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Let us collectively shed a tear for the poor, maligned, overcooked vegetable kingdom—or anything else that made us wince as a kid. Whether from Brussels sprouts, liver, or oatmeal, we all managed to get squeamish one way or another. The good news is that over time most of us developed a palate for things we once described as, diplomatically, an “acquired taste.”
We asked around America’s Test Kitchen on what foods they formerly despised as a child, but ended up growing to love. Here’s a smattering:
Brussels sprouts and red beets. Hated them both as a child (the brussels sprouts reminded me of the alien eggs in Alien; I was always waiting for a facehugger to burst out and attack me). Now I can’t get enough of them. In fact, roast them with some olive oil and sea salt, slap them on a plate, and sprinkle a little goat cheese on my beets and color me happy.
Onions! I thought I hated them growing up because my older sister wouldn’t eat them and I always wanted to do everything just like her.
Chopped chicken liver, brussels sprouts, gherkins, sauerkraut, whole-grain mustard—anything sour or heavily spiced. I wouldn’t even eat sloppy Joes, but demanded ground beef mixed with only ketchup when sloppy Joes or chili was on the menu at home. Why did anyone in my family put up with this? They joke now that I will eat anything that isn’t moving.
As a kid I once sat out on the roof to protest the presence of peas in the tuna casserole, and I still don’t love peas, but they no longer provoke me to acts of civil disobedience.
And now for the Silly Question of the Day…
What is something that you hated eating as a kid, but now love?
Leave your silly answer in the comments!
(Photo: LOLren)
About the Author: Christine Liu
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One of the things I despised as a kid, but grew to love? – Artichokes. What’s with that spiny and pokey thing that still makes them edible and desirable? Well add a little steam, a little butter and you’re off to the races!! My adult-life has never been the same since.
I was a weird kid and loved all my vegetables and things like liver. Strange, I know. I guess my one “normal” dislike was green olives. I suddenly found a love for them when I was travelling in Europe after college. Suddenly, I loved them. Now they are among my favorite foods.
I used to hate mangoes – and I grew up in the Philippines, where we are extremely proud of our mangoes – but one afternoon, my sisters and I made an icebox cake and it changed my perspective. I started to love mangoes, and crave for them everyday! http://www.confessionsofachocoholic.com/dessert/mango-memories
When I was a kid, my mom used to serve spinach at dinner. It was that pulverized frozen kind, and she would reheat it and serve it with a lot of raw-tasting garlic. It was lean, watery, and acrid, and I absolutely hated it.
My mom is an otherwise excellent cook; I don’t know why spinach was such a misfire.
My parents were so happy that I never complained about anything put on my plate. Of course I had my preferences, and enjoyed some weird combinations (I would mix A-1 Steak Sauce with Sour Cream and spread the combination on top of my hamburgers). The only dish I remember refusing to eat was Stuffed Bell Peppers made by my Aunt Josephine. The smell from her kitchen was enough to have me feign illness and ask for Chicken Broth and Saltines. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I absent-mindedly tucked into a Stuffed Pepper during a dinner banquet that I realised my tastes had changed and I really enjoyed the dish. Of course, my Aunt was a terrible cook and I may have been justified in avoiding her version of Stuffed Bell Peppers.
There was very little food that I hated as a child. The few things that come to mind are the few things that, as an adult, I still dislike. Although I don’t actually HATE Brussels Sprouts anymore, I would never choose to eat them if there was anything else available. However, I will never ever eat stuffed peppers ever again. Ever. Really, never ever.
I didn’t used to like peas. I thought they smelled bad and tasted worse. Then, when I was in college living in the dorms, I’d see other students putting them on their plate on purpose. No parents were standing there making them! So, I thought I’d give them another try. I started adding them to my salads and eventually developed a taste for them. Now, I really like them. The smell doesn’t bother me either
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As a kid, I never cared for Tofu, and that was a staple in any Chinese school cafes. After moving to the U.S., I’ve grown to like them a lot, especially when I get to try different types of tofu, silkly, soft, firm, extra firm, and Japanese style! It could also be because I don’t get to eat them everyday and now I actually miss them!
That’s a touch one since there were many things I didn’t like as a kid…probably it would calamari – or artichokes.
I was like “Mikey” as a kid since I ate almost everything…except MUSHROOMS. Oh, how I love them now! Yummmmmarooo! Sliced, diced, buttered on top of everything like pizza or in everything like risotto..MMmm…
As a kid I never liked olives. It took a lot of convincing to get me to believe that not all olives taste like canned black olives. I still don’t like the canned black olives, but I do like most others.
When I first tried sushi, I really disliked it. Now it is one of my favorite foods!
I used to hate asparagus. I was never a picky eater as a kid but asparagus was one thing I always thought tasted nasty. Now I can’t get enough of it and have been known to roast an entire bunch and eat it for a meal.
There wasn’t much that I hated as a kid. And even if I didn’t like something, it didn’t dawn on me that I was entitled to speak up about it. When I realized I could protest, onions were the only thing I rejected. Now I can’t get enough.
MUSHROOMS! They used to seem slimy and too chewy in texture. Then I discovered mushrooms didn’t have to come out of a can!
Now, I’d prefer a good portabella burger over an actual hamburger any day of the week and often use mushrooms in replace of meat in my favorite pasta dishes.
Believe it or not, I would refuse to eat bacon. What? I know. I also despised coffee, mayo, and brussel sprouts. But it was bacon I hated the most. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the smell… but from the preparation to the plate, bacon grossed me out. Not anymore! Thank goodness.
As a kid I loved veggies and all the “typical” foods kids don’t like, but I hated butter. I wouldn’t touch food that had butter on it or tasted too buttery. If only that taste had stuck with me, I’d probably be a few pounds lighter…
Spaghetti sauce! It seems unthinkable now, but I liked my noodles just with butter.
I always hated peanut butter. Anything that stuck to the roof of your mouth just couldn’t be right. Now I wonder how I missed the true glory of a pb&j?
Broccoli. Common enough food to avoid as a kid, I know, but it led to a sea-change in my eating habits. My older sister was serving broccoli and I wouldn’t eat it, “I hate it.” She knew to appeal to my logical side and explained that I had not tried THIS broccoli, prepared THIS way, at THIS point in time, so how could I say I hated THIS broccoli? Logical enough, so I tried it. I LOVED it. I mean, I was practically overwhelmed with how much I loved it. And I can’t get enough of it now (as long as it’s not overcooked!). That logic meant I tried dozens of previously off-limit foods, with varying results, and a willingness to try ANYTHING. How do you know, if you don’t try it then and there? You can’t know. Broccoli … yum.
Bananas! Ever since I was a baby, I’ve hated them. Suddenly 3 or so years ago, I started liking them and now I can’t get enough!
I know it may sound crazy but as a kid I HATED tomatoes. Just actual tomatoes. I loved katchup of course (becuse it’s half sugar no doubt) and I liked drinking V8 or tomato juice (loaded with salt). What I didn’t like was the “slime” of the seeds, I know they’re tasteless but now I like them so much that I grow them in my back yard, and I can’t imagine a burger without them. I love fresh salsa (another thing I disliked as a kid because you could see the seeds) and will make my own two. I’ll also add some chopped tomatoes to premade pasta sauce to give it an extra-chunky texture and amp up the tomato content. Love the new “ATK feed” site; it cures my daily ATK addiction!
One food that I have grown to love is Quinoa. I have always thought it tasted like dirt or most often that it had no taste at all. It wasn’t until two years ago while on vacation in Portland, Oregon that a friend of mine invited me to her parents house for dinner. Her mom cooked one of the best quinoa dishes I’ve ever had.
I’ve learned within the past year or so while growing herbs in pots in the city, that quinoa tastes delicious when combined with all the wonderful herbs out there. I’ve even cooked it in stir fry. Quinoa has definitely become a favorite food, not only of mine, but of my family as well.
I used to hate garlic. I’d come home from school and would have to walk through the kitchen to get to the rest of the house and would pinch my nose when walking through the kitchen. Now I absolutely love garlic and put it in almost anything I cook.
I *tried* to give up one vegetable every year for Lent when I was a kid. Now I give up swearing for Lent. I guess that means I swear a lot and I like vegetables.
Except olives. Won’t eat olives. Are they a vegetable? Doesn’t matter. Still won’t eat olives.
There were two things I hated: (1) mussels and (2) blue cheese. Now, I can’t imagine living without those two foods….hmmmmm, getting hungry!
Cilantro! A total YUCK when I was growing up. Unfortunately, Chinese cooking uses lots of cilantro and I had to pick each leaf one by one out of the dish.
Then one day, my taste buds just changed. Now I even grow my own cilantro in container pots in the summer, in order to have constant access to fresh cilantro anytime I want! Plus, I let the cilantro flowers (very pretty tiny white flowers) so that I can collect the coriander seeds for cooking!
I used to hate broccoli in any shape and form. I still don’t like the raw stuff, but steamed broc is one of my favorite foods.
This is going to sound rediculous but the food I couldn’t stand was guacamole as a kid and even up till I was a young adult. It was when I was pregnant with my first born son I started craving it and ever since it is one of my favorites!!! My family cracks up to this day talking about how I would just about run away from the “green glop” as I used to call it and now will practically arm wrestle you for the bowl!
I really hated brussels sprouts but that was probably because they were the frozen ones from a bag that got boiled. Now I get them fresh all the time and fix them with some bacon. Even my husband asks for them.
Tomatoes!
They use to make me so grossed out with the slimy seeds and guts. I couldn’t stand them. Now I love to eat them all the time, and I especially love snacking on them with salt and pepper. When I told my mom I liked tomatoes now, she said, “I don’t know you. Are you my child?”
Stuffing! My mother was the soggy bread queen. Chipped beef on toast, turkey & gravy on toast, on and on. Everything sat on a piece of soggy toast. I just couldn’t stand the idea of soggy bread. And her stuffing was the epitome of this. It tasted like a big massive ball of salty, meaty, soggy bread. Uuggh! It wasn’t until I grew up and began to learn about food on my own that I realized that stuffing wasn’t supposed to be like that. Now I love it! Still can’t handle anything on toast. But you take what you can.
Funnily enough, lettuce salads. I now LOVE salads. And lettuce. And spinach.
I also used to hate zucchini but the two of us are getting along much better. Though I call it “Italian Squash” if I actually have to get it from the store–growing up, we always grew more than we could ever eat!
Chicken / if I walked into the kitchen and my mother was washing and preparing chicken I could NOT eat it…especially if I happened to come in when she was pulling the neck and other parts out of the cavity….barf!
I rarely ever ate chicken as a kid
Cottage cheese. I love it now, especially with fresh tomatoes in summertime!
I hated boiled okra. Just hated it. Slimy, green slugs on my plate. Horrid!
I love okra, now. Beautiful, tender vegetables that I greedily covet. Steamed and dressed in a touch of lemon. Heaven!
I was always a big kid, known as the walking garbage can, but there was one thing I couldn’t stomach; Peanut Butter. It was gosh awful! Chunky was the worst and that was all my school cafe would serve (think ants on a log, with nuts!). I would do just about anything not to touch the stuff, even running into the woods at recess on days they would serve them. Now, I eat the stuff out of a jar with a big ol’ tablespoon like a peanut lollipop! If you want me to do anything, just bake a plate of Peanut Butter cookies. AHHH, Heaven!!
Asparagus- I had no idea it could taste so wonderful! Not at all like that soggy, squishy stuff out of the can my mom served. That is just one of many since teaching myself to cook after I left home.
Mustard. Until I was 16 I couldn’t stand the stuff. Now, i have no less than 8 mustards in the refrigerator — and I love them all.
I used to hate cauliflower and green beans. Then again, I grew up only knowing them as overcooked mush, so I had never REALLY eaten them before. Now, roasted cauliflower is a favorite, and the chef at my favorite Chinese restaurant taught me how to cook green beans. Now, as a single father with two daughters to feed, I depend on you guys to help me save them from having to grow up on chili dogs and steak and eggs.
Salad….I hated it as a kid…and now like all kinds..
Asparagus….I thought those little green spears were the nastiest smelliest things on the planet and I spent several evenings sitting at the table because I refused to eat them and my mother refused to allow me to get up until I had. I love Asparagus now. Give it to me grilled, steamed, baked or in soup and I will make myself ill eating it.
Cheese Fondue. I hated the wine/kirsch smell of it. Growing up in a Swiss family, we had Raclette and Fondue for Christmas. Loved the Raclette, hated the Fondue. Now I love it, with bread, veggies, everything…extra garlic!!
I hated blue cheese as a child, but somewhere along the line my tastes changed. Now it’s my favorite!
Fish! I hated it – the smell, the texture, the mere thought of it made me sick. I grew up in a small rural community and my dad and brothers would catch bass and catfish out of farm ponds. My family would “put on a fish fry” for all our friends with fried catfish, homemade cole slaw, fries, hushpuppies, etc…. I would eat everything but the fish. My tastes have changed now and I love fish – even fried catfish – but I prefer salmon – not fried!
Scrambled eggs, anything containing mustard, cheese, or onions. Brussel sprouts were and still are a major yuck.
Fortunately, I grew up, got better taste buds, and my former “won’t eat that, no matter what” foods are pantry staples and quick go-to meals.
Stinky cheese!
I would not, could not eat mushrooms. LOVE ‘em now! There are still many varieties I’m anxious to try.
I hated blue cheese and olives. Before I realized olives aren’t necessarily little green things stuffed with pimento, or jet black from a can. I was at a restaurant about 15 years ago when a co-worker across the table was eating the whole little dish of kalamata olives so I tried one and it’s now my favorite among others! And blue cheese I’ve come to appreciate, especially on a burger! Though I still hate trying to figure out if it’s gone bad or not!
Zucchini! My parents had a modest income and a big garden, and with eight plants for four people, we ate zucchini twice a day, every day, all summer. Zucchini fritters, zucchini bread, zucchini parmesan; steamed zucchini, baked and stuffed zucchini; grated zucchini salad. It took ten years of independent living before I willingly bought a zucchini … and I still like the fried flowers and the tiny baby ones best (because it keeps them from growing any bigger!)
Baked Beans, or any beans really. I love baked beans now, especially ones from a local BBQ place here in town. I just had dinner there about an hour ago and as usual the baked beans were the first thing I ate.
Two foods come to mind that I wouldn’t eat when I was about 9 years old. I was at my grandparents in Prince Rupert and they would share a side of halibut with the neighbors. Grandma only had an ‘icebox’ so the fish had to be cooked that day. I thought since I didn’t LIKE it that I was allergic to it. At our house, fish came in a box with breading on it. We ate a lot of fish sticks. The second food was celery. Just didn’t like the strings. Took me a while to get used to it – peanut butter and cheese were the normal toppings. I don’t eat a lot of it now as an appetizer but I use it in cooking alot with onions and carrots.
Beets and okra both TERRIFIED me as a kid, but now I can’t get eniugh!
Spinach! I hated it in any form but now love it alone or in any recipe. Go figure!
Macaron and cheese. I thought it looked too goopy(yes a real word and my uncle told me one time it had brains in it,what a guy huh) to be good a close second would be spnach and third would be olives and for a third sour cream.
Gotta go with spinach–now I put it in my green smoothies and salads religiously!
Beans. I remember my mother telling me that I used to love them when I was a baby. (The perfect finger food, no?) Then I hated them. Now I love them again!
Eggplants and raw onions. As a kid always avoided them. Now, I don’t exactly crave them but enjoy them when I have a chance to eat them. Never too old to discover new tastes!!
Growing up I wouldn’t go near anything that I knew had any amount of garlic. Now, I love it!
I hated tomatoes when I was a kid. I wouldn’t eat them fresh or cooked in chili. I would pick out the limp pieces in chili and even try not to put them in my bowl. I loved ketchup, of course, who doesn’t. I even loved sardines in tomato sauce as a kid. I would always put them in the shopping cart for me when I was younger. Now I love tomatoes. Another food I wouldn’t eat was cooked cabbage. I would eat sauerkraut and cole slaw but not plain cooked cabbage. Now I can eat it stir fried on its own.
It has to be mushrooms. I always referred to them as ‘dirt” I just love them now. My mom always said I didn’t like chocolate as a little kid – but that just cannot be possible!
Tomatoes! I used to HATE, HATE, HATE tomatoes. I wouldn’t eat any food that had tomatoes in it. Now, I like them on burgers and in stews, and of course, tomatoe sauce. YUM!
Pork! As a child I wouldn’t even deign to touch a pork chop, but now? it’s my very favorite meat! I have learned to make so many pork dishes, my two favorites are kalua pig and vanilla brined pork tenderloin.
I used to hate cheese when I was a kid. Now I love it!
My macaroni and cheese is really cheese and macaroni.
The only thing I remember disliking was cheese. Now there are days when I would love to nibble on cheeses all day long!
My Dad is an avid fisherman and used to bring home gorgeous fresh flounder and red snapper every weekend. I refused to eat any of it! Now that I’m older I love seafood of all kinds, and every time I cringe at the prices at the seafood counter I lecture my younger self for not enjoying it while I had it!
I didn’t like my mom’s homemade beets, blau kraut & tomatoes. Hmmm, must have been a red/purple thing! Didn’t try them until I was 30 & have been eating them ever since!
I could not stand Asparagus. I thought it looked like grass on steroids. Now?? Steamed with some lemon and I am so there!!
Beets! I was allergic as a kid, but now I can’t help but love them. Beets, fresh greens, chevre, and focaccia = delicious.
brussel sprouts
I hated Brussels sprouts! Now, I love them! I par boil them then brown them in a pan with a little but of oil and they are so yummy!!!
Still don’t like green peppers or any kind of fish. But, I do love stuffing now. I hated it as a kid. That is the only one that I can think of. Oh, and once when I was young, I got sick on prime rib. You could not get me to touch steak of any kind. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I would eat it. Sorry I wasted all those years!
I grew up in Florida with hard, flavorless grocery store tomatoes and refused to eat them. I now grow my own, and there is no comparison to what you get at the store. They are delicious and I am a tomato lover for life!
brussels sprouts as a kid I wasn’t a fan, they tasted like dirt to me. Now I love them, I steam them, roast them, fry them with a reduced balsamic vinegar and bacon – ok now I am hungry
Lima beans, it’s got to be lima beans. I tell my grandkids that someday they will learn to like them, too. And I do love them now.
My mom didn’t have much of a repertoire when it came to vegetables; we had corn, peas, green beans, and mixed vegetables–all from a can. So I didn’t think that I liked any other vegetables. I was an adult the first time I ate many of them, such as broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, etc. I remember the first time I realized that I actually liked peas. I was at a neighbor’s house for dinner, and I passed the peas without taking any. Her parents encouraged me to try them, and they were so good! The were frozen, rather than canned. It can’t be hard to believe that you won’t find a can of vegetables in my house!
I used to gag at the smell of broccoli; it reminded me of mildewy laundry. As an adult, however, a meal simply isn’t a meal if it doesn’t have broccoli in it somewhere. I eat so many things now that as a picky child I would never have dreamed I’d like. I attribute it to discovering my love for cooking, and realzing the care and effort that goes into putting a meal on the table. And I have America’s Test Kitchen to thank for teaching me how to cook.
Pickled herring. Now it’s a favorite. I’m still not crazy for pickled beets, but have tried them.
Vegetable soup was the most awful torture for my brother and me. We weren’t allowed to pick out the veggies we didn’t like. We were picky eaters so there wouldn’t be much left! One saturday, as my mother worked in the kitchen all day, she made a strange, but intriguing, announcement. The soup she was lovingly preparing for her not-so-appreciative offspring, was hiding a surprise for those who ate, without complaints, the soup and home made cornbread. [The cornbread, baked in a cast iron skillet, was amazingly similar to the recipe offered on your show.] Right away, my mother found some coins in her soup. After inhaling two bowls apiece, my brother and I finally found a few in the bottom of our bowls. After that day, we began accepting and eventually, enjoying, the stuff that I now make so enthusiastically for members of my family. I love it!
Note: Years later, when questioned why she added the money to the soup, my mother said it was an inspiration. While preparing the soup, thinking of the cost of the ingredients, time involved, and her ungrateful children, she said there was lots of money and labor in the soup, so she baited us, and reeled us in hook, line and sinker!
Chicken livers, rumaki & chicken fried chicken livers are the things of dreams, for me now!
I used to hate cooked broccoli, now I could eat it every day!
I never liked chocolate ice cream until I came across the test kitchen recipe for a no churn version this summer.
Broccoli! I always disliked it as a kid- with or without cheese sauce. Now, I can eat it in any form (stir-fry, roasted, etc). It’s one of my preferred veggies when I have a choice of sides at a restaurant!
A long list of things I didn’t like as a child. I ate only hamburgers and mac n cheese until I was 15. And was kept at the table long after everyone had gone to bed to finish what was on my plate. My father came down occasionally to check on me but I was sitting, arms crossed, not touching the food. I survived to eat, if not love, almost everything, even the baby veal intestines cooked with the mother’s milk still inside them, in Testaccio, and grasshoppers in season at Tu Y Yo, even if their little legs get caught between my teeth. My daughter loved raw jalapenos; my son cut his teeth on inarizushi. Seriously though I lust for hotdogs.
I used to hate turnips. My father would always put them, in addition to parsnips, into our family’s New England Boiled dinner and I became very good at differeniating between the potatoes and the turnips. There is even a story that I told some friends of the family that I had a brother named Turnip, because “everytime we turned him upside down, he threw up.” I was five.
At dinner many years later, I was not as good at picking out the turnips from the potatoes, tried a turnip, and fell in love. Now they are one of my favorite vegetables in NEBD.
Jell-o Ugh. Made my mind up right then and there at age 7 as those 2 x 2 squares of it stared at me in the school lunch line. I think it stared back !!! Then they would try to hide something good in it like mini-marshmellows. Or top it with whip cream and sprinkles. Try exchanging your dessert with one of your lunch mates, minus the whip cream and sprinkles , of course !!! Now ? A hot Summer day with fresh picked fruit. The Best
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese. I hate American cheese, and my mom would put lots in, causing me to gag at the table (one of the only dishes I remember doing that). I still hate American cheese, but I love to make and eat our macaroni and cheese (with Cheddar and American cheeses).
I always hated eating onions and peppers as a kid. Now I love cooking with both. When the kids were little, I started mincing onions, peppers and carrots and add them to foods they already liked. My daughter Katie called them “cooking tricks”. I still do it today out of habit.
Congrats to asparagus-lovin’ ddubdavis — our random winner of this week’s silly question giveaway. Everyone, be sure to check out our newest giveaways at http://americastestkitchenfeed.com/topics/giveaway/
It’s funny that I just read this blog post today, because I think I just realized this afternoon that I don’t hate green and red peppers anymore. Further testing required…