What did you hate?

[JustJoel]

Looks like liver’s the winner!

So many people didn’t like liver when they were kids, and still don’t like it! I don’t like liver at all, never have, and I sincerely doubt that anyone will come along with a recipe that’ll change my mind!

Lima beans seem to be equally despised, or at least coming in a close second to liver. I gotta go with that, too! Lima beans are yucky, and you can use edamame in place of them with remarkably good results.

My dad liked his meat barely dead, so I didn’t learn to appreciate a good steak for years. Dad would throw steaks (usually t-bone, his fav) under the broiler for about five minutes and that was it. I love my dad, and my memories of him are numerous and gentle, but he pretty much ruined steak for me the first two decades of my life! When Mom and Dad took me to Benihana on my 21st birthday, it was a revelation! So THIS is how steak tastes!

 

[erehweslefox]

I found a lot of cruciferous vegetables, a.k.a the infamous Brussel Sprouts, Broccoli, cabbage, Kale, Collards, cauliflour, were not big favorites as a child.

They were also big on the nutrition/cost dynamic, which is why we ate them a bit, so I associate them often with needy times, they don't seem to me to be luxurious foods, they taste of hard times.

Now, getting to know them better, and letting go of the emotional subtext I feel a couple of things.

First, just boiling them or steaming them is not the way to go. My mom kind of defaulted to that, or to making 60's era cassaroles which don't do them justice

All of these need some sort of fat and acid component to bring out the flavor. On their own they are have bitter notes, add fat and a little acid, and it brings out the unami notes.

To wit, this was my Thanksgiving vegetable dish this year, and I could eat it as a main:

SPICY Brussels Sprouts

1 lb burssels sprouts
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp corriander
1 lemon
black pepper and salt to taste

Trim outer leaves of sprouts, cut in quarters, Melt butter and olive oil in saute pan. Add spices, stirr and cook for a minute on low heat until the spices start to give up a bit of aroma. Add the sprouts, increase heat to medium. Season with salt and ground pepper, toss for 3-4 minutes, until just soft. Add lemon juice to taste to perk up the flavor, and serve immediately in a warmed dish.

Simple as heck, but came out quite nice. Set off well with a full spicy flavor against some buttery purple potatoes I made up.

Your Mileage May Vary, I feel that I had a poor intruduction to most cruciferous veggies due to the fact I first saw them boiled or steamed to within an inch of reason, so I'm revisiting.

Best,

Todd (E-F)

 

[Vinylhanger]

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.

Same here.

I remember one time my Mom put milk in my rice crispies when I was 6 or so. It was disgusting. I still eat cereal dry.

Also, that sugar and cinnamon on baked squash dish. Ick.

Any soups that are creamy or cheesy.

Still don't like that stuff.

The normal kid stuff like liver, brussels sprouts, peas, I've always loved.

I just asked my wife if we could have liver and onions for dinner.

She just said, "ewwww." lol.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Pretty much everything. I was worse than Mikey!

 

[Katie H]

I ate just about everything when I was a child. Even ate some things that I didn't care for but ate them because, as someone already said, it was eat or do without.

The only thing I really had to choke down were Brussels sprouts but that's because my mother boiled them until they grey and mushy. I always got the "they're just little cabbages" lecture. I liked cabbage then, cooked or raw but the decomposed-looking sprouts just didn't do it for me.

When I left home and cooked for myself I discovered that Brussels sprouts cooked properly are pretty darned good.

 

[buckytom]

Same here.

I remember one time my Mom put milk in my rice crispies when I was 6 or so. It was disgusting. I still eat cereal dry.

Also, that sugar and cinnamon on baked squash dish. Ick.

Any soups that are creamy or cheesy.

Still don't like that stuff.

The normal kid stuff like liver, brussels sprouts, peas, I've always loved.

I just asked my wife if we could have liver and onions for dinner.

She just said, "ewwww." lol.

I never knew milk toast was an actuual dish. I'd always heard and written it as milquetoast, meaning a wimpy kind of person.

Apparently, the deprecation was named after the food.

What kind of person bothers to toast bread, then ruin it in milk?

 

[Kaneohegirlinaz]

"What did you hate?"

I've hated Tomatoes for as long as I can remember and I still don't like them and I've finally realized why. They simply just do not agree with my system. I get reflux, to the point of pain! I can take a bit of Marinara or Pizza Sauce, not much though, now and again but that's it!

I never cared for Brussel Sprouts, but I think it was the way that my Mother prepared them --- soggy and way over done. Today I love them, my way! Crisp-tender leaves with loads of Garlic and good Olive Oil



The other dish I did not care for as a child was Liver.
My Dad loved Beef Liver and Onions
Couldn't stomach it.
BUT ...
I learned as I got older (and could cook) that Chicken Livers can be manipulated into a wonderful dish, such as Rumaki
(but then everything thing is better with BACON!)



... wonderful with Sweet Chili Sauce as a dipper
Or what about a delicious Country Pate? MMM!
Try some in a sandwich made with a homemade baguette and mustard,
oh my!

AND here's the best one yet...

I DO NOT LIKE TROPICAL FRUIT!!!
Never have, never will!
I can tolerate Pineapple ever so often or Coconut Ice Cream, but ...

I think y'all are right in that some flavors/textures/smells/visuals are adult and not for kids' palates...
Also, it was HOW the dish was prepared.
I love my Mother, but her cooking left something to be desired and this is the ENTIRE reason why I taught myself to cook!
I like food, I like to eat, but good food that my taste buds enjoy!

 

[LPBeier]

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.

I call mushrooms my favourite food group! LOL I have been known to saute a pile of fresh ones and eat them as a meal. One of my recipes, Mushrooms Gratin was a big hit around here for awhile.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I still eat Mushrooms Gratin.

 

[Addie]

"What did you hate?"

I've hated Tomatoes for as long as I can remember and I still don't like them and I've finally realized why. They simply just do not agree with my system. I get reflux, to the point of pain! I can take a bit of Marinara or Pizza Sauce, not much though, now and again but that's it!

I never cared for Brussel Sprouts, but I think it was the way that my Mother prepared them --- soggy and way over done. Today I love them, my way! Crisp-tender leaves with loads of Garlic and good Olive Oil

View attachment 28597

The other dish I did not care for as a child was Liver.
My Dad loved Beef Liver and Onions
Couldn't stomach it.
BUT ...
I learned as I got older (and could cook) that Chicken Livers can be manipulated into a wonderful dish, such as Rumaki
(but then everything thing is better with BACON!)

View attachment 28598

... wonderful with Sweet Chili Sauce as a dipper
!

Once a month I would invite my MIL to dinner. She would pig out on chicken livers (southern style) and me on beef liver. I would also cook up about three pounds of fried onions for the both of us. Along with a baked tater. Poo was too small and still on baby food jars.

 

[CraigC]

No lima beans then or now. So far, as we try different cuisines, I haven't found much that I dislike. What do you think about uni and geoduck?

There are things that I won't touch now that I had as a steady diet as a kid, most of which are certain fast food chain burgers. These were what my mother "cooked" for dinner.

 

[Aunt Bea]

I never knew milk toast was an actuual dish. I'd always heard and written it as milquetoast, meaning a wimpy kind of person.

Apparently, the deprecation was named after the food.

What kind of person bothers to toast bread, then ruin it in milk?

Another version that came out of the Great Depression was toast or bread with stewed tomatoes ladled over it.

Bread salad or Panzanella is another creation that I can't wrap my head around.

I'm ok with using stale bread but I need to be in control of the dunking!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Mom would tear up fresh bread into a bowl, sprinkle sugar on, pour milk over...for our breakfast. It occurs to me, this usually happened at the end of the month, it's possible we were out of cereal.

 

[cjmmytunes]

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!

I like clementines also, but they don't like me - or should I say they don't like my blood sugar.

 

[cjmmytunes]

Pretty much everything. I was worse than Mikey!

That sounds like my son when he was little - pancakes poptarts, mayonnaise sandwiches, and Happy Meals...... thankfully his tastes have changed since he's grown up.

 

[Kayelle]

The only thing I can think of that I hated as a kid and eat now is lettuce. More specifically, iceberg lettuce. I'll tolerate an iceberg leaf in a sandwich now, but not in a salad. A "wedge salad" that has made a comeback lately on menus turns my stomach.
I love salads now and eat them nearly daily, but they better not contain iceberg lettuce.
Brussel sprouts are another story. Contrary to what some claim, there's nothing that can save those balls of the devil...not even bacon or the Holy Spirit.

 

[blissful]

or the Holy Spirit.

lol

I like chicken liver in rumaki or liver in onions and bacon. I like brussel sprouts. I like that no one else likes them, the cost stays low because no competition for them, and they are delicious. I like lima beans, I like peas, canned or frozen. I'll never starve.

 

[Addie]

I like clementines also, but they don't like me - or should I say they don't like my blood sugar.

For some strange reason, I can not get through to my kids that there are natural sugars in fruit along with other foods. If is isn't granulated and comes in a five pound bag, then it is not sugar. I love pretty much all fruit. But it is a limited item in what I eat.

 

[CubsGal]

Broccoli and cauliflower. I'd only eat them smothered in cheese. Now I love plain steamed broccoli, but I still hate cauliflower. Not even cheese is enough to get me to eat it.

I didn't like steak as a kid, because my parents only made sirloin cooked to death, so I just thought steak was dry and tough. Then on my honeymoon I decided on a whim to order a filet topped with a peanut sauce at a Cuban restaurant. It was so tender and juicy! I now love steak, but prefer better cuts cooked to a more rosy temperature.

 

[cjmmytunes]

For some strange reason, I can not get through to my kids that there are natural sugars in fruit along with other foods. If is isn't granulated and comes in a five pound bag, then it is not sugar. I love pretty much all fruit. But it is a limited item in what I eat.

Blueberries and strawberries don't bother me much, in limited quantities - 1/2 cup a day.