Learning to eat everything

[El Diablo]

Fish (cooked)
Sushi
Spinach
Tomatoes
Blue Cheese
Broccoli
Squash
Tea
Coffee
Whiskey

Those are some of a number of things that I did not like to eat/drink when I was younger. Some of these things I started to like in college, others much later.

I can give suggestions to anyone interested in giving those things a shot.

Every now and then, I'll try some things that I haven't liked in the past. Sometimes I still feel the same way. Other times I find myself enjoying stuff that I haven't tried in many years. Sometimes it's just a matter of time and changing tastes. Other times it's a new preparation or fresher or higher quality variety of something I've had before.

I feel like being able to eat and enjoy as wide an array of things as possible lets me take full advantage of different eating/drinking options I'm presented with. Being able to eat and enjoy the speciality of the house or region is great. So I'm trying to branch out and attack some of the last remaining things that I'm not a big fan of.

Shellfish is a big category. I don't really like the texture and often the flavor doesn't blow me away.

Oysters - I've given them a couple of chances. I don't really get it. Sorta slimy and not much taste besides saltiness. What should I try?

Lobster - I used to dislike it, but have gotten over that. I still don't get blown away by lobster. I'm gonna try lobster at the next really nice place I go to. How about trying this at a steak place? Is surf and turf at a nice steakhouse generally a really good version of lobster? Or should I go with a seafood place to get a really great lobster experience? How about the type of place? Do I need to go to a really expensive place to get a really tasty lobster?

Crab - Similar feelings to lobster. I have had crab meat in various stuff and it's fine, I just don't love it as much as others. Also seems like a lot of effort when you're working with whole crabs. I think I'm gonna try the classic San Francisco vietnamese garlic crab. Also during Dungeness crab season, tons of nice restaurants feature it, so I'll give that a try too. Any other crab stuff I should try?

Shrimp - Occassionally I'll have some shrimp in a spring roll, or in dim sum, or the sweet shrimp at a sushi place. I'm still not really into it, but don't totally hate it like I did.

Mussels - Have had like two and was not into it. A few french bistros around here have mussels/frites that people rave over. Not that expensive either. Maybe I'll give that a choice. Some of these places have various options of mussel preparation I guess w/ different sauces - any recommendations?

Clams - I guess I'm ok w/ clam chowder. Hmmm... Not even sure where you eat clams otherwise.

Cajun food is another category I'm not very into. Gumbo, jambalaya, all that sort of stuff, not really into it. Crawfish/crayfish, that grosses me out.

Pickles - I don't like dill pickles. But I do like bread and butter pickles a lot. And various other pickled foods. Maybe I'll give traditional dill pickles another shot.

Tomato juice - yuck!

That's all I can think of for now, but I'm sure there's more.

I'm hoping that other folks will post in this thread with things they don't like but are interested in giving another chance, so those of us who have gotten to like those things can give you some recommendations on what to try.

[Tron]

I'm not really sure how to go about liking foods that you've already tired and disliked, but I've recently (in the past few years) discovered what a bad idea it is to discriminate against foods based upon basically anything but taste or, to a lesser extent, smell.

For the longest time I, like many other people, was appalled by the basic concept of sushi. Then I actually tried it and I love it. The same thing occurred with guacamole, which I thought looked gross, and cheesecake, which I didn't like because of the name.

This is probably a problem that mainly afflicts children and adolescents, but I know there are at least a few people out there that are quick to state: "Ewwwww! Raw fish!" So don't be such a beezy and just try it.

[jeffnc]

Lobster and shrimp - either you like their texture/taste or you don't.

Oysters, I don't really see the point either. I like them with good cocktail sauce, but only because it reminds me of shrimp. I'd rather eat shrimp.

For crab, try a really good crab cake (from a top notch restaurant.) It will either be expensive, or filled with lots of bread and crap. If you don't like a really good crab cake (which is basically crab shaped like a hamburger), then no need to bother with crab shells etc.

Tuna - this can be grilled and can practically eat like a steak. Try a light red wine. I think a good quality Moulin a Vent goes great with tuna, and they are not very expensive.

Vegetables, fresh and steamed is the way to go. Maybe a little lemon butter. Broccoli, green beans, etc.

[7ontheline]

Hmm, don't like shellfish much? Honestly, it seems unlikely to me that you're going to all of a sudden love shellfish when you seem to have an issue with the taste/texture in general. Can't really think of a good way to learn - for crab I would eat black pepper crab or chili crab, which is easy to find. . .if you are in Singapore. SO good though.

I am also a lot less picky than I was - foods I have learned to love include mushrooms, salsa, vegetables (kind of in general, I guess), spicy foods, onions, garlic, sushi, tofu, beer, wine, and I'm sure a bunch of other things. For me a lot of it was not appreciating my native cuisine (Chinese) when I was younger and then realizing when I grew up a little that it was awesome and Western food sucks. (Well, mainstream American food sucks, at least.) Is there much shellfish in Indian food? I don't think so (at least as far as I know) so it may be more difficult for you. Easy for me, since Chinese people eat anything and everyything, right? Mmm, dog. . .(I have never eaten dog. Have eaten pigeon stomachs (pretty good), scorpions (meh), pig blood rice things (meh), and snake (yum))

Foods I still don't like:

Eggplant - slightly bitter, nasty texture
Uni (sea urchin) - slimy
Olives - not horrible, but so salty
Sea cucumber - slimy, really bad texture to me
Cartilage/tendon - same texture problem
Tomato juice - I agree, yuck.
Scotch/Whiskey - just never acquired the taste, I guess.

Of the above, the foods I would most like to learn to appreciate would be olives and scotch, so all advice is welcome. My advice to people trying new things would be to find dishes in which the food in question is mixed among others you like or is used as a vehicle for a strong sauce/flavor. Once you get acclimated you can move closer to the unadulterated flavor.

[jeffnc]

OK here's something I really can't eat. Spicy food. Some guys say they had to build up their "tolerance". But I really don't see the point. It's simply painful.

However I will eat some horseradish, hot mustard, or ginger. Those things have a different "heat" than jalapeno or tabasco. They don't cause me pain, and don't cause my face to sweat. Is there anything that might change my mind? Not that I feel like I'm missing something, but hot buffalo wings sure do seem to be popular.

[fmxda]

Tripe/gristle, weird organs such as tongue/liver
Lobster
Crab
Mussels
Clams
Oysters
Some fishy tasting cooked fish (e.g. mackerel)

These are the foods I've never liked as a child and still d on't.

I've realized really fishy-tasting fish taste good if they are very very fresh.

I've liked commonly disliked foods such as brussel sprouts, sushi, raw beef, etc. throughout my childhood. I don't find that my tastes have changed much.

[El Diablo]

All,

Steak Tartare is something I recently finally decided to try (about a year ago, actually). Previously, the idea of it just sorta grossed me out. It was delicious! I first had it at a late-night french bistro in NYC then had it at Delmonico Steakhouse in Vegas. Now it's a standard thing for me to order. Also, around the same time, I decided to give carpaccio a chance and love that too.

As for sushi, I used to not like unagi (yeah, weird, I know many people get started with that as the only thing they like) because of the texture. I gave it another shot a while back and really liked it. I've given uni a couple of tries but still don't like it. I'm going to give it another shot the next time I'm at a really nice sushi place.

[jeffnc]

Wow, olives are so good. I understand the point about salt. Can't think of any solution. Do you like olive oil? Try dipping bread in it, for starters. Try a good "extra virgin" olive oil.

[fmxda]

For people who ever never had raw beef before and would like to get acclimated to it, I would start with heavily seasoned (but fresh) meats such as uncooked bulgogi. Sesame oil, pepper, sugar, and garlic are all tastes that complement raw beef well.

[Aloysius]

Diablo:

[ QUOTE ]
I think I'm gonna try the classic San Francisco vietnamese garlic crab.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is Thanh Long still around? Love the drunken crab there (and of course the garlic noodles), if you haven't been. Same people who do Crustacean.

Crab >>> Lobster, imo. Crab itself is much tastier than lobster... which doesn't taste like much to me. Then again I never really look to order lobster or cook it (to me the perfect lobster is eaten in a lobster roll), so any suggestions would be cool.

Shrimp - hm, you know I never really started enjoying shrimp til I got more into Chinese food (specifically Shanghai-nese).

One way I've found myself enjoying things I never liked before is eating them in interesting preparations / presentations.

Actually for shrimp, I just had an interesting "live, sweet shrimp" dish at a Korean place. Basically they kill the shrimp right before serving it (severing the head). Presentation is heads sticking up in the middle, bodies in a circle around the heads. Eat the bodies. For a second course they deep fry the heads and then you eat that. Really good.

-Al