What are some things that are main stream, everyone likes except for you?

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larry_stewart

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I know variations of this question circulate from time to time. I'm bringing it up again, cause yesterday I had nuggets with Buffalo sauce ( Like buffalo wings). Ive had many variations of the sauce, on quest to see why everyone loves it so much. It's not that I dont like it, but in my mind, I just can't see why it is so popular and main stream. Here are a few oof my top choices of foods/ drinks that are so popular, and I seem to be the exception.

1) Coffee: Its smells nice ,but in my opinion, tastes horrible. Clearly I am in the minority, but I just dont get it. I need to add so much sugar and flavorings just for me to be able to tolerate it, yet I'll watch my wife drink a basic brew and enjoy it so much. Every time she has a cup, I watch her and feel like Im missing out on something. I then give it a taste and confirm how much I hate it.

2) Kimchi: Years ago , when the cooking shows were obsessed with Kimchi I was intrigued. I love fermented foods, I love Asian foods and I love trying new things. I never heard of it, let alone tasted it before, so I figured, why not give it a try. I decided to make it myself first time around. I followed all the directions. I consider myself a relatively competent cook, and Im very good at following directs ( from all the years school that a had it beaten into me). I tasted the final product, and I thought I screw up, or it rotted ... I decided to go to the store and get some professionally made kimchi, so I had what to compare it with. Cracked the jar open, and t basically tasted very similar. Finally, I had a Korean co-worker who was born and raised in Korea. I explained my situation, and she said she'd make me a batch, so I could taste the real thing. Sure enough, same taste ( to me). I just dont get its popularity. Maybe on Korea, as thats basically comfort food, but here I see the Kimchi dumplings, Kimchi tacos, kimchi soup .... Again, clearly im in the minority, considering its popularity, but I just don't get it. I know many versions of kimchi has fish sauce in it, clearly I didnt try any of those versions, but when speaking to my Korean friend, she told me that even the fish-sauce-less version still tastes pretty authentic.

3) Buffalo Sauce (for wings): Finally, as mentioned earlier. Buffalo sauce. First time tasted it, I wasnt crazy about it, so tasted many versions of it, all tasting the same ( Or similar ) to me. It's not that I don't like it, I just dont get why everyone loves it. totally a personal preference. Maybe the real chick brings out a certain element of the sauce that I just never experienced .

Granted, being a vegetarian, there are certain aspects of certain flavors I'm missing out on. That being said, When I'm driving around in the summer , windows down, and I smell aa BBQ going on. Its smells great. I may choose not to eat it, but when I smell it, I get it, and understands why people love it. Same with bacon. When I smell it, I get it. But Coffee, Kimchi and Buffalo Sauce, just dont get their popularity. Obviously personal choices and and subjective flavors.
 
1. Alcohol. I despise the smell, the taste, everything. If I get a good sniff of I don't a, jack daniels or whatever, those hard drinks, I have an instant puking sensation.
2. Coleslaw. No, just no. I love shredded cabbage only with salt, vinegar and oil, adding sauces and mayonnaise is a big no no for my taste buds.
3. Carrot cake. Just no.
 
Larry, my grandfather had a Chandler's shop in Saint John, New Brunwick. My father's first job before going to school was to grind some coffee so the aroma wafted about the shop, enticing food purchases, LOL. But he (grandpa) didn't really care for the flavour.

I think coffee is an acquired taste. People like the smell so much they keep trying it until one day they actually enjoy it - and at the same time are keeping up with the Jonse's.

I agree on the Kimchi, finally bought some to see if it was a recipe I would try. Nope, yech.

Liver, double, double yech.

Thick gooey BBQ sauce, gag.

I'm sure there is more but all I can think of at the moment while I'm drinking my coffee!
 
Ranch dressing and the spin-offs in snack foods.

Pumpkin pie spice in anything other than the traditional baked goods that I grew up with.

I’ve noticed that as I’ve gotten older simple is usually better.

I usually shy away from foods described as the ultimate experience.

I’m content with the average experience. ???
 
Cauliflower! It just plain awful. There are millions of great recipes out there used with cauliflower (aside from those that are for gluten-free) that people rave about - delicious sauces, cheese toppings, marinades, etc. Things that are so delicious that they could make a styrofoam cup taste great. Cauliflower contributes nothing but the chew.

Kale. Livestock food.

Rhubarb. Ruining strawberries for hundreds of years.
 
Not quite the same thing as I have no idea what it tastes like, but many decades ago when I lived in England a neighbour used to cook bacon all the time. If she wasn't frying it she was boiling lumps of it, and it stank my house out.

The smell made me nauseous - and I could never understand how people could eat it.
 
I could (and have many times) eat kimchi with every meal

i hate pesto, roast beef, ground pork, balsamic glaze, anything with tarragon in it, fatty meat, kale, duck (except confit), whole wheat and multi grain bread
 
I have not eaten it because I can't stand the look of it, Chicken Fried Steak. That thick Elmer's Glue white gravy on top, yech!
Kale--definitely livestock food, but our chickens won't eat it.
Tacos. There has to be a better use for leftovers.
I'm not a picky eater, but one has to draw the line somewhere!
 
Sriracha, it's okay, but what's the big deal?
Pumpkin pie, :sick:
Mac 'n cheese. Some can be okay. Usually I don't even like the way it smells.
I'm sure I will think of other things.
 
Not quite the same thing as I have no idea what it tastes like, but many decades ago when I lived in England a neighbour used to cook bacon all the time. If she wasn't frying it she was boiling lumps of it, and it stank my house out.

The smell made me nauseous - and I could never understand how people could eat it.
I really like crispy, fried bacon and love the smell. But, if someone were to serve me boiled bacon, I would probably gag.
 
I much prefer cold brewed coffee versus hot brewed, same with tea. The acids or tannins or whatever that make it bitter aren't as strong to me with cold brewed. I still add sugar in the form of simple syrup to both, and a bit of cream to iced coffee, but not nearly as much as I do when I drink hot coffee.

I'll eat kimchi/kimchee made with cabbage as part of banchan. I do make homemade though. I actually do like cucumber kimchee, homemade.

No pumpkin pie spice stuff for me either. In fact, the only pumpkin anything is a made from scratch pumpkin pie made from a roasted sugar/pie pumpkin. No canned stuff.

Not fond of kale either, though we did have it at a Korean restaurant once as part of the banchan. It was steamed or boiled, pretty well cooked, and then seasoned with sesame oil.

I'll eat wings with Buffalo sauce, but they aren't my favorite. If out, I'll usually get honey garlic or similar, or even plain. If at home, we have a couple of different recipes we use, but neither resemble Buffalo sauce.

I don't like thick gooey BBQ sauce. It's either something light and mostly mustard based or plain.

I'll give a HUGE pass on calf, beef or pork liver, especially the pork, but I do like chicken livers. Craig made boudin with pork liver once and I threw out the vast majority of it because he wasn't really eating it and there was no way in he// I was eating any of it after my first bite.

I have to say I love mashed cauliflower with a potato added to it to give it some body. We like riced cauliflower too, as long as it's riced at home. There's a roasted vegetarian/vegan cauliflower head recipe we really like as well with harissa. Even Craig likes it and he's not big on vegetarian/vegan recipes.

I love chicken fried steak, but I don't drown it in gravy, and I don't make a white gravy, more like a tan to light brown gravy. I also don't cook the CFS until it's leather. Craig hated it when we first got together until my DD and I wanted some really bad so I made it, told him he could eat it or not. He has liked it from that point on. His mother and grandmother had cooked the steak to death.
 
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MAYONNAISE! I have had a phobia about getting anything with mayonnaise in it, since I was a child - Mom said I would eat it, at one point, but I said it must have been before I could talk, and say NO! When I was first cooking for myself, I actually made some, with some lemon juice and a small amount of rice vinegar for the acid, and I liked it! It is something about that white vinegar - something I don't like in excess, like in Philippine adobo, which I can't stand, despite liking spicy foods. And I can't imagine how people can "clean" with vinegar, leaving that smell all over.

Beets are something I can't eat, but I think it's a genetic thing, like cilantro tasting like soap to some. Beets taste like I'm eating a handful of dirt - even different varieties I tried to grow, including white ones. No other root vegetable does it with me.

Something that I can't stand that is in a lot of savory dishes is raw cinnamon. I used to hate Indian food, and a lot of middle eastern food that I would get that tasted like cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, and the spice mixes I bought were the same. It wasn't until I started making them all myself, and toasting the spices, so the raw seasonings are not there, that I got to love them like I do.

There were many things I would eat when growing up, that made people hate them, and I wouldn't eat now, like many canned vegetables. But the same vegetables I will now eat fresh, often growing it myself.

There are a lot more things that I do like, that the general population wouldn't eat! :ROFLMAO:

Oh yeah - I forgot to mention that I'm another one not into coffee! In the 90s I had a lady-friend that was obsessed with coffee, like I was with tee, and I actually bought a coffee maker for the first time! I would have to put a large amount of sugar, plus some heavy cream (not creamer!) in a cup, to make it basically a dessert, so I could drink it.
 
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@pepperhead212, raw cinnamon? Tell me more if you can. Would this also apply to sweet dishes? I've only ever had raw cinnamon, and I only use the ceylon cinnamon. Could you toast cinnamon for pumpkin pie for instance? (that might be interesting)

There are a lot more things I do like also, that the general population wouldn't eat.

@Marlingardener I could take that kale off your hands! I'm having a late treat of cooked kale tonight, which I now LOVE and I used to hate it. I taught myself to like it by putting it in smoothies for 3 months straight. I'd called them Kermit smoothies. I had them for health. Now I like the kale because I feel like I'm missing something if I don't eat some. I feel good when I eat it or I feel just a little 'less' the next day energy wise.

I look at the foods you (anyone) might not like, as an opportunity for us to share our foods. Like @Real Help , I'd gladly trade some of my food that you might like, for that carrot cake that you might not like.:) I would love that carrot cake.

When I go to a restaurant (rarely) with someone I trust, that eats differently than I do. This is an opportunity for me to give my steak to the other person in mutual sharing if they will part with their potato or salad. That describes mr bliss and my first date. lol
 
I find it interesting that once we start listening to our bodies, we start to find that we like the foods that are healthy to us in particular. We may not love those foods, but we find that we enjoy having them, at least on occasion. I'm not fond of kale per se, but I do enjoy it chopped into smallish pieces in soup.
 
I look at the foods you (anyone) might not like, as an opportunity for us to share our foods. Like @Real Help, I'd gladly trade some of my food that you might like, for that carrot cake that you might not like.:) I would love that carrot cake.
Happy to. Atm, I developed an addiction for pancakes just so you know ... :D
 
When making my own breads I usually add some whole wheat and/or rye flour which does change up the taste of the white bread. I also like oatmeal and potato breads.
But I dislike intensely store whole wheat, 5 grains, 7 grains any grains bread... I sometimes like sunflower.
I've tried but sorry, it's white bread for me.
I also tried to get into different pastas. Ruined the taste of pasta meals completely - would rather have a peanut butter and banana sandwich (on white).
If you're going to substitute the main ingredient for something else - please call it something else!
 
@blissful Raw cassia - the usual "cinnamon" we use, is good in sweets, and I haven't actually toasted it, to use in sweets, but I'm sure it would be good; you'd probably need a little more, since the flavor is subdued, compared to raw. I use the Sri Lankan cinnamon mostly for Mexican foods, where its milder flavor, plus toasting it, gives it a flavor that just blends in with the other flavors, rather than dominating, which raw cassia can easily do. And true Mexican cinnamon, or canella, is close to the Sri Lankan cinnamon in flavor, but the bark is much thicker, like cassia. They mostly use the Sri Lankan cinnamon, as it is more available, and the best buy I ever got on it was up as the Mexican grocery, here in town!

@taxlady I do that same thing with many of these greens I grow - just chop them up, and put 2 or 3 cups in soups or curries I make, to add some nutritional value. Usually, the flavor is in the background, compared to the main ingredients, unless much more is used, and maybe puréed some. Which I still like!
 
When making my own breads I usually add some whole wheat and/or rye flour which does change up the taste of the white bread. I also like oatmeal and potato breads.
But I dislike intensely store whole wheat, 5 grains, 7 grains any grains bread... I sometimes like sunflower.
I've tried but sorry, it's white bread for me.
I also tried to get into different pastas. Ruined the taste of pasta meals completely - would rather have a peanut butter and banana sandwich (on white).
If you're going to substitute the main ingredient for something else - please call it something else!
You know me, I want just about everything to be whole grain. It took a long time before I found whole wheat pasta that tasted good. I was in a small Italian grocery store and came across some imported from Italy, whole grain pasta. I figured I would give it a try. It was really good. I have bought a number of Italian brands of imported pasta and they have all been good. Bionaturae brand is particularly good, but expensive.
 

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