Reddit user zZoZo- asked:
"What meal traumatized you as a kid?"
Asparagus
"My grandma’s asparagus, it traumatized my dad more as it was the only way he had had asparagus until he met my mum."
"We would go out and harvest fresh asparagus when I was a kid, and my mum would grill it, sauté it, or make a salad."
"My grandma only made it for me once. Well my grandma would put it in a pressure cooker on a steam tray and cook it at pressure for 3 minutes."
"It would come out just holding itself together, she would slide it onto the plate, put slices of hard boiled egg on top, salt, and pepper. It was hot mush in a stringy tube with cold egg and no real seasoning or flavor left."
"Just a miserable symphony of textures that would stick in your mouth and teeth."
~ APe28Comococo
GiphyCantaloupe
"My grandma knew I hated cantaloupe but my sister loved it, so so when we would visit my grandma when we were kids she made me eat a piece of cantaloupe for every piece my sister ate."
"To this day I do not know why."
"I f'king hate cantaloupe."
~ SuitableBet2455
Liver
"My father would put raw liver in a juicer and make liver pancakes, no bacon no onion."
~ ThatWomanNow
"Your father seems like the type to have…secrets."
~ Winter-Egg94
"I’m wondering if fava beans and Chianti were involved."
~ 5hrs4hrs3hrs2hrs1mor
GiphyLeftover Stew
"Mom had a habit of clearing the fridge of leftovers by tossing everything in a pot and serving it for dinner. Ugh."
"The most...ahem...memorable combination was: some old spaghetti sauce (not a bad start...) some baked beans (kinda weird, but okay...) some leftover tuna-noodle casserole (getting weirder...) some peas (gotta have a vegetable) and, I kid you not, the leftover cherry Jell-O (why, Mom? Why the Jell-O???)."
"I still have NO IDEA why it all had to go in a single pot."
~ candlestick_maker76
Mayonnaise
"I was forced to eat a mayonnaise sandwich at a sleepover once."
"It was so disgusting, and I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I was done."
~ rocky_2277
GiphyBribery or Extortion?
"Not traumatized, just salty. Mom took my brother and me to a restaurant with another one of her mom friends and her kids, that mom was really into making kids try new foods."
"She made me eat a stupid octopus or squid tentacle or something to get dessert, whereas my brother held out until all he had to try was some basically normal piece of cheese."
"Clearly I didn’t know how to be stubborn."
~ never-at-grade
Hidden Veggies
"My mom found some 'hidden veggie' article that called for zucchini in brownies. Two bites in, something tasted off."
"I looked in the brownie and saw the green fibers of vegetable and my mom gleefully told me the secret ingredient. I protested and complained and refused the brownies and she said I wouldn’t even notice."
"Mother, if I wouldn’t notice, then why did I almost immediately notice?"
"Took a long time for me to trust her desserts after that."
"F'k those 'hidden food' recipes. Just learn to cook zucchini in an appetizing way and let me eat the zucchini for dinner and a normal brownie for dessert."
~ FormerLurker3
GiphySalads That Aren't Salads
"Oh God, this 'salad' my mom would make that was literally just frozen peas and cheese chunks coated in mayonnaise. I couldn't even be near it without gagging.
"Whenever she'd make it I'd start crying and hide under the bed (I was around 5 or 6). Thank Christ she eventually stopped making it."
"I still hate mayo. To this day even the smell of it makes me physically sick."
~ immedicable
"With my grandma it was green Jello, grapes, celery, walnuts, shredded cabbage and carrots in a Jello mold."
"When she unmolded it, she would fill the center with Miracle Whip and sprinkle it with paprika."
"Most disgusting side dish ever."
~ RubyNotTawny
GiphyBland
"Meatloaf. My mom would force me to sit at the table and eat a bland meatloaf with no seasoning whatsoever."
~ VenusSwift
"My grandmother's cooking in general is always bland. Salt and pepper. That's it."
"So when I moved out with my boyfriend. It was a kick to the face cause he actually uses spices and seasoning."
"Love the woman, but damn. And I get it. She lived on a farm with 11 brothers and sisters. So taste wasn't really the point of eating."
~ Xeillan
"At least she uses salt. My MIL doesn't even use that!"
~ boxsterguy
"That's disturbingly common in some regions - especially the Midwest.
"I have family who deliberately don't add any salt as they're cooking, and then offer guests a salt shaker (which they, themselves don't use)."
"Holidays are agony. And the worst part is that I'm not sure if everybody is suffering in silence with me, or if they've all somehow been indoctrinated and just don't even want the salt."
~ The_Law_of_Pizza
GiphyOysters
"I went to a wedding as a kid where they served oysters but not fresh ones. They were from a jar and then put back into shells."
Anyway I put it in my mouth and I wanted to spit it out, but my dad gave me one of those looks (death stares) so I had to swallow the snot like thing."
"I love seafood but have never been able to eat a fresh oyster since."
~ Redditor
Not Finger Lickin' Good
"Cow's tongue. I was 8 or 9. I sat at the table until 9 pm, refused to eat it, just sitting there crying as quiet as I could."
"I didn't want to get in more trouble."
"Finally my mother gave up and I got a cheese sandwich and sent to bed."
"I will never, never eat another mammal's tongue. Just typing that out made me gag."
~ crunchygravy
GiphyPotatoes
"I was around 6 at the time. My dad used to season and roast baby potatoes. For some reason as a kid, I just couldn't stomach them."
"They made me want to throw up. After a few of them I would run to the toilet."
"One time, I thought I was clever by hiding them under the cushions of my seat. I got away with it for a few weeks."
"Until my mother was obsessively cleaning because she couldn't get rid of the smell of compost from the dining room."
"Eventually she lifted the cushion to see a heap of mouldy squashed potatoes."
"That day for dinner, my dad made an extra portion just for me. Apparently when I saw the plate I went pale."
~ Slight_Bodybuilder25
GiphyDon't Name Dinner
"It's not at all fun to name and raise a chicken only for it to be served for lunch."
~ OinkMcOink
My Mother was not a good cook because she hated to cook.
She could reheat things from a can or make something from a box, but she had a tendency to add canned peas or cut up hot dogs.
Luckily I loved cooking and took over all family cooking duties as a child.
My only food trauma was a dish my Sister made: Polynesian liver. Yes, it was liver baked with pineapple rings.
None of us could eat more than one bite.
Do you have food trauma? Share your story in the comments.
For those who've thought outside the box and put together a delicious concoction, Redditor wildwoodflower_ asked:
"What's a food combo you love that people think you're weird for?"
People slapped two ingredients together to come up with quick and easy masterpieces.
Jamming Out
"Not me but a close friend: fried eggs with strawberry jam"
– Temporary-Patient-47
Crunchy And A-Peel-ing
"One of my grandmothers used to like stuffing a few pretzel sticks down a banana. Salt and the crunch with the banana is a surprisingly decent mix of texture and flavor. She called it 'Bananas with bones.'"
– EffyewMoney
A Potent Combo
"I used to eat tuna and spicy v8 like every day my first year in college. It gave me some paint peeling gas that almost killed my roommate. 20 years later, I still get sh*t for that."
– TrickyXT
Pacific Northwest Delight
"Seattle dogs are my jam, hotdog with cream cheese and caramelized onions"
– giggles________
These basic ingredients can be the perfect foundation for anything cheap and delectable.
Quintessential Ingredient
"So the general consensus here is peanut butter + anything."
– Lonely_Custard_5838
British Savory Condiment
"Being British you can divide the country with Marmite with anything."
– oldhandnewmind
It's A Wrap!
"I like making PB&J with tortillas, I spread it on then roll it up, it reminds me of those Smuckers uncrustables but better."
– Dude_Baby
Try Not To Sneeze
"Cottage cheese with a sh*t ton of ground black pepper mixed in, used as a dip for potato chips."
"Mmm it’s been too long since I’ve had this."
– Quirky_Word
It's Their Jam
"Sausage McMuffin with hash brown and grape jelly."
"I assumed this was pretty common, but I have never come across another person who does this. most people think it's gross."
– run66
Two different snacks came together and delighted the palates of these Redditors.
Sweet And Savory
"Chili with a cinnamon roll."
– MrDover2112
Tasty And Tangy
"Brownies with orange juice."
"Also havarti cheese and corn (I was high when I discovered this)"
– cookiedux
As a kid, my husband liked to eat sandwiches consisting of bologna and peanut butter together.
I winced, but he swears by it.
I just have to believe him because that combo doesn't make any sense to me at all.
But hey, to each their own.
I am very picky eater. I try not to be, but I can't help it. My list long.
Oink
Wild West Lol GIF by Justin GammonGiphy"Ham it's so gross I like other meats but ham is just so disgusting."
AHHHyhu78uj
Fresh Roast
"Not a food, but coffee. The entire planet seems to start their day with a cup and I can’t get the taste for it."
boegan
"I actually LOVE the taste of coffee but I rarely drink it. I just try to wake up with a glass of water instead of the caffeine."
"I feel like the point of coffee is to wake you up, so it never made sense to me to drink decaf (even though I like the taste), so I just decide not to drink it. I do have a coffee pot and there are times where I’m feeling frisky, but I’m glad that it’s an addiction that I haven’t gotten into."
JSto19
Hell NO!
"Steak. Not red meat, just a fat steak. Gristle, fat, texture, and childhood trauma play a key role in why I dislike steak. Trust me, I've had numerous people - including my previous roommate who is a professional chef - try to get me to like it. It ain't happening. I do love a good burger though."
Killarogue
Separate
"Chocolate ice cream I love them separately though."
SuvenPan
"Yes! A lot of chocolate flavored stuff I'd say is more 'cocao' flavored if that makes sense, same with chocolate milk, chocolate pudding, etc."
motion_bum
"I'm the same. I like chocolate, but majority of chocolate flavoured things taste very different and are not enjoyable for me."
Amber-Dragon
bad sweets...
Marshmallow Peeps Candy GIF by Bronwyn MaloneyGiphy"Marshmallow peeps."
rmdelecuona
"They are overwhelmingly sweet. But I have childhood nostalgia associated with them so I still eat them."
SpaceBass18
Those Peeps are the work of Satan. I said what I said.
I'm ill...
Season 11 Reaction GIF by Curb Your EnthusiasmGiphy"Mayo and ranch, but mostly mayo. The sight of a glob of thick ranch or mayo makes my stomach uneasy."
Helicoppter
Clearly the best...
"Sweet potato pie. I can’t stand sweet potatoes but to put it in a pie… that’s just too much."
WonderlissBliss
"Dog it tastes nothing like actual sweet potatoes. Sweet potato pie is like candy trust me. My mom used to make it for me when I was little."
"But she called it 'butterscotch pie' to trick me into eating it as she knew I'd want nothing to do with it if I found out it contained sweet potatoes. Clearly the best pie. I assume you haven't ever tried it. Big mistake. It's like if someone took a pumpkin pie and was like, 'what if I increase all of its stats by ten points'. Perfect pie."
fly_it_sigh_it
fresh off the boat...
"About the only seafood I'll eat is breaded fish sticks. Which has about as much in common with seafood as Taco Bell does with Mexican food. None at all. The smell, texture and taste of the rest of the seafood world is just nauseating to me. Which some people can't seem to grasp as I live less than a 10 minute drive to the fishing docks and get whatever I want fresh off the boat."
bbpr120
In your mouth...
"Caviar tried it once like pouring salt shaker in your mouth. Venison gamey Beef."
MissGoodbean
"Then you haven't had good caviar. I had it in Moscow and it was super. I don't like sushi or a lot of seafood."
highstreethellcat
Gross Greens
excited shake GIFGiphy"Celery. What the f**k, people. Not good."
velthrar
"Crunchy water!"
Cat385CL
I actually love celery. But I'm weird.
Reddit user TactlessLaugher asked:
"What’s a meal as child you thought was fancy, or high class but was really the exact opposite?"
Let's get into it, starting with the obvious.
Luxury Lobster
"I thought Red Lobster was classy sh*t as a child."
"As an adult I ordered 6 soggy small shrimp that came in bowl and they called it shrimp scampi and paid way too much for it."
- _Goose_
"My sons (they're almost 14) still think Red Lobster is the top echelon of seafood."
"We even go to the Outer Banks right on the ocean one week every summer where they both eat fresh, tasty seafood. But they think some $35 pile of rubbery Red Lobster meat is prime luxury."
- orangestar17
"I took one of my sons there to celebrate the end of a successful school year."
"I thought for sure he would realize how not-posh it really was."
"Nope, he thought it was amazing and couldn’t wait to tell his friends he had finally gone to Red Lobster. I kept my mouth shut and let him enjoy the luxury."
- pixygarden
Season 1 Episode 13 GIF by The SimpsonsGiphyPizza Hut Used To Be Awesome
"In the 80s, I can't explain how big of a deal it was to go to a Pizza Hut. It was 30 miles away so it was a big treat."
"These days, not so much."
- Shroom4Yoshi
"Playing Pacman at the arcade table and wearing a book-it pin on my Jean jacket, ahhh the 80's"
- beccasam1
"We didn't have much money so didn't eat out much."
"The Book-It program at school gave those coupons for a free personal pan pizza when you read books and it was like Christmas"
- orangestar17
"Pizza Hut back in the day was a step or two above Pizza Hut today- which is barely a storefront."
"The old ones had funky roofs, salad bars, pizza served in skillets, table service..."
"Today? Nothing special."
- sdcinerama
Pasta-Roni
"I used to think my mom made this delicious angel-hair pasta with a creamy sauce all from scratch."
"It was just boxed Pasta Roni."
"But I’m glad it is because she passed when I was 12 years old and it would have sucked that I never got her recipe. Now I can just whip open a box and feel the nostalgia."
- drekia
"I didn’t come to this thread to cry over Pasta Roni."
- Basghetti_
"My mom died when I was twelve too. I’m still always trying to recreate recipes from childhood. Certain things I’ve got but I’m never gonna nail her sweet and sour pork. 😔"
- taipeileviathan
Because The French Are Fancy
"French toast, because it was 'French' "
- dick-nipples
"That's kind of adorable."
- Ascholay
"French toast is delicious though."
- SkeleHoes
"Same with crepes."
- Grjaryau
Fondue
"When I was a kid my folks would have a fondue night every great now and then. They would have a few different kinds of meat like hot dog pieces and some cut up chicken."
"To this day it seems special."
"We didn’t have much money growing up but this made me feel otherwise. One of my fondest memories as a kid with my parents."
- 1980pzx
"Woah! This brings back warm memories to fondue night."
"We didn't have much growing up, and fondue night always felt like we had something to celebrate. We even had special fondue plates we bought at a flea market."
"It was just one of those rare nights where dinner didn't feel rushed, with dad usually being tired from working all day or having to leave for a night shift."
"Thanks for bringing back that memory."
- Leilavdm
Melting Food Porn GIF by BOSKAGiphyHot Washcloth
"If my parents were going out for the evening, my mom would take us to the grocery store to pick out TV dinners."
"I usually got turkey, with mashed potatoes, stuffing, those miserable peas and carrots, and some kind of cobbler dessert."
"No microwaves then, so the foil trays went in the oven. My mom would put the hot tray on a washcloth on a tv table."
"We got to eat in front of the TV and thought it was fabulous."
- ItsSnowingAgain
"Same down to the washcloth or dish towel!"
"Pre microwave it was a big deal! This was the 70’s for me."
- miahsmama
It's Not Butter
"My mother used margarine in (nearly) everything, but she called it butter."
"So whenever we went to a nice restaurant to eat, I thought the real butter they served was something fancy and French."
- mobyhead1
"Same here."
"We've still never had real butter in our house. Even though it said 'margarine' on the tub it took me until I was at least 12 to realize it was different from butter."
"I was so shocked when I went to a restaurant and the butter tasted so good and different."
- katkeransuloinen
"This!"
"I baked a lot as a child and always wondered why my cookies were never very good. My mum raised me to believe that olive spread is butter."
"Turns out it’s not."
- Dragon_Sluts
Missing The Point
"Ratatouille because I had completely missed the point while watching the movie"
- maedayborowski
"Totally true! The movie does make it look super fancy but in reality 95% of ratatouille is a mess of mushy vegetables."
"It has a fancy sounding French name though."
- bambooshoot
"And I just now realized the point."
- Rin-Tohsaka-is-hot
"Same dude I was really young when I watched Ratatouille and completely missed the part where they said it was a peasant dish."
- NHK21506
ratatouille GIFGiphyAffording Ramen
"My mom told me 'We can't afford to eat ramen all the time.' "
"She meant that it wasn't healthy and that I should eat a vegetable or something. I spent years thinking instant ramen was expensive."
- pm-me-racecars
"SAME but I thought it was expensive just because I loved it so much."
"I got a job at a grocery store when I was in high school, realized how cheap it was, lost my damn mind."
- Remarkable_Squirrel3
"It was expensive for my roommate in college who ate nothing but instant ramen for so long that he felt like crap for weeks. Finally went to the doctor when his gums started bleeding."
"He had scurvy."
"Aaaand we talked to him like pirates for the rest of the year."
- victimless_lime
A Precious Commodity
"I always thought oyster crackers were super expensive and fancy because I only had them at restaurants with my clam chowder. And the waitress would only give me one tiny packet and it was never enough."
"Sometimes I would screw up the courage to ask for one more packet if I was extra brave or hungry but I always felt like maybe that was selfish of me because clearly this is a precious commodity."
- logcabinfarmgirl
"Yes! Lol"
"I remember finding them in the grocery store and being blown away you can just buy a big box of them! Hahaha."
- j33pwrangler
"This cracks me up because whenever I go drinking at a seafood joint I slam those crackers. Pinchers Crab Shack usually has a little basket of them at your table"
- FTMorando
IYKYK
"Golden Corral. If you know you know."
- Kasmanian_devil
"Yes!"
"We would eat there when we went to go visit my grandfather. And I thought it was the coolest thing that I could get 'ice cream' with different toppings."
- elanrach
Hungry Nom Nom GIF by LAIKA StudiosGiphyStill Love
"Chicken and rice!"
"Growing up I loved it and thought my mom cooked it so often because she loved spoiling me. Eventually found out mom cooked it a lot because it was cheap and went a long way."
"Still love it though."
- AbductedMind
Layers Make It Fancy
"Vienettas."
"They were special, because they were sold from the yellow Family Frost trucks and as I try to remember, they were one of the most affordable big package ice creams from there."
"Sometimes I got the money and felt important when I could go buy it from the truck. I still like the memory of thin chocolate plates between the layers. Supermarkets were very scarce back then."
- Ziriath
"That 'Viennetta' frozen ice cream cake. I saw commercials for those all the time as a kid and I thought it was faaaancyyy."
- CPOx
"Those Breyers ice cream cakes... vienetta"
- MichiganMulletia
Moms Tamales
"My mom used to make me tamales every time I visited her on the weekends cause she knew how much I loved them."
"It took me years to discover she did not make them from scratch. They were the frozen ones you can buy at the grocery store."
- msphelps77
Soup For My Family
"I remember when I was about 11 and I stayed with my dad in the winter. To stock up on food he bought like 50 cans of Chunky soup and I thought he was rich when we walked out of the store."
"but it’s just soup, lol."
- Awpss
Adam Driver Soup GIF by VON GRAMBUSCHGiphyA Gift From God
"Pizza rolls."
"My mom never bought them for me, but the neighbor kid's mom would occasionally make them whenever I was over there and they were like a gift from god."
- Eyjovin
Taco Sh*ts
"Taco Bell."
"Even when we had fast food as a kid, it was rarely Taco Bell. So I always thought it must be more expensive, even though it never felt 'fancy.' "
"Now that I’m older and my guts can’t handle all the junk that I used to eat, I can see why my parents never wanted to get Taco Bell."
- FTMorando
3 Minutes
"The first time I had spam was at a Chinese restaurant during our Chinese New Year celebrations."
"I was like maybe 6 years old and my mum gave it to me and I actually thought it was the greatest thing I’d ever eaten."
"Fast forward to a few days later I ask my mum when’s the next time I can have spam (called it luncheon meat) and she just took it out from a metal tin, fried some white rice and the spam in 3 mins and gave it to me."
"Mind blown."
- Throws_for_Dayz
spam GIFGiphy"Lunchables."
"Since my mom would never buy them unless there was some special occasion like a field trip, I guess I sort of associated lunchables with the good memories of elementary school field trips."
- ivcy24
It's your turn now, fam. What's your fancy-but-not-really fondest food memory?
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