Let me preface by saying that I give everything a chance. And if I don't like something, I wait a while and give it another chance. And another chance. Palettes and taste for food changes over time, and some things I loved as a child make me gag now. Case in point:
PLAIN Spaghetti with PLAIN tomato sauce? I can't do it. I need a few more ingredients to make this palatable. I need herbs, parmesan, vegetables or meat, something. I had this meal soooo many times growing up and for some reason the smell and texture is so off-putting to me now! I would rather cook angel hair or fettuccini than spaghetti. I'm not happy about this but hopefully I will change my mind before I'm dead. I have nothing against spaghetti and I wish it well
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches... I have had it too many times and I need at least 2 more decades of recovery before I can enjoy it again. The flavor profile just doesn't appeal to me at all. A coworker offered me and PB&J flavored granola bar thing and I felt bad because I had to say thanks, but no. The smell instantly made my appetite disappear. Also not happy about this one, I ate it so much as a child and I especially loved the way my grandma would prepare it toasted in a cast iron skillet. I will give it another chance some day.
Really not a fan of most seafood (except for salmon and some white fish), but raw oysters are especially bad in my opinion. Their popularity is kind of baffling to me. I know plenty of chefs and friends who love them, and I just can't do it!! If we go out for oysters by the beach, I'll order some french fries from the bar and watch you eat all the oysters. I've tried them SO many times, and I can't see the appeal. The popularity is what makes me keep trying them-- all these people love them, surely I must have just been missing something last time, right?? No... They're slimy, salty, squishy, and you need tons of lemon juice and condiments to make them palatable. And if I'm not mistaken, you're supposed to throw your head back and just swallow them whole, no chewing, no savoring of any flavors. So WTF??? They're a pain in the ass to clean and prepare, they're awkward to eat, and they're expensive. And the commercial fishing industry is ruining the ocean. I never buy seafood because it makes me sad. Sorry but please leave the oysters and everything else in the ocean alone.
Huge, fat pickled cucumbers. NO
Super tiny pickles are cute and good. I also like pickled ginger, pickled carrot, and pickled red onion. So I'm not opposed to pickling. I understand that people like pickled cucumbers because they're supposed to be refreshing when they're cold, but you can get that from a raw cucumber too. Or literally anything else that has been chilled. What I don't understand is how anyone is supposed to take a bite out of a fat slimy thing that tastes like straight-up vinegar. The acidity is SO overpowering. You would have to pay me to eat one of these. When I have slices of pickle on a sandwich or a burger or something, I usually give it a chance for the first few bites, and then I end up picking them off and putting them aside. They are obnoxious and frankly they offend me.
Salt and vinegar chips are just not what I'm looking in a chip at the moment but who knows maybe I'll go through a midlife crisis and I'll start liking them. I am a potato chip enthusiast and I always go for it when I see a bowl of them sitting out, but salt and vinegar is a very unpleasant surprise for me every time!! I'm trying to pinpoint exactly what it is about this flavor that I don't like-- I think a lot of companies here in the US use malic acid to give the chips the acidity, and it just hurts me LOL. I'm personally more of a citric acid kind of girl. I don't hold a hatred for this chip flavor but I would prefer to keep some distance between us
Others have already mentioned Mayonnaise. I appreciate an emulsion, like hollandaise sauce. Emulsions made by hand take time to prepare and they are amazing when they're done right. I also love a flavored aioli. So the concept of whipping an egg with some fat isn't what grosses me out. The problem with mayonnaise out of a jar is that it's NOTHING like a fresh emulsion, which is what it is supposed to be mimicking. It's so much thicker and denser, and it completely lacks any flavor or personality. It's like staring directly into a void. I can tolerate mayo if it is HEAVILY spiced, seasoned and has had a makeover. It needs to be basically unrecognizable for me to even consider eating it. If I'm making a sandwich, I would sooner use avocado or hummus than mayo. I feel appalled when people say they love mayo, because it just isn't something that could ever happen for me. I grew up spending time with relatives from the Mid-West of the United States during holidays, and I have experienced some traumatizing meals involving mayo. Some people seem to consider this condiment a food group of it's own. I've eaten salad dressed with mayo, thinking it was some kind of dressing or cheese. I was wrong, but I finished it to be polite. I forgive them, but I can't get past the psychological effects this has had on me. I am very anti-mayonnaise.
Olives.... I can handle them finely minced, in the background of a dish. Like in a salad, a top of bread or on a pizza. My boyfriend makes a pretty good pasta salad with chopped olives, red onion, artichoke, tomato and feta cheese, and I quite enjoy the olives in this context. On their own? As a snack? I have Greek cousins who would put them on their fingers and eat them one by one at room temperature, out of a can. I'm gagging as I type this, omg. I can't with the olives!!! I really try to give them space and opportunity to wow me and bring me to the other side because they are so iconic and loved world-wide, but they are so overpowering. When they're used sparingly in a recipe, they can compliment other ingredients and balance a dish very well, but I could never sit there and eat a jar of olives. They literally just taste like vinegar to me, every time I eat one I'm like. Vinegar. I taste vinegar. My mouth is full of vinegar. Am I supposed to taste something else? Maybe I'll change my mind some day.
I rub shoulders with vegans, and I try tofu a lot. I give it lots of chances, time and time again, because I like to try new things. The problem is, it makes me fart, like, a lot. I can't handle it. Sorry, TMI, my body hates it. It's super bland but it lends itself to a lot of different cuisines, it can be manipulated in so many ways and it can be delicious. I like eating it fried with a bit of dipping sauce, especially if it's firm tofu. When I was a teenager, I used to make protein shakes with super soft tofu and berries. I just included it here because it is a least favorite due to flatulence. Some people are lactose intolerant, I guess I'm soy intolerant. Kind of a bummer honestly!
Honorary fruit mention: "Red Delicious" apples suck. "Red Disappointing" would be a better name. Grainy texture, super flaccid and soft, no crunch, bitter skin, no sweetness or acidity to speak of. Literally flavorless. "Delicious" is the most misleading and dishonest descriptor for this apple. I hate these and I hate the agriculture industry that created these monstrosities. Literally any other apple is better!!!!
Last but not least, Taco Bell. I have never eaten Taco Bell and NOT gotten sick. I mean vomiting sick. The food from Taco Bell has the lowest vibrations of any fast food chain I've tried. Devils dance in their kitchens. I can taste the hate and misery of the workers in the food. Even when I was a stoner, I would rather go to Jack in the Box if I wanted fast food at 3 am. It's worth mentioning that Jack in the Box actually killed a few kids in 1993 with E. coli, so there it is. I have friends who try to argue with me on this one, but I also live in an area that has amazing authentic taco trucks open late, so why the hell would anyone eat this???? It is just god awful
