# Foods you freaking hate that lots of others freaking love **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2013, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628 "2013-12-18T06:31:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/81 "2013-12-18T23:06:04Z")
A lot of people love pancakes, but I hate them. Maple syrup and melted butter are so wasted on these flabby, musty-tasting monstrosities. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/82 "2013-12-18T23:26:15Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > I can enjoy just about any cocktail ever invented but I cannot stomach a Bloody Mary. > > Isn’t the cilantro aversion due to some kind of gene that some people have that makes it taste gross? To people who do like it (like me) I don’t think it tastes anything like vomit or however people are describing it. Bloody Marys are gross, but see my above. And yeah, it seems like most people like them. Yes, cilantro aversion is genetic. I mean, some people just don’t like it, but most, especially those who say it tastes “soapy” probably have the genes. So I’m not sure it’s fair to say that “lots of others” love it, a quick google suggests that ~10% of people don’t like it. Interestingly, it says that a higher proportion of females dislike it, which isn’t my experience, but confirmation bias and maybe the difference is not significance. An aside: cilantro/coriander is similar tasting to something else (I haven’t had it): culantro. Very fitting according to some of you. If you don’t get it, look up the translation for “culo” in Spanish (or “cul” in French). Also, its scientific name is _Eryngium foetidum_. That’s right, fetid, stinking. The only more apt name is _Asafoetida_. The “asparagus pee” smell is also genetic and is in a certain portion of the population. But guys don’t fool yourselves; all of our pee smells on asparagus, but some of you just can’t detect the smell. > [@kath94](#): > > I grew up in a Catholic family where the only exposure to fish was fish sticks on Fridays during Lent, and the occasional fried shrimp that I’d share with my brother at a restaurant. I wouldn’t say I hate fish, but I’m fish ignorant. Wouldn’t know what to try, and it’s so expensive at restaurants that I’d rather just order what I know I like. Salmon is a safe bet maybe, but a stronger (good) taste. Tilapia is iffy because sometimes it’s muddy, but oftentimes it’s bland > [@](#): > > I like cake. I like ice cream. I do not understand why they have to be served together for special occasions. Mixing them just ruins both. ☹ …and people think **I’M** the freak when both are being served and I ask for one without the other. I don’t particularly like cake. I like ice cream. Putting them together makes the cake part good. But a good ice cream cake shouldn’t be too spongy or it gets soggy :pukey smiley: ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/83 "2013-12-18T23:30:06Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > The title of the thread is “Foods you Freaking hate that lots of others freaking love.” > > Insects is pushing it. I am counting the whole world, not just US and Europe. Lemon ants supposedly taste like citrus when you bite off their little abdomens … honey ants were used as ‘dessert’, and any number of grubs/larvae and whatnot are consumed with vigor in the Far East. Blarg. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/84 "2013-12-18T23:33:29Z")
Mayo is an awful condiment. Mustard rules there. Cilantro is vile. Sweet potatoes are vile, also. I will say I believe the idea that one’s sense of taste changes with age because they aren’t as vile as they used to be. One bite of them would make me want to vomit when I was young- now they just taste bad and I could eat them if I had to. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/85 "2013-12-18T23:47:40Z")
> [@saje](#): > > I’d like cilantro a lot more if it were used a whole lot less. A tiny bit is good, more is awful. I’ll be glad when it falls off the “cool new herb of the moment” list. > > I’m not a fan of super spicy peppers . I can’t say they taste vile, it’s just that I can’t tolerate the heat. I do love horseradish and peppercorn heat, just not jalapeno/habanero type heat. Everything else so far mentioned I love (well, except perhaps for the Durian & insects, neither of which I’ve tasted). Cool new herb of the moment? What, did you set the Delorean for 1997? ---
**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:** [December 18, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/86 "2013-12-18T23:55:18Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > Isn’t the cilantro aversion due to some kind of gene that some people have that makes it taste gross? To people who do like it (like me) I don’t think it tastes anything like vomit or however people are describing it. It’s not quite that simple. There is some genetic component to it, [but there’s more to it than that](http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/09/14/161057954/love-to-hate-cilantro-its-in-your-genes-and-maybe-in-your-head). > [@](#): > > The authors propose that this odor gene contributes to a person’s dislike for cilantro because it increases the herb’s soapy smell. > > But, “it didn’t make a huge a difference in cilantro preference from person to person,” Nicholas Eriksson, the lead author on the study, tells The Salt. In fact, **their results suggest that a hatred for cilantro has only a small underlying genetic component.** Emphasis mine. I’m one of those people who tasted the soapiness initially. First few times I had salsa at a Mexican restaurant, I thought the dishes weren’t properly rinsed. But, eventually, I just got used to it, and now I love the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2013, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/87 "2013-12-18T23:59:22Z")
I have to say, I’m rather surprised at how many have said tomatoes. I’m not surprised by those that said fish and/or seafood. I know lots of people who say that. But what has always perplexed me is how many people I know who say the love fish but can’t stand salmon. I love fish and don’t find salmon much different than most other fish, but apparently to some people it is! ---
**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:** [December 19, 2013, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/88 "2013-12-19T00:01:08Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > Cool new herb of the moment? What, did you set the Delorean for 1997? I’m sure it varies by region, but, yeah, cilantro, at least in my neighborhood, has been common for over 20 years. But I do live in a neighborhood with a lot of Mexicans and a smattering of Middle Easterners if you go slightly south, and both use a good bit of cilantro in their cooking. (As do a lot of South and Southeast Asians. There’s a reason it’s often called “the most popular herb in the world.”) ---
**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:** [December 19, 2013, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/89 "2013-12-19T00:03:26Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I love fish and don’t find salmon much different than most other fish, but apparently to some people it is! Salmon is quite a distinct, strong taste compared to most whitefish and such. I know people who are the inverse: don’t like fish much, but like salmon and/or tuna. I love all kinds of fish and seafood, but salmon is definitely a different category of fish to me. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/90 "2013-12-19T00:08:12Z")
I live in Georgia. We don’t have but a fraction of Chicago’s Mexican food culture. Cilantro has been easy to find and quite common here for at least 20 years. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/91 "2013-12-19T00:12:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Salmon is quite a distinct, strong taste compared to most whitefish and such. I know people who are the inverse: don’t like fish much, but like salmon and/or tuna. I love all kinds of fish and seafood, but salmon is definitely a different category of fish to me. Really? I find it has it’s own unique flavor/texture, but I don’t think it’s like comparing apples and oranges when comparing it to other fish. Best salmon I ever had was in Seattle. Freshness is everything with salmon, even over species. The fish I ate there had been alive as recently as an hour before I consumed it. Awesome flavor! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/92 "2013-12-19T00:26:51Z")
Ketchup. Never liked it, and I can detect it in food in microscopic quantities. If I had a recipe calling for it, I use tomato sauce or paste instead. I have never acquired the taste for coffee either. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/93 "2013-12-19T00:31:43Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Oatmeal. It’s disgusting, slimy glop that shouldn’t exist outside of a Charles Dickens novel. Here’s a hint: the reason people typically dump tons of sugar or maple syrup or what have you on oatmeal before they eat it is because _oatmeal sucks!_ > > Bananas. I really can’t explain this one. I’ve tried to eat bananas on several occasions, but something about them just makes me retch. Oatmeal porridge can indeed be disgusting if prepared incorrectly. Do you like uncooked oatmeal in other foods, or at least have no objection to it? Some people are allergic to bananas, and maybe this is a warning sign for you. I like both things myself. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/94 "2013-12-19T00:34:21Z")
I also do not like eggplant, in any form I’ve had it. I always hear about how great baba ganoush is, but am not adventuresome enough to try it. ---
**Author:** ![Bumbershoot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bumbershoot/32/3428_2.png) [@Bumbershoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bumbershoot)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/95 "2013-12-19T00:39:31Z")
I think I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t like the combination of peanut butter (or peanuts) and chocolate. I love peanut butter and I love chocolate, but the combination tastes awful to me. I hate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or any candy bar with peanuts and chocolate. In fact, I think peanuts and peanut butter don’t go well at all with anything sweet\*. I hate peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. When I eat Cracker Jack I eat the popcorn and throw the candy-coated peanuts away. I hate peanut M&Ms. \*With one exception- I love to eat handfuls of peanuts (especially dry-roasted) and wash it down with Pepsi. Man, that’s good stuff. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2013, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/96 "2013-12-19T00:42:56Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > \ > ETA: I don’t think I’ve ever had rhubarb in my life, but it’s more of a Southern thing, innit? Rhubarb grows like a weed here, and most people really love desserts made with it (rhubarb pie, rhubarb crisp, that kind of thing). > [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > I can enjoy just about any cocktail ever invented but I cannot stomach a Bloody Mary. > > Isn’t the cilantro aversion due to some kind of gene that some people have that makes it taste gross? To people who do like it (like me) I don’t think it tastes anything like vomit or however people are describing it. I can taste the soapy element of cilantro, but it tastes wonderful to me - it’s like 5% soapy, and 95% yum! > [@kath94](#): > > \ > I like cake. I like ice cream. I do not understand why they have to be served together for special occasions. Mixing them just ruins both. ☹ …and people think **I’M** the freak when both are being served and I ask for one without the other. I don’t really like ice cream mixed with other things, either (usually). Ice cream and cake just makes a soupy mess of my delicious chocolate cake. > [@pulykamell](#): > > Salmon is quite a distinct, strong taste compared to most whitefish and such. I know people who are the inverse: don’t like fish much, but like salmon and/or tuna. I love all kinds of fish and seafood, but salmon is definitely a different category of fish to me. Halibut - the fish for fish-haters. Seriously, I’m not a fish fan, either, but I love halibut. It doesn’t taste fishy. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/97 "2013-12-19T00:55:32Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > Isn’t the cilantro aversion due to some kind of gene that some people have that makes it taste gross? To people who do like it (like me) I don’t think it tastes anything like vomit or however people are describing it. I suppose it’s entirely possible that there are people _without_ the anti-cilantro gene who simply don’t like it, but yes, at least some of us cilantro-haters probably do have a genetic aversion to it. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/98 "2013-12-19T01:08:04Z")
Ah yeah, insects, which are big over here but contrary to popular belief not nationwide. Only in the Northeast or among transplanted Northeasterners. The other Thais, the wife included, look down on eating those. And speaking of the Northeast, they also have a fermented-fish dish called _pla ra_ that is the source of much liver fluke among the populace there. But it’s almost the regional dish. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/99 "2013-12-19T01:42:43Z")
Another mayo and beer hater here. Re cilantro, I am one of those oddballs who can taste the soap in it while still thinking it’s okay. And I know it is definitely soapy tasting because before I knew about the phenomenon I always wondered why my friends salsa bowls had just come out of the dishwasher (despite the fact that the salsa tasted good.) > [@Bumbershoot](#): > > I think I’m the only person in the world who doesn’t like the combination of peanut butter (or peanuts) and chocolate. I love peanut butter and I love chocolate, but the combination tastes awful to me. I hate Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, or any candy bar with peanuts and chocolate. > > In fact, I think peanuts and peanut butter don’t go well at all with anything sweet\*. I sort of like peanut butter and chocolate together. I also think that peanut butter does go well with sweet things – the salty/umami and sweet flavors complement each other. But I hate chocolate ice cream, especially when there is peanut butter in it. The heavy flavor of the chocolate combined with the texture of the peanut butter makes it taste very gritty and sludgy. I do however like vanilla ice cream with peanut butter in it, even though it’s very rare to find. ---
**Author:** ![brainstall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@brainstall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brainstall)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2013, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628/100 "2013-12-19T01:53:49Z")
Cabbage rolls. I grew up with a Ukrainian Grandmother who made really good ones, by all accounts, but I could not eat them as a child and will not eat them as an adult. I gag just thinking about them. Raisins. When I discovered that I liked dried cranberries, I though perhaps I could give raisins another try. Nope, still hate them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-you-freaking-hate-that-lots-of-others-freaking-love/676628.md?page=6)