Worst Tastes: Tabasco & Baking Soda/Popcorn Butter

[Ivan Seeking]

Please tell me you spit up and ruined your keyboard. It's a dream I have.

Yep, I now have half-chewed petunia all over my keyboard.

 

[robphy]

Anyone try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian ?
I've only gotten close enough to be offended by the smell.

 

[matthyaouw]

The taste of my own words can be bitter at times. Vurp is pretty bad too, especially if it has been in my nose. In Japan they have a treat called Natto, a kind of fermented soy bean. I couldn't stand it at first, but my wife made me feed to to my toddler daughter. She wasn't having it so I would do what all stupid parents do, take a taste and say "yummy". My daughter was never fooled by any of this, but I came to enjoy the taste of it.

Having read this (and seen the pictures) I don't think I could even bring myself to open a packet of the stuff

 

[Moonbear]

Easy. I love sushi and one time I tried the urchin. Worse than anything I could have imagined.

Good thing it was really expensive. I only ordered one.

Was it Uni? That's sea urchin roe which is quite popular in Japan and tastes awful. The worst sushi I've ever had was at a 4 star Hotel in Tokyo. Since the waiters were walking around the ballroom offering trays with assorted sushi, I have no idea what it was. I had to spit it into a potted plant when no one was watching.

I LOVE uni! It's one of my favorite types of sushi, because it actually tastes like something different from everything else (I can sort of taste differences among other types of sushi, but it's really hard to tell, but uni is distict, so more enjoyable to break up a plate of fish).

And, it's not exactly roe (not sure if you want to know what it really is, so don't keep reading if you'd rather not).

Uni (oo-nee) is the Japanese name for the edible part of the Sea Urchin. While colloquially referred to as the roe (eggs), uni is actually the animal's gonads (which produce the milt and roe, sea urchins being hermaphrodites). Uni ranges in color from rich gold to light yellow, and has a creamy consistency that some love and is off-putting to others.

http://www.sushifaq.com/sushi-items/sushi-items-uni.htm

But, it has to be really fresh. As the cited page indicates, if it's just a bit old, it starts to taste pretty off pretty fast.

 

[chemisttree]

Fresh gonads don't taste off?

 

[Moonbear]

Anyone try http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian ?
I've only gotten close enough to be offended by the smell.

Even that guy on that show on Food Network who goes around tasting all the weirdest things in the world can't manage to eat Durian. He's tried it on 3 different shows in 3 different places, and every time, he takes a bite and immediately spits it back out. This is a guy who sits down to plates of bugs on a regular basis. Does anyone really eat it, or is it just some big joke they play on the tourists, or something little kids dare each other to eat?

 

[turbo]

Fresh gonads don't taste off?

Mmmm! Lamb fries!

 

[D H]

Moutai.

A snippet from the wikipedia article on moutai:
"In 2007, it was reported that pollution from 39 illegal liquor plants on the Chishui River was threatening the water from which Maotai is made."

Moutai is essentially bottled essence of North Jersey. That pollution would probably improve the taste.

 

[chemisttree]

Mmmm! Lamb fries!

When you go hunting do you use a sharp knife or a gun?

 

[turbo]

When you go hunting do you use a sharp knife or a gun?

Both.

 

[Astronuc]

It was not roe. I can't remember what it's called, but it was a slimy gelatinous, dark brown blob on a disk of rice. The seaweed wrap prevented it from oozing over the side.

Uni ranges in color from rich gold to light yellow, and has a creamy consistency that some love and is off-putting to others.

I seem to remember something orange or brownish-orange with a rather unusually texture - kind of creamy - more like a puree. I ate it out of the shell. IIRC, it was pretty good!

I'll try anything at least once.

And I tend to like strong tasting stuff.

 

[Astronuc]

Fresh gonads don't taste off?

I had fried bull gonads while in Spain. They were pretty tasty.

I've pretty much eaten every part of cattle.

 

[Moonbear]

I seem to remember something orange or brownish-orange with a rather unusually texture - kind of creamy - more like a puree. I ate it out of the shell. IIRC, it was pretty good!

I've never been served it in the shell. I would prefer that, because usually they put too much for a single bite wrapped with rice and seaweed (I don't usually get rolls because I don't like that seaweed wrap stuff) and I can't bite it in half without making a huge mess. I've usually seen it in an orangey-yellow color. Yes, it's very creamy. I could imagine some might be put off by the texture if it's not what they are expecting.

 

[Astronuc]

I like the seaweed wrap.

My colleagues would bring back weird (well they thought it was weird) food from Japan just to see I would eat it.

There's probably nothing I wouldn't eat - as long as it's not harmful.

 

[turbo]

I don't mind the seaweed wrap as long as the flavors of the other ingredients are not compromised. Some seaweed/kelps are stronger-tasting than others and the complex flavors of raw fish can be subtle.

 

[Astronuc]

I don't mind the seaweed wrap as long as the flavors of the other ingredients are not compromised. Some seaweed/kelps are stronger-tasting than others and the complex flavors of raw fish can be subtle.

Yeah - some fresh fish have delicate flavors that can be overwhelmed by sauces or other strong tasting food.

My family thinks my taste buds are long dead from all the hot stuff I eat, but that far from the case.

I love wasabi, which for me is rather mild.

I love fresh and pickled ginger.

 

[~christina~]

Hm..I'd have to say

Durian: smells pretty bad but people say it's delicious..but I've never tried it. I'm turned away by the smell.

Anyone tried Century Egg? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Century_egg
I eat it in rice porridge. It can taste overwelming if you eat it straight like it is but that's why there's porridge. (I tried it at a restauraunt and then decided it was to my liking so I looked for it at the store)

The pattern on the egg white is quite beautiful and snowflaky.

I saw they made people eat it on fear factor. They had to eat 3 straight without anything. I was thinking I'd win that competition since they had to pick what they were going to eat. (totally beats eating rotten squid)

Spinich dish from a particular restauraunt makes my mouth have a metallic taste for some reason. It might be how they cook it though since It was a Malaysian restauraunt and they use garlic to stir fry the spinich.

 

[turbo]

I had the "privilege" of sharing an apartment with a Korean-service vet that had acquired a taste for a regional version of kimchee that not only incorporated brined fermented vegetables, but also included fish. That was some nasty stinky stuff. I never tasted it because I could not get past the smell. It may have been great, but I could not make myself sample it.

 

[turbo]

Yeah - some fresh fish have delicate flavors that can be overwhelmed by sauces or other strong tasting food.

My family thinks my taste buds are long dead from all the hot stuff I eat, but that far from the case.

I love wasabi, which for me is rather mild.

I love fresh and pickled ginger.

I love wasabi, too, but you know what other hot stuff I eat, so that should not be a surprise. Sinus problems? Try wasabi! I cannot eat baked beans without liberal amounts of horseradish. Mmmm! That dates back to when I was a kid. My wife has not used salad dressings for months - she has switched to using a mix of home-made bread-and-butter pickles and my clean-up chili relish on her salads. The clean-up relish consists of my regular recipe, made from the green jalapenos, green super-chilies, and green habaneros that were left on my plants when the first hard frost was predicted. That is some very flavorful relish with a complex burn.

 

[Evo]

Anyone eaten crab brains? On Iron Chef, whenever the chef added crab brains into a dish, everyone would go "oooooh".

Moonbear, you have just assured that I will NEVER eat Uni. I get the creeps just looking at it.

 

[~christina~]

Anyone eaten crab brains? On Iron Chef, whenever the chef added crab brains into a dish, everyone would go "oooooh".

"crab brains" ?? wait..I've cleaned a bunch of dungeness crab and I can't tell which are the "brains".

What kind of crab did the chef use?

I did see them using fish eyeballs though on iron chef. They were skewered and fire grilled.

 

[Huckleberry]

I've pretty much given up on eating any kind of seafood besides fish. I don't like the taste or texture of any kind of crustacean. Crab and lobster are the yuck. Molluscs are okay, and I can even enjoy a bowl of clam chowder, but in general they aren't very tasty to me.

During my shellback ceremony we were forced to eat a mixture of dried cottage cheese and cod liver oil. I wasn't particularly offended by the taste.

I've eaten live ants and moths. The head section has an interesting tangy taste.

Vegemite has to be the worst thing I've ever eaten. The salty flavor is too concentrated for me. It probably would taste better if it were spread on something, but I don't think it would improve any flavor so much as dilute it's own.

I knew of a marine who decided to eat a dead jellyfish that washed up on the beach. He had to go to the emergency room. Hoorah!

 

[turbo]

I knew of a marine who decided to eat a dead jellyfish that washed up on the beach. He had to go to the emergency room. Hoorah!

Didn't know they have stinging cells?

 

[Huckleberry]

I didn't know him personally. It was something I heard from other marines that claimed to know him. It wouldn't surprise me at all if it were true. He may have even known that it was harmful. Marines will do anything to prove how tough they are.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Oh yes, that reminds me of why I couldn't eat fish for years. I tried swordfish once. Since I didn't know what it was supposed to taste like, I didn't realize that it was bad until I got to the really bad part. So I can add rotten fish to the list.

I got very sick from that and couldn't even think about eating fish for a very long time. To this day, twenty years or so later, though I can eat fish, even the slightest hint of a fishy flavor or smell can ruin a dinner for me.

 

[Math Jeans]

Oh yes, that reminds me of why I couldn't eat fish for years. I tried swordfish once. Since I didn't know what it was supposed to taste like, I didn't realize that it was bad until I got to the really bad part. So I can add rotten fish to the list.

I got very sick from that and couldn't even think about eating fish for a very long time. To this day, twenty years or so later, though I can eat fish, even the slightest hint of a fishy flavor or smell can ruin a dinner for me.

But when it isn't bad, swordfish is real tasty .

 

[Moonbear]

Anyone eaten crab brains? On Iron Chef, whenever the chef added crab brains into a dish, everyone would go "oooooh".

Are you sure it's the brains? They would be awfully tiny in a crab. I wonder if it's like Uni where they call it brains but it's really something else that doesn't sound as nice? My grandfather used to eat the green liver in lobster (he wasted nothing edible on a lobster...he'd also suck every bit of meat out of each little leg, and pick through the body for every bit of meat too). Nobody else would touch it until he finally convinced me to try it. It's surprisingly sweet. We were the only two who would eat the roe too (they're not supposed to be caught if they have roe, but sometimes it's still all internal and you can't tell until you open it). Also very tasty. But, that's why I wonder if it's something like that they're calling the brains just from lack of understanding of crab anatomy.

Moonbear, you have just assured that I will NEVER eat Uni. I get the creeps just looking at it.

Goody! More for me.

 

[Moonbear]

Vegemite has to be the worst thing I've ever eaten. The salty flavor is too concentrated for me. It probably would taste better if it were spread on something, but I don't think it would improve any flavor so much as dilute it's own.

I haven't had vegemite, but I've had marmite, which is similar. Yep, too strong. I was still able to swallow it, so not horrible, but I'd never taste it again. Yes, concentrated comes to mind, like it would make a really good soup starter if you diluted it with LOTS of water and added vegetables and beef cubes.

Oh, back on the seaweed track...dulce. That one I needed to spit into a napkin because I couldn't even try to politely choke it down. My post-doc mentor seemed to go out of his way to find strange foods on his travels to bring back to share during lab meetings after he returned. He actually liked the stuff. It's seaweed that's sun-dried out on rocks (in other words, not just seaweed, but old, stinky, dried-up seaweed ).

 

[Astronuc]

I love vegemite and marmite. I grew up on the stuff and eat it like other folks eat peanut butter.

It made me what am today!

Well - OK - maybe that's a good reason not to eat it.

 

[Moonbear]

More on crab brains. I did find a site that explains what they are, and they said that although the Japanese call them brains, they aren't. They are what's left after you take out the meat...all the other internal organs. So, yeah, more like what I've eaten in lobster of liver, pancreas, etc. I'd give it a try (though the photo of it on the site I found was not the most appetizing photo). I'm not providing a link because the site I found explaining this also had some inappropriate ads; I'll see if I can find something else more "family friendly."

Edit: Nothing more helpful yet than things that simply describe it as the green stuff inside the crab, or crab innards. But, did find the Japanese name for it...Kanimiso. (Kani is the word for crab.) Next time I'm in NYC, I'm planning to go to a Japanese restaurant, so maybe I'll ask if they have it (the last time I went there, my friend who had recently gone with Japanese clients discovered that there's an unwritten menu of things that don't usually appeal to Western tastes, but get verbally offered to anyone who speaks Japanese...I don't speak Japanese, but I think if I specifically ask about something like kanimiso, I might just get it).