Tonight I was feasting on some Happy Planet split pea Moroccan soup with spinach and cumin (mixed into Uncle Ben’s ‘90-second’ long grain and wild rice for instant slurpable satiety).
Never had it before; the packaging totally suckered me in, but as I was heating it up, I was like -
“oh”…
Stale notes of lard, Jimmy Hoffa’s body, and other unmentionables wafted my way in waves of noxious vapours (giving me them!), coating me in this effluvium of, um, harsh.
After removing my face shield and standing up out of my crouch ten feet away from the table and putting down my prod, I sat down to the offending gruel and discovered that it was actually pretty darn good.
This Micheal enjoyed it.
It got me thinking to other examples, and realised - please - do not sit down to a bowl of Cheerios or have a peanut butter sandwich in my vicinity. Or putting vinegar on your french fries.
Any stuff you can think of that smells kinda gross but tastes ok?
Never had it - but am told that Limburger is the stinkiest cheese on earth. Oui? Non?
More prosaically, eggs. They always smell juuuust a smidge sulphuric when they first hit the heat (or in the case of boiled, when they’re cracked), but they always taste so good.
When I was a wee celtling, my Great Aunt made this casserole that all the family loved. Food was a big deal in our family, and being a good guest was enforced at the end of a belt. But oh my dear Og that smell! It was horrible! The glass of milk smelled sour, and the casserole reeked of vomit. What a horrible night that was. And I was starving hungry after swimming and fishing all day at the lake. The casserole was the only option - the preparation of alternate dinners was literally unheard of by me.
After desperately quelling my gag reflex, I finally tried the food; it tasted wonderful, as Parmesan usually does.
Ground beef as it’s browning. Gag
As the OP mentioned: peanut butter. I love the stuff and eat it every day, but the smell of it if I’m not the one eating it is repulsive.
The smell of microwave popcorn is obnoxious as hell but it mostly tastes ok.
I adore a good curry but the smell of someone heating it up at work turns my stomach.
btw I have never found the smell of durian particularly unpleasant or overpowering. Is there really a strong majority there, or is it more of a 50/50 split?
As for strong cheese, while certainly a distinctive smell, if you like cheese it is not one you associate as bad. Perhaps there is room to distinguish between foods that register as unusual/pungent and ones your brain classifies as actually tainted, and there is not a sharp line dividing the two. (Even a given dish can vary widely: think about normal vs ultra-fermented kimchi/fish/tofu/cheese/etc)
ETA onions- they make your eyes actually water! Also mustard, chillies,…
An old roommate used to microwave some and my oh my it smelled like cancer puking its way into my system. Total chemically stench and in all honesty I never actually tried it, thanks to its toxic, stomach-turning bouquet, so it might not qualify here.
An old roommate used to microwave some and my oh my it smelled like cancer puking its way into my system. Total chemically stench and in all honesty I never actually tried it, thanks to its toxic, stomach-turning bouquet, so it might not qualify for my taste buds, here.
Good description If *only *it smelled like chemicals (instead of vomit). But really, once its done popping, the bag and it’s contents don’t reek, though of course the microwave and the surrounding area still do.
I agree on microwave popcorn. I really like popcorn, and I like how it smells when I make it in my hot air popper. But I hate the smell of microwave popcorn. I can eat it out of the microwave, but much prefer it made in the hot air popper.
But what made me open this thread is a food I have every January 1st: sauerkraut. I like eating kraut just fine, but I hate having to smell it cooking. We have it several times a year, and I hate smelling it cook.
The other night, I made a lemon-wine sauce for my pasta, and the smell was fairly unpromising. But I used it anyway, and it turned out pretty good.
(I’ve never understood how something can spell bad and taste good, when flavor is like ninety percent smell. Can someone explain to me how that happens?)
Broccoli steaming is pretty nasty smelling. But we all know it is good and good for you!! Right?
Avocado on toast smells horrible. It taste pretty gross, though. I guess that doesnt count.
Forgot to mention crab. I don’t love it, but I’ve enjoyed it the handful I’ve times I’ve had it. I hesitate to go to a seafood restaurant, however, because to be surrounded by the smell is torture for me. The one time I steamed some at home I regretted it for days:mad:
I’ve tried durian four or five times and was, hmm… disappointed it wasn’t more repulsive. I’ve since learned that almost all durians outside of the tropics were previously frozen for shipment. Apparently, this mellows the flavor and aroma significantly.
If *only *it smelled like chemicals (instead of vomit). But really, once its done popping, the bag and it’s contents don’t reek, though of course the microwave and the surrounding area still do.