# Foods that are great (or not) really because of texture, not taste. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 2, 2010, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362 "2010-09-02T08:10:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/41 "2010-09-02T18:12:02Z")
Peaches. Peeled: delicious. Unpeeled: barf. ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/42 "2010-09-02T18:22:02Z")
If I am going to dislike a food, 99.9% of the time it will be because of the texture, not the taste. I cannot, Things I dislike due to texture: Avocados (mushy & slimy) Whipped Cream (foamy) Merangue (foamy) - except baked merangue cookies, those are nice and hard and quite tasty. Raw tomatoes (Slimy seed area! Ick! And the texture of the fruit is mealy too.) Almost all apples except Granny Smith, Pippin, & sometimes Jonathan (mealy) ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/43 "2010-09-02T18:30:32Z")
Blueberry yogurt is out for me because of all the bugs in it. Yes, technically they’re mushy blueberries, but when I’m eating it, all my mouth and brain know is, “BUGS! BUGS IN MY FOOD!” I eat Skor bars just for their texture - they crunch _just right._ ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/44 "2010-09-02T19:00:28Z")
I bet that on a tonnage basis, more good edibles have been ruined by raisins than anything else. They don’t taste especially bad, but hitting that soft lumpy-chewy morsel in a crunchy cookie, a bite of moist, spongy cake, or hearty bowl of oatmeal just kills it for me. Blech. Have any of the water chestnut fans tried jicama? MIL puts it in salads sometimes, and it adds a lot. A little bitter, but mostly it adds a really nice crunchiness a lot like the water chestnuts do. ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/45 "2010-09-02T19:27:26Z")
In contrast, I really like the texture of raisins, but I hate the flavor. Just the absolutely wrong combo of too sweet and too brown a flavor. The only time I can put up with them is in fruit-and-nut chocolate bars. The texture of gelato is so good that I’ll eat flavors I care nothing about just for the smoothness. If you accidentally overchill carbonated water in the freezer and it freezes just right, there’s an amazing semi-soft ice thing that I can’t get enough of. But it’s hard to get it right, and usually it forms into more jagged ice crystals. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/46 "2010-09-02T20:04:59Z")
> [@Haunted Pasta](#): > > Have any of the water chestnut fans tried jicama? You know, I haven’t had jicama in a long time, but you’re right: texture-wise, they are _very_ similar to water chestnuts. Hmmm, I wonder how jicama wrapped in bacon would be? Mmmmm. Bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/47 "2010-09-02T20:15:55Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > I am a particular fan of [egg custards](http://www.paulnoll.com/Oregon/Cooking/dessert-egg-custard.html) that are made properly. Not [creme brulee](http://www.instructables.com/id/Creme_Brulee/), but a real egg custard. See, egg custards are more properly made with milk, and are fairly delicate in texture, creme brulee is made with cream and is more puddinglike. These look and sound delicious. I’ve never had them before but I really want to try some now. For me the main food that is especially great because of texture is gnocchi, which is my favorite ‘pasta’, if you can really call gnocchi pasta. The taste is rather similar to other pasta and/or dumplings, but that chewy texture is just glorious to me. Another one that may sound surprising is pig’s brains. I had this at a Hot Pot place in Chicago. It tasted very much like pork, but instead of the usual thick, tough (with comparison to other meats at least) texture of pork it was very tender, almost melt-in-your-mouth. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/48 "2010-09-02T20:38:45Z")
Foie Gras is the most texturally sensual food known to mankind. When prepared properly, there is nothing like that texture. It IS meat butter. ---
**Author:** ![Serenata67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/serenata67/32/10646_2.png) [@Serenata67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Serenata67)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/49 "2010-09-02T20:59:48Z")
I hate steak purely because of texture. I don’t mind the taste of beef; I eat hamburger, but I don’t like the muscle-y, sinew-y texture of steak. Never have. ---
**Author:** ![multimediac17](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/839c29/32.png) [@multimediac17](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/multimediac17)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/50 "2010-09-02T22:19:16Z")
Oh mercy, RAISINS! I don’t like the taste but the main reason I despise raisins is their gross, awful, vomitrocious texture. They ruin entire dishes. Curry, cake, toast, chocolate, cereal, all wonderful foods that are rendered inedible if raisins are involved. Fuck. Raisins. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/51 "2010-09-02T22:21:41Z")
Celery ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2010, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/52 "2010-09-02T23:37:19Z")
> [@Girl\_From\_Mars](#): > > Used to be a UK chocolate bar with tiny air bubbles called Wispa. Like an Aero but much smaller bubbles. Like eating velvet. This goes on my good list. I wish they still made Wispa (it stopped being sold in the US around 25 years ago), and that I could justify spending $1.65 for a 2oz Areo bar, because I loved both of these things. bad - meatloaf. My mom used to say “there’s nothing in it that you don’t like!” but it’s the texture that horrifies me. ---
**Author:** ![Maiira](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f04885/32.png) [@Maiira](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maiira)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/53 "2010-09-03T00:33:17Z")
I’m gonna agree with whoever said macadamia nuts…but it has to be RAW macadamia nuts, not roasted. I don’t quite know how to describe that crunch, but it feels oh so wonderful. For the bad category, I’m also gonna agree with whoever said raisins. They’re squishy in a wrong way, and the flavor is putrid. It’s always a nasty, nasty shock to my system when I bite down in what I think is an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and it turns out to be an oatmeal raisin one instead. It’s like the cookie betrayed me! ---
**Author:** ![Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/bc8723/32.png) [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unauthorized_Cinnamon)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/54 "2010-09-03T01:02:25Z")
For me, raisins can pose two problems. First, I like raisins by themselves OK, but every 20th raisin or so will have the stem/seeds still in, and you bite down on it and it’s like someone stuffed your fruit with a few grains of sand. Yum! Second, raisins baked into muffins or in some other way “plumped.” They go from being something chewy akin to fruit leather, to a flabby abomination waiting to burst in your mouth. Apples tend to be too mealy, while pears are gritty as hell and I can’t imagine how people enjoy them. I don’t mind nuts in baked goods, but I’m down with the hatred of lumpy yogurt. I’m greatly enjoying my Yoplait Smooth and Creamy, with no discernable strawberries in the ingredients - just natural flavor and pink coloring. And high fructose corn syrup, no doubt. And gelatin, which makes it fun to eat. I didn’t like foie gras the one time I had it - maybe they didn’t de-vein it properly or something, but it wasn’t really all smooth and creamy. On the other hand, bone marrow (such as in osso bucco) is delicious and silky. And ooh, General Tso’s Tofu is wonderful. Spicy sweet sauce napping slightly crispy fried batter, surrounding perfectly bland, silken, creamy tofu. I’m not a big tofu fan, but this is THE way to eat it as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/55 "2010-09-03T11:04:56Z")
Brains ---
**Author:** ![heathen\_earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/13edae/32.png) [@heathen\_earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/heathen_earthling)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/56 "2010-09-03T14:43:24Z")
Ice cream sandwiches have an awesome texture! The texture of candy eggshell (for those candy-coated Easter eggs), on the other hand, I find kind of disturbing. Cringing now just thinking of them. ---
**Author:** ![limegreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@limegreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/limegreen)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/57 "2010-09-03T14:54:33Z")
I adore the velvety sweet silkiness of tongue – and you’re supposed to peel the tastebud layer off! I love the cool bumpiness of tapioca – I nearly lived on it during a year of chemo when nothing else tasted good or would stay down. Nuts, except for the very occasional cashew, are nasty – they just turn into mealy bleeahhrg in your mouth, or they’re rock hard lumps hiding in the cake or cookie just to scare you. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/58 "2010-09-03T15:06:28Z")
> [@Unauthorized\_Cinnamon](#): > > while pears are gritty as hell and I can’t imagine how people enjoy them. Likewise. I enjoy the taste enough but hate the texture. I’ve had people swear up and down that I’ve just been eating the “wrong” pears and the “good” ones don’t feel like they’re filled with cat litter. This may be but the gritty ones are the ones I always seem to be eating and I don’t like pears enough to go searching for this mythical grit-less fruit. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/59 "2010-09-03T22:18:09Z")
The tofu mentions made me think of paneer, which I have only had in palak paneer, but I love it in that. I eat it jsut for the feel of the paneer. (indian cheese) ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362/60 "2010-09-03T23:27:28Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > But Macs are all about that amazing and unique texture. It took me several posts to realize you weren’t talking about Big Macs. :o To me, fast food cheeseburgers have a texture akin to lard. Ick. The ultimate texture food is lettuce. Little to no taste, but the texture can turn a ho-hum sandwich into a delight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-that-are-great-or-not-really-because-of-texture-not-taste/552362.md?page=4)