posted
The cranberry topic got me wondering. There seem to be certain flavors that are particularly love 'em or hate 'em, at least among my friends and acquaintances. I'd like to take a little survey and see how they fare on Hatrack.
If you have a second to spare, can I get opinions on...
Black licorice?
Horseradish?
Cilantro?
Bell peppers?
(And if there's any items you'd like to throw in for later participants' input, what the heck, have at it.)
(And if you're curious, I favor all of the above.)
posted
Hate black licorice. It actually makes me gag. Love horseradish. Hotter the better. Cilantro tastes like soap. Hate hate hate. I like raw bell peppers. Cooked ones overpower everything else in the meal, and then your burps taste like peppers all day.
posted
I like all of them as well. Although, I get really picky on Horseradish. It has to be really strong. Usually, the Polish stuff at my grandfather's place satisfies.
Posts: 2208 | Registered: Feb 2004
| IP: Logged |
Horseradish: Small doses, but I'm not a wasabi fan.
Cilantro: Yuck.
Bell peppers: Not a fan.
Those of you who have had Japanese food, what about natto? I love it and apparently that makes me just about the one American who does.
Posts: 484 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
Horseradish? I like it diluted, as in a horseradish sauce for prime rib.
Cilantro? Addicted to the stuff.
Bell peppers? Allergic to them raw, but love them cooked in some things--although the flavor can overpower a bit.
Posts: 3149 | Registered: Jul 2005
| IP: Logged |
Horseradish? can take or leave, but pretty much only take at Pesach anyway.
Cilantro? hate the smell, don't really mind the flavor
Bell peppers? love them raw. I don't mind green cooked, but red, yellow and orange cooked are way too sweet.
Posts: 866 | Registered: Dec 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Black licorice: like it unless the anise is overpowering.
Horseradish: On good beef only.
Cilantro: Love it fresh. Coriander seed (same stuff different day) in some tomato based dishes.
Bell Peppers: good in just about everything but desert.
How many have tried Yerba Mate. I really like it cold as Terere. But hot Mate is good on a cold morning. NOTE: For the dude cool crowd you can make it with Mountain Dew; then it's Teredew
Posts: 1167 | Registered: Oct 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Kristen: Despite eating Japanese with some regularity, I don't think I've ever been offered natto. Next time it's an option, I'll find out.
Artemisia: Similarly, while I believe I've had yerba mate mixed with other things, I've never had it as tea. The mixtures have all been fine, but then, they were heavily sweetened.
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Black licorice? - Hate Horseradish? - Love Cilantro? - Hate Bell peppers? - Can tolerate when cooked
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
Cilantro: Hate it hate it hate it. Tastes like the smell of cat pee.
Bell peppers: Ick. They get their gross, grassy, bell pepper juice all over anything they touch so you can't even pick them out of stuff effectively.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
It tastes like the smell of cat pee? That's so interesting; it doesn't smell like that to me, but I can perceive what it is that your system interprets that way. What do you think of broccoli, Dana? I'm wondering if maybe you're a supertaster.
posted
Noemon-- what happened on March 7th? That's LiteBrite's birthday. I'm trying to correlate your appreciation of black licorice with her turning 3.
Black Licorice-- foul, disgusting stuff.
Horseradish-- I like it on a rare Porterhouse, or on roast beef sandwiches.
Cilantro-- love.
Bell pepers-- raw or cooked, I'll eat them. But I don't like them on pizzas or sandwiches.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
Scott, I was really, really hungry when my (now)ex arrived in town on March 7th for our then-upcoming dissolution hearing, box of Good-n-Plentys in hand. I reluctantly had some (hey, I was starving), and was shocked to discover that they weren't half bad. I only happened to remember the date because I knew that she'd gotten here two days before the hearing.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
What a bizarrely appropriate time for you to discover you like what you've thought you hated your whole life.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
Noemon, I'm pretty sure I am a supertaster.
Mom attributes my love of black licorice to the fact that she stopped for black licorice ice cream after every doctor's appointment while she was pregnant with me. I have good associations.
Broccoli I sometimes love, sometimes hate. It has to be prepared just right (lightly steamed, so it's not mushy). I usually don't care for it raw, although sometimes it's okay in a salad if it has a sweet-and-sour type dressing.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
Don't like cilantro, but there are a few things (curries and albondigas soup) I'll eat it in.
Bell peppers, no, although I'm getting to the point where I don't hate them quite as much, especially soup.
Here's another one for you all: rosemary! I love rosemary. Put tons of it in all kinds of things. You?
Posts: 21182 | Registered: Sep 2004
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by Noemon: It tastes like the smell of cat pee? That's so interesting; it doesn't smell like that to me, but I can perceive what it is that your system interprets that way. What do you think of broccoli, Dana? I'm wondering if maybe you're a supertaster.
[Edit--if only there were some way to test that.]
Do people usually interpret tastes in terms of smells? Because I do that a lot. For example, ginger beer has an aftertaste like the smell of potpurri.
As for those flavor listings, I hate all of the above.
posted
I love the smell of rosemary, mmm. I don't think I eat anything that it would be appropriate in, though... I can't think of a time I've actually eaten it. Unless its what they put in the olive oil bread dip in the Italian restaurant down the street, that would make sense.
Posts: 3636 | Registered: Oct 2001
| IP: Logged |
quote:Originally posted by mr_porteiro_head: What a bizarrely appropriate time for you to discover you like what you've thought you hated your whole life.
Heh, you're right; I hadn't thought of that (although it would be more bizarrely appropriate if she and I hadn't managed to preserve our friendship--we're still pretty close, though I think that at this point both of us are pretty happy with not being together (for those of you who don't know me so well, this was very definitely not something that I wanted at the time.)
That's interesting, dkw--I don't think I've ever heard of another supertaster who could tolerate broccoli. Are there any other common fruits or vegetables that taste especially ghastly to you? What do you think of cantaloupe?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I like black licorice as a rule, although it depends on the type (I dislike the super-salty Danish kind).
I'm not sure about horseradish. I've probably had horseradish sauce, but otherwise it's not something that makes a regular appearance on the menu.
I don't remember trying cilantro, although I may have.
I like 'bell peppers' (by this you mean the ordinary vegetable kind, not the hot kind?). I prefer red (and yellow and orange) bell peppers to green peppers, but I like them all, cooked or raw. These are somewhat of a staple in my house so its odd to me that they are listed as a love/hate thing.
Rosemary I associate exclusively with roast lamb, which I like.
I'm actually quite open (and a little apathetic) when it comes to food. The two foods I (irrationally) don't actually eat much of is coconut and almond (or rather, almond flavoured things, I eat almonds). I've had problems with those little octopodes ( )- or whatever they are- with the little legs and heads and everything, but if it looks like food, rather than what it originally was, I'm generally okay.
Here's one: How do people feel about asparagus? My family likes it and eats it when it's in season, but I get the feeling it's another of those things that you either love or hate.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
Bell peppers: like, but only after I grew up. (Same with cantelope. They both had a mildew-y kind of taste to them when I was a kid. Come to think of it, they still kind of do...)
But... coconut? In my experience, this is often a love or hate kind of food, too. And I'm definitely a coconut hater. In fact, I hate it more than I hate any other food.
Posts: 628 | Registered: Nov 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
When KarlEd and Chris were visiting a few weeks ago we had some rosemary & salt bread (bits of rosemary all the way through, with the loaf rolled in salt like a pretzel or something. It was quite good.
PH, yeah, the two sense are pretty inextricably linked, so it isn't uncommon to interpret one in terms of the other.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
Oh, I remembered. The other food I do really not like is Pesto. Not the taste, necessarily, I just get a weird feeling of negativity or rejection when I eat it.
... and it occurs to me that the three foods I do not like are, or contain, nuts. Hm. Maybe I have a slight allergy.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
All kinds of pesto, or just basil pesto? I make a mean cilantro pesto.
Sharpie, is it the flavor or texture of coconut that you dislike? I have a coworker who despises the texture, but likes the flavor well enough. He's okay with coconut milk-based products, but hates anything that contains the meat.
posted
Black Licorice: Gross Horseradish: Good mixed with cocktail sauce for oysters or shrimp Cilantro: LOVE IT! So good in so many different ways. You can make cilantro mayonnaise! Hmmm.... Bell Peppers: Good raw and cooked in sauces and roasted.
Other loves: Tofu, eggplant, chickpeas, tomato, corn, all HOT peppers Only real hated foods: Squash, corned beef, and stuffing make me gag. Just the smell of corned beef is enough to send me running. It's been truly great living with parents who celebrate St.Pat's by cooking a huge disgusting corned beef. Blech!
Posts: 511 | Registered: Mar 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
Every time we have corned beef, I have to try very hard to not gorge myself.
Two foods that I have an extrmely hard time swallowing: winter squash (I like summer squash) and beets.
Posts: 16551 | Registered: Feb 2003
| IP: Logged |
quote:All kinds of pesto, or just basil pesto? I make a mean cilantro pesto.
I've never had a pesto I've liked but I've never had it homemade though, or in a form where I know exactly what's in it, so I may have consumed only one type of pesto.
And it turns out I do like cilantro, at least in certain things. I just call it "coriander leaves". There's a rice and feta cheese "salad" that we make sometimes that contains cilantro and I love that.
quote:I have a coworker who despises the texture, but likes the flavor well enough.
I am a bit like this. I don't like coconut generally, but I prefer it if its merely coconut-flavoured, and not the crunchy texture of the meat. *wrinkles nose*
quote:stuffing make me gag
O.o I love stuffing! Of course, there are a million ways to make stuffing- I make mine with breadcrumbs.
I also like asparagus,beets, rosemary, the coconut flavor but not the shredded hairy stuff.
How about orange juice? I can't stand the stuff but I love to eat the fruit. (I can't stand the pulp but still don't like the pulp free variety).
Posts: 697 | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I like broccoli and asparagus, properly cooked.
Don't really hate most mellons, but generally wouldn't choose to eat cantelope or honeydew- find them kind of cloyingly sweet. Watermellon's good, though.
Rosemary's great in some breads, with roasted meat, in stuffing, and in chicken soup. Generally like the flavor.
Like almonds and coconut.
Relatively few things I out-and-out despise. Red cabbage is the big one, and a thousand curses on whoever first said, "Y'know what, this salad needs some color."
Posts: 3826 | Registered: May 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I speak for many vegetarians by saying that the taste of meat absolutely grosses me out.
I have gotten to the point where I can appreciate meat which is super charred or fried, which essentially takes away the taste, but there is nothing more revolting to me than the thought of a sausage or a pork loin.
Posts: 484 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
I hate licorice, but like the other three well enough. Also, I'm another liker of cocount flavor, but disliker of the shredded variety. I can't stand asparagus or any type of squash, but rosemary is awesome.
quote:Those of you who have had Japanese food, what about natto? I love it and apparently that makes me just about the one American who does.
For those who don't know, natto is fermented soy beans (linky). My family loves the stuff. I made the mistake of actually smelling it first (And the stringiness? Ugh), but I will try it one of these days.
What about olives, of any variety? (Kalamatas are me favorite.)
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Juxtapose: Try it! It's best to ease into it with rice. I stayed with a Japanese family when I was younger, and I was really nervous about communicating my food preferences ("I don't eat meat" just doesn't translate in rural Japan) and as the daughter would eat natto every morning, so would I. Eventually, the mother saw that I was also eating it, laughed and exclaimed, "Oh no! That was never intended for you!" But at that point, I got accustomed to it and loved it.
But no, definitely not date food.
And I love all olives. Mmmmm.
Posts: 484 | Registered: Feb 2006
| IP: Logged |
posted
As of my most recent readings, here are some basic stats, for the curious.
I've had to interpret things a bit here and there; if people said they like things in x or y, or that they didn't used to like something but do now, they're lumped into "favor". Conversely, words like "tolerate" tend to put a vote into "against". Hopefully I haven't skewed things significantly.
Licorice: 48% for, 48% against, 4% No Opinion/Never Had/Neither for nor against.
posted
I despise licorice... growing up, I was the only one in my family who didn't like it, and my mother never remembered that I didn't, so she'd buy big bags of licorice (and black jelly beans at easter). She also cooked with anise now and then. Actually, she probably remembered full well that I didn't like it and was trying to make me "grow out of it". Well, I'm as grown as I'll ever be and I still HATE it Mom!!
Horseradish I like in sauces and things, but I LOVE wasabi.
Cilantro I can tolerate if it's not too strong in a salsa or something.
Bell peppers I like, especially on pizza or in stir fry, but I prefer red or orange ones to green ones.
I like most olives and Kalamatas are my favorite.
I've mentioned before that I can't stand "orange" foods like winter squash, pumpkin and cooked carrots.
I also don't like coconut - which makes me a freak here, I can tell you. My boss has coconut trees in his yard, and frequently makes haupia, which is a coconut pudding type treat. It's nasty, I tell you. Ugh.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
Kristen, My grandmother told me that once, in feudal Japan, there was a wandering ronin who was starving, roaming the countryside looking for food, work, anything. Eventually, he became so hungry that he was absolutely desperate. He came upon a stable and was so famished that he ate what had been left for the horses: soy beans that had gone bad. He found them delicious and, his hunger sated, he went on his way. Through his skill with the blade and his wisdom, he rose to great power. He remembered the wonderful taste and had his cooks experiment with the fermentation process, and thus do we have natto.
My obaachan is a funny lady.
Posts: 2907 | Registered: Nov 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
I initially read that as a wandering robin, which made perfect sense until you got to the part about skill with the blade.
Posts: 9866 | Registered: Apr 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I learned about natto just this week. I work with a Japanese woman, and this weekend there was a Japanese cultural festival here. There was a natto eating contest at the festival, so my friend was explaining it to me. She even had some in the freezer here that she bought on her way to work. Since it was frozen, it didn't smell at all. She said she'd bring some in some day for me to try if her family left any (which she said was not likely - they love it).
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm honestly not sure if I've had natto or not. From what I'm gathering, the fact that I don't have a strong memory of it one way or the other suggests that I haven't had it. I'd love to try it.
I love meats in general. I love the flavor and the texture of most meats, and generally if it's safe the rarer they are the better I like them. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of eating meat, but if I give it up it won't be because I dislike it.
I've never met an olive I didn't like. As a kid I loved canned black olives, in great part because I enjoyed sticking them on the ends of my fingers, pretending to be an alien for a while, and then plucking them off with my lips one by one. As an adult I find the flavor of canned black olives to be less intersting than most other varieties, but I'll still eat them.
Maui babe, do you generally dislike all foods with high amounts of beta carotene?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm honestly not sure if I've had natto or not. From what I'm gathering, the fact that I don't have a strong memory of it one way or the other suggests that I haven't had it. I'd love to try it.
I love meats in general. I love the flavor and the texture of most meats, and generally if it's safe the rarer they are the better I like them. I'm not entirely comfortable with the idea of eating meat, but if I give it up it won't be because I dislike it.
I've never met an olive I didn't like. As a kid I loved canned black olives, in great part because I enjoyed sticking them on the ends of my fingers, pretending to be an alien for a while, and then plucking them off with my lips one by one. As an adult I find the flavor of canned black olives to be less intersting than most other varieties, but I'll still eat them.
Maui babe, do you generally dislike all foods with high amounts of beta carotene?
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
| IP: Logged |