# Foods with darn-near universal appeal **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 4, 2007, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762 "2007-05-04T16:52:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/121 "2007-05-07T17:21:41Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] The banana! Come on, who among us hates bananas? [/QUOTE] You’d be surprised at the number of banana haters here. ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/122 "2007-05-07T17:26:10Z")
I like bananas, but they make me sick to my stomach, so I don’t eat them in large portions. _ducks as palm frond barely misses_ I am going to re-nominate potatoes. I don’t really enjoy them, but I’ll eat them if they are served (I’ll eat anything if it is served). So I uniquely know that I am a very rare breed. Very few people are like me in that regard. They are found in many ethnic foods from around the world, and they can be cooked in a bazillion different ways. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/123 "2007-05-07T17:26:51Z")
**adam yax** I have the palm frond ready right now… ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/124 "2007-05-07T17:34:18Z")
**StinkyBurrito said:** > [@](#): > > I like bananas, but they make me sick to my stomach, so I don’t eat them in large portions. _ducks as palm frond barely misses_ I am going to re-nominate potatoes. I don’t really enjoy them, but I’ll eat them if they are served You say you like bananas but do not enjoy potatoes. The purpose of the thread, I think is to find a universal food everyone _likes_. In that case, do not bananas trump potatoes for you in the “like 'em better” field? You don’t have to eat large portions. ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/125 "2007-05-07T17:37:43Z")
[QUOTE=racer72] I would like to ask for a clarification of the term “dumplings”. Dumplings in my house and to everyone I know is a gooey biscuit dough that is cooked on top of various types of stews. We have them with beef stew and one of my favorite foods is chicken and dumplings. Someone else used dumplings to describe tortellini, ravioli and perogies. Tortellini and ravioli is a type of pasta in my book and a perogy is a meat filled biscuit that is baked in an oven. [/QUOTE] Well, with me, any bit of pastry with a filling (savory, sweet, spicy, whathaveyou) all falls into the same category. Of course, “dumpling” may not be fitting, but neither is my concept of “mini pie/pasty” type thing. The basis of these things seems to be “dough wrapper + filling,” which is simple enough, and just about every region of the world fills a bit of dough with something and then cooks it. Well, maybe not the Yanomamo in the Amazon basin or some of the other groups that don’t do much cooking aside from boiling starchy tubers. Ah, wait! Tubers! Everyone eats tubers! Root vegetables are found almost everywhere and people put them in all sorts of dishes. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/126 "2007-05-07T17:55:12Z")
I love tubers too, but dumplings, not so much. They’re just a bit of boiled dough and I can do without that. Yes, I even dislike chicken and dumplings. So, we can take dumplings, nuts, chocolate , coconut, lettuce, off the board. Too many people don’t care for them. I still cannot imagine anyone hating bananas. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/127 "2007-05-07T18:42:21Z")
[QUOTE=racer72] … and a perogy is a meat filled biscuit that is baked in an oven. [/QUOTE] What the…? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/128 "2007-05-07T18:51:20Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] I love tubers too, but dumplings, not so much. They’re just a bit of boiled dough and I can do without that. Yes, I even dislike chicken and dumplings. So, we can take dumplings, nuts, chocolate , coconut, lettuce, off the board. Too many people don’t care for them. I still cannot imagine anyone hating bananas. [/QUOTE] I hated bananas growing up. ---
**Author:** ![Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e68b1a/32.png) [@Abby\_Emma\_Sasha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abby_Emma_Sasha)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/129 "2007-05-07T19:01:42Z")
> [@](#): > > I hated bananas growing up. Well, did you try bananas growing down? ---
**Author:** ![nashiitashii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7c8e57/32.png) [@nashiitashii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nashiitashii)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/130 "2007-05-07T19:08:10Z")
[QUOTE=zweisamkeit] > [@racer72](#): > > … and a perogy is a meat filled biscuit that is baked in an oven. What the…? 😕 [/QUOTE] I guess in all technicality, because pirogies are boiled and/or pan-fried, they’d be more “pasta-like” than “biscuit-like.” **Abby\_Emma\_Sasha** , “chicken and dumplings” is an abomination to the meaning I’m trying to convey with the word “dumpling.” Lobbing a wad of dough into a dish does not a dumpling make. It’s got to have fillings and preferably be steamed, pan-fried, deep fried or occasionally boiled. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/131 "2007-05-07T20:20:29Z")
Sticking to my fruit guns, I’ll get specific and say Watermelon. I don’t think I know anyone who dislikes a nice ripe chunk of watermelon. ---
**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:** [May 7, 2007, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/132 "2007-05-07T20:48:20Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] Sticking to my fruit guns, I’ll get specific and say Watermelon. I don’t think I know anyone who dislikes a nice ripe chunk of watermelon. [/QUOTE] I hate all melon, and that doesn’t seem particularly rare (not like my bacon avoidance). ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2007, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/133 "2007-05-07T22:41:24Z")
[QUOTE=jsgoddess] I hate all melon, and that doesn’t seem particularly rare (not like my bacon avoidance). [/QUOTE] Freak. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/134 "2007-05-08T03:03:06Z")
[QUOTE=chowder] > [@davidm](#): > > I think I need some more edifercation. I’ve been under the impression that “chips”, at least in the context of “fish and chips” referred to what we Americans call french fries. Are you saying that they’re not french fries? Nossir they are most definitely not FFs. :eek: These are an abomination in the eyes of man. Scrawny little fuckers Real mans chips are, as I said, big fuck off slices of spud deep fried to a golden brown and crispy on the outside but meltingly delish on the inside. 😃 [/QUOTE] We call these Texas fries. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/135 "2007-05-08T04:53:52Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] Okay, now look here. There is one food that is beloved by vegans and carnivores to end all. The banana! Come on, who among us hates bananas? They are the quintessential fruit. Not too sweet, not too tart, just right. And if someone comes in and says they hate bananas I’m gonna hit them with a big old palm frond. [/QUOTE] I’m not a big fan of bananas. I don’t hate them, but I don’t go out of my way to eat them. I like banana bread though. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/136 "2007-05-08T05:43:30Z")
[QUOTE=Seven] I’m not a big fan of bananas. I don’t hate them, but I don’t go out of my way to eat them. I like banana bread though. [/QUOTE] Ahhhhh… yesss. But do you like orange juice? (Brow bend inquiry.) ---
**Author:** ![chowder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/977dab/32.png) [@chowder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chowder)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/137 "2007-05-08T07:07:18Z")
[QUOTE=Lute Skywatcher] We call these Texas fries. [/QUOTE] Now you’re just being awkward 😃 They are chips man, CHIPS ---
**Author:** ![Stillwell\_Angel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/96bed5/32.png) [@Stillwell\_Angel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stillwell_Angel)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2007, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/138 "2007-05-08T23:39:37Z")
[QUOTE=Abby\_Emma\_Sasha] The banana! Come on, who among us hates bananas? [/QUOTE] There was a thread awhile back, something about foods you hate I think. Anyway, there were many posters (myself included) who proclaimed a deep hatred of bananas. Just the smell of them makes my stomach lurch. ---
**Author:** ![Seven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Seven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seven)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2007, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762/139 "2007-05-10T06:03:59Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] Ahhhhh… yesss. But do you like orange juice? (Brow bend inquiry.) [/QUOTE] Only with Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-with-darn-near-universal-appeal/402762.md?page=6)