# Which of these foods/ingredients would you banish from humanity? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 7, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140 "2011-11-07T04:56:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/1 "2011-11-07T04:56:18Z")
Which of these ingredients would you choose to banish from existence if you had to pick one? Also, the alien overlords forcing you to choose are also not going to allow you to use any sort of substitute, natural/artificial flavoring, extract, spice or any other derived product for whichever of these food/ingredients you choose to banish from humanity. Yes, this affects all of humanity, forever. You must choose, or they’ll asphalt our entire planet as a tarmac for their spaceships (which are fueled by whichever item you pick)… By the way, the item you choose as their fuel, will very slightly taint our atmosphere with the item’s natural scent. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/2 "2011-11-07T05:01:02Z")
I really like all of them but I guess losing celery would hurt the least. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/3 "2011-11-07T05:02:30Z")
None of them, you monster. These are all delicious and useful foods. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/4 "2011-11-07T05:04:04Z")
Don’t shoot the messenger! _mwahhhahhahah!_ ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/5 "2011-11-07T05:04:47Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > I really like all of them but I guess losing celery would hurt the least. Ditto - I like celery as a crunchy snack but not as a cooked ingredient, so it’s the least loss. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/6 "2011-11-07T05:05:10Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > None of them, you monster. These are all delicious and useful foods. You’ve just doomed the earth to a huge interstellar parking lot. Who’s the monster now?! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/7 "2011-11-07T05:06:46Z")
> [@Askance](#): > > Ditto - I like celery as a crunchy snack but not as a cooked ingredient, so it’s the least loss. _Fools!_ Carrots is the obvious choice. How am I supposed to enjoy my bloody marys now, or the extreme deliciousness known as celery salt? ---
**Author:** ![runcible\_spoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@runcible\_spoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/runcible_spoon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/8 "2011-11-07T05:09:55Z")
Onions - I can’t stand them, so I’d be perfectly happy if everyone was forced to omit them from my food. The slight scent would be annoying, but not too bad. ---
**Author:** ![Covered\_In\_Bees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7ab992/32.png) [@Covered\_In\_Bees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Covered_In_Bees)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/9 "2011-11-07T05:11:00Z")
> [@runcible\_spoon](#): > > Onions - I can’t stand them, so I’d be perfectly happy if everyone was forced to omit them from my food. The slight scent would be annoying, but not too bad. Another vote for onions. Maybe if they’d disappear people can actually use something that tastes and smells good. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/10 "2011-11-07T05:13:23Z")
Great, if onions wins out, not only will some of my favorite soups, sauces, dips and gravies be forever destroyed, but the air will stink, and our eyes will constantly be watering. ---
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/11 "2011-11-07T05:18:11Z")
Onions, garlics, and potatoes make up a huge portion of my diet. I’d be very bummed if any of them disappeared. Carrots have more nutritional value, so I guess I gotta go with getting rid of celery. Even though I’d miss its crunch in certain situations, it’s not THAT big of a deal. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/12 "2011-11-07T05:33:42Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > You’ve just doomed the earth to a huge interstellar parking lot. Who’s the monster now?! 😉 You sick bastard. 😉 It’s like these aliens are asking us to pick a color: “Muwahahahaha! Pick a color to lose forever! Blue, green, red or yellow!” I guess, if a gun was put to my head: I’d still say, shoot away, none of them. They’re all key. If a gun was put to someone else’s head, I’d very reluctantly, after torture, grudgingly pick celery, as it is the the most subtle among them all. But Earth would never be the same, and nor would my soups. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/13 "2011-11-07T05:39:10Z")
Celery…that’s easy, I could go the rest of my life without every seeing or eating celery and not be missing anything. I’ve never eaten it raw, I don’t cook with it, I pick around it in soup whenever possible (I know, I really can’t tell it’s there anyways, but I’d prefer not to eat it when I can see giant chunks of it). Everything else on the list I love and use in mass quantities…often times all at once. Also, while I suppose I could deal with the entire planet slightly smelling like celery, it would probably be easier for me to just go on ignoring it for the rest of my life. It’s worked pretty well for the last 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Palo\_Verde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Palo\_Verde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Palo_Verde)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/14 "2011-11-07T05:56:19Z")
Onions. When I read a recipe that includes them, I just automatically include something else. Usually garlic for the flavor, bell pepper for the texture, or celery for the crunch. ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/15 "2011-11-07T06:07:06Z")
I figured there’d be a lot of onion haters, but celery? really?! It’s sooo good, and performs miracles in soups. The taste is subtle eating it raw, but when the flavor has been distilled, my god, it adds so much savory flavor. I thought there’d be a larger margin for carrots, since they don’t add too much to recipes, and while a nice veggie on their own, there’s only a few desserts and sides that really benefit from them. I can live without carrot cake. Also, if the air smelled of carrots, I think I’d actually kind of find that somewhat pleasant (as opposed to garlic or onions, which are miracles of deliciousness, but they’re pungent and I’d rather be tasting them). Also… no one better fuck with my potatoes. You’ve been warned. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/16 "2011-11-07T07:56:04Z")
Celery, if I have to pick from that list. But I would seriously try and talk them into taking eggplant instead. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/17 "2011-11-07T08:09:34Z")
Celery then spuds. If onions and garlic were to be gone forever – just shoot me and put me out of my misery as quickly as possible. ---
**Author:** ![BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bcef8e/32.png) [@BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BellRungBookShut-CandleSnuffed)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/18 "2011-11-07T08:13:25Z")
Celery’s not bad, but you’d have a hard time convincing me that it really adds much flavor to anything that it’s in. Chicken salad, or soup? Turkey stuffing? These are things that can stand perfectly well without celery. Even raw there isn’t a whole lot of taste to it. Don’t get me wrong, I eat the stuff on occasion, but I don’t think it’d be missed so much. Besides, you can just replace it with something of equal flavor: iceberg lettuce. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/19 "2011-11-07T08:30:23Z")
Celery - my _mirepoix_ won’t be the same, but I could always get leek or something in there instead… ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2011, 8:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140/20 "2011-11-07T08:40:41Z")
I thought for sure carrots would be the first to go, but wow, I’m surprised to see celery taking such a beating. Chicken soup will never be the same. I hate you all! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/which-of-these-foods-ingredients-would-you-banish-from-humanity/602140.md?page=2)