Have you read any of the food lists going around? There is a list of the worst foods you can buy at the supermarket, the worst foods you can eat at a restaurant, the worst fast foods, the worst breakfast foods- if you enjoy eating it, it’s probably on a list somewhere. I even picked up a book the other day that was titled “Eat This, Not That”. All my favorites were on the “Not That” pages, so I put it down!!
In honor of the lists, I thought I would tell you about the ten worst foods I’ve ever eaten. Most of them are things I was forced to eat as a child. It would never have occurred to me to try them on my own!
1. Liver - I know some of you like this and still eat it. Can’t stand the thought, smell, or sight of it!!! As a child I tried to hide it under my mashed potatoes, feed it to the dog, come down with a fever before it was served- anything to get out of actually putting it in my mouth. My father, however, was a stickler for rules and the house rule was that if Mom cooked it, you ate it.
2. Snail- You can call it escargot or any other made up name you want. It’s still a snail! My aunt made me try some for my 21st birthday. Yuck!!! It was the consistency of shoe leather.
3. Squirrel- No one should have to eat one of these critters, but as a child we often ate things Dad hunted. It was tough and stringy and did NOT taste like chicken. LOL Rabbit- not so bad.
4. Fish eggs- Yes, I’ve eaten caviar and you can keep it. Salt it, put it on a cracker, whatever- it’s still slime.
5. Pig brains- We had pork chops last night, and I love ham. But you can keep the brains. My mom used to mix them with eggs. I’m not sure why. I’m just sure I gagged when they were on the breakfast table.
6. Hominy- You thought I was going to stay with meats didn’t you? Well, I’ve told this story before. My grandmother made her own hominy and the whole house smelled horrible when she did. If you read the process you will see there is lye involved, and I guess that just reminded me too much of lye soap, which she also made. Also, I’m not fond of the texture of hominy.
7. Black eyed peas- Don’t like these and really don’t like limas either. Both seem to have an odd texture to me. Gran always made us eat black eyed peas for the New Year. Who started that??
8. Oysters- We had a friend/landlord who visited often and had the strangest eating habits in the world. He ate raw eggs, had wine for breakfast, and walked around in the summer eating oysters. Tasted one and decided he was crazy!
9. Deer- Nope, don’t understand the appeal. I’m not really against deer hunting. I understand the whole game management thing. I understand that some people must truly like the taste of it. Not me. Just don’t like that “wild” taste. I’ve also eaten bear and alligator- not so much either.
10. Sardines- Several of the men in my family love these things! I can’t even stand to be in the same room with them.
So there you have my list of foods to avoid this year. I’m not sure you’ll be healthier, but trust me, you’ll be happier!
Hysterical!!! I figure foods that are called "an acquired taste" aren't worth the work to make me acquire the taste for it. If my body hates it, it hates it. Why force myself to gag? And your list is pretty comprehensive. I'd like to add sea urchin to it though. I love sushi, but keep the sea urchin and eel sauce. Yuck.
Posted by: Megan | January 30, 2009 at 09:17 AM
I have to agree with you with the exception of hominy and black eyed peas. I do love those two foods. I remember my dad loved oysters and sardines but my mom didn't so I didn't either!
Posted by: Marilyn Crabtree | January 30, 2009 at 10:07 AM