What did you hate?

[larry_stewart]

Tomatoes and avocados.
I could never understand how my dad could out in the garden, pick a tomato and just eat it until I started cooking.
Once i started to make my own tomato sauce, as I was cutting up the tomatoes ( especially the juicy ones), I would get their juice all over my hands and I'd lick it off. Slowly I developed a taste for fresh uncooked tomatoes.

I remember as a child my grandmother was eating an avocado and offered me a taste. I thought it was the most horrible thing . I couldn't even understand how anyone could like it. I figured it was fruit and would taste sweet.

Anyway, fast forward 20 years and was introduced to guacamole and avocado sandwiches. Now i love them.

Never liked milk and never will. Dont understand how anyone likes it . My mom would make me drink it, I refused, so we compromised and I was able to have chocolate milk.

 

[caseydog]

Okra. Slicke'em.

Lima beans. We actually grew lima beans. In our garden. I've found an easy work around for succotash is to add any other green veggie to the corn and it tastes great. Not okra.

Breaded and deep fried, okra is a wonderful thing, especially as a side for chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes. That white gravy is great with fried okra.

I also like okra in my gumbo. The okra cooks long enough to release it's slime as a thickener.

But, by far, the best way to enjoy okra is breaded and deep fried. Crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside, and no hint of okra slime.

CD

 

[caseydog]

Tomatoes and avocados.
I could never understand how my dad could out in the garden, pick a tomato and just eat it until I started cooking.
Once i started to make my own tomato sauce, as I was cutting up the tomatoes ( especially the juicy ones), I would get their juice all over my hands and I'd lick it off. Slowly I developed a taste for fresh uncooked tomatoes.

I remember as a child my grandmother was eating an avocado and offered me a taste. I thought it was the most horrible thing . I couldn't even understand how anyone could like it. I figured it was fruit and would taste sweet.

Anyway, fast forward 20 years and was introduced to guacamole and avocado sandwiches. Now i love them.

Never liked milk and never will. Dont understand how anyone likes it . My mom would make me drink it, I refused, so we compromised and I was able to have chocolate milk.

Great story. In keeping with the original question... What did you hate as a kid that you like now?

I've always liked tomatoes, but not avocados. I am starting to like them, in dips, at least. I like them in combination with really hot salsas. The cooling effect of the avocado blended with the heat of a killer chili pepper makes a good balance. So, avocados are something I used to hate that I'm coming around to liking.

CD

 

[Caslon]

I'll eat liver all day, as long as I cook it.

The salted cod that comes in those little wooden boxes. My old navy dad would occasionally buy some and boil it up. The smell made me almost want to gag. Thinking about eating some made me dry heave.

I think boiled salted cod is what sea going types ate a lot of, back in the day.

 

[Addie]

I was never a fan of salsify or parsnips.

Milk toast was a horror when we were not feeling well. I like toast and I like milk but when you mix them together in a bowl that is just nasty!!! I still don't care for anything with a soggy texture.

Thank you Aunt Bea. Fortunately, my share of the parsnips always went to the pigs. Goodness, how I hated them. My mother wouldn't even put them on my plate. She grew only one row of them every year because only my father liked them. We got a second veggie that we would eat.

What is salsify?

 

[Addie]

The salted cod that comes in those little wooden boxes. My dad would occasionally buy some and boil it up. The smell made me almost want to gag. Thinking about eating some made me dry heave.

That Cod in the box today is very, very expensive. I buy it about once a year. And I try to get the one from Canada. First I soak it, changing the water several times. Then I boil it. The soaking helps keep the smell down. Cream cod and peas over mashed potatoes. An Northern East Coast favorite.

 

[Addie]

I'll eat liver all day, as long as I cook it.

The next time I cook it for just myself, you are invited. I love liver. Need to eat it more often. Extremely low on iron and my protein intake. I just hate to buy food that only I will eat.

 

[Caslon]

That Cod in the box today is very, very expensive. First I soak it, changing the water several times. Then I boil it. The soaking helps keep the smell down. Cream cod and peas over mashed potatoes. An Northern East Coast favorite.

I can see that. Rinsing it to get rid of whatever makes it reek so much during boiling.

 

[Addie]

I can see that. Rinsing it to get rid of whatever makes it reek so much during boiling.

You do have to change the water about six or more times. Before I dump the present soaking water, I take a tiny taste to make sure 99% of the slat has bee soaked out. Then I will boil it until cooked. That process only takes about a few minutes. Remember it is also going to be cooked some more in the cream sauce.

 

[caseydog]

Okay folks, the OP asked a question that I find fascinating, "What foods did you hate as a kid that you like now?"

I find it fascinating because it reflects the growth process of our tastes, and the transition from eating what was cooked for us, to eating what we cook for ourselves.

CD

 

[Caslon]

I cannot remember one vegetable I hated then like now. I can remember not being jazzed and about boiled salted cod tho.

 

[LPBeier]

pork chops, red river cereal, and eggs

 

[Caslon]

Speaking of calf's liver (maybe not)...I like them, now and then. Fried...smothered in onions .Mustard when served. It's one of those once in awhile cravings with me. As far as livers go, I've found that calf's livers are smaller, not so thick and fry up nicely. Beef livers are way too thick.

+1 for fried calf liver and onions.

 

[Caslon]

I hated brussel sprouts. I love them now. There!

 

[dragnlaw]

Mushrooms... I was petrified of them.
I was probably in my 20's before I got brave and ate some... and even then they had to be from a can!

Didn't get into fresh ones until I was in my 40's? not too sure.

Now I go thru a bag a week! Mostly from the button/criimini/porto family but shitaki are good. I use a lot of reconstituted dry ones in various recipes.

Creamed mushrooms on toast for breakfast the other day.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Okay folks, the OP asked a question that I find fascinating, "What foods did you hate as a kid that you like now?"
...

Actually, it was "When you were a kid, what did you hate having to eat? And do you like it now?" I hated liver then, I still hate liver now. Even calves' liver.

Oddly enough, as a kid I ate kidney stew and ox tails. Now, all grown up (kinda), I can't get past the texture of kidney, and ox tails seem way too greasy.

 

[buckytom]

I never had to eat anything when I was a kid. If mom made something and you didn't like it, you either choked it down or went hungry.

I didn't like lima beans then, but I'll eat them now if made well.

I also didn't like scallops when I was young; used to call them sea fat because they reminded me of the fat trimmed from cheap cuts of meat. But I love scallops now.

 

[dragnlaw]

I will eat a good pate but I gag on liver or kidney. I was one of those people who happened to love the little meals we would get on planes. Once had a little stew with a yummy crust that was delicious except every once in a while I would bite down on a piece of meat that was disgusting. Not being much of a cook in them thar days it wasn't til I had finished it that I realized those horrid pieces I choked down were chunks of KIDNEY!

 

[cjmmytunes]

I don't ever remember HAVING to eat anything. My sister and I had similar likes/dislikes and she did most o the cooking I can remember as a kid, so I was OK with it.

Interesting story, though. I was born a summer baby. The first summer I was able to eat table food, Mom says I ate so many tomatoes from the garden I had a rash from the acid in the juices from my chin all the way down my stomach ending where my diaper started. The next summer, I wouldn't touch them. Didn't start eating them again until about 8 years ago when I discovered the joys of cherry tomatoes.

 

[JustJoel]

I don't ever remember HAVING to eat anything. My sister and I had similar likes/dislikes and she did most o the cooking I can remember as a kid, so I was OK with it.

Interesting story, though. I was born a summer baby. The first summer I was able to eat table food, Mom says I ate so many tomatoes from the garden I had a rash from the acid in the juices from my chin all the way down my stomach ending where my diaper started. The next summer, I wouldn't touch them. Didn't start eating them again until about 8 years ago when I discovered the joys of cherry tomatoes.

Great story! My first winter in Japan, I discovered clementines. I went crazy for the little, sweet, juicy seedless oranges! The only close thing we had in the states back then were tangerines or jarred mandarins.

After about a week, my skin and the whites of my eyes turned an alarming shade of yellow, and I was sure I had hepatitis, or liver cancer, or some other horrible disease. The doctor did blood tests that came back negative. He finally asked if I liked mikan, and how many did I usually eat. He almost passed out when I told him a bag a day. And then he started laughing. All I had was a keratin overdose!