I just overheard a coworker saying “Oh, I would never try that in my life!”, in a discussion of food. (This was about consuming a steak cooked less than medium well). It made me wonder what life is like for those who refuse to try new food, especially those who refuse to try mundane things like fried shrimp.
Why limit yourself? It seems like such a closed-minded way to view food. Help me understand?
I’m genuinely scared of eating eggs, don’t know why I’ve always been like that even as a baby. The texture, the smell of plain eggs are just unbearable and if I eat a food that tastes eggy I might have a slight panic attack. Mushrooms as well, I hate them with a burning passion. Can’t explain why.
Mushrooms were completely disgusting to me until I realized it was white buttons and baby bellas that I hated. I discovered that what I really liked are enokis, shiitakes, and especially oysters. There’s a world of difference in flavor and texture, and I still have to use them in the right meals.
If I could recommend one thing, the next time you make a sauce (I’ve found marinara sauce on pasta works well):
When you tear it by hand and add it to sauce, the flavor is incredibly savory, and you don’t feel the texture at all because it tears so finely.
Same. Turns out I like every kind of mushroom except the crimini family, which taste like someone left a NERF dart out in the mud for six years. (Similarly, canned black olives are an abomination but every time there’s a fancy olive on a charcuterie board I like it.)
Canned black olives are the single ingredient I can think of that totally ruins a pizza for me flavor-wise. I’ve discovered I even kind of like mushrooms on pizza – and that it’s maybe the one context where I’m fine with baby bella. Shit, I’m even kind of okay with green olives on pizza.
Canned black olives are one of the three Hell foods to me along with chicken liver (odor) and cottage cheese (texture).
–You don’t know you don’t like ice cream until you’ve tried every kind. -Hobbes
Ah but that’s the thing, if I know there’s mushrooms in a dish I will not be able to put a single morsel in my mouth. There must be some psychological aspect to this but I swear, it’s like I’m physically unable to bring the fork to my face.
I do wish I liked mushrooms and eggs because people rave about them and they’re so versatile, it’s very frustrating.
Do you avoid eggs in any form, such as in a cake batter or egg noodles?
No because the egg taste or texture isn’t really noticeable. Like, I can have a quiche lorraine but I put a ton of bacon and ham to mask the taste. The texture is okayish as long as I put enough cream in the egg.
Egg noodles can be a bit iffy, I remember hating spätzle.
I like eggs but yeah their smell is incredibly gross.
High five, same here! Ever since I was a kid, if my family was making eggs, I’d hide in my room with the door closed to keep the smell from coming in. It’s nasty and overwhelming.
Then there’s mushrooms, that smell like dirt when they cook and have the texture of rubber. The only way I can tolerate them is if they’re finely chopped into tiny pieces and surrounded by other, better foods (like in a spring roll.) Chunks of mushroom are an absolute no-go, and I will pick them out if I am served them. It makes me feel bad, because I hate wasting food. On the flip side, local restaurants sometimes remember me by how I add “no mushroom” and “no egg” to all my orders.