Food you don't understand

[ChippySauce]

Crumbed ham.

I don't get it.
What does the crumb bring?
It can't be textural as it's usually soggy.
Can any crumbed ham aficionados please enlighten me?

Are there other food mysteries you'd like clearing up?

Pizza -Just an expensive way of eating cheese on bread with a layer of tomato sauce and an assortment of random ingredients.

Oh and ice cream. I really do not understand the love for this abomination.

Braised celery, lovely.

Lentils, red kidney beans, broad beans etc …….. I know that’s weird but I only like a baked bean in tomato sauce, in particular branstons 🤣 oh and when comes to drinks - tea - I physically cannot stand it, and I know it’s meant to solve all life’s problems, and my mum even had a teasmaid when I was growing up, and I’m born and bred Yorkshire girl but - eurgh, it’s a no from me, I hate even making it for people! particularly awkward when i used to work in hairdressers and cafes as a youngster haha x

Parma violets - utterly vile. Couldn't eat them as a child.
I also remember tinned pears - nasty gritty things.
I love shellfish but have never felt brave enough to try an oyster.
Agree with the poster who mentioned margarine. I'd rather have no butter than fake butter.
Apart from that, I eat anything!

Coriander yuk tastes like washing up liquid.
I also don t like tv chefs saying I should have my meat nearly running about the plate. I like my food cooked. Have lots of disagreements with DH he says I like my food cremated it's not true just don't want blood mixed with my veg and mash thanks.

Proper mashed potato isn’t sloppy. But I agree, a lot of the mash you see is disgusting looking and makes me feel queasy - like supermarket mash in the chiller cabinets, it looks sloppy and slimy 🤢

proper mash, IMO obviously, is made with decent floury potatoes. Cook the potatoes, drain fully, let the steam evaporate then cover and shake the pan vigoursly to bash them up a bit. Mash well. Loads of salt, pepper and waaaaaay more butter than you think is needed, seriously loads. That’s it. Perfect mash. Not a hint of slop and loads of flavour. Also really unhealthy due to copious amounts of butter and salt so I don’t make it very often.

How interesting! I've had a similar experience.

Having been a very fussy child, as a young adult I carefully began to reintroduce myself to the foods that I didn't like/couldn't stand.

In my 20s I successfully introduced mushrooms, peppers, fried onion, garlic, steak and Chinese food.

Then followed further revelations as I discovered that I now liked cheese, avocado, sunflower seeds, mangetout, sweetcorn, leeks, cauliflower, spicy foods and olives.

More recently (within the last 10 years) I have discovered cabbage, pak choi, passion fruit, sweet potato, butternut squash, aubergine, chickpeas, lentils, halloumi, plain Greek yogurt (I used only to like the fruity types of yogurt), celeriac and probably a few others that I've forgotten!

So, I definitely agree that one's tastes change over time and it's always a good idea to try new things and to re-try things that you think you don't like but haven't tried for a few years.

Sorry @givemushypeas a chance, but mushy peas come high on my list of food hates. I can't stand the taste, or the texture, although I love garden peas.

Nduja - it's a strong, gamey meat pate and some idiot decided it would go with fish!

All the puddings at my school 40 years ago, apart from ginger sponge and custard😋

As a fat middle aged compulsive snacker, I agree 100%. I wish it wasn't socially acceptable, I find it hard to resist as I am constantly surrounded by food and people eating at all hours. Toddlers and little kids need to snack, adults do not.

I often think of my Grandad, if you offered him a biscuit or a bit of cake at 4pm he'd be horrified. Don't be ridiculous, it's only two hours to dinner and I'd ruin my appetite. People used to value a healthy appetite, these days we eat something to tide us over if we feel even a teeny bit hungry.

@murasaki sorry to admit but i LOVE YOU! finally someone who hates celery and sees it for what it is

What I really detest, is food being compared to bodily functions and the people who do it.

Maybe it's Brummie thing!

Absolutely right, @VenusClapTrap! I’d loathe the taste of pretty much every sweetener that isn’t sugar, and so many drinks have been made ‘healthier’ by taking out sugar and adding these sweeteners. I have an inflammatory bowel condition, and I dare not use sweeteners in case they set off a flare up of my illness, but all too often, menus don’t make it clear that the drinks contain sweeteners. I’m sick of being caught out by drinks that used to be delicious - and safe for me - that are now all artificial sweetness. Gah.

I like eggs, but egg yolk needs careful management. It needs to be not very runny and have its own space. Which is either on a plate, or at a pinch, nestling politely on hot buttered toast.

Egg yolk running down or mingling with any other foodstuff is gross. Oozing out of a sandwich... making slime with sloppy tomatoes... congealing on avocado, pizza or noodle broth... bleuuurgh.

Many eateries can't help themselves and shove a fried egg on top of everything. If they can combine it with avocado for added nausea, so much the better. And people eat it! Is it just me?

Oh so much this. I have severe reactions to at least 3 of the commonly used NNS chemicals and there is so much I can no longer have.

I can no longer risk a glass of cider in a pub and even red wine is now a game of chance. Food labelling doesn't extend to alcohol so there is no way of telling if it's there. I know which brands I absolutely have to avoid but more and more are sneaking them in so I'm occasionally caught out and it isn't pretty.

Medications are always a challenge too - I should have a colonoscopy but all the prep in the UK is loaded with sweeteners which I react to. This is a bit of a problem....

Pork scratchings, just disgusting in every way
Celery pointless and tasteless
nuts can't stand the taste or the texture
pears this stems from being forced to eat one as a child
Rhubarb as for pears
lettuce no taste, does not satisfy hunger and is a pain to prepare if not in a bag of ready to eat salad

People always say that, but in spite of many people assuring me that theirs isn’t sloppy etc. It’s still like nursery food.

My kids and husband will eat mountains of the stuff. I’ll have enough to be polite but distract from it with extra veg.

Celery, I hate the stringy texture.

Sausage rolls taste of nothingness. Cardboardish, flaky nothingness.

Frankly any pie that has a soggy, wetish bottom. Just no. Go away.

Shrimp.

I could list many but the first one that comes to mind is pork belly. It's a disgusting slab of fat no matter how you dress it up.

Pies. Mostly because I don't like pastry, but also shepherds pie because I don't like mashed potato. Not keen on rice, absolutely loathe pasta and pizza too.

Honestly it's a wonder I don't weigh about six stone with all the carb-hatred I have, but I can assure you that I weight considerably more than that.

I don't see the point in boiled potatoes they are just bland and meh!

I thought it was the other way round and overcooking
causes the slime to be released (so including in slow cooking curries and stews) whereas slicing thinly and a quick stir fry on a high heat (with ginger, garlic and onion), zero slime and not bad tasting at all!

If okra is bitter, stringy or slimy then it hasn't been prepared and cooked properly.

It was a staple in my childhood and I still love it.

My granddad's were superb, but then he grew them in his garden and was VERY liberal with the salt. Otherwise totally agree. The shittest way to cook a spud. When there are so many delicious ways.

Roast parsnips, like some gone off sweet potato - not a sweet potato but a normal potato that has gone rotten