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There are so many different traditions and cultures in the world, especially when it comes to food. It's no wonder sometimes we're surprised (not always pleasantly) when we travel to a different country or someone's home and taste food that we might not usually get to eat. Some regions like it more spicy and rich, while others prefer foods that are creamy and delicate, so it might be quite a shock to go to a country or family with a completely different food menu than you are used to.
This online user wondered whether anyone has ever experienced eating something just out of politeness to not hurt someone's feelings - either while they were visiting another country or someone at home. These users delivered interesting, funny, and enlightening answers.
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#1
Fish.
I was in 10th grade and had been vegetarian for a few years at that point. A friend invited me over for dinner, she had moved here from Syria and her mom was really excited she was bringing an American friend over, so the mom made a really big, nice dinner for us all. But she didn't really know what vegetarian was and spoke broken English. She's made this really lovely baked fish dish and a bunch of sides, since fish isn't meat.
My friend was embarrassed, but I ate the whole meal because the mom tried really hard and made such a special meal in my honor.
I'm still proud of how mature I was in that moment at such a selfish age.
Maisey Myles 2 years ago
Instead of directions I saw delicious- and it works for me!
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Bouche, Audi, and Shyla, oh my! 2 years ago
"What you mean, he don't eat no meat? Oh, that's okay, I make lamb."
Sue User 2 years ago
I think the mother thought fish wasnt meat. OPs friend tells her mother that OP doesnt eat meat, so mom cooks fish. Non native speaker mistake.
General Anaesthesia 2 years ago (edited)
Even in the Catholic Church until quite recently at least, people didn't eat meat on Friday, but fish was okay (fish Friday). "...the thinking goes, Jesus was a warm-blooded animal. Fish, though, which are cold blooded were considered okay to eat on fasting days." So "meatless" could be misunderstood.
Libstak 2 years ago
Several of Jexus disciples were fishermen, he also provided fish and loaves of bread for all the thousands of people who came from afar to hear his sermons. Fed thousands of people out of a hand full of baskets of fish and bread that never seemed to empty and there were leftovers when everyone had eaten. Fish was kinda his thing.
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Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
When I used to visit my Irish meat loving grandmother she'd always start with "I've got Linda McCartney in the freezer for you"
Gabriela Cink 2 years ago
I'm also proud how mature you were :D and all the effort was appreciated.
We talked to Brian Wansink (website, Mindless Eating book, Slim by Design book), former Cornell professor and author of “Mindless Eating” and “Slim by Design,” and he shared some amazing ideas on why people might dislike certain foods: “In most cases, it’s for idiosyncratic reasons, like they don’t like the taste or texture of it — largely because they are unfamiliar with it. In its extreme form, even the idea of some foods is repulsive to people. That’s why we don’t see duck tongue or sea cucumber or Rocky Mountain oysters as an appetizer special at TGI Fridays.
What is more interesting are the cases where a person has a subconscious reason why they hate a food. This is generally because they associate a food with a terrible event. Like they had fish once and choked on a bone, or they got food poisoning from potato salad, or they gulped down sour milk. We did one study that looked at some WWII U.S. Marines that hated rice and others that loved it. We discovered the Marines who hated it were exposed to heavy combat and had gruesome associations with it. In contrast, those who liked rice were generally behind the lines.”
We also wondered if Brian Wansink had any tips for getting used to foods we don’t really like: “Two ways you can do this as an adult. You can change your thinking about it, and you can change the way you eat it.
Say you think you hate eggplant, but your partner loves it. First, think of how the food is similar to other foods you eat that you do like (‘eggplant’s pretty similar to zucchini, and I like that’), and then season it and prepare it in a similar way until you grow accustomed to it.
A second way is the paired association method. You pair it with foods you like, and it benefits from the taste halo from the other foods. (‘That was a great meal. I guess eggplant’s pretty good after all.’)”
RELATED:
#2
My gfs grandmother is a very sweet old lady with dementia and diabetes.
She loves to cook and we eat lunch at her apartment every sunday.
She always has something for dessert but since she is diabetic she doesn't eat it herself. Sometimes she has bought ice-cream or candy but usually she makes something herself.
One time she was very proud because she had made something that isn't from our country; she had made frozen cheesecake.
She was actually extra proud because she had used three different kinds of cream cheese.
But since she's diabetic she hadn't tried it; if she had tried it she would maybe have noticed that since she didn't add any sugar to the cream cheese it had a lot of big ice crystals. She would also have noticed that the three different kinds of cream cheese she used was regular, garlic and chives, and grilled pepper.
So there I was, smiling politely, eating icy cream cheese with garlic, chives, grilled peppers, and a bunch of different crushed cookies.
I always smile when I think of that haha
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
Could have been worse, at least she had kindness in her heart. Must have been some really interesting cheesecake though lol
Spellflinger 2 years ago
I have a reverse of this - when I was about 8 I made a potato salad for my Grandpa. Raw potato, raisins and mayo. Not only did he eat every bite but for the rest of his life whenever he had potato salad he always said it was good but not as good as mine. I was in my 20’s when I realized how truly awful the potato salad was and how much he loved me. Sorry about the salad Grandpa. I love you 💖
Susan Robinson 2 years ago
Currently dealing with a mother-in-law in the beginning stages of dementia. She called yesterday to arrange for going out to pay bills, grocery shop, etc….but she forgot she is hospitalized until we can find a care home to place her in ☹️☹️ It’s so incredibly sad.
Maisey Myles 2 years ago
Sorry about your MIL. Dementia is so hard to deal with for both parties. Not knowing where or why you are but the burden on the carer is so overwhelming and can be so unforgiving at times. I went through it all with my aunt (more like a mother to me) so I know where you are. My one piece of advice is have everyone, including yourself, wear name tags. It save some embarrassment when she can't remember her friends names even if she's aware of who it is. I know I have difficulty remembering names.
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Babsevs 2 years ago
Oh goodness...the Thanksgiving trifle! The layers... Custard.....beef, onions, peas,
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DesertMama 2 years ago
I had to eat salami layered in peanut butter rolled with care and skewered with toothpicks that a friend's grandmother had made for us. Heartwarming effort. They were not good. lol
#3
I used to hate bell peppers. I mean I used to say if they were even in the kitchen I could taste them in food. I despised just the smallest amount of them. One day I was at my brothers house and my sister in law invited me to stay for dinner. Then she said she was making pepper steak. Oh, no. I figured I’d eat the steak and rearrange the peppers around the plate. Nope. She cut them into quarters. No way to politely do it. Just eat it and smile. I took a bite and it was nasty. Next bite wasn’t as bad. I s**t you not, by the end of my dinner I was beginning to like them!!! I’ve been eating them since. I grow them, I eat them raw, I eat them cooked. Amazing.
XenoMurph 2 years ago
I spent 10 years getting my ex to try blue cheese. She was really good about it and tried it about once a year, and screwed up her face every time. But the last time it wasn't so bad, then tried again, and again. Now it's one of her favourite foods. Taste changes over time. So does taste.
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Sonja 2 years ago (edited)
Taste happens in the brain. And if you didn't like something the first time you tried it, it can happen that the brain always interprets the signal it gets the same way it did the first time. It could be that OP's parents fed them peppers too early and their dislike was a remnant of an averse reaction. Peppers are among those vegetables that are unhealthy for children before a certain age. If they're forced to try them too early they can get sick from them. The body remembers the bad reaction and signals: stop! You got sick the last time! Whenever it's eaten again. But the body changes with aging and then the averse reaction doesn't happen anymore, so after a while, when the body realises there's no sickness happening, the warning stops and you taste how it really tastes like.
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
I had to do this recently because the only salad/food at the place my stepdad's band was playing that was gluten free was basically, capsicum, cucumber, lettuce and red onion. Apart from the lettuce, capsicum was the only thing I am not intolerant to!
Charley128 2 years ago
If you cook them properly they are kinda sweet and nice. Right? I love the stuffed ones.
Brian Wansink also shared which foods people usually dislike: “The universal formula for hating a food is when two of these three things happen: weird texture, gross, or bitter. This is why most people don’t like organ meats (weird texture and gross) or why they don’t like unfamiliar vegetables and fruits, like bitter melon or durian fruit.”
#4
I was ten and went to a family friends house for dinner. They served fried chicken livers and gizzards. Liver was okay but couldn’t chew the gizzards. Stuck them in my pants pocket. Mom saw them floating in the washing machine. Thought that the cat had crapped in the washing machine.
SCamp 2 years ago
I might be ignorant here, but geez, as a parent of 3 (now adult) kids it was always an unwritten rule that you don’t serve or expect to be served ‘gastronomically challenging’ food when having kids over or being at others’ houses. I get that the definition of what is challenging varies wildly, but when we had kids’ friends over for dinner we always kept it pretty ‘safe’ food wise, always asked if there’s anything they couldn’t eat and never made a thing of it if they couldn’t finish
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
Not every family is from your culture, and not every set of parents got to have an education when they were young. And some families may only be able to afford relatively-cheap organ meats.
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Paul Pienkowski 2 years ago
I learned to love gizzards and liver very young. It was my grandpa's favorite. I adored him. I wanted to make him happy. So I ate with him a lot.
Mama Penguin 2 years ago
Did she simmer the chicken gizzards until tender before breading and frying them?
Celtic Pirate Queen 2 years ago
I can't do any kind of organ meat. It's not just the taste, it's a texture thing. My stepfather made me eat liver & onions as a kid (even though I told him it would make me puke), so as I'm eating it I'm actually picturing myself eating a big bowl of vomit. And I did, all over the table. He was furious and started screaming at me. I was as calm as a 12 year old can be in that situation and said, "Hey, I warned you. What did you expect when you MADE me eat a body's filter system? I could have just sucked on the washer hose".
The Numerator 2 years ago
Yes! That's me!!! Chicken liver, fried okra, gumbo, jambalaya, mac and cheese... (I'm white...)
#5
My first serious boyfriend brought me to meet his family and I reallllyyyy wanted to make a good impression. Everything seemed to be going well until dinner was served. I think (though no idea) that it was an attempt at bouillabaisse? It was cold fish soup. With fish scales attached to skin, uncleaned seafood, raw rice at the bottom and, forsaking all gods, an oily residue on top.
I managed to choke enough down to be polite. I couldn’t stop gagging for days, though. His mother’s cooking did not improve, either.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
That sounds horrible! Probably would have faked my own death to avoid eating that....
Bad Alchemy 2 years ago
Many years ago, my landlord invited me to share a lunch for Christmas. He lived in the house in front, and I lived in one of the apartments behind. He was an older man and seemed lonely. I agreed and went over for lunch. He served a dish whose name is long forgotten, but told me it was a very traditional holiday dish in Romania. He was very proud to have cooked it himself. The dish was pigs ears and tails in cold aspic. It was atrocious, and tasted like there was some sort of caustic chemical in it. I choked down a few bites, and focused on the salad and rice. I told him it was certainly a very special dish, and possibly too rich for my simple taste. He kept his pride. After a good hour of lunching, I went back to my apartment and promptly threw up. From that time on, I was on a "strict medical diet" whenever he invited me to eat.
CrissCross 2 years ago
Sorry about that bad experience. It's called "răcitură" or "piftie" and it's super tasty when properly done. We also make it with chicken and turkey.
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Frances Pitchounetta 2 years ago
Bouillabaisse is served hot with no rice. So yes: it's an attempt. Poor her, trying to impress 😞
Debby Keir 2 years ago
First meal with my Greek in laws - goat soup. I was served the hoof which still had the fur on......
Brian Wansink shared which food he’d tried and didn’t like at all: “One time I got lost in the Romanian countryside and a kind family invited me to have dinner with them. They served a drink that was red wine mixed with Pepsi, which was something this family saved for special occasions. I love both red wine and Pepsi, but I held my breath so I could choke it down. Interestingly, I tried it a couple of years ago for fun, and I liked it a lot more because I had come to associate it with this family’s kindness. Also, liver is great if it’s made by a great chef, but not very great at a local diner. I’ve learned that lesson.”
#6
A very bizarre soup that my MIL concocted that belonged in r/ididnthaveeggs. Granted, I was forewarned that she is a terrible cook. I just didn't expect it to be THAT terrible
She replaced almost every single ingredient in the original recipe with something completely different. Except for water. The most offensive substitution was raisins to replace capers
I ate a very small portion out of politeness and it was one of the most revolting things I've ever eaten (and I've eaten sea cucumber)
... and that's also sort of how we found out she has dementia
Zophra 2 years ago
Raisins. Raisins should never be used as a substitution. Raisins should be directly added to the trash.
Roan The Demon Kitty 2 years ago
raisins are good, just.. not in a soup/being substituted for capers.
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SCamp 2 years ago
I’ve eaten sea cucumber 🤢 and ducks hearts🤮 at the same sitting - not by choice, didn’t want to, overseas for work and hosts insisted. Don’t know why hosts insist, I never made anyone eat anything. God, my stomach felt like a trampoline that day, never been so grateful for a litre size glass of beer as a chaser
BakedKahuna 2 years ago
Maybe they wanted to treat you, as sea cucumber is very expensive.
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wowbagger 2 years ago
Reminds me of a scene in "Better Off Dead" (early John Cusack movie). His mother makes a dinner of green glop with dark spots in it. "It's something I improvised. It has ... raisins." Then the green glop becomes sentient and slides itself off the serving plate and across the dining table.
Nay Wilson 2 years ago
This reminds me of an episode of ‘my family’ when Susan wants to make duck a l’orange only she doesn’t have any duck so she uses chicken and she doesn’t have any oranges so she uses pears 😂
Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
Hmmm. With a little thought, that could actually work.
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Greenmantle 2 years ago
I ate sea cucumber once and I don't remember it tasting bad, just texturally unusual
Brian Droste 2 years ago
I myself don't like raisins, but if other people like them that is okay with me. Many years ago a female friend made some type of bread, can't recall what type of bread, but she put a lot of raisins in it. I was going to try to pick them out, but was to many. well I put the bread on the top of my fridge. Well ants got into the bread. Had a excuse to throw the bread out. She never ask me if I enjoyed the bread and never told her what happen and to this day and I doubt if she would remember that.
#7
at 8 years old my fancy uncle took me to Le Cirque a famous NYC restaurant and had us all order the 12 course tasting menu. It was a lot of new very rich foods (lobster, pigeon, foie, a swanky as f**k dessert cart etc). I woke up at 2 in the morning and puked it up. My regards to the chef because it tasted good in and out.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
Yeah, giving young kids a taster menu is a waste, I get why he did it, for him it's a treat, for an 8 year old it's a chore.
Bec 2 years ago
I suffer from migraines and my go to move as a child and even into early adulthood was to throw up to feel better if they get too severe. I can think of a couple of nice steak dinners that came up later, and I now avoid Chinese food - I don't care what people say about MSG I am on year 6 of a 10 year hiatus until I am ready to try again
We also spoke to MD dietitian Edvard Grisin (website and Instagram), and he shared his own insight on the topic: “There are a few reasons why we do like certain types of food or overall like eating it. First of all, we should emphasize that food gives us energy for our daily activities. Without food, a person will not survive for a long period of time. Despite the fact that in developed countries the amount of easily available food is scarce, in other parts of the world with a fear of malnutrition, death is a motivator to eat anything that is available.
Other causes of liking food: Habits: We do know that food is closely related to our environment and the way we’ve seen our parents, or any person we admire, eating. Habits that we are taught in childhood can accompany us for a long time. Our body is very adaptive - if we teach it to eat 6 times a day, it will be hungry 6 times a day.
Environment: On the other hand, some food tastes good only during specific occasions - I believe most of us can reminisce about those pancakes made by mamas or special desserts that only grandmas could make. Food is a part of our positive memories, where we would want to come back more often. Psychology: There are theories of food, particularly carbohydrates and sugars, being as addictive as drugs are. We react to the structure, taste, form, or even the sight of food when it’s in front of us. If we look at the physiology of nutrient sensing [and our] brain or dopamine secretion, we would see many similarities. Sadly, it is not very simple as it is when talking about eating behavior. Because of all my aforementioned reasons for eating, we can’t say that food is addictive in isolation. It is more addictive in special moments like boredom, parties, or is more often alcohol-related. Therefore, overeating should be evaluated in the person’s whole lifestyle picture.”
#8
An entire goat brain.
I had never tried brain before, and a coworker had just cooked an entire goat. I told her I would eat some brain if she brought it to work the next day. I was expecting maybe a few little pieces, but no, she brought the whole thing plus the tongue. The tongue was excellent, and I had eaten countless lengua tacos at that point in my life. The brain was not good, but not *terrible*. It just tasted “gray” and soft if that makes any sense. Stubborn old me had to make a point and eat the entire thing. Needless to say, I probably won’t be eating any more brain unless for some reason I can be tricked into it.
Robert Beveridge 2 years ago
Had a company I worked for that liked doing potlucks. Still bummed they didn't like my goat's head stew with olives. Maybe I shouldn't have used the skull as a decoration?
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
I'm adopted, and my family is Mexican. I grew up eating lengua (tongue), tripas (tripe), ojos (eyeballs), and sesos (brain). (This was in the 80s and 90s, way way before CJD/prion disease was well-known.) Sesos was probably my favorite - sweet and chewy/creamy.
Dreaming Spirit 2 years ago
With the exception of eyeballs, we use these parts of animal in Poland as well. I really like Polish tripe soup (it's a little spicy, very rich with pieces of beef meat as well, and filling - especially great for autumn and winter) and tongue is great for sandwiches. Brain is my least favorite due to texture issues, but the taste is really nice. I prefer liver in caramelized onions and my grandma's chicken hearts goulash, though :)
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Max Fox 2 years ago
It is not a good idea to eat brains these days, especially from cows. Look up "prions".
Gabriela Cink 2 years ago
I did look up prions as you suggested. And it was stated it can be transfered also by meat and body fuilds and also milk and cooking won't help as temperature is not high enough. So, it doesn't matter much which part you eat, if that animal is sick with this disease.
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Jason 2 years ago
My mom was a great cook. My dad was cheap af. He used to get us "steak" as children. I hated it because of the sponginess and texture. Turns out it was cow tongue. I grew up hating steak because of it. Have had 0 cow tongue since childhood.
Bec 2 years ago
SIL comes from a big family, they would have to eat tongue and liver but her mom made it tolerable by also making something that was considered a treat to go along with it
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insert name here 2 years ago
I mean I'd try it, once I'd verified that a) the coworker could cook well and b) the brain was edible. I like to try new things
Auntriarch 2 years ago
It's okay. I would eat it if someone served it to me, but I wouldn't order or make it
Load More Replies... #9
My host mother made fish one night. Two bites in, my roommate (another foreigner) and I exchanged deadly looks. Both of us ate almost anything we were given, but this was something *else*.
The fish had the strangest, most distinct taste of bleach I've ever had. We were also nowhere near the coast. No one else in the family blinked an eye. My roommate and I ate as little as we could but kept up pretenses. I'm not sure if she cleaned it with cleaning fluid, but it was the most horrifying thing I've eaten for politeness.
The other one is Moroccan ker3in (pronounced kera'ain, the 3 is a ʕ sound) It's primarily cow hoof/ cow knuckle that has been roasted to release the gelatin. So it's a very sticky, very thick cow gelatin that gloms onto your fingernails (as you eat usually with your hands), and leaves you with beefy fingers for seemingly the rest of eternity (or until a very thorough scrubbing).
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
It may also have been a skate or a shark, both of which are fairly ammoniac even when fresh XD
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Norm Gilmore 2 years ago
Have just read about 'lutefisk' which is fish preserved by lye in Scandinavian countries. Pass on that thanks..
A B C the Third 2 years ago (edited)
the 3 is a ʕ sound - well thanks for clearing that one up.
Charley128 2 years ago
If I was marooned on a desert island with those foods, I would kill and eat Tom Hanks. I think Rita would understand
Anna Drever 2 years ago
You know the saying about how do you know someone is vegan? Don’t worry they’ll tell you. Well I’ve never been so glad to be vegan. I don’t have to eat that nasty 💩 even to be polite. Cos it ain’t gonna happen.
Edvard Grisin shared how you can get used to foods you don’t really like: “There are a few techniques that could be worth trying: Visual look: We eat with our eyes. The visual look of food is usually the first trigger that will make us fall in love or, vice versa, dislike what we are going to eat. People seeking healthy eating habits see everything in black or white: if you say chicken breast, they imagine a boiled, unsalted piece of meat on a plate; if you say vegetables, people just put a whole tomato or cucumber on a plate without trying to chop it. When we hear the word ‘diet,’ our brain immediately reprograms to seek for a tasteless diet and 24/7 sense of starvation. But it shouldn’t be that way. What if I were to tell you that chicken breast could be overbaked with lemon zest and basil dressing, and that from a whole variety of vegetables, we could make ratatouille using the same ingredients and make it low-calorie, healthy, and suitable to every healthy diet? The first impression is the most important factor in success or failure. If someone goes on a diet - nutritionists, health coaches, and dietitians should take care of it in the first place.
Motivation: Every new habit takes time to master, and we have to clearly know WHY we are struggling, avoiding, doing things that we don’t like, or eating food that isn’t as tasty as fast food is. Take care of your surroundings. Limit access to high-carb, calorically dense foods, sweets and desserts that you are trying to avoid. Surround yourself with people that have similar beliefs, goals or habits. They will be your motivation, support and destination. Those are only a few things that could lead us on our way to mastering new habits.”
#10
I was lucky enough to grow up with a mom who was a good cook. Nothing fancy, but everything was fresh and well seasoned. The first time I went to my boyfriend’s house for Sunday dinner I found out not everyone’s mom was handy in the kitchen. We had roast beef that his mom had put in a pan, covered it with water, stuck it in the oven and boiled it to the consistency of the bottom of my shoe. It was served with instant mashed potatoes made with water, not milk. Our beverage was lukewarm Carnation instant milk. I ate and drank it, but I hugged my mom tight when I got home. After that we mostly ate at my house, thank goodness.
Firstname Lastname 2 years ago
TIL instant mashed potatoes require milk. Whenever I pick up a pack, I use water.
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
It's not a sin to use water. Many instant mashed probably suggest using water. It just makes it richer, creamier, and a better texture if you use milk. But it's okay to use water! :)
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Noname 2 years ago
And one of my kids will only eat instant mashed potatoes and can tell the difference between mashed from scratch and the packet.
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SnackbarKaat 2 years ago
My mum cooks her meat by adding tapwater and letting it stove for 2 hours. I endured that for 18 years
Zophra 2 years ago
Some people need to get in the kitchen more and practice!
Load More Replies... Fish Fingers 2 years ago
What kind of feral pervert eats instant mash? What even is it? Never had it in my life, and it sounds like anyone who advocates it should be immediately stabbed in the neck.
#11
When I was in college, a friend invited me over to his house for dinner - he'd been raving about what an excellent cook his Turkish mother was for ages, and I enjoy Turkish cuisine.
The first course was a Yayla Corbasi, which is soup made with yogurt. I don't know what she did to it, but it was completely curdled and absolutely revolting, both in terms of texture and taste.
I dutifully suffered through an entire bowl of it, thanked her kindly, and then white-knuckled my way through the next fifteen minutes before asking where the restroom was. I ran the faucet to cover the sound of my puking.
It took me ten years to consider another bowl of yayla corbasi, but I eventually made the leap and had a delightful bowl that didn't make me sick to my stomach.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
It came back up beautifully and really complimented the starter.
Load More Replies... Gabriela Cink 2 years ago
Oh, this reminds me when my friend was telling me about his favorite childhood food, when I was on the visit. She bring him whole pot of this mythical cold cherry soup :D. It was sugary slurry puding like water with floating compoted cherries. I can imagine child loving this amount of sugar. I did eat it, it didn't make me sick, so it was not so bad.
Huddo's sister 2 years ago
Yoghurt has to be heated very slowly, a skill I am constantly failing!
Edvard Grisin shared which foods people usually don’t enjoy: “Usually people hate things that smell bad, look unpleasant or are associated with bad memories or life circumstances. It all goes to our memories and emotions. More often, children dislike eating vegetables or olives but start eating them when they get older. Maybe it is because childhood is more about fun, parties, sweet stuff… On the other hand, maybe it is due to changes in the environment we live in, the experience we get tasting food again and again in the same or new combinations. Of course, we can only speculate why we dislike something that other people eat. It’s cultural, emotional, maybe even physical, but there is no one answer to this question.”
#12
I was 16 eating dinner at my then boyfriend's home with his parents. His dad reheated an ice cream pail full of frozen ham and bean soup, which would have been fine on its own. But then proceeded to puree broccoli, spinach, and some mystery fruit and veggies juice from the fridge that mostly tasted like mangos together and ADD IT TO THE SOUP. It tasted like grainy veggie slurry with some random hint of mango and was easily the most unpleasant meal or ever had. His dad insisted I eat seconds, and I hindsight I'm convinced he was just f*****g with me.
Dogcat vet (retired) 2 years ago
"I survived Bear Grylls"? TBS competition show.
Load More Replies... Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
I love mango but it's very fibrous and even blended has that texture, it'd be weird in a soup.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
Try different mangoes...Kent and Green varieties have creamy texture with very little fiber.
Load More Replies... Gabriela Cink 2 years ago
Hmmmmmmmmm, to be honest it sounds as interesting combination. Savoury mango or papaya is not so rare.
Thom Serveaux 2 years ago
Sounds they may not have had much money. My parents would add everything to canned soup. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes not.
#13
F**K YEAH I GOT STORIES! In 2016, I spent a month in Vietnam with my “homebase” being with a family in HCMC. After like 2 weeks of eating fish cakes, boiled chicken, and other regional delicacies, I was feeling a little homesick (I’m from New Orleans). One of the sons of the family I was staying with was about my age and had been to the US a few times so he went out of his way to get me “American” food. It was Pizza Hut. He arrived home and knocked on my bedroom door and walked in with a small personal pizza for me. I was so excited! And thankful! This was so kind he really didn’t have to go out of his way for me but he could tell I was sad. After he left I opened the box to find the Vietnamese version of pizza. It had shrimp, ham, clams…some weird cheese and sweet red sauce. And in Vietnam, they eat shrimp with the shells on. Soooo I ate the crust. It was really weird and not at all good but I wasn’t about to turn down such a thoughtful gift from my host family. Vietnam, what is you doing to pizza?
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
Boyfriend is Chinese (born in America.) He went to Guangzhou for a month during law school as part of a study-abroad program. He said that his class went to a Pizza Hut in Guangzhou, and the Pizza Hut had escargot (snails) on its menu XD
Remi (He/Him) 2 years ago
Best pizzas in Vietnam are imho from 4P's pizzeria. The menu does have some "normal" or more Italian options (burrata parma ham or margherita etc), but I really like the Teriyaki chicken and the four flowers (veggie) ones.
TomCat 2 years ago
I go on average about twice a year and eat like it's my last meal. When I'm home, I spent countless hours reading menus and dreaming of when I can eat good food again. Nola has ruined my expectations of restaurants.
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LandAhoy 2 years ago
Here are some of the Vietnamese pizza options available in a Pizza hut in Ko Chi Minh that I put together in an image https://ibb.co/WB0htL9 Granted, most of them do have seafood on, but there's also things like pepperoni, hawaiian, plain cheese, and the first one that came up was actually a normal vegetarian supreme!
LandAhoy 2 years ago
Replying so people can see picture (I hope this works!)
Load More Replies... kaycee14 2 years ago
I went to a Pizza Hut in London and it was weird. Every place has it's own preferred flavor palette, that's part of what makes travel an adventure!
Eastendbird 2 years ago
I mean, OK, if you want to, but DAMN, why the hell would you travel to London and go to Pizza Hut?!!
Load More Replies... Widdershins66 2 years ago
What's wrong with corn on a pizza, lol, I like extra on my pizza 🤪
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Lauren Wilder 2 years ago
Yup this happend to me in at Pizza Hut in South Korea. I got so excited for dinner but when the Pizza came I realized I was far from home. The ring of sweet potato puree surroround by a ring of mayonnaise was too much for me.
We asked Edvard Grisin to share if he’s ever eaten something he disliked: “Actually, maybe I did. I remember clearly my childhood years when I said to my mom that her potato meat-stuffed dumplings were horrible. But it was a 100% emotional expression as I am thinking about it now. Now, even if the food smells differently to what my taste buds are accustomed to, I try to understand the reason why it tastes or is served this way. Every product has its cultural history - if we could know the history behind Napoleon cake or even chicken Kiev, it would change people’s attitudes toward it in a good way. The more we know about food, the more respect we give it. There is always a storyline on our plate I wish everyone could try to read.”
#14
I used to live in Madagascar, where it's really common for strangers to invite you into their home for a meal. I loved doing this because it was a great way to meet people but it also led to a fair amount of less than desirable meals. The first one, angivy (sorry, no idea in English), is the most bitter thing I have ever eaten. If you've ever chewed an aspirin tablet, imagine that flavor but mushy. The second, anamalao (Schezwan Button), makes your mouth go numb. So, I'm in the middle of nowhere pretty sure I've just been poisoned but I just kept eating it. And the third- important aside, I've been a vegetarian most of my life and haven't had many kinds of seafood- a very kind woman gave me mashed cassava with tiny shrimp in it. I didn't want to be rude and figured I could just eat around the shrimp. Once again, my entire mouth went numb. But this time my throat also burned as I swallowed. This is how I discovered I'm allergic to shrimp.
Remi (He/Him) 2 years ago
The first one is related to eggplant or wild eggplant. Second one - the name tells it all as the plant has the same effect as the Szechuan peppers
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
Am I the only person who read the first line and my brain went "I like to move it move it". I've never even seen the film, why brain why?
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
Yeah, no. Cyanide toxicity does not manifest as a numb mouth or burning throat. Plus, cultures that consume cassava have very strict soaking, preparation, and cooking methods that remove the cyanide compounds. It is unlikely that OP ate undercooked/improperly prepared cassava, as the woman/her family were presumably also consuming it, and the woman, having been raised in the Madagascar culture, would have known how to properly cook cassava for consumption.
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#15
A friend's mom made us burgers for lunch. She formed raw ground beef right out of the package into patties and stuck em in the microwave. Served on plain buns. Grey disgusting meat and plain bread. No toppings no chips/sides. That's it. I ate it but I still think she was either trying to get me to leave or just had zero idea how to cook. It was awful.
Spocks's Mom 2 years ago
You think so? I just think she didn't like the child.
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Random Panda 2 years ago
Okay, but there is a way to make (I'm not saying great) decent burgers in the microwave. I do it if I'm working from home and I have to make a super quick lunch. I put the buns in the toaster. Then I put the burger patty on a plate on some folded up paper towels and cook at a lower strength. Cook just enough until the edges start to turn brown. Then flip it over and heat again. Put a layer of sliced cheese on it as soon as it comes out. It ends up being not too tough and tender at the edges, and rare in the middle like I like. I can eat it quickly and get back to work.
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LeeAnne B 2 years ago
My mom can't cook. I don't see why it's always the woman having to cook for the family. She was uninspired and unenthusiastic in this role.
Keenan Wright 2 years ago
I also (a man) almost every meal for my family.. that was a big assumption.
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Needmorecowbell 2 years ago
Or burned out, tired mom who just wanted to get something in the kids so she could carry on with the s**t ton of other chores she had.
Tim Nicebutdim 2 years ago
I reckon she microwaved them as raw meat like that will fall to pieces if you try to cook it any other way, you need a binding agent like egg
Upstaged75 2 years ago
Not ground beef. You don't need anything to get that to "stick" together. You just shape the patties and they're fine. We season them and throw them on the grill. No eggs or other binder necessary.
Load More Replies... #16
The problem with this question is: I honestly don't know what it was that I ate. I was visiting a friend in Dalian, China, which is like the capital of seafood (mainly for export to Japan). My host got invited and that means I was invited too to a dinner of a rich businessman retiring from his business in Hong Kong. I ate many seafood things that don't even look like seafood things. Some were delicious, others horrible. Luckily there was some strong alcohol (drinking it made me rise quickly on the ladder of respect of the people present, but that's another story). One of the things I ate looked like it had an eggyolk inside, which, of course, didn't taste like egg at all. At one point I ate a shrimp-like thing, and my friend/host told me "Eh you should not eat the plasticlike thing inside it" but I already swallowed it. And if even the Chinese tell you to not eat something you ate, you know you're in trouble. Heavy diarrhea the next days were my punishment.
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
To be fair, it's probably well-known by the Chinese people culturally that you don't eat the plastic-like thing (whatever it was.) They probably all know to remove it before consuming the item. It may be left there or placed there during preparation to make the dish look fancy/etc. I imagine it isn't left in arbitrarily.
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Greenmantle 2 years ago
The egg yolk thing might have been sea urchin. The roe is an orange yellow colour
Mouse 2 years ago
Fond memory of work trip to China. Made a point to try everything once to not be that offensive american. One soup like dish just seemed like globs if something I could not place. Asked coworker next to me what it was.... "how you say.... blood?" It was blood clot soup. I am not a fan.
Keenan Wright 2 years ago
Sounds like it! and Uni is a delicacy in so many places
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Amanda Hunter 2 years ago
I inadvertently went to an authentic Chinese restaurant once, boiled Chicken feet, and all sorts of real Chinese food.
#17
Balut - boiled, fertilized duck egg embryo. In the shell.
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago (edited)
Generally, no, balut is more or less is a fertilized egg that is simply cooked (usually boiled), generally two to three weeks after it is laid. The boiled embryo and its yolk then are usually served fresh, while still hot from the boiling. (The embryo is still usually fairly undeveloped at two weeks. Duck eggs usually hatch at four weeks.) They generally are not "aged" or preserved before being consumed. You might be thinking of Thousand Year eggs/Century eggs (pídàn), which are aged and preserved before consumption. Century eggs are unfertilized eggs, though.
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Susan Robinson 2 years ago
Anyone ever tried century eggs? Or those eggs that are fermented in virgin-boy urine? 🤮🤮🤮 I haven’t tried them…and never will
Lakota Wolf (she/her) 2 years ago
I eat century eggs regularly :) I'm white af but my boyfriend is Chinese (we've been together 23 years.) I personally love century eggs. The albumen has a wonderful firm-jello texture. The yolk is smooth, creamy, and rich in earthy, eggy flavor. Generally you slice the egg into fourths or eighths and pour a little soy sauce over them. IIRC "virgin boy eggs" are only eaten in one city in China, and were historically made because of a lack of normal preservation methods. I haven't tried the virgin-boy eggs myself and I don't think I would, either XD
Load More Replies... Lisa Walters 2 years ago
I feel for you. I had to do it. My ex was from Thailand, I ate some strange stuff.
#18
Having dinner in the home of a local family while in Iran with about six other people. We were served homemade rose water which can be ok but this was very intense. The hosts left the room for a bit and the rest of the group refused to drink the rose water as they didn’t like it. This would have been such an insult to our hosts. So I had to quickly scull seven glasses of it. When the hosts returned they were so proud and honoured we liked it that they asked if we wanted more and started to pour - I shut it down immediately insisting we were saving ourselves for dinner but thank you so much. Ridiculous.
Bec 2 years ago
My aunt had a story about tossing alcoholic shots into a potted plant behind her when out drinking with her younger colleagues, they must have thought she could really hold her liquor:D
Cold Eagle 2 years ago
I have visions of a cartoon potted plant totally blitzed! :D
Load More Replies... #19
A friend of my spouse, who I had always known to be a good cook, invited us over for a "special family recipe." It's easiest to write it as a recipe: Boil 8 large potatoes in plain water until mashable. Mash them and spread in a casserole dish. In a separate pot, pour one bottle of Sweet Baby Ray's and turn on low heat. Dice 1 green bell pepper and add it to the sauce. Pour the sauce over the potatoes. Butterfly 8 hot dogs and put them on top of the sauce. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove. Makes 8 servings. It was absolutely vile.
Jason 2 years ago
It sounds pretty gross but a very cheap meal. Maybe it's all they could afford
Keenan Wright 2 years ago
to be fair.. you could saute the bell peppers with salt and pepper, add cut up hotdogs until crispy. then serve over the mashed potato with a bit of bbq sauce. orrr.. cut potatoes into quarters, season and bake till crispy. Then smoke the hot dogs, basting with the Sweet Baby Ray's sauce intil they're crispy and like burnt ends. garnish with saute peppers.
Load More Replies... Suzy Creamcheese 2 years ago
I don't care for those sickeningly sweet brown sugar and molasses concoctions some people think are barbecue sauce, including Sweet Baby Ray's. Give me spicy over sweet any day.
Meghan Wood 2 years ago
I like the way the sugary ones caramelize on the grill, but unless it’s grilled it’s cloyingly sweet
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Bec 2 years ago
My mom makes these little meatballs you put in the crockpot, people love them. The sauce is a jar of grape jelly mixed with bbq sauce. I told my husband he had to try it first and then I would tell the recipe.
thatbisexualtacocat 2 years ago
Sweet Baby Ray's is really yummy. This dish probably ruined the sauce
Gabriela Cink 2 years ago
Sooo mashed potatos, bbq sauce and hotdogs baked? Pfff, they tried to feed you not impress you.
#20
Gefilte fish… both my grandmother and my great aunt used to make it - to say it was awful is an understatement. Whenever we’d go over to either of their places when I was a kid (which was unfortunately often), it’d be there, on the dinner table, and I’d be forced to politely eat it while my mum would be giving me a very hard stare from across the table and silently mouthing the words “don’t you *dare* spit that out” I know some people like it, I know it’s a cultural thing for a lot of folks… but I don’t care dammit, gefilte fish is one of the nastiest foods known to mankind. 100% don’t recommend.
Elizabeth Elliot 2 years ago
..If they're eating gefilte fish they're probably a brother in Abraham!
Load More Replies... Michelle C 2 years ago
I absolutely love gefilte fish and I’m not going to apologize for that ever! I do understand why some people dislike it, though.
Max Fox 2 years ago
I guess that your family comes from the side of the Gefilte Fish Line which makes it sweet. The best way is to actually make it "gefilte", i.e, stuffed. You actually stuff the fish and poach it, not make fish cakes, which is what they did because grinding up the fish makes it last longer.
Spocks's Mom 2 years ago
I am curious as to what this tastes like. I always heard Howard on "Big Bang Theory" talk it up. Can anyone be kind and explain the taste/texture, or if you have a source in Southeast Tennessee you can divulge...
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
Agree 100%, I have tried a lot of things and gefilte fish has to be one of the nastiest things I have ever tasted
talliloo 2 years ago
gefilte fish is a cultural food and i guess it is an acquired taste. i love it and since i am the only one in the current family that does i don't eat it much. basically because it is hard to find where i live but once in a great while during passover some store will order a few jars and i dive in. got to have horseradish and bubbies pickles to so with it as well as some matzah on the side
Abner_Mality 2 years ago
Gefilte fish, good gefilte fish, on a leaf of butter lettuce with red horseradish... Makes my mouth water! Delicious!!
Steve Robert 2 years ago
Gelfilte fish, made mostly with ground up white fish, with a side of horseradish sauce, is really delicious!
#21
My husband put moldy butter on his pancakes AFTER I pointed out there was green mold in the container and growing on the butter. It wasn’t until he saw the black mold on the lid that he decided he had made a mistake. He didn’t want to hurt my mom’s feelings. My mom liked to keep her butter on the counter but would re-use the same container without cleaning it for weeks, maybe even months. I called it her science project.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
What doesn't kill you, might just have you race to the toilet....
rullyman 2 years ago
If it comes in a tub, it's not real butter. Real butter can be kept at normal room temperature, but will eventually go rancid. I guess fake butter goes mouldy eww
Spocks's Mom 2 years ago
I am talented to the point I made my real butter grow black mold. I forgot to add water to my butter bell for quite a while. That's when I decided I wasn't mature enough to own a butter bell at the fresh age of 46.
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Gabriela Cink 2 years ago (edited)
Thank you, exactly my first thought. Never saw moldy butter. Only old butter which stinks... like old butter, which is way how fats degrade.
Load More Replies... Auntriarch 2 years ago
Whenever we visited my mother in law I would clean the fridge, and bin items as necessary. We called it the microbiology cabinet
Jason 2 years ago
Bought Sam's club muffins. I was broke and loved them. Brought them on a extended road trip. They went bad a few days in. Couldn't wait to get home and eat the rest of the good muffins. Walked into the house grabbed one from the fridge and started telling my roommates about the trip while stuffing my face. Wondered how I grabbed a cheese muffin when I should only have blueberry muffins. Then realized there is no such thing as cheese muffin. Didn't eat muffins for years after
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
If you're eating muffins again, try freezing them. I buy CostCo muffins (2 packs of 6 big muffins) and could never finish them before they molded. I freeze 6 of them, 3 into the refrigerator, 3 on the counter. The six in the freezer will stay good for months, just defrost them in the refrigerator for best results. Just a suggestion.
Load More Replies... Greenmantle 2 years ago
My mother has a cast iron stomach from growing up poor. Even still, she's managed to make herself and me sick more than a few times. One time we left my grandparent's house (her parents) and she told me to throw out the jam sandwich Nan had made. I was baffled and mum will eat anything but she told me that the jam had been in the fridge for 10 years and had a hair in it. (Nan was in her late 70s at the time).
Snap panda 2 years ago
This was my aunt a biologist and botanist left food all over the counter. Mold huh that was OK its just penicillin 😫
SnackbarKaat 2 years ago
anytime we visit my parents and join a meal, we visually check the food and if it has smell on it, to be sure it's not expired or has mold. As a child I had molded waffles, molded bread, sour soup and even ants in my biscuits. It's a trauma, needless to say.
#22
I manage to fake it. My friend had never cooked a turkey before. It looked like the cover of a magazine with fruit all around it. But was pink. She said she cooked it a couple hours less than the directions said.
Cue me: sneaking out to the kitchen and microwaving my plate when she was distracted.
Mark Mark 2 years ago
I would've left her to it, she'll find out sooner or later.
Load More Replies... Meghan Wood 2 years ago
I deep friend the turkey for our family. I had never even cooked a turkey before. I left the bag of gizzards inside and deep fried the whole thing.
Susan Robinson 2 years ago
Remember the turkey from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation? That looked beautiful on the outside, too!
Spittnimage 2 years ago
Why did she not cook it as long as directions said? She get tired of waiting to eat?
TheGoodBoi 2 years ago
We smoke our turkey and deep fry another one. One year, the thermometer sensor broke (Couldn't tell because it still showed a reading) and we accidentally burnt the hell out of it in the smoker. We thought Thanksgiving was ruined because we had a black turkey. Turned out the meat was amazing! Just take the charred skin off lol.
LandAhoy 2 years ago
I'm unsure how deep frying a turkey would work- how long do you do it for? It would seem with such a hot temperature that it might be difficult to get the inside cooked without the outer layers being overcooked?
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#23
Extremely salty stir-fry.
New roommate wanted to cook dinner for me, she was so happy she made something from scratch I didn't want to crush her enthusiasm so I powered through and ate it drowning it in plum sauce. I found out later she used an entire bouillon cube for like 3 tbsp of liquid.
Sue User 2 years ago
A boyfriend of mine once made yellow curry. Instead of using 1 tablespoon, he used the whole can. ( Bit smaller than a tuna can).
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
Wow, bet that was some strong curry! Enough for what....7 or 8 meals in one dish. I love curry, but that would have been too much even for me.
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Kerry Borthwick 2 years ago
I accidently salt poisoned bf making a stir fry because of my dyspraxia and dyslexia I got my soy sauce measurement wrong
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
Been there done that...personally, when I'm stir frying now, if I'm using a recipe, I just use it as a suggestion and cook to taste. I sample frequently to adjust flavors.
Load More Replies... #24
Handkase mit musik. It's a regional dish in Hessen, Germany. Imagine a rancid cheese-flavoured neoprene hockey puck marinated in vinegar. It was like a tramp's a**e Feta. 30 years later it still turns my stomach.
Bobankinstein 2 years ago (edited)
Noo! I love this and ate it often when I lived there. The 'mit musik' part refers to the raw onions you eat it with. It means with music, because the onions make you fart!!! :)
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
I'm a huge fan of other types of acid-set cheeses, so I bet I'd like handkäse :D
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sturmwesen 2 years ago
definitely not for everyone with the smell of rancid feet. I prefer "stadtwurst mit musik"
#25
I used to teach an English class for low literacy adults, most of whom were older folks from Bhutan. One day, one of my students offered me something that looked like an eraser and, without thinking, I accepted it. He then encouraged me to put this unrecognizable object in my mouth. It turns out it was chhurpi, which is a preserved cheese made of yak's milk that's popular in Nepal and Bhutan. It is as hard as a rock 🥲 I'm pretty open to new foods, but without any warning or context, it was pretty unpleasant.
Lakota Wolf 2 years ago
I haven't tried "yak cheese" myself, but my dog Stilgar LOVES his yak cheese chews XD They smell okay to me (not saying I'd try the ones made for dogs, lol.) From what I've read, you're supposed to slowly chew/masticate the cheese for a long time, not really "eat" it immediately.
Daft Mosquito 2 years ago
Sounds similar to Middle Asian Kurt (Qurut, Kashk). Basically, salted thick yoghurt rolled into small balls and sun-dried to a stone condition. Yummy. And very practical for nomadic life.
Partycat 2 years ago
I was in same situation, when I invited my Mongolian friend for a dinner. She brought something very similar to chhurpi as a gift (probably from cow milk). It was hard as stone without any particular taste. Funny that it is considered a dessert there. I ate some and said I will finish it later (that was a really big chunk).
Sami-Jo Ross 2 years ago (edited)
The idea with chhurpi is you're supposed to let it soften in your mouth and then chew it like gum.
#26
Beef bile soup in Laos, definitely an acquired taste.
BakedKahuna 2 years ago
Why so judgy? On one hand food waste is a known problem, on the other hand I feel like people who don't mind using most of the animal parts are looked down on. I find it cynical to take the life from an animal just to have the filets and throw the rest away.
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Sue From Michigan 2 years ago
A lot of "acquired taste" food was originally made by starving people who had no choice but to eat it.
TomCat 2 years ago
I went to a Loatian party last week. Friends of my husband whom I've never met before. I wanted to make a good impression and also not be rude. It was a buffet and I tried everything. For the most part, it was delicious! I skipped over the boiled eggs that had a hole punched in the shell so you could see the green egg. There was some sort of chicken salad (I was told) that had couscous. That was delicious!
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
Not really, bile is a digestive fluid stored in the gall bladder. Nasty stuff. Menudo just uses the stomach lining.
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Appalachian Panda 2 years ago
Okay, I understand eating organs and brains and tripe, but bile? That seems like one step too far.
#27
I’m the chef at a high end private school in NYC. I took the job 13 years ago for the hours and time I’d have with family. Eventually, it became more about the kids and exposing them to foods they may never have tried on their own. Anyway… every year it’s inevitable that one of the younger grades will bake something as a class project and I’ll be brought a plate or piece to eat. I know the banana bread is probably 10% boogers and that little Asher and Imogen didn’t wash their hands before they added the chocolate chips to the cookie dough.. but they always wait to see me take a bite. So I choke it down, force a grin and an enthusiastic “So Yummy!” because when I do, they’re so happy they could s**t.. and because after all this time seeing their hyperactive little faces go all googly-eyed with glee makes me so happy that I could s**t. I love those little f*****s.. well, most of them. TLDR, I eat grade school student’s classroom made baked goods which are sure to be full of boogers and poop particles cause I don’t want to break their hearts when I say, no thank you.
Jake B 2 years ago
Why don’t you give a lesson in hygiene? Also, the heat of baking would kill most germs, if not all. Any food scientist out there?
Jason 2 years ago
lol I give my son hygiene lessons like 15 times a day. Constant battle. Most recently not making fart noises that bathe the table and food in spit particles. Doubles as a manners lesson
Load More Replies... Susan Robinson 2 years ago
This story has a lot of people s******g because they are so happy. Perhaps it is food poisoning rather than happiness? 😂 j/k
Eastendbird 2 years ago
Teacher for 30+ years, food appears in the staffroom and you're told to help yourself? Your first question is "Did the kids touch it?"
Mojo Flizash 2 years ago
Meh...I love the thought that they think of the OP and that his opinion would be validation of a job well done. I love kids and glad I've taught my sons to cook. Now they're in High School and I frequently come home from work (around 5pm ) to a home cooked meal.
Mike Fitzpatrick 2 years ago
You're great. You make the little beasties feel good and that means a lot.
#28
Not questionable really because I don’t have an issue with it, but we recently stayed with family in Bosnia who were feeding us delicious meal after delicious meal. Sujuk sausage featured heavily at breakfast time, along with another type called Kulen. One morning after being asked what we preferred for breakfast, I said ‘damn if I had to choose, I think I like Sujuk way better than Kulen’ They replied ‘it’s because our Sujuk has a lot of horse meat in it!’ I still ate it every morning, they were correct, it made it extra delicious. Another time in a village outside of Sapa, Vietnam I was starving and grabbed some mystery meat off a grill on the street. They weren’t able to tell me what meat it was. Definitely was not pork, beef, chicken or lamb. I don’t think I want to know.
Roan The Demon Kitty 2 years ago
Honestly, it is. I don't understand why some people have this taboo about eating certain animals. Why is it different than eating a cow or a pig? I think I draw the line at cat/dog meat, though, personally. Which may make me hypocritical, but I just.. could never
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Skure 2 years ago
Bosnian here... I believe the made a joke. Horse meat is too rare, and expensive af. Sudžuk (sujuk) and Kuken are so simmilar except that Kulen have more pepper and it may contain pork meat. Majority of people are muslims or they respect islamic way of life, so I assume your Kulen eas without pork meat. Both, ussualy contain beef/lamb meat, salt, pepper. Also, without chicken. Trust me, there is less than 1000 horses in Bosnia, no one will use their meat.
Mojo Flizash 2 years ago
Less than a thousand horses in all of Bosnia? Wow. Didn't expect that. Thanks for the knowledge
Load More Replies... Eastendbird 2 years ago
Had a similar experience in southern Italy. Went to a small town restaurant in the Salento, it was run by a couple, Dad served, Mum cooked. You paid 25€ each and you ate what they served. Only realised we'd eaten horsemeat afterwards when talking to the Dad. It was good, I've eaten it again, since.
Kim Steffen 2 years ago
I was in Mexico in the early 1970s, and one evening I had a steak called filet de res. It was thin, and tender and juicy. When I got back to the hotel, I looked in my Spanish English dictionary for res. It was defined as any animal larger than a dog. It was really good though.
Mojo Flizash 2 years ago
Hippophagy. The eating of horse. I personally would love to try it but it's illegal in the U.S. due to lack of proper oversight.
#29
I finished working out at the Gym and my instructor and I went to eat a corn cob snack from some old man off the side of the road.
We ordered our cobs and before handing them to us, the old dude sneezes all over them. My instructor stares at me and goes "don't be rude" and he starts eating it. I had a serious lapse in judgement and joined.
Yup. That experience changed my life and now I never do something I don't wanna. Old man throat germs can change one's life.
#30
When my sister was little she wanted to make cupcakes for the family and she forgot to put sugar in. They tasted like unscented soap but we took some bites to make her feel better.
Robert Beveridge 2 years ago
When I was 7 I made a chocolate mousse all by myself. I was proud as anything. Then I tasted it and that is the day I learned that not all chocolate had the same percentage of cacao--and that bakers chocolate is 100%. I ate that whole damn bowl because I'm stubborn.
Mojo Flizash 2 years ago
Oof. I remember sneaking Bakers Chocolate from my grandma's cupboard as a kid. Won't do that again.
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Mary Mosher 2 years ago
I made this beautiful batch of tea biscuits, lovely golden brown, and they had risen twice high at least. Problem was ... they tasted hideous! I just couldn't figure out why ... I had followed the recipe very carefully. My mother read over it (her handwritten recipe) and admitted she had made a mistake - she had written baking soda instead of baking powder for the leavening. Have never tasted a more vile quick bread!
Valdezinator 2 years ago
One time I was making banana pancakes and accidently added baking soda instead of baking powder in a recipe that already had salt in it!
Load More Replies... Jason 2 years ago
I was on an angel food cake kick back in the day. Got good at it. One day I thought oh I should add blueberries. Maybe I will add a little cream to the blueberries that should be good. Basically turned into an blueberry omelet
Randy Klefbeck 2 years ago
My brother and friend when they were in third grade did their very first pumpkin pie. It was beautiful.....they mixed up the amounts of sugar vs. ginger however.
#31
I was in a small rural town for work and ended up meeting a man who invited me over to meet his wife. I went by on an afternoon with my coworkers, and she asked me if I’d like a piece of homemade cake. Even though I’m choosy with food I buy, my mindset is that I’m always going to respect the food that people make for their friends and families. I’ve had things before that didn’t quite strike right the first time or were an acquired taste, but I considered those learning experiences. The cake, though, was just pure sugar. She gave me a whopping slice and I literally couldn’t detect any other taste but sugar. I would have just nibbled and out it aside but the couple were both watching me closely and asked me repeatedly if it was okay each time I slowed. It was sooooo gross and I ate the whole thing.
Mojo Flizash 2 years ago
I'd be more freaked out by the people staring and watching you eat the whole time.
#32
A type of north African Aubergine salad, similar to baba ganoush made by my friends wife.
She had sliced aubergines lengthways in a baking pan with no oil or seasonings apart from salt, then covered the entire pan in ranch dressing and chopped up one Tomato to go over the top. She left the skins on the aubergines. It was like eating warm leather drenched in ranch, it was vile and I had 2 bites then never ate anything she cooked ever again.
NAS 2 years ago
They make for a wonderful eggplant Parmesan. You just need to know how to drain them and cook them. We've been cooking them for generations.
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Susan Robinson 2 years ago
This picture looks like an American Thanksgiving dinner that was immediately thrown up after eating it ☹️🤮
#33
A vegan cheesecake that tasted like half a bottle of Dawn was dumped in it. Literally NO idea how she got that flavor into it, unless she had soap on her utensils or pan.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
Ugh, sounds so disgusting. Hate the taste of soap from the cookware in my food
kath morgan 2 years ago
I wonder if she used a lemon oil instead of fresh lemon, I have had cheap lemon cakes that taste like washing up liquid before.
ninjaTrashPandaBoom 2 years ago
cheap lemon essential oil has ruined many desserts
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Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
She has hard water (mineral-rich or calciferous water). It makes it much harder to rinse the dish soap off. Cold water helps.
Nay Wilson 2 years ago
Many years ago my grandmother made a flapjack and accidentally spilled a bottle of washing up liquid onto a piece of it. She wiped the washing liquid off and thought it would be ok so she served it. I got the slice with the washing up liquid residue. It was not ok at all
Biscuitbot 2 years ago
"Vegans shouldn't be able to eat anything that resembles a cheesecake, they've made their choice 😡" 😂
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#34
I dated a woman once that said she was an amazing cook.
The first time she cooked for me she put an unseasoned sirloin steak in the over for 30 minutes
Then she boiled a bag of frozen veg and a few potatoes
She served the well done steak, boiled veg and boiled potatoes with her choice of sauces, BBQ and ketchup
I wish I was making it up.
I ate it out of politeness, wasn’t a huge deal because I’m actually a good cook. We dated for a few more months and it fizzled our
Jason 2 years ago
I know plenty of people that eat steak well done with various sauces. It doesn't match my tastes. Give me a seasoned reverse sear cut medium rare and it's all the flavor I need
Spocks's Mom 2 years ago
I like my steak rare to medium rare and anything more done than that is ruined. I know this is dumb, but I get so embarrassed eating out in nice restaurants (or any restaurants for that matter) with my extended family. They will ask for well done prime rib or another expensive cut and then ask for a side of butter to moisten the steak. I know it's a "me" problem, but I just want to shrink back into the bushes.
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Kathrin Pukowsky 2 years ago
I'm wary of people that claim to be "good cooks". From my experience it means they expect you to marvel at their food no matter whether it fits your usual taste or not, just because they made it in a fancy way or some gourmet chef claims their way is how it's done. I love sour. If I were to serve guests my usual salad dressing, their faces would turn inside out, so I adjust it. And that's the thing with "good cooks": They would serve you the dressing the way THEY like it and if YOU don't, you "just don't know any better". If you ask somebody about their cooking skill and they hesitate for a second or say "it's alright", you are far more likely to have an enjoyable meal at their place, because they don't have the "my way or the highway"-mindset.
Erick Blood 2 years ago
My wife lies her steak well done too. I have found a way to make it amazing for her. Sear for 5 minutes a side and then move it to the cold side of the grill. After I have done that for her, I put mine on and cook it medium rare while her roasts to the appropriate temp on the grill. Everyone wins
Brian Droste 2 years ago
I like my steak cook all the way through. Not well done. Not medium. In between. If there is a slight pink that is okay.
#35
Sea Cucumber. I was in China and our host bought one for everyone at the table. I was told it was a delicacy and expensive. So I ate the whole thing, despite the disgusting taste and texture.
SCamp 2 years ago
Can vouch for this, it is gross. Pro tip: when in this situation have a large liquid chaser ready to go. With luck and a deft hand, none of the sea cucumber need touch your throat on the way down
Remi (He/Him) 2 years ago
Second tip: You can leave some on your plate in China. Otherwise people might think you haven't had enough of the delicacy in question and will bring you more
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Coyote Osborne 2 years ago
I've had it many times, cooked in soups or stir fried. I found it delicate and pleasant tasting.
#36
Served glasses of wine at a friend's house. It was dark (leaning towards brown), a little dense and tasted pretty meh - something was definitely off. While passing through the kitchen later, I saw the bottle - it was a rose! That's some serious oxidation.
LittleWombat 2 years ago
I've known cheap family friends that would do this. They'd also serve Christmas cookies that they'd frozen from the prior year and defrosted (NOT good!!) and lots of other gross things that came from being cheap. I love them, but yuck!
#37
Overworked, 1/8” thick hand-rolled pasta with a tomato sauce the main ingredient which was literally vinegar. It’s a “secret recipe” for a reason
#38
Back home (Hawaii) I came "this close" once to eating a Filipino balut. I held it in my hand, smelled it, and that is one of the few things I simply could not put into my mouth, no matter how polite I wanted to be.
#39
Bat soup in Palau. A whole a*s bat just plopped into a pot of broth and served to me still 100% intact in a bowl. It was my first time meeting my Palauan Uncle and it was a big deal for me to come visit the island so I felt obligated to try their local foods, especially in front of 20 of his family members. It wasn’t all that bad though.
#40
Crepe square with raw egg white. (The idea is that you fold a fried egg in a round crepe so that it forms a square with the yolk at the centre, very pretty, but she didn't cook it long enough and the egg white was raw.)
Widdershins66 2 years ago
I cannot bear snotty eggs!!! My mum (appalling cook) used to force us to eat the under cooked whites 🤮. I was an adept chef from an early age, around 8, due to my lovely Nana, RIP ❤️
Mike Fitzpatrick 2 years ago
My paternal grandpa when asked how he wanted his eggs would reply "cook the snot off em". Not a bit of a lie.
Load More Replies... #41
As a child of about 12 IIRC, I went over to a new friends house for dinner. Her mother served salt – cured Virginia ham. Was the saltiest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life. I cleared my plate, to be polite because that’s what you do. My friend’s mom took that as a sign that I adored her dinner, fed me another helping… And another… And another. I have literally not been able to eat ham since, that was ~30 years ago. Can’t stand the smell of it either.
Anonymouse 2 years ago
Had a situation like that - that is when I realized that some families are taught to clean their plate, and some are taught to leave some to indicate that they have had enough. Every time I cleaned my plate, grandma would load it up, I finally realized others had left some and wised up.
Mike Fitzpatrick 2 years ago
There's an art to eating that stuff. I have always cut it into fairly small pieces, and ate a bit with each bite of the other food on the plate. Just remember to salt nothing on your plate as the ham would take care of that. We ate it regularly when I was growing up, that's when I perfected my "technique".
#42
I liked this girl who was a little crunchy. She decided to throw a little party at her apartment and I came early to help her set up. She prepared a really large bowl with just hunks of raw beet and fennel bulb - no salt, no oil, just big, raw, hunks. Needless to say, no one touched that bowl. But I didn’t want her to feel bad, so every time her back was turned, I ate those raw hunks. It was awful. I felt so sick by the end, but I finished the bowl and she was really pleased that her dish was popular. At the end of the night, she kicked everyone out, including me, so she could have sex with my boss :(
Li’l E. 2 years ago
Like “crunchy granola.” Kind of a hippy, into raw foods sorta thing.0
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No Clue 2 years ago
I thought it said "raw beef"! Went back and read it after seeing the "health nut" comments. Whew!
Load More Replies... #43
Went to a friend’s house for dinner and his girlfriend, who I didn’t know well, made spaghetti with tomato sauce. The spaghetti was so overcooked it had kind of disintegrated into tiny pieces so it was more like a tomato soup with flecks of mushy noodle in it. I was shocked that anyone would eat pasta this way but I ate it. Can I add a bonus terrible meal that I made? I had a stage of experimenting with healthy deserts and I made a friend zucchini chocolate cake (good) with chocolate avocado icing (disgusting). She politely ate it and now, 15 years later, she doesn’t remember it. So I’m pretty sure she blocked it out.
#44
My neighbors and I cook for each other almost every weekend and rotate between homes, but one of our neighbors is a pescatarian. So we have tried to adapt our dishes to fit their dietary restrictions. Another neighbor is Filipino and wanted to make us a traditional dish, pancit palabok, but it usually has pork in it. Idk if they just didn’t make it right or they left out some ingredients or steps but it tasted like rubbery shrimp drowning in flavorless orange goo. It was so hard to choke down especially as it got cold bc it took so long to eat.
#45
It was a gyro. Normally I love gyros. I had been in Athens chatting with the guy who ran the shop and he asked me if I missed home. The answer was "not really, I'm very happy to be here'. But I guess he didn't believe me. He said he was going to make one special for my friend and I. He ended up just drowning it in ketchup and mustard. I don't like ketchup all that much but he was so proud of it for some reason, so we just ate it.
Persephone 2 years ago
I'm guessing you were American and he hates Americans... I can't stand Ketchup; mustard is only acceptable in certain things.
What do you think ?
Lara Verne 2 years ago
I don't know why people thinks it's rude to simply say 'Sorry, I won't eat this' 'Sorry, I don't like how it tastes' . I always did this when I was served food I hate and it offended a lot of people. Sorry not sorry, I'm not gonna eat it and you can't make me.
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
When I was a kid, one of my dad's colleagues and his wife invited our family to dinner. The meal was fine, if unimaginative, but the horror of the dessert still makes me shudder. It purported to be a traditional suet pudding. I'm unsure what it actually was. It tasted simultaneously of wild game, offal, and sugar. The texture was reminiscent of a dish sponge that had been soaked in liquid lard. I tried to be polite, but the first bite landed in my gut like an anvil, scaring the rest of my meal and threatening to climb back up my esophagus.
Jaime Brosnan 2 years ago
When I was in high school I was a vegan. I was invited over to my friend's house for dinner and he told his mom that I didn't eat any meat or consume animal products. She was going to cook a lovely Portuguese meal for me but all of her signature dishes were heavy on meat. So she did her research and found out that pasta, while boring, would be an acceptable dish. The night I went over she was so proud. She presents me with a large plate of spaghetti with a very thick and rich looking MEAT SAUCE! My friend was mortified. Like, mom, how could you think meat sauce was vegan? She was such a nice lady though I did my best and my friend helped me by finishing the rest. The entire time I kept telling myself that while eating meat was unacceptable to me that throwing away the meat from this animal that had died was worse. It worked. I got through the meal
Jeff (He/They) 2 years ago
Yeah, I'm a vegan myself, but I'll eat certain animal products if they're gonna be wasted and thrown out. I'm not comfortable eating meat, but I'll gladly take something with egg or milk in it rather than have it wasted
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Ms.GB 2 years ago
I've eaten a few disgusting things to be polite. I remember I hated tomatoes as a kid but I would just chew up fast and swallow it if someone's parent made it for me, once I ate expired hamburger at someone's home...I could tell because of the smell when she was cooking it but apparently the rest of the family was used to it...yes I got sick later.
Mark Fuller 2 years ago
Not revolting by any stretch, but I don't eat seafood due to a childhood allergy that I think I've grown out of. But politely accepted and consumed a large portion of salmon pate as a starter at a friends house. Strategy: spread small amount on large piece of bread, hold breath, chew rapidly, swallow ASAP and chase with swig of wine. I was pissed before the main course arrived!
BakedKahuna 2 years ago
It was partly amusing to read through the comments. Especially those regarding different animal parts that one wouldn't find in a western grocery store. I don't mind chicken feet, tripe, liver, chicken and duck hearts etc. But I can't get myself to eat overcooked pasta and I'm not sure, if I would try biscuit and gravy, as it looks like vomit to me.
brittany 2 years ago
so...i might be the bad food problem. there is one food that i love and everyone thinks im nuts (i do not serve it to anyone because i know its weird). i love peanut butter and onion sandwiches (thanks Fred Savage). yes, peanut butter on bread and slices of onion. i would never serve one to a person unless they specifically asked to try it and im fully aware its odd. cant explain it, i just like it
BakedKahuna 2 years ago
I'm curious, how did you even come up with that combination? I like both, but can't imagine to have it together 😅 Although cheese with raw onions on a sandwich is yum.
Load More Replies... Lara Verne 2 years ago
I don't know why people thinks it's rude to simply say 'Sorry, I won't eat this' 'Sorry, I don't like how it tastes' . I always did this when I was served food I hate and it offended a lot of people. Sorry not sorry, I'm not gonna eat it and you can't make me.
Nikki Sevven 2 years ago
When I was a kid, one of my dad's colleagues and his wife invited our family to dinner. The meal was fine, if unimaginative, but the horror of the dessert still makes me shudder. It purported to be a traditional suet pudding. I'm unsure what it actually was. It tasted simultaneously of wild game, offal, and sugar. The texture was reminiscent of a dish sponge that had been soaked in liquid lard. I tried to be polite, but the first bite landed in my gut like an anvil, scaring the rest of my meal and threatening to climb back up my esophagus.
Jaime Brosnan 2 years ago
When I was in high school I was a vegan. I was invited over to my friend's house for dinner and he told his mom that I didn't eat any meat or consume animal products. She was going to cook a lovely Portuguese meal for me but all of her signature dishes were heavy on meat. So she did her research and found out that pasta, while boring, would be an acceptable dish. The night I went over she was so proud. She presents me with a large plate of spaghetti with a very thick and rich looking MEAT SAUCE! My friend was mortified. Like, mom, how could you think meat sauce was vegan? She was such a nice lady though I did my best and my friend helped me by finishing the rest. The entire time I kept telling myself that while eating meat was unacceptable to me that throwing away the meat from this animal that had died was worse. It worked. I got through the meal
Jeff (He/They) 2 years ago
Yeah, I'm a vegan myself, but I'll eat certain animal products if they're gonna be wasted and thrown out. I'm not comfortable eating meat, but I'll gladly take something with egg or milk in it rather than have it wasted
Load More Replies... Ms.GB 2 years ago
I've eaten a few disgusting things to be polite. I remember I hated tomatoes as a kid but I would just chew up fast and swallow it if someone's parent made it for me, once I ate expired hamburger at someone's home...I could tell because of the smell when she was cooking it but apparently the rest of the family was used to it...yes I got sick later.
Mark Fuller 2 years ago
Not revolting by any stretch, but I don't eat seafood due to a childhood allergy that I think I've grown out of. But politely accepted and consumed a large portion of salmon pate as a starter at a friends house. Strategy: spread small amount on large piece of bread, hold breath, chew rapidly, swallow ASAP and chase with swig of wine. I was pissed before the main course arrived!
BakedKahuna 2 years ago
It was partly amusing to read through the comments. Especially those regarding different animal parts that one wouldn't find in a western grocery store. I don't mind chicken feet, tripe, liver, chicken and duck hearts etc. But I can't get myself to eat overcooked pasta and I'm not sure, if I would try biscuit and gravy, as it looks like vomit to me.
brittany 2 years ago
so...i might be the bad food problem. there is one food that i love and everyone thinks im nuts (i do not serve it to anyone because i know its weird). i love peanut butter and onion sandwiches (thanks Fred Savage). yes, peanut butter on bread and slices of onion. i would never serve one to a person unless they specifically asked to try it and im fully aware its odd. cant explain it, i just like it
BakedKahuna 2 years ago
I'm curious, how did you even come up with that combination? I like both, but can't imagine to have it together 😅 Although cheese with raw onions on a sandwich is yum.
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