Why do people not like certain foods?

[Dannyalcatraz]

I have had quail soup- quite nice. I know I've consumed cactus comestibles...like agave-based beverages.

I've ordered off of a real Chinese menu a couple of times. I have thus learned that when they say "Crispy-fried Soft-shell Crab," they mean the crab will be fried so much it will be like jerky. I have also learned that sea-cucumber- a marine echinoderm (related to sea-stars and urchins) that looks like a turd has a texture like mush and gristle. And since I know what they look like in life, that texture combined with my knowledge to give me a powerful revulsion. However, since its flavor is very mild- it tastes like whatever its in, really- I was able to finish my soup.

I know someone who has eaten monkey-brains. Were it offered to me, I think I'd pass.

However, as Anthony Bourdain once said something to the effect of "If you have someone offering you the best of their cuisine, its time to man up and eat it."

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Interestingly weird. For me it's the chewyness. If food is too chewy then I get a gagging reflex and that pretty much finishes my meal right there. For that reason I tend to avoid most meats because it's too common for them to be done "badly".

I love seafood, and really like clams, oysters and all kinds of molluscs. However, they can be incredibly rubbery if overcooked.

It won't stop me from eating them, but it may stop me from eating them at a particular location again.

 

[Aeolius]

I do not eat poultry. I cannot stand the smell, taste, or texture of chicken, turkey, and the like. I do, however, eat eggs and keep chickens as pets.

On the other hand I love seafood, including sushi. Octopus, eel, urchin, conch... bring it on!

 

[Angel Tarragon]

On the other hand I love seafood, including sushi. Octopus, eel, urchin, conch... bring it on!

I adore seafood. Shrimp, octopus, deep sea bass, shark.....I love it all but some of it all doesn't agree with me (scallops).

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I do not eat poultry. I cannot stand the smell, taste, or texture of chicken, turkey, and the like. I do, however, eat eggs and keep chickens as pets.

On the other hand I love seafood, including sushi. Octopus, eel, urchin, conch... bring it on!

Late last year, I actually got to say something I never thought I would- the phrase, "tastes like chicken."

I was in a nice Greek restaurant, and ordered the giant squid (or was it octopus?) appetizer. I swear it looked and tasted like white-meat chicken. The texture was clearly molluscian, though.

 

[Umbran]

In some cases, what it is is enough.

Liver, for example. It is, in essence, a huge chunk of cholesterol, used by the body to break down lots of nasty chemicals, so that said chemicals tend to build up in the organ. No thanks.

Kidneys, similar - it's a filter for stuff I wouldn't eat, so no thanks.

 

[Aeolius]

Hehe, I know this is weird, but why do some people not like certain foods just on the basis of what it is?

Imagine how much food we would have for the hungry, in this country, if only people were not squeamish about eating rendered meat from euthanized shelter animals.

 

[Pbartender]

I am willing to try one bite. What's more important to me than taste is the texture. If it doesn't feel "right" between my teeth then I won't eat it.

I sometimes have problems with certain textures of food... Tapioca and caviar, for example, make me gag because of the slippery, slimey, beady texture. I don't why it is, but I simply can't eat them.

I also have an especially sensitive nose, so strong smelling food can either make or break it for me.


Much of people's aversions, however, simply stem from perceptions trained into them when they were young. Many people who avoid sushi, for example, do so simply because of a preconception that raw meat is somehow bad or gross or simply wrong.

Imagine how much food we would have for the hungry, in this country, if only people were not squeamish about eating rendered meat from euthanized shelter animals.

Or rendered meat from the county morgue...

 

[Relique du Madde]

Wow... I'm not touching Aeolius's comment with a 10 ft. pole (as it may fall into the realm of politics).

 

[Aeolius]

More food for thought:

Food Color Made From Bugs
JELL-O Made from Bones and Hides