# Herbs, spices or other flavors mostly enjoyed by all, that you can't stand **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** food-cooking\ **Created:** [March 27, 2023, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713 "2023-03-27T13:04:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2023, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/121 "2023-03-30T12:34:41Z")
Tamarind is gross in general. Pad Thai is great and you need it for that, but any beverage or cream or anything Tamarind flavored is unnecessary. Capers look like fish eyeballs and taste like slimy pepper. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2023, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/122 "2023-03-30T20:55:31Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There’s salty licorice (salmiak), which is associated with the Nordic countries, parts of Germany, and thereabouts, but that’s a different kind of salt (ammonium chloride). Interestingly salmiak is made by mixing hydrochloric acid and ammonia, yes HCl and NH3. I don’t know the proportions, but thinking that mixing those can result in something edible is just… weird. Then again, we ingest a combo of a highly reactive metal and a poisonous gas daily. > [@Chefguy](#): > > Interesting. Do you think it’s a factor of social position, with saffron only being something that rich people might have access to? I think paella without saffron would be just fine, personally. Sort of like jambalaya without Cajun seasoning. Well, paella is poor man’s food after all. There’s en eternal debate about what should be in a ‘proper’ paella. American’s might recognize the term surf’n’turf, signifying a mix of land _and_ sea living animals. Land animal meats used are either rabbit, pork or chicken. From the sea it’s shellfish: squid, prawn or clam. Sometimes combination. At least one from each group should be present. The rice should be short & round, like arborio used in risotto. I think it’d be hard to find the native types of Spanish rice in the U.S. e.g. bomba. Anyway, most of the flavor and color comes from tomato, peppers, garlic and olive oil. Paella is often pictured as yellow, but most of the time I find that it’s more orange/red (note the lemons in the pic for comparison). The pic is from Spanish Wiki, and illustrates the ‘original’ paella from Valencia: [![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Paella-Valencia-2009.jpg/640px-Paella-Valencia-2009.jpg) ](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/43/Paella-Valencia-2009.jpg/640px-Paella-Valencia-2009.jpg) ETA: Saffron is of course also more orange than yellow by itself. But if saffron was the sole source of orange in the picture, it would be inedible. ---
**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:** [March 31, 2023, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/123 "2023-03-31T00:05:33Z")
> [@Charlie\_Tan](#): > > I think it’d be hard to find the native types of Spanish rice in the U.S. e.g. bomba. That used to be the case, but Bomba is easily found now. Heck, the meat market down the street even carries it. When I make paella, it’s pretty much how you describe, except for the saffron. Mine is mostly seafood: shrimp, scallops, clams, mussels. But I also like the smoky flavor of Spanish chorizo, so I include that. And of course the _sofrito_ (garlic, peppers, tomato, etc.). I’ve been making this every Christmas for the last 12 years or so. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2023, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/124 "2023-03-31T00:42:41Z")
That is the exact way that I like my paella. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/125 "2023-04-01T02:39:25Z")
Maybe not “enjoyed by all,” but I can’t stand Old Bay seasoning. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2023, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/126 "2023-04-01T05:23:51Z")
Is it the celery seed perhaps? ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/127 "2023-04-01T14:43:00Z")
I really, really don’t like mint. I think this puts me very much in the minority. I also don’t like coffee (taste or smell) or alcohol. Also in the minority but I suspect by not as much. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/128 "2023-04-01T19:55:10Z")
One of my least favorite flavorings is passionfruit. And it’s everywhere. I lurve mango, and I get angry when I think I’m getting mango, and instead it’s crappy passionfruit. And don’t get me started on passionfruit iced tea. No, I do not want iced tea that tastes like bubblegum. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/129 "2023-04-01T20:03:44Z")
I am not at all a picky eater, but I can’t stand ketchup. Fortunately, it’s not like there are really high-end brands of ketchup that I should try, they’re all about the same, and they are all bad. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/130 "2023-04-01T22:52:28Z")
I thought for sure that I’d prove you wrong and there would be at least one high end hipster ketchup but there is not. This is a vacuum in the market that needs to be filled. ---
**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:** [April 1, 2023, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/131 "2023-04-01T23:26:54Z")
Around here (Chicago), there’s 78 Brand Ketchup. Website sells it for $30 for a 4-pack. I don’t know if those are new prices or what, but back when I bought it a couple years ago, it was less than 5 dollars a bottle. It’s no high-fructose corn syrup, non-GMO, that kind of stuff. I’ve seen it at more hipsterish kinds of places around here. It’s okay. Tastes like ketchup. I’ll stick with my Hunt’s, though. (Yeah, I’m one of those weirds who prefer’s Hunt’s to Heinz.) > **[OUR PRODUCTS](https://78brand.com/collections/condiments)** > > Best tasting 78 ketchup! No liquid sweeteners and non GMO condiments. ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2023, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/132 "2023-04-01T23:55:24Z")
I really like Sir Kensingtons Ketchup > **[Ketchup - Classic & Spicy Ketchup](https://www.sirkensingtons.com/product/ketchup)** > > No mystery gloop here, friends. Just 100% real vine-ripened tomatoes with simple ingredients. Learn about the ketchup everyone loves. ---
**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:** [April 2, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/133 "2023-04-02T00:24:08Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I thought for sure that I’d prove you wrong and there would be at least one high end hipster ketchup but there is not. Portland Ketchup (and yellow mustard) is very good, but I don’t know if it’s available outside of Oregon. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/134 "2023-04-02T12:57:00Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > I thought for sure that I’d prove you wrong and there would be at least one high end hipster ketchup but there is not. This is a vacuum in the market that needs to be filled. Malcolm Gladwell has a theory: > **[The Ketchup Conundrum](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/09/06/the-ketchup-conundrum)** > > Mustard now comes in dozens of varieties. Why has ketchup stayed the same? ---
**Author:** ![eburacum45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eburacum45/32/8690_2.png) [@eburacum45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eburacum45)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/135 "2023-04-02T14:56:46Z")
I like almost every flavour, and find it hard to empathise with people who don’t like particular tastes. No matter how weird it is, I’ll generally eat it. But I think I can just about understand the distaste effect, because there is one flavour I can’t really enjoy; near where I live, there is a place that grows lavender, and they also put it in various foodstuffs for people to taste. Sorry, but I can’t eat lavender-flavoured cheese, or lavender cake, or lavender chocolate. It’s just not edible. To be honest, most people who have tried this stuff agree with me. Apparently, a number of cultures eat rotten and decaying meat, even maggot-ridden meat; I don’t think I’d like to try that, although I do love blue cheese. > **[A surprising food may have been a staple of the real Paleo diet: rotten meat](https://www.sciencenews.org/article/meat-rotten-putrid-paleo-diet-fire-neanderthal?fbclid=IwAR0G_Og18r_uESeUY3ixZuKiKeVhowCqyUzDvDnOeIGJvDHyfAF1_s_GM9k)** > > The realization that people have long eaten putrid foods has archaeologists rethinking what Neandertals and other ancient hominids ate. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/136 "2023-04-02T15:46:20Z")
> [@eburacum45](#): > > Sorry, but I can’t eat lavender-flavoured cheese, or lavender cake, or lavender chocolate. It’s just not edible. _Roses are red Violets are blue But either in candy Tastes like shampoo_ ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2023, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/137 "2023-04-04T04:21:35Z")
I was once at a vegan Indian restaurant, and saw rose water on the menu. I wondered if it was some kind of soft drink, made from rose hips or whatever, and it was carbonated but it did indeed smell, and presumably taste, like Grandma’s dusting powder, KWIM? I know now that rose water is an ingredient in many Indian recipes, but, for instance, a teaspoonful in a pot of stew as a flavor enhancer. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2023, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/138 "2023-04-04T09:45:07Z")
> [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](#): > > I really, really don’t like mint. I think this puts me very much in the minority. Mint the flavorant or mint the leaves? The two are pretty dissimilar. ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2023, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/139 "2023-04-04T14:40:47Z")
Similar enough that I don’t like either one and for much the same reason, but the flavoring is the one I was referring to. Certainly it’s much more common than the leaves, and it makes my tongue cringe. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2023, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713/140 "2023-04-04T14:56:07Z")
I like peppermint. Spearmint is OK, but a distant second to peppermint. Wintergreen, however, I don’t like at all. Which seems to put me in the minority because a lot of mint-candy related stuff seems to come in Wintergreen. To me it’s too nasty and overpowering, and I end up having the aftertaste for hours afterward. Speaking of mint-like candies, I mentioned my dislike of actual cinnamon in my OP. But I _ **hate** _ that fake candy ‘hot cinnamon’ taste far, far more. Red hot candies or Big Red gum I know to avoid, but those red and white candies that are ubiquitous around the holidays, called ‘Starlight mints’, I believe? They should never be anything other than peppermint flavored, but sometimes I will pop one in my mouth and be blindsided by that awful, nasty fake ‘hot cinnamon’ flavor. Can not spit it out quickly enough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/herbs-spices-or-other-flavors-mostly-enjoyed-by-all-that-you-cant-stand/981713.md?page=8)