Wednesday, July 8, 2009

I'm Tired. Hence, it's A.P.D.

When I brought my beet and potato salad to the party on the fourth of July, I was talking to one of A.'s cousins who hates beets. She freely admitted, however, that she had not actually tried a beet since she was eight years old and her mother used to force her to finish her beets. She did try one of the beets in my salad, though, to be nice, and said it wasn't as horrifying as she had feared. Always the reaction you want to one of your potluck offerings.

But the point is, it got me thinking about vegetable aversions. And I honestly couldn't think of a single vegetable I won't eat. A. doesn't particularly care for beets, broccoli, and cabbage, though he will eat them if necessary. He absolutely will NOT eat cauliflower in any form. But me? I'll eat any vegetable. I have yet to try one that I actively dislike. I have plenty of other food aversions (smelly cheese, organ meats and fatty meats, fishy fish . . .), but none among vegetables.

So, this brings us to our Audience Participation Day topic: Is there any vegetable that makes you gag and throw a temper tantrum like a three year old? And if so, WHY do you hate it so much?

19 comments:

  1. This one is easy. I hate, loathe, and otherwise despise mushrooms. I abhor the way they smell and taste. Don't get me wrong- I've tried to give them a fair shake, but, it will be a cold day in hell when a mushroom shares my plate

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  2. My only vegetable related aversion is that unless it is a mashed vegetable it MUST NOT be mushy. There are a lot of canned vegetables I won't touch (e.g., asparagus).

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  3. I don't think that I have any veggies or many regular food aversions. Since we grew up in South America we grew up eating weird things. It's very rude in that culture to not eat something someone put in front of you, so we ate everything without complaint.

    I do however have an aversion to many processed foods. I don't like twinkies or oatmeal pies or anything like that. Most of it tastes to weird & chemically for me.

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  4. I don't think I loathe any particular vegetable, I just sometimes don't like certain preparations. I like raw carrots, but can't stand those frozen kind that are cut into wavy little coins, all school-cafeteria style. Gross. And there are lots of canned vegetables that are just downright nasty. I love lima beans, but the canned kind are NASTY, my friends. Don't waste your money.

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  5. Raw baby carrots from a bag that are cold and slimy. Ugh. I thought I didn't like cauliflower until I recently roasted it with olive oil and curry powder then dipped it in hummus. I loved it!

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  6. Canned peas and carrots. Just the smell when the can is opened. But then, If I lived in a 3rd world country and was starving it would be a taste treat I'm sure.

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  7. Olives - are they a vegetable? They taste like fishy salt licks.

    Frozen/Canned Green Peas - they're just gross. Fresh peas, however, are delicious.

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  8. I've tried for my entire life to like carrots, but I've recently decided to stop trying. So, I don't like carrots. I will eat them sometimes, but I avoid them where I can.

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  9. Nothing. Not a fan of beets, but I think I just haven't had them prepared correctly.

    Oh wait, I love fresh peas, but would vomit if I had to eat canned.

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  10. I will eat, but would prefer not to eat, green bell peppers. Everything else is a GO!

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  11. Cooked spinach!!! And I don't know why - whether it's the taste or the texture. Raw spinach in a salad is great!

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  12. Beets. I had exactly the same experience as your cousin, hadn't eaten a beet in 40+ years until they started showing up in my Farm Share and I HAD to try them. Not so bad, I guess, but I'd never buy them. Now cauliflower - lovely.
    Jenny

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  13. Aside from my ban on chard (which came as a result of the 2008 Chard Overload and is not an aversion so much as it is a Statement of Principle), I take issue with no vegetable.

    When I was a kid, though, I HATED zucchini. Which must have been awesome for my mom who OVER grew it in her garden every single year and couldn't pawn it off on one of her own brood, making me an essentially useless child.

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  14. Yeah, any kind of mushroom except portabella or psychedelic :). Just eww.

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  15. Only those that hurt (like hot peppers and jalepenos)

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  16. I'll pass on canned veggies. Canned corn is OK, not great but edible. I'll throw it in a soup. Canned spinach is just plain not good. Texture has been destroyed. Otherwise every vegetable is great. Love them all. In season fresh out of the garden and you can't go wrong with any vegetable as far as I'm concerned.

    I'm with you on the fishy fish, strong cheese and other weird stuff. Some organ meats can be OK (free range chicken livers), but most are meant for the dog aren't they?

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  17. This probably doesn't count as it's not really a vegetable but I will not eat cilantro. Tastes like soap. Otherwise, I love ALL vegetables - canned, frozen, fresh whatever. But keep the cilantro away.

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  18. Lima beans, sorry, can't get past the dry, weird texture.

    And canned peas. erg~ Dh & ddil love them, so I have to buy them, but I hold my breath when opening the can.

    Not a big fan of other canned veggies but I will eat them if I must. Fresh or frozen are best.

    Enjoying fresh chard from the garden now and eagerly awaiting the first tomato & cucumber. A nice neighbor gifted me with 6 rolling pin-sized zucchini too. I love summer garden eating!

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  19. Fruit salads are tough at our house. Husband won't touch melons, daughter doesn't do blueberries, so we serve up fresh fruit in separate bowls so people can mix and match.

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