# Universally bad tasting foods... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 24, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843 "2004-02-24T05:46:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/21 "2004-02-25T00:34:22Z")
> [@don't ask](#): > > George W Bush > > No one could swallow that. There’s one in every thread, isn’t there? ---
**Author:** ![Chelonia\_mydas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7cd45c/32.png) [@Chelonia\_mydas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chelonia_mydas)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/22 "2004-02-25T02:34:04Z")
SONIC??? I used to eat Sonic twice a day when I was working for Dell (one right across the street…mmm…SuperSonic Cheeseburger, Chili Cheese Tots, Route 44 Cherry Limeade and a Hot Fudge Cake Sundae…a week’s calories in one convenient meal! Somehow eating stuff like that and sitting in front of a computer for 10 hrs/day led to some weight gain…) ahem I did see an episode of Nat’l Geographic Channel’s “Taboo” on food, which had a segment on durian (and, incidentally featured some very hip Londoners eating their friend’s (and, in of their cases, her own) placenta – stir fry, I believe) and it seemed to garner support for one of the nastier edible foods to Western palates. As far as animal flesh is concerned, somehow I want to believe that carrion eaters have the worst tasting insides. Vulture drumsticks, opossum ribs (i have seen possum in a can before in an Arkansas grocery store, but dared it not). But then again, some of my favorite foods are carrion eaters: crustaceans. Maybe if you’re a vertebrate it’s different. Anyone tried hyena or the like? The Turtle Moves ps Terry Pratchett, who’s that? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/23 "2004-02-25T03:06:05Z")
> [@mmmiiikkkeee](#): > > oh yes animal crap too… dogs will eat it but I’ve never seen a (normal) human do it. You saying Divine wasn’t normal?!?! Transvesto-coprophago-phobe! ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/24 "2004-02-25T03:48:23Z")
I know a lot of Americans who would freak out at the very thought of eating anything as bitter as the Asian bitter gourd. Believe me, it is truly very bitter. But you know what? It actually tastes pretty good if you slice it and pan-fry it crispy with garlic and ginger, and serve over rice. ---
**Author:** ![AquaPura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@AquaPura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AquaPura)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/25 "2004-02-25T07:04:40Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > I also enjoy raw fish and raw fish eggs and raw ground beef. But I only ate that last in an expensive restaurant well before the current disease risks came around. I second the liking of raw thingys. Tasty they are. I have only recently tried sashimi and I enjoyed most kinds that I had, (by far maguro was my favorite), but it is the raw ground beef that is my favorite. In the holiday season my family has always served raw beef with deli rye bread and thin sliced onions. It is actually one of my favorite holiday treats. I think it might be a local thing, perhaps Polish or German. (My locality is heavy with Polish and German immigrants). Any other Milwaukee WI area dopers wanna chime in? We also eat siltz (headcheese) as part of our holiday tradition. It, along with the pickled herring rewards you with luck in the new year. As I think about it though I would venture a guess that carnivores are generally not eaten. Omnivores and Herbivores are eaten across the globe, and as to be sure there are exceptions, but is there an area where carnivourous animals are routinely eaten? ---
**Author:** ![mmmiiikkkeee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/edb3f5/32.png) [@mmmiiikkkeee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mmmiiikkkeee)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/26 "2004-02-25T08:54:42Z")
> [@AquaPura](#): > > …is there an area where carnivourous animals are routinely eaten? Lotsa places… but only in the fish/shellfish group I believe - not many predatory mammals or birds. ---
**Author:** ![Coil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bb73d2/32.png) [@Coil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/27 "2004-02-25T12:53:24Z")
Blackthorn or Sloe (Prunus spinosa). The berries are pretty nasty tasting, really bitter and your entire mouth feels funny afterwards. That is when they are raw. If you make lemonade or liqeur with it it can be fairly good. ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/28 "2004-02-25T13:10:02Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Sauerkraut is just pickled cabbage. Kimchee is mildly fermented (hence the tingle) and it’s heavily spiced (hence the intense pain on my tongue the last time I ate the good stuff ;)). > > [Weird and wonderful foods.](http://www.andreas.com/food.html) I don’t vouch for the accuracy of this list, but it’s interesting to start off with. WTF? Irn Bru, spotted dick and flavoured crisps are all listed? I can see how black pudding may be classified as weird, but how on Earth can anyone class those three? ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/29 "2004-02-25T14:23:16Z")
As usual that list of ( at least British foods ) is inaccurate. There is no such thing as kidney pie . It is _steak_ and kidney . Warm beer is actually celler temperature. We don’t call it blood pudding , it is black pudding. And what is wrong with spotted dick?. It is one of the best puddings around. I am willing to bet that the writer of that piece has never tasted most of those foods and is getting a cheap laugh because of the unusual names of some of them. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 8:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/30 "2004-02-26T08:37:45Z")
> [@Coil](#): > > Blackthorn or Sloe (Prunus spinosa). The berries are pretty nasty tasting, really bitter and your entire mouth feels funny afterwards. > > That is when they are raw. If you make lemonade or liqeur with it it can be fairly good. I remember, when I was younger, eating raw wild chokecherries when I’d vacation to my grandparents’ home in Montana. Astringent is the term for their particular property: They dry the mouth, producing a rather interesting sensation on the palate which goes beyond the actual flavor. I know you can make things out of chokecherries, but I’ve only had them raw. Huckleberries, however, get made into everything. Soap, ice cream, jam, milkshakes, everything. Especially if `everything' is a code word for `tourist trap.’ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/31 "2004-02-26T15:32:30Z")
I dont know if such a think exists but you could make a case for a chilli so hot that nobody would be able to eat it. I doubt such a thing exists since there would be no market demand for it but it would certainly be a universally bad tasting food. But probably not for the reasons you want. ---
**Author:** ![bcullman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bcullman/32/8207_2.png) [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/32 "2004-02-26T16:54:56Z")
> [@Chelonia mydas](#): > > Yes, our planet is filled with wonderful cultural diversity which should be celebrated as we unify for our great common goal…whatever, um, that exactly is…but back to my point!..ah yes, despite the differences in our species’ eating habits, what foods are out there, flora and fauna, that are genuinely considered revolting to the human palate? Food that, no matter how fresh or how prepared, no reasonable human could ever find appealing… Well, I think a better definition is in order. Becuase if it is _ **so** _ unpalatable that no one will eat it, well then, it is no longer considered food, is it? ---
**Author:** ![seaworthy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a8b319/32.png) [@seaworthy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seaworthy)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/33 "2004-02-26T16:55:28Z")
> [@+MDI](#): > > WTF? Irn Bru, spotted dick and flavoured crisps are all listed? I can see how black pudding may be classified as weird, but how on Earth can anyone class those three? I was really excited last summer (on my first trip to England) to discover that they had **fire-grilled steak** flavored crisps. Probably the best thing I ever had on that trip (besides those chips and gravy), because I wasn’t really interested in eating much of my full English breakfast. The egg yolks were quite a bit oranger than I’m used to, and something on my plate smelled really bad. Can anyone tell me what the half-bacon-half-ham meat was? ---
**Author:** ![Ghanima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Ghanima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ghanima)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/34 "2004-02-26T17:11:58Z")
I know this isn’t going to count, because those wacky asian folks eat this often enough, but **sea cucumber** is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever had in my life!!! Imagine one of those jelly candies that are round and flat and covered with sugar. Now imagine that it has that texture on the outside but tastes like old seawater. Now imagine you bite into it and it is the texture of OLD STALE JELLO with short dog hairs all throughout it. EEEEESSSSSHHH!!! _Shudders_ Why oh Why would anyone voluntarily eat that? ---
**Author:** ![culture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/958977/32.png) [@culture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/culture)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/35 "2004-02-26T18:58:10Z")
> [@seaworthy](#): > > ok this is a slight hijack, I apologize. But I’m on a mission to consume every type of meat that is edible and is eaten in some part of the world (the grosser the better). I just don’t know them all, there’s quite a few. I’ve got a list and I’m slowly crossing things off. I’ve had head cheese, conch, alligator, beef tongue, liverwurst, and scrapple, among others. I’ll be eating scrambled pigs brains soon (there’s a local restaurant that serves them, but they’re only open from like 5Am to noon or something). So any suggestions? > > Oh and I will never eat conch again. I wanted to puke, and I’ve eaten some really gross stuff. If you are in the us, try Squirrel (inc. brains) Opossum Beaver Neutria Good eatin’ ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/36 "2004-02-26T20:16:08Z")
That guy in **Derleth’s** link seems amazingly small-minded. There are some wonderful foods on that list – sashimi, unagi, grits (real, coarse-ground grits, not instant grits). Gum and peanut butter? Those are weird, wacky foods? I have to admit to being a teetotaller, but … _beer_ is a weird food? Is this just a list of foods he doesn’t personally like? ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2004, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/37 "2004-02-26T21:16:58Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > That guy in **Derleth’s** link seems amazingly small-minded. There are some wonderful foods on that list – sashimi, unagi, grits (real, coarse-ground grits, not instant grits). Gum and peanut butter? Those are weird, wacky foods? I have to admit to being a teetotaller, but … _beer_ is a weird food? Is this just a list of foods he doesn’t personally like? You should have read the beginning of the page where the author answer your questions and explain how he choose the food items he listed. They aren’t necessarily weird or disgusting (by the way, you said that there are some wonderful foods on this list, but they’re _all_ wonderful for some, or many people, actually). Roughly, he explains that these foods are “cultural markers”, which may be considered weird/disgusting in other cultures. And gum and peanut butter are definitely american cultural markers, indeed. Peanut butter is certainly weirder than blood sausage on this side of the Atlantic. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/38 "2004-02-27T15:02:01Z")
> [@](#): > > They aren’t necessarily weird or disgusting Then it’s too bad that in the commentary section below, some of my favourite foods get nothing but slanderous reviews – Cincinnati chili, fried pickles, haggis. And he also says that Gandhi drank his own urine. I’ve never heard that he did so. Morarji Desai, who was prime minister in the late 1970s, was the one that drank his own urine. I think it’s unfair to classify the drinking of human urine as a marker for Indian culture. There are a few loonies like Desai who have done it, but it’s not part of Indian cuisine. ---
**Author:** ![Thylacine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thylacine/32/1143_2.png) [@Thylacine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thylacine)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/39 "2004-02-27T22:44:13Z")
I recall reading somewhere that Koalas are totally inedible, their eucalyptus diet was the reason given. I also have a book that contains a recipe for cockatoo that basically involved boiling it with a rock for many hours, letting it cool, throwing out the bird and eating the rock. ---
**Author:** ![Tentacle\_Monster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba9def/32.png) [@Tentacle\_Monster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tentacle_Monster)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843/40 "2004-02-28T00:08:52Z")
Re: Placenta Eating I saw an episode of HBO’s _Shock Video_ that included a British woman having a “bit of a fry-up” with her placenta. Even a vegan was inticed into trying it, because nothing really died to produce the meat. Weird stuff that I’d try: Placenta (nobody seemed to dislike it), sashimi, horse sashimi Weird stuff that I wouldn’t try: Maggot cheese. We desperately need a puking smiley. I’d eat certain grubs, but maggots…eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeugh. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universally-bad-tasting-foods/230843.md?page=3)