Things That Make Me Go Ewwww!

It's Halloween today, the first of the main autumn/winter festivities which means there's not long to go before all the other great holidays and festivities of the season come along. That's fantastic - I do love a good party - but if there's one thing I'm not looking forward to, it's being served food that I really can't stomach. And then I end up looking and feeling like the one misery-guts contestant on Come Dine With Me! I've never thought of myself as a fussy person when it comes to food, especially when compared to Mr.D, who has a list of food dislikes that's almost as tall as he is. Standing on a chair. On tippy toes. With his arms up! I considered myself to be the kind of person who'll eat anything - or at least give it a try. But a conversation about food the other day made me realise that I had an awful lot of food hates myself. In fact after openly sharing them, I doubt I'll ever be invited to dinner again!

1. Glacé cherries

This might seem a little ironic considering I love cherries, but they have to be either fresh or dried - I can even live with the tinned variety. But glacé cherries for me are a huge non-no. Their bright, tomato-red colour just puts me off as I know that real cherries aren't supposed to be that colour. In fact for years I thought that they're weren't 'real' cherries as they didn't look or taste like the cherries that I love but they are - they're maraschino cherries that have been stoned and candied in a sugar syrup.

Even as a child I've never liked them, and my dislike for glacé cherries still continues. As much as I adore cherry bakewells, fruit cake and Christmas pudding, I always pick out the offending glacé cherries.

2. Smoked salmon

I love, love, love salmon. It's one of my fave foods. So you'd think I'd be a huge fan of smoked salmon, right? Wrong! Smoked salmon and I never really hit it off. I never liked the taste or the texture. I know it's considered a luxury delicacy, but I could never acquire a taste for it. In fact, give me a tin of salmon over the smoked stuff any day!

3. Quiche

Oh my goodness - if there's a food I really cannot stomach, it's quiche. I've never liked it and they used to serve the horrid stuff  for school dinners on a regular basis. I don't think I've ever eaten a whole slice of quiche. I've given it a good go but that taste, that smell... no, just not happening!

4. Green banana

Green bananas are usually served in savoury dishes and feature in Caribbean, South American, African and South Asian cuisines - cuisines I enjoy a great deal.   I don't come across green bananas very often, thankfully. But when I have, I've never really enjoyed them so tend to pick them out. I don't like the texture - and the fact that I believe bananas should be yellow and sweet probably has something to do with my dislike of them!

5. Cooked peppers

Now I can eat raw peppers without any problem at all, and I don't believe that a salad is a salad without them. But for some reason, I don't enjoy peppers when they've been cooked. Unlike many of the foods on this list, I can actually eat cooked peppers but then again I've had to - you won't believe how many dishes contain cooked peppers. It's just that I'd prefer not to! I don't really like the flavour or texture of peppers when they've been cooked.

6. Non- peeling oranges

I've always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with oranges. One of those things in life that just can't be explained. But even though I'm happy to OD on oranges when I have a really bad cold, they have to be of the peeling variety. I can't be doing with all that cutting malarkey. And since childhood, I've never been able to stand the sight of those navel oranges - definitely not for me!

7. Soft jelly sweets

Now I've always had a sweet tooth so naturally I love sweets. But I don't like those ultra soft, sugar-coated jelly sweets. I'm not totally sure why - I vaguely remember being sick after eating too many of these as a child so I'm sure that's got a lot to do with it - but they've always made me feel a bit queasy after tucking into a few, so I tend to give them a miss. I prefer the jelly sweets with a harder texture.

8. Curried/stewed fish

OK, so I love fish, I love curries, and I love stews. I even like fish stews and curries. But I'm very fussy about how the fish is cooked. It has to be in chunks rather than steaks, and there shouldn't be any huge bones and certainly no skin, as  I hate the texture - all slimy and nasty. Not good!

9. Duck

Duck is very popular with many people but I personally have never understood the appeal. It has a rather strong flavour that I really don't like but if I did have to eat it, I'd prefer to have my duck cooked a bit longer than most people would prefer. I've tried to get into it but I've accepted that my tastebuds are different to everyone else's and duck just isn't for me.

10. Offal

I reckon it's a small minority of people who can stomach offal - but I'm not one of them. The smell alone is horribly off-putting, and although I've tried classics such as steak and kidney pie, and  liver and onions,  it's not something that I'm in a hurry to sample again.

If any of you have any 'food nasties,' I'd love to hear about them!

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