I’ve had the tremendous fortune of living in a very multicultural society for most of my life. This has affected me more than you’d think - I’ve had the opportunity to taste foods from all over the world; some good, some awful. The latter is compiled in a list for your barfing pleasure(in no particular order):
1. Eggplant/Aubergines
Hate’em. They’re horrible boiled, fried, steamed, stewed, sauteed, or whatever else you can come up with. They’re horrible big, small, round, fat, oblong, or elliptical. They’re horrible in whatever size, and whatever range of revolting purple that they come in. Seriously, this might just be my biased point of view, but does anyone else think that aubergines should be used to decorate a’70s disco room?
2. Cooked tomatoes
I read somewhere here that someone can’t stand raw tomatoes. I can’t stand cooked ones! I mean, I really can’t stand cooked tomatoes. I hate it when they become those soggy masses of disgusting pulp and skin. You fork a piece and stick it in your mouth, and the skin falls apart and slithers down your throat, rather like a snake. The pulp tastes flat and horrid. Why would anyone eat cooked tomatoes? One of the great mysteries of life, that is.
3. Drumsticks
Drumsticks should be renamed. They should never have forayed into the vegetable kingdom. You Indians out there are probably familiar with how we use them in curries - we chop’em up into bits with the skin intact and cook them in stews. What you’re supposed to do is grab a bit, chew until there’s nothing left but the skin, and then spit the skin out. I don’t like the inside stuff - much less the taste of the skin. Is it called skin, by the way? I haven’t the faintest clue. Shows you how much I care about it.
4. Kous-Kous
With absolutely no offense to the marvelous country that came up with Kous-Kous, I simply can’t stand it. Some of my friends cooked it at a party once. Maybe it was their shoddy culinary skills, or just the atmosphere, but I’ve had an aversion to it ever since.
5. Mayonnaise
It’s not a food in itself, but it certainly deserves a place in this list. Why, oh why, do people like this so much? It tastes semi-sweet and semi-salty, with a truckload of butter and oil. Mayonnaise is basically vegetable oil and vinegar, with added emulsifiers. Blech. I hate it on absolutely everything. Salad dressing, on the other hand, tastes excellent.(Ranch!)
6. Pineapple/Onion/Fancy Flavoured Cheese
You know those cheese slices you get? The individually packaged ones? Well, turns out they now have pineapple, onion, carrot flavoured slices. Pineapple, as you might have guessed, is absolutely horrid! And this comes from a person who loves pineapple on pizza. Onion smells bad, and leaves a bad taste in your mouth. I have not tasted carrot, and never will. Not for the weak-of-stomach.
7. Octopus
I had a Japanese friend once, who brought all a manner of exotic foods for lunch and shared them with me. I love Japan, and I love most of its foods, but octopus is not one of my personal favourites. In fact, I don’t like it at all. It tastes rather rubbery, and it takes forever to swallow. I mean, I just kept chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing and chewing, and the darn thing didn’t get any smaller! Again, not for the weak-of-stomach.
8. Pumpkin Pie
I have no idea why the whole world loves this. I despise it. It tastes horrible. I generally do not love pumpkin, but a pumpkin PIE? I tasted it once, and hated it. It’s just too sweet, but not the right kind of sweet. It gets on your nerves after a while.
9. Papaya
I’m hoping all you mama’s kids will join me in saying this: YUCK! How many times has your mom forced a bowl of that revolting orange fruit down your throat, all the while reciting its bountiful vitamins, minerals, and whatever else comes to mind? This fruit tastes revolting. It tastes sort of bitter and metallic - and those seeds! Shudder Looking at those seeds alone is enough to get me a ten-foot pole.
10. Garlic
Ew, ew, ew, and ew. Man, I hate garlic. It somehow works its way into every sort of cuisine. Yes, I know it has the power to prevent heart attacks, ward away vampires, and achieve world peace, but WHY are all healthy things yucky? It’s the unwritten rule of nature - thou shalt not enjoy thine healthy food. Or something.
In conclusion.
I guess you’re all shaking your heads at me. What a picky child, you’re probably thinking, and I don’t blame you. Don’t take me out for dinner.;)
Comments and criticisms always welcome, and I hope I didn’t really make you barf,
PS: Totally off-topic, but did you hear about the truckload of Harry Potter books that got stolen? I wish I had one of those.:)