# It tastes like sin, why do people eat it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517 "2011-06-23T02:23:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/81 "2011-06-23T17:28:27Z")
Somethings you might like as you age. I hated olives, but now I like it. There is only one kind of [olive I still hate](http://media.giantbomb.com/uploads/0/5768/637346-oliveoyl_large.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/82 "2011-06-23T17:42:09Z")
> [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](#): > > The big one is **BACON**. It smells like the fire and brimstone of hell. The taste is no better. !!!. Turn in your doper card now! I used to hate mushrooms, now I’m meh, and don’t go actively seeking them out, but will eat them if they’re already in something. Beets are cool because they make your pee red. Also, cream cheese on bagels = awesome. Cream cheese on sushi rolls = blech. Milk should not go with fish. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/83 "2011-06-23T17:43:03Z")
I’d vote for jello, but anything with that color, that flavor, and especially that texture is nowhere near being edible. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/84 "2011-06-23T17:48:36Z")
You people that hate brussel sprouts- you should really try them roasted in the oven at 400 degrees drizzled with olive oil and kosher salt. You will change your mind. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/85 "2011-06-23T17:49:26Z")
What I find utterly disgusting: **olives** , **tomatoes** , **mushrooms**. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/86 "2011-06-23T17:54:12Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I think it’s funny how, over the whole course human history, it’s so very recently that we’ve been able to be picky about what we eat. How, for much of our history, you ate whatever edibles you could find because otherwise you might not be able to find anything else before you starved to death. I hope we are able to sustain our present situation a little longer before we, as a species, are forced to return to a hand-to-mouth existence on this planet. Yet even then we _still_ wouldn’t need cilantro. The vile stuff is added to dishes in quantities too small to add nutritional value; it’s just a ‘flavor’ additive. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/87 "2011-06-23T17:54:48Z")
I’m kind of a foodie, so I’ll eat and drink a lot of strange stuff and enjoy it, or at least tolerate it. I can’t think of anything that makes me gag or retch, but there are a few things I’m not so wild about, as in, they tend to dominate whatever dish they’re in to the point of me not enjoying it. Raw tomatoes- they’re all I taste on a hamburger with the usual number of raw tomatoes. Cantaloupe - they have this weird musky scent that’s really off-putting to me, like they’re already rotten when they’re ripe. (hence the “muskmelon” name, I suspect). Sweet potatoes- they’re not really “bad”, but I don’t prefer them in any circumstance over a regular potato or some other side dish. For the people who have mentioned “super spicy dishes”- that’s a matter of conditioning. I can attest that the more spicy stuff you eat, the more you can eat. I sort of sit around the point where Louisiana style hot sauce is pleasantly piquant and has a nice vinegary/chiles flavor, but Sriracha is still kind of spicy. If I eat a lot of hot stuff over a month or two, Sriracha will end up tasting more sweet & chile-flavored instead of straight-up spicy. I’m surprised more people haven’t said okra. I can’t give the stuff away when my wife and I grow more than we expect. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/88 "2011-06-23T18:28:55Z")
> [@bump](#): > > there are a few things I’m not so wild about, as in, they tend to dominate whatever dish they’re in to the point of me not enjoying it. > > Raw tomatoes- they’re all I taste on a hamburger with the usual number of raw tomatoes. Replace the word “tomatoes” with “onions” and I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Ultraviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/c77e96/32.png) [@Ultraviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ultraviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/89 "2011-06-23T18:43:21Z")
Strangely enough, I used to detest Brussels sprouts, until I made an interesting discovery. I was cutting them in half and eating them, and my wife tried this too (she loves sprouts). She agreed that they taste disgusting this way, and suggested I eat the whole sprout at once, like her. It is a completely different taste - not bitter at all. All of the bitterness must be concentrated in the centre of the sprout, and I was exposing it to my taste buds every time. So, now I enjoy Brussels sprouts - just make sure to eat small ones (sweeter), and whatever you do, don’t cut them in half! Try this - the difference is quite remarkable to me. ---
**Author:** ![brittekland](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/aeb1de/32.png) [@brittekland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brittekland)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/90 "2011-06-23T18:48:22Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I’m surprised more people haven’t said okra. I can’t give the stuff away when my wife and I grow more than we expect. Fried okra looks so good but you bite into it and it’s like… (no I won’t say it). ---
**Author:** ![Bytegeist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@Bytegeist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bytegeist)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/91 "2011-06-23T18:53:56Z")
> [@Imago](#): > > My entry for this list: everything spicy. Why do people like it so freaking much? > [@PapSett](#): > > Really hot, spicy food. I want to taste flavor, not singe my tastebuds off. > [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Things that are so spicy that no human being can possibly enjoy it. Count me in with you guys. When faced with fans of ultra-spicy food, I always wonder, _Why don’t you just eat the spice by itself_? Just have some jalapeño peppers in a bowl, if that’s what you’re into. Because, flavor and texture are obviously too boring for you. > [@bump](#): > > For the people who have mentioned “super spicy dishes”- that’s a matter of conditioning. I can attest that the more spicy stuff you eat, the more you can eat. I’ve heard this many times, and I’ll tentatively believe it — although it’s possible the conditioning doesn’t work on everyone, or would take too long to be worth it. > [@](#): > > I sort of sit around the point where Louisiana style hot sauce is pleasantly piquant and has a nice vinegary/chiles flavor, but Sriracha is still kind of spicy. If I eat a lot of hot stuff over a month or two, Sriracha will end up tasting more sweet & chile-flavored instead of straight-up spicy. Let me ask you this. Do these sauces have significantly better flavors after you’re spice-conditioned, compared to the flavors they’d have without the spice (or a much lower amount of it)? ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/92 "2011-06-23T18:57:21Z")
Cooked vegetables that are inherently mushy, like zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, and spinach. (I love raw spinach though.) ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/93 "2011-06-23T19:02:07Z")
Bell peppers. Not peppers in general, only bell peppers. When cooked, one of the stinkiest smells in the food world and they rebound repeatedly for extra fun. I could never be a vegetarian because, apparently, bell peppers must come in all main dishes that do not include meat. Chinese restaurants are real crap shoot too. Just the other day I got some “Chicken with mushrooms, snow peas and bamboo shoots.” Who would have guessed the main ingredient would be bell peppers? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/94 "2011-06-23T19:39:02Z")
Mayo, Ketchup, Olives. The big three. I also don’t eat liver, (or other organs) but I can’t say it’s the taste as much as the _idea._ ---
**Author:** ![Dingbang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@Dingbang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dingbang)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/95 "2011-06-23T19:46:55Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > The [distaste for cilantro (coriander) is a genetic thing](http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/14/dining/14curious.html).. Apparently the same the thing is true of truffle. There was a report a few years back about how people actually perceive the taste very differently – not just a matter of liking it or not liking it, but you actually taste something very different from what others taste. I can’t stand truffle. And that’s a bit of a problem since I’m a foodie and like the chef concoctions at nice restaurants, where they think truffle is the bomb, and my wife is French. It just tastes terrible to me, no matter how much I try to like it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/96 "2011-06-23T20:05:22Z")
Never mind… ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/97 "2011-06-23T20:08:29Z")
> [@Bytegeist](#): > > Count me in with you guys. > > When faced with fans of ultra-spicy food, I always wonder, _Why don’t you just eat the spice by itself_? Just have some jalapeño peppers in a bowl, if that’s what you’re into. Because, flavor and texture are obviously too boring for you. > I’ve heard this many times, and I’ll tentatively believe it — although it’s possible the conditioning doesn’t work on everyone, or would take too long to be worth it. > Let me ask you this. Do these sauces have significantly better flavors after you’re spice-conditioned, compared to the flavors they’d have without the spice (or a much lower amount of it)? I wouldn’t say that they have better flavors, but there’s less distraction from the spiciness. It’s like turning the volume on the heat down, while leaving everything else the same. For example, jalapenos with no heat taste almost identical to bell peppers, but many people don’t know that because they think jalapenos = hot. The reason I know is because I grew some variety of “low heat” jalapenos one year, and they weren’t spicy in the least- they tasted just like little funny shaped bell peppers. I hear tell that habaneros have a really interesting fruity flavor, but I can’t get past the intense burn to really notice it. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/98 "2011-06-23T20:12:49Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I hear tell that habaneros have a really interesting fruity flavor, but I can’t get past the intense burn to really notice it. They do. I lurve the hot, and habs are one of the most flavorful of the super-hot peppers. I grow them every year without fail. ---
**Author:** ![Fourtyfold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f475e1/32.png) [@Fourtyfold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fourtyfold)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/99 "2011-06-23T20:20:56Z")
I’ve never been able to drink tea, I think it’s the most awful tasting drink I’ve ever tried. This is a big social handicap for me, as I’m English. I’m interested by the number of people here who can’t eat things because of their texture, this is the biggest problem I have with Things I Can’t Eat. Rubbery, soggy sorts of things will just make me gag the moment they enter my mouth, regardless of the actual flavour. ---
**Author:** ![scruffycat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scruffycat/32/200_2.png) [@scruffycat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scruffycat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2011, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517/100 "2011-06-23T20:33:58Z")
> [@Dingbang](#): > > I can’t stand truffle. And that’s a bit of a problem since I’m a foodie and like the chef concoctions at nice restaurants, where they think truffle is the bomb, and my wife is French. It just tastes terrible to me, no matter how much I try to like it. Yes, I really don’t like the taste of truffle at all, I’m not sure why especially but I don’t get on with it. The only other foodstuff that I can think of that I won’t eat is Parmesan cheese, I love strong cheeses too. Parmesan just smells like sick to me though. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-tastes-like-sin-why-do-people-eat-it/586517.md?page=6)