Monday, September 01, 2014

What I don't like...

A friend just asked me what I don't like, food-wise.  Here was my response. I'd love to hear your comments!



I don't care for oysters, cooked or raw. I can eat them to be polite.  I don't eat raw fish sushi, which many of our friends love but fortunately Tom isn't into it either, so I'm not faced with being the odd man (or woman) out. I've had eel but it's not something I would seek out either.

I don't care for anything with dried thyme in it (tastes a little muddy to me) but I love fresh thyme. Similarly I love fresh sage but don't care for dried. That might be a reaction to some of the family Thanksgiving turkey stuffing with too much rubbed sage in it.

I've eaten brains and kidneys but wouldn't do it again unless I was a guest in a house where I didn't feel comfortable saying "Um...I don't think so."  And I have to admit that it wasn't so much the taste but the texture. 

But I love most kinds of liver depending on how it's cooked. When we were in Sarlat we both pigged out on foie gras where it's offered on pretty much anything you eat..salads, steaks, scrambled eggs. And Tom doesn't like liver, but he sure chowed down on the foie gras!  And anytime I see sweetbreads on a menu I'm SO there!

I don't like any really hot (spicy hot I mean) foods. I'm a wimp that way.

I can't think of a single vegetable I don't like. (Give me time, though, and I might.)  ​

I don't like the British black pudding sausage or the German equivalent blutwurst. Both are that blood sausage thingie. It doesn't taste that bad but the idea just grosses me out.

On the other hand I have no trouble with coq au vin which in the authentic version is thickened with the blood of the coq (truly a "coq" or old rooster). The chicken merchant in the French markets will drain the blood and they add a little vinegar to keep it from clotting.  My impression is that nowadays you have to order that ahead.