What food did you hate as a kid, only to find out your parents just didn't cook it well?

[gorcorps]

Just curious. I find I like a lot more vegetables than I did growing up because my mom would either used canned veggies (mushy and salty) or boil the crap out of them (mushy). Steaming or roasting them usually works well, and still retains a little bit of the fresh snap that some veggies have.

 

[mdram]

ditto on some veggies, they lacked flavor when i was younger.
guess my additions liven them up.

 

[sactoking]

Steak. I would always have hot dogs instead. It wasn't until I went to college that I learned a steak didn't have to be like leather.

 

[Stopsignhank]

Steak. I would always have hot dogs instead. It wasn't until I went to college that I learned a steak didn't have to be like leather.

Or Grey.

 

[FeuerFrei]

Cake frosting

Grilled cheese sandwiches

We were served canned stuff a lot. Hence I didn't like any vegetables. Who knew years later I'd be snacking on fistfuls of raw spinach? The canned spinach makes me retch - can't hardly swallow it.

I still don't like fish, thanks to my childhood. Sure tilapia's not bad, but I'll never buy it when there's land-based protein available.

 

[lxskllr]

We were served canned stuff a lot. Hence I didn't like any vegetables. Who knew years later I'd be snacking on fistfuls of raw spinach? The canned spinach makes me retch - can't hardly swallow it.

I like canned vegetables. It was actually my daughter who got me eating canned spinach. When she was little, the sitters fed her spinach right out of the can. She loved it. Tried it myself, and liked it pretty well.

I was a picky eater growing up. My mother was an acceptable cook, but I didn't eat anything. One thing I've turned around on is my mother's sauerkraut. She cooks it with meat, and the greasiness really bothers me. I like it plain. I didn't have a problem with that as a kid.

 

[DigDog]

My mum cooks like a wizard. So, no.

 

[vi edit]

Pretty much everything. Every food was overcooked, mushy and flavorless. Yay Irish cuisine.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Almost everything. My mother is a shitty cook, probably because my father was an idiot eater who would eat little except meat cooked to the consistency of shoe leather and potatoes. Steaks, roasts, pork chops, chicken, it was all tough and dry and awful. That's how and why I learned to cook, if I wanted something good I had to make it myself.

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Nothing. I'm the youngest of four. If I hesitated, it was gone.

 

[FeuerFrei]

I like canned vegetables. It was actually my daughter who got me eating canned spinach. When she was little, the sitters fed her spinach right out of the can. She loved it. Tried it myself, and liked it pretty well.

Kiddie food from a jar? don't they mix in sweetener or juices to render it more palatable?

Mine was always simmered on the stove before eating. Who eats from a can? Bums.

 

[lxskllr]

Kiddie food from a jar? don't they mix in sweetener or juices to render it more palatable?

Mine was always simmered on the stove before eating. Who eats from a can? Bums.

Nope, spinach from a can :^D I used to send her to school with canned vegetables and a p38 opener. Might look funny, but I guarantee she had some of the healthiest lunches in school.

I eat some veggies cold straight from the can sometimes. I especially like green beans and potatoes that way. Beets are good too.

 

[Ns1]

brussel sprouts, french toast, bone marrow

 

[Exterous]

Steak. I would always have hot dogs instead. It wasn't until I went to college that I learned a steak didn't have to be like leather.

Yeah I had that issue for most meats - chicken breast, steak, pork chops were all cooked to a near inedible level

 

[sandorski]

Broccoli, always overcooked, mushy, nasty tasting. Now it's awesome.

 

[lxskllr]

Broccoli, always overcooked, mushy, nasty tasting. Now it's awesome.

Thinking about it, my mother overcooked veggies too. I can eat them like that now, though I don't like it much, but when I was little, that wasn't a good introductory experience. Might have been the reason I didn't eat much in the way of vegetables.

 

[Iron Woode]

Cake frosting

Grilled cheese sandwiches

We were served canned stuff a lot. Hence I didn't like any vegetables. Who knew years later I'd be snacking on fistfuls of raw spinach? The canned spinach makes me retch - can't hardly swallow it.

I still don't like fish, thanks to my childhood. Sure tilapia's not bad, but I'll never buy it when there's land-based protein available.

For some reason I don't understand, I love canned spinach. The fresh stuff is unappealing.

 

[Humpy]

We were poor as fuck for a lot of years while my dad started his business so we ate spaghetti, generic canned vegetables, and whatever other peasant food they could get from the food bank. A lot of the stuff I didn't like was just becasue I never had it. Avocados, tomatoes, fresh meat, most any kind of ethnic food. By the time they could afford whatever they wanted we were set in our ways. I remember when my mom started buying real parmesan for the spaghetti and I insisted on the stuff made with saw dust instead. Was only maybe 10 years ago that I snapped out of it.

 

[ImpulsE69]

Steak

 

[madoka]

SPAM. My parents served it raw. It was okay, but when you slice it thin and cook it. . . man, it's at another level.

 

[Paladin3]

Liver and onions. May be delicious, but I'll never know. Thanks Mom and Dad. I forgave you years ago only because you introduced me to chorizo and eggs at roughly the same age.

 

[tynopik]

tacos - just really hate their recipe for some reason, was amazed that every other taco in existence was great

 

[Kaido]

Steak. Never ate a pink steak growing up. Steak was always something like London broil, too.

Had a roommate after high school treat me to a filet mignon for my birthday at Ruth Chris. Boy was that a revelation. And yes, I fought against even going out to eat for it and (shudder) paying for steak, because in my head, steak was either shoe leather or was that mystery meat Salisbury gravy steak they had at school. Fast-forward to today, I cook up a NY strip or ribeye almost weekly with my sous-vide machine. It's so good that way, that I don't even bother ordering steak out anymore because it's better at home!

 

[Kaido]

I hated the idea of Brussels sprouts, solely on reputation alone. Then I had them properly cooked (roasted) and dang, you can eat a whole plate of those for dinner! I kind of think that nearly every food on the planet has a way to make it taste amazing; some stuff, like chicken, can be made a million ways & still come out good, whereas others (like Brussels sprouts) require more specific techniques, otherwise they can be fairly unappealing. Roasting can make things like cubed butternut squash & even broccoli crazy amazing, whereas otherwise you might simply never care to eat them ever.

Spam was another one; I always thought it was a "joke" food that only sailors ate. Cut that into thin strips, fry it up, and it's actually pretty amazing. Spam musubi is awesome too, as are Spam, egg, and rice bowls.

 

[sandorski]

I hated the idea of Brussels sprouts, solely on reputation alone. Then I had them properly cooked (roasted) and dang, you can eat a whole plate of those for dinner! I kind of think that nearly every food on the planet has a way to make it taste amazing; some stuff, like chicken, can be made a million ways & still come out good, whereas others (like Brussels sprouts) require more specific techniques, otherwise they can be fairly unappealing. Roasting can make things like cubed butternut squash & even broccoli crazy amazing, whereas otherwise you might simply never care to eat them ever.

Spam was another one; I always thought it was a "joke" food that only sailors ate. Cut that into thin strips, fry it up, and it's actually pretty amazing. Spam musubi is awesome too, as are Spam, egg, and rice bowls.

Ah ya, Brussel Sprouts are another boiled to death vegetable I hated as a kid but love today.