Besides Cilantro, What Foods Do You Find Absolutely Disgusting?

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Besides Cilantro, What Foods Do You Find Absolutely Disgusting?

Gizmodo staff got into a spirited debate about the most divisive of herbs, cilantro, sparked by the news that the U.S. imposed an import ban after human feces were found in cilantro fields outside Puebla, Mexico. Some of us despise cilantro; others would happily sprinkle it on most meals. Is there any other flavor that’s so universally controversial?

There’s evidence that finding cilantro inedible could be genetic—an inherited taste hatred. For once I’m grateful I avoid cilantro, considering tainted batches were “linked to hundreds of cases of cyclosporiasis—which can cause ‘explosive bowel movements’—across 19 states.” I agree with contributing editor Andrew Liszewski, who put it that there are “those who find [cilantro] awful and those who are wrong.” To me it tastes like a mix of soap and dirt.

In talking to fellow cilantro-haters I’ve found we have some other crossovers. I dislike nothing so much as peppers, any color, any size, any kind. I’d rather eat a handful of cilantro than a bell pepper, in fact. Other cilantro partisans have agreed about peppers in the past. Peppers are so abhorrent to me because they seem to overwhelm everything else in the dish/sandwich, and make it saturated with terrible pepper essence. See you in hell, peppers.

Are there other taste commonalities among those of us who dislike certain foods? It’s been suggested that I could be a supertaster, since I have such strong and adverse reactions to certain flavors. I’m considering Lifehacker’s DIY supertaster test when I get home tonight, so that I can explain that I’m not just picky, I have extra papillae.

Help us compile responses on the foods or flavors you avoid like the plague. What do you try your best to never let touch your tongue?

Image via Shutterstock. Looking at it makes me shudder

[NYMag]

407 Reply

Kaila Hale-Stern’s Discussions

All replies

Jean Lafitte The Second Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:23pm

Lutefisk. Why does it exist?

7 9 Reply
- Matt Novak Jean Lafitte The Second
  
  7/27/15 6:26pm
  
  Lutefisk actually tastes fine. It’s the smell that’s terrible.
  
  2 6 Reply
- Jean Lafitte The Second Matt Novak
  
  7/27/15 6:29pm
  
  I never got past the smell, but I’ll take your word for it.
  
  1 Reply
- Courthouse Steps Jean Lafitte The Second
  
  7/27/15 6:32pm
  
  Tried it once. Disgusting in flavor and texture. Probably the reason Aquavit was invented —to wash out the taste of it.
  
  4 Reply
beantownhub Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:27pm

Cauliflower. I find the taste absolutely repugnant. What’s odd is I like every other vegetable in the species, especially broccoli, but the taste cauliflower just makes me cringe.

8 14 Reply
- Norbs beantownhub
  
  7/27/15 6:28pm
  
  You don’t like things that grow in a cancerous wart-like shape? Why not?
  
  2 7 Reply
KyoukiKyouju Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:28pm

I want to learn to like fish, but at the moment any fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, snails, etc., I can’t stand. Even seaweed is too fishy for me. Going to Japan has been a problem for me because the entire diet is 80% seafood. I am tring to learn to ignore my gag refex.

8 7 Reply
Esteban Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:29pm

Olives are the worst thing out there, by far.

9 22 Reply
Brianorca Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:29pm

I remember going to a Chipotle with some friends, and looking at the menu, and slowly realizing they put cilantro, peppers or onions on just about every menu item. I did not enjoy the result, even after special ordering without x, y, z. I haven’t been back.

2 3 Reply
Will Holz Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:30pm

Anything spicy. I prefer my food to be nice to me on the way through.

5 5 Reply
EmpressZombie Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:31pm

I love cilantro but hate bell peppers. Bananas and their sick cousin banana-flavour essence are foul abominations.

2 4 Reply
An Atheist Jew Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:31pm

Cilantro is wonderful. I usually buy two or three bunches of it to throw in a salad. Delicious! If hatred of the stuff is genetic then I don’t know what to suggest. Perhaps sterilization? That way your no-babies won’t have the same problem!

7 23 Reply
burgundyblue Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:31pm

For me, since I was a child, it has been green beans. I always refer to them as my kryptonite. I’ve never liked them, was forced to eat them at least once a week as a kid, and I’ll never eat them again.

Cilantro is just as nasty.

2 3 Reply
Foxfire15 Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:31pm

Squash, of any variety, immediately triggers my gag reflex. I’m not allergic to it, I just hate it. It tastes awful and it usually (though not always) seems to have a stringy texture to me.

On the cilantro note, I love the stuff and could probably eat it in almost everything. My wife is the exact opposite and thinks it tastes like soap. Even small amounts will make her physically ill (she’s slightly allergic). This basically means she can’t eat mexican food around here (AZ) because almost all of the restaurants have cilantro in their food.

3 5 Reply
Matt Novak Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:31pm

After going to an allergist I learned about oral allergies — mild allergies to certain foods that are associated with different environmental allergies. I never knew why raw carrots or raw bananas made my throat itch until it was finally explained to me.

Although not everyone with a pollen allergy experiences oral allergy syndrome when eating the following foods, they are commonly associated with these allergens:

Birch pollen: apple, almond, carrot, celery, cherry, hazelnut, kiwi, peach, pear, plum

Grass pollen: celery, melons, oranges, peaches, tomato

Ragweed pollen: banana, cucumber, melons, sunflower seeds, zucchini

2 6 Reply
- Titanius Anglesmith Matt Novak
  
  7/27/15 6:49pm
  
  I have this too! I used to love apples, now I can only eat them if they are cooked or dried. Maybe I’ll try them again...I’ve had luck with some of the other things on the list.
  
  1 2 Reply
OrangeGello Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:32pm

Celery is nasty. It should not even be considered a food. Raw celery smells and tastes like vomit. The raw stuff is energy negative. There is plenty to hate about celery.

12 13 Reply
Casey Chan Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:28pm

cilantro is awesome

6 51 Reply
- Deadp00l Casey Chan
  
  7/27/15 6:28pm
  
  My counterpoint “Cilantro tastes disgusting”
  
  1 7 Reply
- Kaila Hale-Stern Casey Chan
  
  7/27/15 6:29pm
  
  wrong answer
  
  2 10 Reply
- Team Live Badass Kaila Hale-Stern
  
  7/27/15 6:36pm
  
  I want to lay in a bathtub filled with cilantro, with cilantro scented candles, and have someone drop cilantro leaves from the ceiling on me like it’s snowing while I eat fresh fish tacos that have cilantro, and chips and salsa with extra cilantro in the salsa.
  
  4 23 Reply
MaxxCraves: Kaila Hale-Stern

7/27/15 6:27pm

Whole dried squid. I mean, I love squid 100 different ways. But this.. Every time I’ve tried, it has left me wishing I could scrape my tongue right out of my face.

6 1 Reply
- Kaila Hale-Stern MaxxCraves:
  
  7/27/15 6:30pm
  
  oh my god why does this exist
  
  3 Reply
- OrangeGello MaxxCraves:
  
  7/27/15 6:37pm
  
  Dried squid is an acquired taste. I grew up around seafood, so the dried version is second nature. The stuff in the picture is pretty nasty because it has not been seasoned or roasted properly. The Japanese Yotuchan brand seasoned dried squid does taste great.
  
  2 3 Reply
- PegLegBoy MaxxCraves:
  
  7/27/15 6:40pm
  
  Every time you have tried it? I guess you have yourself to blame for trying it the 2nd time.
  
  Reply
- MaxxCraves: PegLegBoy
  
  7/27/15 6:53pm
  
  Nah, I accept that there are some foods that you have to develop a taste for, so I try to live by a rule of three. I’ll try any food, on three separate occasions (don’t as me to eat a Gnu’s ass) and if it’s not a massive fail every time, I’ll work on building an appreciation for it. Raw Oysters for example; I love them now. But the first time or two it was just cold snot. Now I’m enjoying the brisk salt of the ocean and I love them.
  
  1 4 Reply
- PegLegBoy MaxxCraves:
  
  7/27/15 6:56pm
  
  That is a reasonable approach. Sometimes preparation technique alone can can change your impression of a particular food you thought you hated.
  
  Reply