# What Foods Will You Absolutely \*NOT\* Eat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 30, 2012, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159 "2012-08-30T16:37:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/81 "2012-08-31T01:06:12Z")
Funny story, we drove over [Donner Pass](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donner_Party) this summer and had dinner in an Indian restaurant in Redding. My partner, who had ordered a Tandoori platter the was just a tad too generous, said to me, “help your self to this, but don’t eat my (remaining chicken) leg.” On one mailing list many years ago, the naïve British participants in a rare fit of accidental irony, mistook “Donner Party” as a typo for “dinner party”. So, anyone up for a bit of _[long pig](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/long%20pig)_? Conspicuously absent from my to-taste list. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/82 "2012-08-31T01:39:07Z")
I eat basically anything, although there are plenty of things I don’t go out of my way to eat. In fact, I’ve eaten just about everything that has been posted so far- balut, living things, brains, organ meats of all kinds, rat gums, bugs…I’ve even eaten quivering blocks of boiled pork fat that could probably be called “pork jelly.” I don’t go out of my way to eat strange food, but if it’s there in front of my I’ll give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/83 "2012-08-31T01:47:18Z")
> [@Max\_the\_Immortal](#): > > Nothing is off the table for me. I’d be reluctant to eat insects/arachnids, and generally don’t much care for shellfish, but nothing is absolutely excluded from my diet. I suspect that I lucked out and was born with a palate that allows me to enjoy nearly any food. I doubt you were born with said palate; rather I think, like me, your parents insisted that you eat a variety of foods. I thank my mum for liver, and blood pudding, and haggis, and fish, and kidneys, and beef tongue, and … well a whole lot of things that most kids weren’t exposed to. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/84 "2012-08-31T01:57:19Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Geez, and here I was thinking I was worldly. > > I have no idea what any of the following foods are: > > I’m scared to even ask what the fuck “pork jelly” is…:eek: Balut is a mostly-incubated duck fetus cooked and served in the shell, natto is fermented soybeans, hakarl is rotten shark (and also the sound people make after they eat it), surstromming is a fermented herring, casu marzu is a rotted cheese with live maggots still in it. Pork jelly is probably the least exotic of the items on the list; boil up some pig parts, skim off the fat, let the stock cool and gel, and tada, pork jelly. As for me, I’d take a pass on the hakarl and the casu marzu for sure. I doubt I could choke down the balut. And I’m also horrified by the idea of eating anything that’s still alive. Pork jelly; eh, I’ve had aspic, same difference. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/85 "2012-08-31T02:06:28Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > Balut is a mostly-incubated duck fetus cooked and served in the shell, natto is fermented soybeans, hakarl is rotten shark (and also the sound people make after they eat it), surstromming is a fermented herring, casu marzu is a rotted cheese with live maggots still in it. Hmm. Now I know why I’ve never heard of these “foods” before; it’s because you’ve basically described garbage. Literally. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/86 "2012-08-31T02:29:10Z")
Things I’ve never tried and will refuse to unless under threat of death (possibly not even then) Sauteed mealworms Brains Testicles Pig feet Chicken feet Grubs Maggot cheese Cat poop coffee Things that are considered to be companion a animal in American culture (dog, cat, horse and similar) Rotted shark Rotted duck eggs Lutefisk Things I’ve tried and refuse to ever put in my mouth again Beets (taste like the hole in the ground they came out of) Uni (sea urchin roe) Smoked salmon (I love fresh salmon, raw salmon, cooked salmon…it’s the smoke that ruins it) Fresh Raspberries (blech) Did I mention beets? Caviar (although I like most roe served in sushi restaurants) Scallops (I’ve tried multiple times, in a variety of preparations and come to the conclusion that I just do not like them) Oh yeah, beets are heinous ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/87 "2012-08-31T02:38:10Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > Maggot cheese > Cat poop coffee Do you have a five year old that snuck in and posted these? 😕 _Cat poop coffee?__Maggot cheese?_ What about _Cockroach chili?_ Tried that one yet? ---
**Author:** ![Michael63129](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3da27b/32.png) [@Michael63129](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael63129)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/88 "2012-08-31T02:50:03Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Do you have a five year old that snuck in and posted these? 😕 > > _Cat poop coffee?__Maggot cheese?_ > > What about _Cockroach chili?_ Tried that one yet? Those are real foods (well, not actually cat poop coffee, but I’m sure he meant the following): > [@](#): > > [Kopi luwak](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kopi_Luwak) (Indonesian pronunciation: [ˈkopi ˈlu.aʔ]), or civet coffee, is one of the world’s most expensive and low-production varieties of coffee. It is made from the beans of coffee berries which have been eaten by the Asian Palm Civet (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus) and other related civets, then passed through its digestive tract. > [@](#): > > [Casu marzu](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casu_marzu) (also called casu modde, casu cundídu, casu fràzigu in Sardinian language, or in Italian formaggio marcio, “rotten cheese”) is a traditional Sardinian sheep milk cheese, notable for containing live insect larvae. I think it is safe to say that NOBODY here would eat either of those even for money. Also, no idea about cockroaches, but wouldn’t be surprised if they are eaten somewhere around the world. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/89 "2012-08-31T03:00:17Z")
I don’t eat any grain except white rice. Other than that, I will eat things most will not. Especially organ meats and bugs and anything raw. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/90 "2012-08-31T03:01:30Z")
Well, I’ve tried most things and enjoy most things although meat isn’t one of my great loves - I enjoy vegetarian or vegan selections a lot more. However, I don’t think I could bring myself to eat something that was once in something’s head - see eyeballs and brains. Just can’t do it. Sea urchin, on the other hand, is delicious. ---
**Author:** ![bubba\_jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e95f7d/32.png) [@bubba\_jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bubba_jr)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/91 "2012-08-31T03:06:03Z")
Peaches, The most disgusting thing ever evolved. They smell like dirty sweet feet and they just taste like dirty feet. They should be illegal and should be extinct from this planet. Peach smell literally turns my stomach, just disgusting. The texture even worse, its like moderately solid, fleshy feces, that are in some way grossly sweet. F’N nasty. They smell bad, they taste bad. I’d rather live out the next 50 years with my head in a colostomy bag than have to smell or taste a peach (again). Mango’s are right up there, nasty. On the other hand I like woman that like peaches, they don’t care what it smells or tastes like, they’ll still stick it in their mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/92 "2012-08-31T03:15:48Z")
A friend of mine served me a hummus dish, made the old-fashioned way, the way his Lebanese grandmother made it. I could not eat it. In utter absolute shame and embarrassment, I had to go to the sink and spit it out. It tasted as if it had been made with sewing-machine oil, not sesame-seed oil! Since then, I have a strong prejudice against hummus of any variety, even the bland Americanized kind. I won’t say I absolutely won’t eat it…but in practice, I never do. ---
**Author:** ![Acid\_Lamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Acid\_Lamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acid_Lamp)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/93 "2012-08-31T03:27:14Z")
Nothing. I’ll eat anything at least once. I certainly have preferences, but there is nothing I would absolutely turn down if pressed or hungry. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/94 "2012-08-31T03:46:13Z")
> [@Acid\_Lamp](#): > > Nothing. I’ll eat anything at least once. What about things you’ve tried once and absolutely loathed? Are they things you wouldn’t ever eat _again_? ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/95 "2012-08-31T04:24:58Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Do you have a five year old that snuck in and posted these? 😕 > > _Cat poop coffee?__Maggot cheese?_ > > What about _Cockroach chili?_ Tried that one yet? As already cited, the cat poop coffee and maggot cheese are real things. I should have said cat pooped coffee though to be clear. The coffee isn’t made from the cat poop, but from the coffee beans that take a ride through the cat. And it’s not a cat, it’s a civet, which is close enough to a cat for me. I thought everyone on the Dope was familiar enough with cazu marzu and kopi luwak that I wouldn’t have to look up how to spell them. Sorry if I confused you, though I’m fairly sure you can get some cockroach chili and the truck stop in the town I grew up in. Extra crunchy! And I’m a girl. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/96 "2012-08-31T04:27:17Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > And I’m a girl. 🙂 Did I suggest otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/97 "2012-08-31T04:27:57Z")
I did not enjoy shark-fin soup when I had it either, but unlike balut, I did try the soup… ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/98 "2012-08-31T04:29:37Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > I thought everyone on the Dope was familiar enough with cazu marzu and kopi luwak that I wouldn’t have to look up how to spell them. I’m biting my tongue here. 🙂 But I will _not_ eat it. ---
**Author:** ![Hockey\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Hockey\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hockey_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/99 "2012-08-31T04:42:08Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I’m biting my tongue here. 🙂 > > But I will _not_ eat it. I still didn’t want to look up how to spell them. It’s been a long day. Somebody called me a he. My correction wasn’t specifically directed at you. I go night night now. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2012, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159/100 "2012-08-31T04:53:42Z")
> [@Hockey\_Monkey](#): > > Somebody called me a he. My correction wasn’t specifically directed at you. I go night night now. 😛 😕 Ummmm, k. When you say “directed at you”, are you talking to _me_ this time or someone else? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-foods-will-you-absolutely-not-eat/633159.md?page=6)