So I gave in to temptation and bought some halva at the grocery. It is wretched. I’m completely ignorant of what it’s supposed to taste like, but this stuff is musty death in a can. Well, a tub, really.
What foods have you lusted after and then discovered were really awful?
I was really disappointed with Turkish Delight.
ZJ
Musty? And in a tub? Did you buy halvah or just tahini paste? Hie thee to a Jewish deli and get some fresh halvah (I’m particularly fond of the chocolate and marbled varieties, but plain will do). It’s quite scrumptious.
Amen. I remember reading about it in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe**, and thought it must be the most wondrous candy around. My Mom went to England and brought me some back, and it tasted like jellied perfume.
Jewish? Wow. Halvah is Indian, too (Persian in origin, I think)…I wonder if we make it differently? How do you make yours?
Hell yes. I also read about it in LW&W, and went so far as to spend half a day *making * the damned stuff, only to find that Jell-O Jigglers would have been tastier and far easier.
In a completely different vein, I discovered the hard way the other day that trying the sample cheeses at Whole Foods is not without risk. I had to run to the next sample site and jam down some flatbread to clear the rotting sweatsock flavor from my mouth. (I still try the cheeses, but now I know what I’m potentially getting myself into.)
I get halva at our local mediterranian market. It’s delish.
As for foods I regret trying, it’s usually because I’m too poor to get it all the time, but I love it so. Like sushi.
Canned smoked oyster and canned smoked mussels. I forget the brand name. I bought because I went shopping while I was hungry (bad idea always).
I would gladly have drunk lit lighter fluid to get rid of the taste.
Don’t. Ever. Eat. These.
Canned/jarred chili. I should’ve known better, but I thought, what harm could it do?
After twice going through some annoyingly bad intestinal/stomach trauma, that sealed it: never again. Never, ever again.
Soft-shelled crab. Yuck! Nearly made me puke, and I still get grossed out thinking about it.
Spoiled by our local dungeness, I suppose.
Wow. Another vote for Turkish Delight. Harborwolf and I both read The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as children and were intrigued when we found Turkish Delight at a gourmet store. It was rose flavored, and we both were horrified at the taste. Yes, just like jellied perfume. BLECCCCHHHHH!!!
Another one that, in retrospect, I have to think “How could you possibly expect to have a good outcome?”
When you go to the NC State Fair, there’s all sorts of people giving out free samples of things. There’s peanuts, and hushpuppies, and the heavenly maple-sugar cotton candy.
But why, oh why, did I sample first and ask questions later when I was handed a sample of the Neese’s Liver Pudding? :eek:
In the Horrific Cheese category: brau kase.
I thought, I’m 15/16ths German! I’m genetically predisposed to love it, doch!
I thought, I have an Adventurous Palate! I can handle strong-flavored cheeses and appreciate their sophisticated nuances!
Dear God Almighty. I still shudder at the memory. Phew!
Me too. 
I got it at the neighborhood Lebanese food shop, and while it wasn’t overwhelmingly perfume-y, it was just sugary and a bit flowery. TLW&tW made it out to be far better than what it was.
I was 21 when I tried it, and far, far more disappointed at that memory/hope being shattered than I should have been.
LOL! I hadn’t even remembered the time I tried that until I saw your post.
My thinking: I love cheese, and beer’s not so bad. Why, “beer cheese” should be awesome!
Vile. Just vile.
I love halva and turkish delight (the handmade stuff, not the stuff in shops) but am expressly forbidden by my American husband from trying either twinkies or hostess fruit pies, because I formed an idea in my childish brain that these things were nectar and ambrosia after reading too many ads for them in imported comic books. Fruit pies in particular hold a fascination for me that he won’t allow to be marred by the gross reality. So I do sympathize with people whose turkish delight experiences didn’t live up to their expectations.
I love Turkish Delight!
I was very disappointed in marzipan, though. I don’t HATE it, but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it again. It looks so pretty, and hey, I like almonds… but it just didn’t live up to my hopes.
Home-made/bakery Halvah is yummy. The other stuff should only be used for home improvement projects.
Ain’t Turkish Delight simply a nougat?
Perhaps, all I know is that I was unable to control other people by promising and withholding it. It was supposed to be edible hypnosis, dammit!
ZJ