List of Foods that Just Aren't Nice

Excellent tips

It still hasn't put me off though, surströmming is still high on my list of foods to try. But below fugu.

Andouille de Troyes is my submission. Pretty much same as andouillette mentioned earlier - beware!

[liz]

My Mum had win important birthday last year, and we were all going to go to Japan to celebrate (she's always wanted to go). The tsunami intervened, so we've postponed to later this year - and fugu is *definitely* on the list of things to try.

I've thought of another thing. I accidentally ate some hasma in China a few years ago, assuming it was a tapioca variant. It's actually little balls of desiccated fat from around the ovaries of the snow frog, rehydrated. Didn't really taste of anything, but I am ashamed to say that I *did* feel a little queasy on learning what I'd just eaten.

1> Liver. I don't understand it and I don't want to. It's not meat, its tastes like boots, it even looks evil on your plate, like all your veg is trying to crawl away from it.

2> Mushy peas - usually followed by "WHUT?! What kind of man ARE YOU?"

3> Cous Cous. It's for people who think they're too posh for rice.

4> Swordfish - not horrible, just waited a looong time to try it and found it almost completely tasteless and chewy.

CrashlanderXL said:

3> Cous Cous. It's for people who think they're too posh for rice.

What, like Berbers for example?

[Jongoleur]

CrashlanderXL said:

1> Liver. I don't understand it and I don't want to. It's not meat, its tastes like boots, it even looks evil on your plate, like all your veg is trying to crawl away from it.

2> Mushy peas - usually followed by "WHUT?! What kind of man ARE YOU?"

3> Cous Cous. It's for people who think they're too posh for rice.

4> Swordfish - not horrible, just waited a looong time to try it and found it almost completely tasteless and chewy.

Liver is one of those foods that you eat when everything else is far too expensive and needs to be disguised with fried onion and gravy.  But yes, its texture is gross and there are all those nasty little thickwalled rubbery blood vessels to contend with too.  Best left alione!

As for mushy peas, it all depends on the consistency - if it looks like "the green runs" then yes, its not worth the effort.  But if its thick enough to use as external wall rendering, then its the food of the gods, especially with a sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper.

Swordfish?  Sounds bad, but have you ever tried pike? 

How about some traditional childhood puddings that I'm glad never to see again.

"Frogspawn"

and

"Mersey Mud"

Jongoleur said:

How about some traditional childhood puddings that I'm glad never to see again.

"Frogspawn"

and

"Mersey Mud"

Yuk! I hated it when we had 'milk puddings' at school - rice, tappioca etc. Far too much like custard for me (see above). Thankfuly no sensible person would ever consider serving such horrors in the 21st Century.

[ukscone]

the only thing i can guarantee that i will never eat is baked beans. horrible evil smelly horrible things that even the smell of them makes me physically sick.

i'll try anything else at least once but not those disgusting little beasts

As a non-swimming sea-food this one is very good to watch reactions to us eating with gusto...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G.....e_barnacle

Tastes great in our local bar....

I'm surprised this has not come up yet. Perhaps the most unpleasant taste known to man. Or at least they were 40 years ago when I tried my first and last.

[Jongoleur]

Grumpyoldgit said:

I'm surprised this has not come up yet. Perhaps the most unpleasant taste known to man. Or at least they were 40 years ago when I tried my first and last.

You don't change a winning formula....

But yes, a beautiful swirl of permitted chemicals and ersatz noodles makes a stomach-dissolving hot noontide repast for any consumer with atrophied tastebuds and a lack of foresight.

I usually take butties and a flask of proper coffee. 

+1 for liver, which is annoying because it's one of those things that I really wish I could eat. Dirt cheap and extremely good for you. Aside from pate I can't seem to find any way of cooking it that doesn't make me stare at the bin while eating.

When we say "disgusting", are we talking looks / principle, or taste? If the former then the aforementioned balut is right up there. I refuse to eat fois gras because I don't see how you can responsibly produce it.

Horrible flavour (aside from liver)? Hmm, dunno. Most foods that people find horrible usually have been cooked incorrectly. Sprouts are a good example. They taste disgusting if you boil the crap out of them like most people do, but if cooked to the point where they still have a bit of bite to them then they're great. I hate mass produced custard, but proper homemade stuff is to die for.

[ukscone]

Crundy said:

+1 for liver, which is annoying because it's one of those things that I really wish I could eat. Dirt cheap and extremely good for you. Aside from pate I can't seem to find any way of cooking it that doesn't make me stare at the bin while eating.

fry a little bacon in a pan , fry up some onions in the bacon fat, dredge the liver in flour and fry then put on a plate with the bacon and onions and a portion of chip shop chips. It's great

Liver and bacon casserole is fantastic. Best cooked long with plenty of red wine. Served with mashed potatoes.

Offal can be offally good. Steak and kidney pie is another winner. Though I did try and cook with the wrong sort of kidneys once. The whole dish smelled strongly of urine while it was cooking so I had to throw the lot away.

Grumpyoldgit said:

Liver and bacon casserole is fantastic. Best cooked long with plenty of red wine. Served with mashed potatoes.

Offal can be offally good. Steak and kidney pie is another winner. Though I did try and cook with the wrong sort of kidneys once. The whole dish smelled strongly of urine while it was cooking so I had to throw the lot away.

probably pig's kidneys. You need to soak them in a few changes of water to flush them out. Then peel and core them. S&K pudding is something hard to beat after a long day in winter.

Crundy said:

+1 for liver, which is annoying because it's one of those things that I really wish I could eat. Dirt cheap and extremely good for you. Aside from pate I can't seem to find any way of cooking it that doesn't make me stare at the bin while eating.

I think that most people over a certain age in the UK are tainted forever against liver by school dinner liver: tube-y, tough and plain nasty. A properly cooked, quality calf's liver would, I am sure, change their mind if they could get past the memory trauma

I refuse to eat fois gras because I don't see how you can responsibly produce it.

Of course you can produce it responsibly. Most foie gras goose/duck farmers have very responsible husbandry standards, certainly when compared to the factory farming of cheap chicken and pigs, for example. Whether you think that is ethical to force feed animals is another matter. Even then there is so much hypocrisy about e.g. a colleague berated me recently for eating foie gras and yet I know for a fact that she buys her chickens two for a fiver from the supermarket and also buys indoor reared pork. Now that's irresponsible, unethical and disgusting in my book ;)

I'm not sure about the age thing. I think older generations have been brought up thinking that eating liver and kidneys is fine. It is the younger generation that turns pale when you suggest a dish that includes some of the internal organs of an animal.

[ukscone]

not that keen on tripe but only from the look of it as i can't honestly say i have ever had it at least i can't remember it if i have. but liver, heart, kidneys... bring 'em on

[Jongoleur]

ukscone said:

not that keen on tripe but only from the look of it as i can't honestly say i have ever had it at least i can't remember it if i have. but liver, heart, kidneys... bring 'em on

Never had tripe, but whenever its mentioned, I always remember the bit in Orwells "The Road to Wigan Pier" about tripe shops, and of the piece of tripe with the black thumbprint on it....

You know, I could have sworn I had a copy of "The Road.." but all I can see on the shelf is Animal Farm, 1984, Down and Out, Homage to Catalonia and Inside the Whale. Oh well!

Tongue is another strange piece of offal.  I KNOW its just another lump of muscly stuff, but it looks odd.  Very odd!

Foie gras is the food of tbe gods. It makes a fabulous topping to a good medium rare steak. Cost more than 20 quid a tiny tin though so don"t have it very often

scep said:

Of course you can produce it responsibly. Most foie gras goose/duck farmers have very responsible husbandry standards, certainly when compared to the factory farming of cheap chicken and pigs, for example. Whether you think that is ethical to force feed animals is another matter. Even then there is so much hypocrisy about e.g. a colleague berated me recently for eating foie gras and yet I know for a fact that she buys her chickens two for a fiver from the supermarket and also buys indoor reared pork. Now that's irresponsible, unethical and disgusting in my book ;)

I think the force feeding is what puts me off. I don't see how that can be comfortable for the ducks. If someone could produce an excessively rich feed that caused the liver swelling through passive feeding then I'd be game.

Agree about the cheapo meats. I only ever buy freedom food chicken and outdoor reared UK pork (as we seem to be the only country that's banned sow stalls).


ukscone said:

Crundy said:

+1 for liver, which is annoying because it's one of those things that I really wish I could eat. Dirt cheap and extremely good for you. Aside from pate I can't seem to find any way of cooking it that doesn't make me stare at the bin while eating.

fry a little bacon in a pan , fry up some onions in the bacon fat, dredge the liver in flour and fry then put on a plate with the bacon and onions and a portion of chip shop chips. It's great

Might give that a go. Also, what kind of liver tastes "best"? I can't eat calf's liver because the wife is Hindu and so I don't eat beef anymore. I've heard you can remove some of the strong unpleasant flavour by soaking liver in milk. Does that work?

Crundy said:

Might give that a go. Also, what kind of liver tastes "best"?

IMO:

[tender/mild tasting]Calf> Lamb> Ox> Pig [tougher/stronger tasting]

Pig's liver can be pretty strong tasting, I'm not a huge fan TBH.

And then there is non-mammalian liver such as chicken and monkfish etc. Tasty morsels of goodness!

I've heard you can remove some of the strong unpleasant flavour by soaking liver in milk. Does that work?

Some people think that it get's rid of bitterness, though YMMV. Certainly worth a try with pig's liver.

Above all do not overcook liver!

Hmm, the last time I cooked liver I think it was pork liver, so that might explain the nasty taste. Maybe I'll give it another go with lamb.

There's a Corsican cheese with live worms (or is it fly larvae ?) in it. I wouldn't eat that. I generally have issues with extremely stinky cheeses, starting with Münster. And a personal dislike for Papaya, which tastes like vomit to me, though apparently others don't feel that at all.

I'd also avoid eating pets, not on taste but morality grounds. My mom had my eat horse once w/o telling me. I don't dislike the taste,  but still feel queasy about it 30 yrs later.

I've eaten live bugs though, in Guadeloupe, those ones that eat wood and are a pest in old buildings/furniture. They do taste very woody ^^. As a regular Frenchman, I eat raw beef, raw oysters, sheeps' brains , beef tongue (though I prefer raw eggs, anything out of an animal's mouth seems iffy ^^... think it over... laugh !), I just love what you seem to call black pudding (boudin noir, blood and bread and spices), though the white one (boudin blanc, the one made of large intestines that smells like shit), and large "rognons" (veal kidneys, that smell strongly like piss) turn me off.

Regarding duck liver… ducks are pests and I hate them. I remember having to be rescued from attacking geese as a kid and teen. If I ever come across one tied to its force-feeding apparatus, I"ll pinch it too. Then eat it.

Generally speaking, liver is one of my favorite meats. It's very hard to get right though, both the cooking and the dressing.