# What Mainstream Food Item have You Never Tasted? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 29, 2018, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463 "2018-08-29T12:53:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/81 "2018-08-30T18:44:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Now there are a few foods I _won’t_ eat, but that’s because I hate them, not because I’ve _never tried_ them. There are some things I haven’t tried, but mostly because they’re rarely if ever on offer in my world. Examples: Spam, sardines, organ meats other than liver. I’ve tried liver; the texture and mouthfeel are repulsive to me. I’ve (inadvertently) tried anchovies; once was enough. Someone mentioned crawfish. Reminds me that I’ve got to get back to New Orleans someday, because even restaurants up my way that claim to be authentic New Orleans can’t cook a plate of crawfish étouffée that’s more than just passable. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2018, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/82 "2018-08-30T18:50:50Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Is there any reason you don’t eat condiments? Just like salt, they tend to make food more palatable and enjoyable. They probably help with digestion too. Speaking for myself only, I don’t think ketchup, mustard, relish and mayo improve the foods i enjoy. Quite the opposite. I don’t like their taste. Also, over time, it’s grown into a philosophical objection as well. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/83 "2018-08-30T18:53:45Z")
I’ve never had a corn dog. Or Hamburger Helper (that I know of). StG ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/84 "2018-08-30T18:58:14Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Speaking for myself only, I don’t think ketchup, mustard, relish and mayo improve the foods i enjoy. Quite the opposite. I don’t like their taste. Also, over time, it’s grown into a philosophical objection as well. It’s one thing to decide that you don’t think ketchup, mustard and so forth improve the taste of food, or decide that you dislike the taste of them and another _never_ to have eaten them. The latter seems unlikely in mainstream America. (Surely some of those condiments were included in school lunches.) ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/85 "2018-08-30T19:04:38Z")
I was going to say tripe, but then I remember that one time I got Pho with “everything”, including tripe. I ate the tripe, but it wasn’t very appealing. Not much taste, and the taste it did have wasn’t good. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Bill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mr.Bill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Bill)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/86 "2018-08-30T19:45:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I don’t really see any of those as mainstream food. I’ve seen all of those at the supermarket. I think that’s a pretty good qualifier for what’s mainstream. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/87 "2018-08-30T20:32:37Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Also, over time, it’s grown into a philosophical objection as well. If I may ask, what is your philosophical object to condiments? ---
**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:** [August 30, 2018, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/88 "2018-08-30T20:39:01Z")
> [@D\_Anconia](#): > > If I may ask, what is your philosophical object to condiments? It’s a reaction to the assumption by so many that condiments “belong” on certain foods. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2018, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/89 "2018-08-30T20:54:57Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > A couple months ago I could have said this. Then, I began making sushi rolls and it turns out Spam Musubi is pretty fantastic. (Pan fry, then cool the slices of spam in a marinade of oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt and sugar) The trick is frying it. Fried Spam is yummy. Not-fried Spam is not. I was going to say I couldn’t think of any mainstream food I haven’t eaten, but I saw someone mention Nutella. I have never eaten Nutella. Not because I don’t think I’d like it (I love both chocolate and hazelnuts), but I can’t think of a not gross way to eat it other than by spoon from the jar. And it just seems so unredeemable. At least peanut butter has protein … or that’s what I keep telling myself. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/90 "2018-08-30T21:04:19Z")
Oh, for the OP - my mom’s favourite fish was filet of sole. I kind of grew up on it. ---
**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:** [August 30, 2018, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/91 "2018-08-30T21:07:20Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I love sweetbreads, but I wouldn’t want to cook them at home. They’re best at an Argentine steak place, where they’re grilled until slightly crispy and served in a mixed grill along with kidneys, beefsteak, and sausage. I’ve had them braised in the French style, and the texture is ooky. I’ve had sweetbreads at a French restaurant, and they were crispy and delicious, like the ones at your Argentine steak place. Braised does indeed sound “ooky.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/92 "2018-08-30T21:21:48Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I cannot think of a single mainstream food item I haven’t eaten. My list is really short: - Lobster (I had lobster tail once, but never had the whole thing as a meal) - Grits > [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > Spam. I never had it until I was in my 30’s. You need to try Spam Masubi. It’s great. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8dc957/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/93 "2018-08-30T22:37:39Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Oh, for the OP - my mom’s favourite fish was filet of sole. I kind of grew up on it. Interesting. Did you like it? By the way, I’m surprised you never tasted tomato soup. Thanks for all the responses everyone, but some are including foods that they don’t like, or that’s how it’s reading. “That’s horrendous,” “That’s disgusting,” etc. Not that I mind, but I was thinking of foods never tasted. In my case, it’s not that I’m convinced I would hate filet of sole, I just never got around to trying it. I didn’t try turnips until my mid-forties, and now I seem to be running out of “never had” foods. I’ve never tasted Limburger cheese either. Or blood sausage. I can’t get past the smell of the one, and the residual religious objections to the other. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2018, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/94 "2018-08-30T23:30:56Z")
If there’s a mainstream food I haven’t tried, it’s certainly due to my just overlooking it, not out of avoidance. I spent ages 4-18 being a picky eater, when suddenly my issues with food texture and other former deal-breakers just seemed to dissolve away. Ever since then, I’m more than happy to try nearly everything. Still, there are some regional staples I’ve just not gotten around to yet. Pimento cheese sandwich was one of them until this past spring. I can’t say I feel the need for another one yet, though. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/95 "2018-08-31T00:15:05Z")
I eat most anything, love seafood of all kinds especially. But I notice things at the grocery store here (Aus) that I have never tried, including fennel and celeriac. Just never had reason to use them, yet I’m happy enough to try them one day I guess. And I’ve never had pumpkin pie. They’re just not a thing here. 😃 ---
**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:** [August 31, 2018, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/96 "2018-08-31T00:19:22Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Still, there are some regional staples I’ve just not gotten around to yet. Pimento cheese sandwich was one of them until this past spring. I can’t say I feel the need for another one yet, though. Was it made by somebody southren who learn the recipe from their grandma? Cuz that makes a difference. (It also helps it you are a bit of a heathen and add more than a couple of dashes of Crystal or Louisiana sauce.) The right mayo makes a difference, too. Gotta be Duke’s or Blue Plate. As for Spam - love the stuff. Fried with breakfast eggs is a campfire staple. ---
**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:** [August 31, 2018, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/97 "2018-08-31T00:38:02Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats](#): > > Interesting. Did you like it? Filet of sole? It’s a very mild, bland-tasting fish in my experience. It’s sort of like mahi mahi to my mind. Never found it very impressive. Although I should add that my mother was not particularly good at cooking fish > [@](#): > > By the way, I’m surprised you never tasted tomato soup. I have a life-threatening allergy to tomatoes. There are many foods with tomato in them I have never tried, and a few I have regretted encountering. ---
**Author:** ![blob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blob/32/489_2.png) [@blob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blob)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/98 "2018-08-31T00:45:38Z")
> [@WOOKINPANUB](#): > > Mostly the smell. Do you like eggs otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/99 "2018-08-31T00:50:53Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > Thanks! Sorry for being so nosy. Feel free to ignore this. > > Is there any reason you don’t eat condiments? Just like salt, they tend to make food more palatable and enjoyable. They probably help with digestion too. > > If you eat eggs, then why never hard boiled? I never ate condiments as a kid. Always wanted burgers and hot dogs plain. So I’ve always been happy with my food like that. I will say that I’m sure over the years I’ve accidentally bit into a burger that had everything on it but immediately stopped. Just didn’t like the taste. If I want a turkey sandwich, I want to taste turkey and cheese not mayo. As for the hard boiled eggs, I think it was the smell that I didn’t like as a kid. Just never tried one later in my life. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463/100 "2018-08-31T00:52:11Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > It’s one thing to decide that you don’t think ketchup, mustard and so forth improve the taste of food, or decide that you dislike the taste of them and another _never_ to have eaten them. The latter seems unlikely in mainstream America. (Surely some of those condiments were included in school lunches.) That’s exactly why I never ate hot lunch. I always brown-bagged it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-mainstream-food-item-have-you-never-tasted/820463.md?page=6)