lamb. They often say it’s too ‘strong’. It does taste different from beef, but I wouldn’t call it ‘stronger’; just ‘different’. (Of course I don’t know why **Lynn** ’s husband doesn’t like lamb. ‘Too strong’? Or is it just like come people don’t like cilantro; they just don’t like it?) I prefer dark chocolate to milk chocolate, red wine to white wine, lots of capsicum in my spicy dishes, chunk-light tuna to white tuna, dark roast coffee to medium roast, anchovies, sardines (especially with Sriracha sauce), dark meat to white meat, and you can never have too much garlic. My coworker is exactly opposite. Her daughter once gave me some potato curry, which she said was ‘too hot’. I didn’t detect any ‘heat’ at all. It just tasted like potatoes to me. Coworker brought in a jalapeño pepper, and to her amusement I munched on it like a carrot stick. Not that there’s anything wrong with delicately-flavoured foods; I like them as well. But given a choice of ‘mild’ and ‘bold’, for example, chocolate, tuna, coffee, whatever, I always go for ‘bold’. ---
**Author:** ![MTCicero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a4c791/32.png) [@MTCicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MTCicero)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/2 "2010-09-21T13:30:59Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > But given a choice of ‘mild’ and ‘bold’, for example, chocolate, tuna, coffee, whatever, I always go for ‘bold’. Ditto. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/3 "2010-09-21T13:36:26Z")
I grew up in a household in which Bland was the order of the day for medical reasons; I love lamb (and like it a lot better than beef), prefer dark chicken to light, want fish to taste of fish, but when it comes to heat I’m still getting used to it. If you ever came to my home for bean soup I’d make sure to provide a few guindillas and ask the grocer for “as hot as you can get 'em” for your amusement, but I’m not going to bite into them myself. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2010, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/4 "2010-09-21T13:43:36Z")
I usually prefer more flavorful versions of things. It doesn’t have to be spicy, but the flavor has to be distinct. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/5 "2010-09-22T00:41:04Z")
I do as well. My sister (a special ed teacher) recently mentioned something offhand about this being a marker of those who are at one end of the Asperger’s “neurotypical” spectrum. However, a brief search didn’t turn up any learned discussions of the matter. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/6 "2010-09-22T01:02:05Z")
I like strong flavors: Vegemite, worcestershire sauce, wasabi. Sometimes in the same bite! ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/7 "2010-09-22T02:36:00Z")
I do like very strong flavors–Indian hot pickles, among many examples. A few words about coffee, though. Roasting is a process with phases in which certain aromatic compounds are brought out, sequentially, _at the expense of others_. A light roast isn’t “less” than a dark roast; there are literally different sets of flavor compounds present. Some flavors that were present at the start of the process, or that arose in certain intermediate stages, are destroyed before the end. Floral flavors are gradually exchanged for more complex fruits; bright acidity flourishes then fades; fruits give way to syrup, caramel, wood and earth; then increasing smoke and oil; and finally everything reduces to char. > [@Joachim Eichner / Roast Magazine](#): > > It is a trend that began on the West Coast, and now coffee roasters across the country are jumping on board. It seems the adjectives “dark roast” and “good, strong coffee” have become synonymous. This is simply not true. Some coffees, of course, do taste great when roasted dark. However, a large part of the dark roast trend is simply that: a trend. Of course there are other reasons why dark roasts are appearing everywhere. Some are untrue beliefs based on perception; for example, the belief that darker coffees are stronger and contain more caffeine. In fact, the opposite is true. > [@Oren Bloostein](#): > > The darker a person roasts, the narrower the available flavor spectrum that is available to taste. If the coffee is truly a premium type that has all the interesting characteristics of its origin—the quirks, the subtle differences that separate the Sumatra from the Celebes, the Antigua from Huehue or Fraijanes—these would be lost in the dark roast. I mention this not to disparage either dark-roasted coffees or people that like them, but simply to encourage folks who may have been swept along in the trend towards very dark roasts to try some others. Some of the best coffee I’ve ever had was a very light roast, _brewed_ strong. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/8 "2010-09-22T02:53:06Z")
In some things. I like strong cheeses (well-aged cheddar, robusto provolone, peccorino romano), vinegar, tea. I enjoy dishes with garlic, some capsaicin (though I’m not fond of the actual peppers themselves…texture), worcestershire. I like sharp steak sauces. I’m not fond of strong-tasting meats, though…I don’t like lamb or mutton. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/9 "2010-09-22T03:33:48Z")
> [@spark240](#): > > I mention this not to disparage either dark-roasted coffees or people that like them, but simply to encourage folks who may have been swept along in the trend towards very dark roasts to try some others. Some of the best coffee I’ve ever had was a very light roast, _brewed_ strong. I agree that the strength of coffee and the roast of coffee are two different things. No matter the roast, I like it strong. FWIW, I bought eight pounds of Community Coffee (from New Orleans). It’s not The Best Coffee In The World, but it’s reasonably priced and very good. I got two pounds each of Medium Roast, Café Special (medium-dark), French Roast, and Dark Roast. I preferred them in the opposite order listed. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/10 "2010-09-22T03:38:28Z")
It really depends on my mood. I absolutely love the extremes: I like my gai pad grapao (Thai holy basil chicken) stinky with garlic and fish sauce and absolutely blazingly hot. I love stinky kimchi and pickled herring, fermented beans, blue cheese, Marmite, imperial IPAs, imperial stouts, geuezes (very sour Belgian ales), and the like. On the other hand, I also very much enjoy subtle and delicately flavored foods. My favorite hamburger is a simple cheeseburger with onion and pickle. I don’t need any additional crap on it. Roast chicken only needs salt and pepper on it. My morning coffee is always the lighter, milder roasts (which are usually higher in caffeine, anyway.) On a sweltering hot day, I want an Old Style, not a Dogfish Head 90. I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to pasta sauces. Give me flavorful tomatoes and some olive oil and I’m a happy man. So, for me, variety is the key. My preference does lean towards the stronger flavors, but I need to mix it up. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/11 "2010-09-22T03:49:50Z")
I could probably eat curry three times a week, so strong flavors are high on my list. Many people who don’t like lamb are possibly remembering the way American-raised lamb used to taste. I think the Kiwis and Aussies damn near put US producers out of business before they figured out they were doing it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![hellpaso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecae2f/32.png) [@hellpaso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hellpaso)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/12 "2010-09-22T04:14:01Z")
I prefer “strong” flavors. But I do hate cilantro! ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-prefer-strong-flavours/554533/13 "2010-09-22T04:15:04Z")
> [@hellpaso](#): > > I prefer “strong” flavors. But I do hate cilantro! Oh, yeah…cilantro. I’m a soap-taster. But that’s not a matter of taste, it’s a genetic thing.