CHAT What was the worst food you had to eat as a kid

[packyderms_wife]

Now a days, after learning to cook myself, I love most vegetables >>>>except for turnips>>>>perhaps if I was starving, but otherwise NO!

First of all I want to say that not all turnips are equal and the ones we buy in the store are generally beyond gross, look for some turnip seeds there's a variety that doesn't get any bigger than those commercially grown red radishes and they are sweet.

Second if you're stuck buying turnips from the store the smaller the better. The bigger they are the more likely they are to be bitter.

Third. After peeling and slicing your turnips put them in a bowl of ice water and let them soak a little bit, rinse, then serve raw.

You're welcome.

 

[packyderms_wife]

What?!

Way back before seal hunting was banned it was an maritime indigenous thing... the annual hunting and slaughtering of a seal to stock the larder for the winter months. Seal fat is very valuable in maritime/arctic climates as it has a high oleic acid value that keeps one very warm on the inside. It is often mixed with dried berries, and dried bird, deer, and/or caribou, meat and eaten kind of like a jerky. I'm the seventh granddaughter born to the seventh daughter so getting the seal eyeball is kind of a ritual or passage of right.

 

[day late]

Overcooked Brussels sprouts. We called them testicles of the vegetable world. Mom couldn’t boil water to save herself. It took 10 years of marriage for me to try them when my wife cooked them properly and those are ok.

Until we could cook for ourselves, we knew dinner was ready when the smoke detector went off.

Wrong answer. Brussels sprouts of any kind.

 

[packyderms_wife]

My mom was a great cook except when it came to tuna. She made tuna salad with big chunks of onion, celery, and sweet pickle (which I detested). A large portion of this was plopped onto a bun, covered with a slice of American cheese, or maybe it was Velveeta, whatever. She then stuck it under the broiler til hot and bubbly. Kids, don't try this at home!

She was making tuna melts! I make mine on bread, with cheddar and american cheese, and I leave the pickle, onion, and celery out, that's gross.

 

[packyderms_wife]

I'm guessing that both my mother and grandmother missed the basics in home ec. I know that both went to high school, and that was a required class for women. I'm not sure what happened.

I took four years of home ec, loved it! I had classmates who were seemingly good cooks back in those days that apparently can't even boil water. When I asked them what happened they will tell you it's because there's no one there to tell them what to do. They literally cannot cook w/o someone directing them the entire way.

 

[Meemur]

Home Ec was gone by the time I reached high school. What I knew about cooking at that point I had picked up from moms of friends and neighbors. My parents were fighting all the time at that point, just about ready to divorce, so I was home as little as possible.

I grilled pork chops and hamburger whenever I could. Yum! At that point, I remember not being able to stand fried, greasy over-cooked meat. My mom was happy that I took over a lot of the cooking.

I was thinking about this thread earlier. I think the things I avoid now are raw fish, squid, brains, tongues. But I think I do a decent job with the common cuts of beef, chicken, and pork. Fish is still hit and miss. I'm fine with fillets, especially if I steam or grill them, but whole pieces of tuna are a challenge, probably because I only make fish around Lent, and most of the time, it's frozen fish fillets since I'm in Iowa.

[Don't be sad, Bev. I've more than made up for a crappy childhood. My adult live has been great!]

 

[packyderms_wife]

back in the day polenta was poor folks food - now Ingles sells it in the Italian gourmet specialty area

imagine that

Grits, polenta, olives, capers, chicken feet, ox tail, pigs feet, pork belly, skirt steak, are all gourmet items now, poor peoples food back in the day.

 

[bev]

Beets. Hated them. I still refuse to eat them m

 

[marsofold]

Stewed tomatoes. I hate them to this day.

 

[seraphima]

Liver, hands down the worst.

 

[ioujc]

First of all I want to say that not all turnips are equal and the ones we buy in the store are generally beyond gross, look for some turnip seeds there's a variety that doesn't get any bigger than those commercially grown red radishes and they are sweet.

Second if you're stuck buying turnips from the store the smaller the better. The bigger they are the more likely they are to be bitter.

Third. After peeling and slicing your turnips put them in a bowl of ice water and let them soak a little bit, rinse, then serve raw.

You're welcome.

Thank you!!

I do intend to grow some for my rabbits and goats.

I don't think I can eat them raw>>>>No teeth! I do have dentures but they are not fun to wear>>>>at all.
I know of several people that do eat them raw and say they are as sweet as apples!!
Dang it>>>>can't eat apples either unless I shred them! I guess I could do that with the trunips>>>I plan on doing it with carrots soon. I LOVE carrots!!

I am so sorry for those of you who don't like beets>>>>I LOVE pickled beets and Harvard beets are DELICIOUS!! It is a recipe for beets that is sweet and sort of like a pie filling in consistency.

 

[packyderms_wife]

Thank you!!

I do intend to grow some for my rabbits and goats.

I don't think I can eat them raw>>>>No teeth! I do have dentures but they are not fun to wear>>>>at all.
I know of several people that do eat them raw and say they are as sweet as apples!!
Dang it>>>>can't eat apples either unless I shred them! I guess I could do that with the trunips>>>I plan on doing it with carrots soon. I LOVE carrots!!

I am so sorry for those of you who don't like beets>>>>I LOVE pickled beets and Harvard beets are DELICIOUS!! It is a recipe for beets that is sweet and sort of like a pie filling in consistency.

The small variety I speak of does not lose it's sweetness upon cooking, you could steam them until they are soft enough to eat, or even turn them into turnip kraut. The seeds are a heritage variety so you may have to plan to get them sometime in 2022 for next years growing season.

 

[onmyown30]

I’m first generation born in the US and my parents and relatives always ate the weirdest stuff (dad’s side Russian & mom’s side Ukrainian) I don’t think I can pick out one thing, I was picky and my gosh everything was always pickled! I still hate anything with vinegar or pickled.
The one thing that stands out the most…..there was this jelly like substance with meat in is, I have no idea what it was but nope nope nope wouldn’t eat it. Luckily my mom never forced me to. I was very skinny growing up lol

 

[Tennessee gal]

Liver! When I was a little kid my mother had liver one night and I wouldn’t touch it. The next night she made roast beef. She cut up the liver and roast into small pieces mixed together trying to fool me. I sat there and ate every piece of the roast and left the liver.

 

[Meemur]

Yes, I've known Russian women who would boil the devil out of the meat and then add spices to try to give it flavor. It was another not knowing how to cook problem. I taught one of the little darlings how to use a meat thermometer, and it's made all the difference.

 

[Laur]

She was making tuna melts! I make mine on bread, with cheddar and american cheese, and I leave the pickle, onion, and celery out, that's gross.

I think I'm still too traumatized by memories of the taste to attempt to eat it even without the extra veggies.

 

[DazedandConfused]

Thank you!!

I do intend to grow some for my rabbits and goats.

I don't think I can eat them raw>>>>No teeth! I do have dentures but they are not fun to wear>>>>at all.
I know of several people that do eat them raw and say they are as sweet as apples!!
Dang it>>>>can't eat apples either unless I shred them! I guess I could do that with the trunips>>>I plan on doing it with carrots soon. I LOVE carrots!!

I am so sorry for those of you who don't like beets>>>>I LOVE pickled beets and Harvard beets are DELICIOUS!! It is a recipe for beets that is sweet and sort of like a pie filling in consistency.

Love raw turnips we used to pull them up out of the field knock the dirt off and eat like a apple same with sweet corn just walk out in the row pull a ear shuck and eat. Those both were treats when I was a kid.. I sure miss those days

 

[packyderms_wife]

The one thing that stands out the most…..there was this jelly like substance with meat in is, I have no idea what it was but nope nope nope wouldn’t eat it. Luckily my mom never forced me to. I was very skinny growing up lol

aspic is what you're describing and yes it was a thing especially for those of the germanic and/or eastern european types.

 

[Old Gray Mare]

....mom who grew up in the 20's and 30's>>>>HOW did she not know how to cook??

Mine didn't get taught at home. Why? Don't know.

There's a family story of Grandmom following my parents out to the car for their honeymoon writing down how to cook spaghetti on an index card for her. My other grandmom was a whizz at jellies, jams and fruit preserves. She refused to teach me and I had to learn from a book (Ball's Blue Book of canning and preserving).

 

[psychgirl]

I think I'm still too traumatized by memories of the taste to attempt to eat it even without the extra veggies.

Tuna Melts are good when done the right way!
I really like them.

 

[Meemur]

Tuna Melts are good when done the right way!
I really like them.

I thought that I hated tuna. Then I tried tuna packed in olive oil and was hooked.

 

[cyberiot]

The one thing that stands out the most…..there was this jelly like substance with meat in is, I have no idea what it was but nope nope nope wouldn’t eat it. Luckily my mom never forced me to. I was very skinny growing up lol

Aspic? That was a big deal in the '50s. My DD, a millennial, tells me it's making a comeback.

 

[psychgirl]

Savory Jelly omg

 

[Meemur]

Savory Jelly omg

Cultural note: it and most dishes from that region are much improved by having several shots of good vodka, chilled in the freezer, before and after the meal.

 

[Raggedyman]

Beets. Hated them. I still refuse to eat them m

PICKLED BEETS
ain't nuttin' mo betta ​

 

[psychgirl]

Cultural note: it and most dishes from that region are much improved by having several shots of good vodka, chilled in the freezer, before and after the meal.

Still gonna be a hard NO.
Thanks for trying though!

 

[Raggedyman]

I thought that I hated tuna. Then I tried tuna packed in olive oil and was hooked.

meems - get some fresh tuna steaks and toss them on the grill - GOOD TUNA - Ahi, Yellow fin or Black Fin . . . marinate it about 36-48 hrs - a little EVO, a little bay seasoning, LOTS of chopped onion, some garlic, a cpl of bay leaves . . . cook that med rare to medium . . .

ain't nuttin' mo betta ​

 

[psychgirl]

meems - get some fresh tuna steaks and toss them on the grill - GOOD TUNA - Ahi or Black Fin . . . marinate it about 36-48 hrs - a little EVO, a little bay seasoning, LOTS of chopped onion, some garlic, a cpl of bay leaves . . . cook that med rare to medium . . .

ain't nuttin' mo betta ​

Yum!

Or a high quality seared Ahi with Asian plum sauce!

 

[Meemur]

meems - get some fresh tuna steaks and toss them on the grill - GOOD TUNA - Ahi or Black Fin

Sounds yummy!

However, here, it's "jet fresh," which might mean anything from two-four weeks old, but I'll keep that in mind for my next trip to Myrtle Beach. And I'm craving some fresh seafood and beach time!

(trust me: 50 degrees for a walk on the beach is paradise after single digits!)

 

[packyderms_wife]

Cultural note: it and most dishes from that region are much improved by having several shots of good vodka, chilled in the freezer, before and after the meal.

This^^^ And if you're in the moutianous parts of the eastern US, it's several shots of moonshine.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Slimy canned spinach
Black-eyed peas

As an adult I enjoy spinach raw or steamed but can't bring myself to attempt eating black-eyed peas.

View attachment 314148​

I always liked spinach, even canned. I think it was my severe iron deficiency.

But as for black eyed peas, no way, no how….….until Alaska. I was out on a camp trip my first summer here (14 yrs old), and we were out fishing and hiking for the entire day (and that is pretty long in June). Back to the camper at dark around 11:30 - but they’d saved nothing from dinner for us. Opened a can of black eye peas.

Apparently, true hunger really is a good seasoning! I still like them today, if cooked right.

 

[AlaskaSue]

Way back before seal hunting was banned it was an maritime indigenous thing... the annual hunting and slaughtering of a seal to stock the larder for the winter months. Seal fat is very valuable in maritime/arctic climates as it has a high oleic acid value that keeps one very warm on the inside. It is often mixed with dried berries, and dried bird, deer, and/or caribou, meat and eaten kind of like a jerky. I'm the seventh granddaughter born to the seventh daughter so getting the seal eyeball is kind of a ritual or passage of right.

Every time I’ve had seal fat it was good. Was introduced to a lot of native Alaska-type food early on and have rarely found anything I didn’t turn out to like. Never could do an eyeball tho…

 

[packyderms_wife]

Every time I’ve had seal fat it was good. Was introduced to a lot of native Alaska-type food early on and have rarely found anything I didn’t turn out to like. Never could do an eyeball tho…

yeah good luck finding an eyeball, those are typically eaten before the seal is even gutted out.

 

[Signwatcher]

The liver of vegetables...turnips, parsnips and rutabagas.

 

[Raggedyman]

Sounds yummy!

However, here, it's "jet fresh," which might mean anything from two-four weeks old, but I'll keep that in mind for my next trip to Myrtle Beach. And I'm craving some fresh seafood and beach time!

(trust me: 50 degrees for a walk on the beach is paradise after single digits!)

roger that meems . . . and speaking of Myrtle Beach - we're fortunate to get fresh sea food from the coast brought in daily - a little store in Clyde - Sentiles - DAILY . . . hard to believe it, but caught yesterday and here it is next day. not too bad being able to eat fresh seafood when you're 9 hrs from the coast !

 

[Doc1]

I like most foods, tolerate a few and hate hominy, oysters and soggy bread i.e. bread and milk or french toast. One of the ironies of life is that although I love veggies most are on lists of food to avoid due to a couple of health issues plus another long list of foods I'm allegeric to. The lists are so inclusive that there isn't a whole lot that isn't on one list or the other, so I try to do "all things in moderation".

As kids we were supposed to clean our plates but I was a skinny sickly child so it was more coaxing me to eat and giving me foods I would eat than threatening me for not eating. My sister was a glutton over foods she liked and what she hated she wouldn't not eat period. To this day she thinks its horrid for anyone to eat what she doesn't like.

Anna,

French toast was/is a New Orleans staple. It's also sometimes called "Lost Bread" because it was a way for families to use stale French bread and turn it into something delicious.

Here's another hint: An old New Orleans treat is what are known as beignets. These are deep fried New Orleans donuts that are liberally sprinkled with powdered sugar. Mmmm. Good stuff! The New Orleans version(s) are thick squares of special dough - each chef has their own recipe - which are deep fried until golden brown. A quick and almost as good substitution is to deep fry canned biscuits (the kind that come in the cardboard tubes). Just pat the dough down a bit and shape them into squares. Cook and when ready, remove them from the oil, place them on a dish covered with paper towels and douse 'em with the powdered sugar!

Oh, these do not keep well in the fridge overnight. They're edible, but you really want to eat them when they are hot and fresh out of the pan.

Best
Doc

 

[wintery_storm]

I use to love Pickled Herring as a Kid now it makes my stomach turn.

But my Grandparents did live through the Depression and she would slaughter her own animals. One thing I never ate but heard she would back Blood Soup! My Aunt had told me about it. That is the most disgusting thing I ever heard.

 

[et2]

Beef stroganoff… looked like squashed tarantula guts. Tasted like them too.

 

[AlfaMan]

Canned peas. They aren't in the same UNIVERSE as fresh or even frozen. Won't eat them to this day. Overcooked mush with an awful un pea like flavor. Ugh.

ETA: Peas and corn don't need "cooking". They are best when heated only enough to melt the butter on them.

I'm with you on that one. Green peas; eeeewww!!!! Mama would feed me those as an infant, she said I'd eat everything but I'd spit out the peas every time. Usually mama would wear peas because I was a pretty good spitter.
I'll tolerate them now but very sparingly. Like, maybe once a year or so.

The wife hated veggies that were warmed up rather than cooked.

 

[SackLunch]

Canned green peas
Canned green peas in casseroles

But as bbbuddy says, fresh or frozen with butter? Most excellent!