What vegetable(s) do you wish you liked better?

[bibiche]

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

I was stumped, as I love almost every potentially polarizing vegetable.

But then I came up with spaghetti squash. Have not dared to re-try it in decades, but the thought of eating one leaves me queasy.

Bill

OMG This exactly. And I don’t wish I liked it better ‘cause it’s insipid and not worth liking better.  Otherwise, there is not a vegetable or fruit that I’ve encountered that I haven’t enjoyed eventually. (Durian wasn’t love at first bite…)

Edited August 14, 2021 by bibiche

[Indigo Blue]

1 hour ago, Spy Car said:

I was stumped, as I love almost every potentially polarizing vegetable.

But then I came up with spaghetti squash. Have not dared to re-try it in decades, but the thought of eating one leaves me queasy.

Bill

I have one on my counter that I’m giving to my neighbor. I love it, though. I used to eat it with parmesan cheese and butter. I just don’t cook them much anymore. 

[Indigo Blue]

Eggplant. It’s gross and I don’t want to like it. 

I want to like cucumbers. They are strange. They smell so good, but they taste like nothing. So I don’t like them. 

[Corraleno]

The vegetable I really wish I liked is beets; they're so good for you and such a gorgeous color, but they just taste like dirt to me.

I don't really like the texture of eggplant and generally only eat it if it's roasted and mashed/pureed (like baba ganoush), but I would really like to train myself to eat it in stir fries and curries. 

Two foods that I don't like, but also don't care that I don't like, are celery and okra. I don't see the point of celery, and I think okra is the second grossest thing I've ever eaten (#1 was a "hundred year old egg").

 

[bibiche]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

I grew up with overcooked vegetables and there were a LOT I didn't like, but once I learned to cook them properly (barely-sauteed, or roasted, or grilled, with some kind of oil / salt / seasoning) I now like pretty much all of them, even the squashes...

except

cauliflower. 

The ONLY way I can stand even a small quantity of cauliflower is raw, in curry dip.

This is so sad! Have you tried cauliflower gratin? Steam cauliflower and then pour béchamel over it with some bread crumbs and bake?

How about sautéed cauliflower (I parcook first) in olive oil and butter with capers? Get a nice hot pan so the cauliflower gets a good color. So good!

Cauliflower crumble? Cauliflower creme as a sauce for seafood is a favorite. Give cauliflower another chance, Pam!

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by bibiche

[bibiche]

18 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

…and I think okra is the second grossest thing I've ever eaten (#1 was a "hundred year old egg").

 

Have you had stinky tofu? I feel sure it would displace the hundred year egg. 

[Spy Car]

29 minutes ago, Indigo Blue said:

I have one on my counter that I’m giving to my neighbor. I love it, though. I used to eat it with parmesan cheese and butter. I just don’t cook them much anymore. 

I can't figure out if Thanks, Laughing, Confused or Sad is the appropriate emoji reasonse 

Bill

 

[saraha]

Green beans. It is literally all that has come out of my failed garden and so far I have canned 24 quarts and have three from last year and more beans to pick. And I hate all iterations of green beans.

[LucyStoner]

7 hours ago, Laura Corin said:

Fennel, dill etc. I can't get past the aniseed taste.

Same.  

[bibiche]

5 minutes ago, saraha said:

Green beans. It is literally all that has come out of my failed garden and so far I have canned 24 quarts and have three from last year and more beans to pick. And I hate all iterations of green beans.

Here is a recipe for an Italian peasant dish. I defy you not to like green beans after you taste this: Cook green beans with potatoes in salted water until the potatoes are done. Sauté several garlic cloves in a fair amount of olive oil to infuse the oil with their flavor and then remove. Cook the drained potato bean mix in the oil. Salt and pepper generously. Your hatred of green beans is a thing of the past. 

[LucyStoner]

31 minutes ago, Corraleno said:

The vegetable I really wish I liked is beets; they're so good for you and such a gorgeous color, but they just taste like dirt to me.

I don't really like the texture of eggplant and generally only eat it if it's roasted and mashed/pureed (like baba ganoush), but I would really like to train myself to eat it in stir fries and curries. 

Two foods that I don't like, but also don't care that I don't like, are celery and okra. I don't see the point of celery, and I think okra is the second grossest thing I've ever eaten (#1 was a "hundred year old egg").

Same to this also except I wouldn't even try the 100 year egg.  I am ok with cooked celery in soup, stuffing and pot pie or raw celery diced up in certain salads but I can't deal with celery sticks or whatever.  Beets, most forms of eggplant and okra are on my blech list.  I would like to like beets and more eggplant but I don't.  

[saraha]

My kids and dh thought they didn’t like cucumbers too, but I stopped slicing them and cut them into spears and then scooped out the seeds, worked like a charm. Now all cucumbers not being pickled get deseeded , in case that’s helpful to anyone.

3 minutes ago, bibiche said:

Here is a recipe for an Italian peasant dish. I defy you not to like green beans after you taste this: Cook green beans with potatoes in salted water until the potatoes are done. Sauté several garlic cloves in a fair amount of olive oil to infuse the oil with their flavor and then remove. Cook the drained potato bean mix in the oil. Salt and pepper generously. Your hatred of green beans is a thing of the past. 

I am so going to try this because this years stupid garden is giving us nothing but a ridiculous bumper crop of green beans. I swear I only planted one row to appease dh and one dd, and now we are stuck eating green beans for the apocalypse 😆

[livetoread]

I can't think of a vegetable I don't like. However I generally leave bell peppers and celery out of recipes I make myself. I can munch on them raw but don't love them in other foods. Dh isn't a big fan of those either so easier to just leave them out but I won't avoid a dish that has them if eating out. There are several fruits I don't like though. Papaya, lichee fruit, tamarind, and I cannot choke down rhubarb even to be polite. 

[SoCal_Bear]

1 hour ago, Pam in CT said:

I grew up with overcooked vegetables and there were a LOT I didn't like, but once I learned to cook them properly (barely-sauteed, or roasted, or grilled, with some kind of oil / salt / seasoning) I now like pretty much all of them, even the squashes...

except

cauliflower. 

The ONLY way I can stand even a small quantity of cauliflower is raw, in curry dip.

I had a hard with it until I started roasting it with curry and tumeric. Also, it is fine in Aloo Gobi, Indian curried potato and cauliflower dish.

[Slache]

4 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Green bell peppers are delicious mashed with garlic and salt, and eaten with injera bread.

Did you make this up? Does it have a name?

[Slache]

Peas, eggplant and cooked carrots.

[Drama Llama]

So many of these things I love.  Cauliflower, cucumber, and fennel are among my very favorite foods.  Apparently I like my vegetables pale. 

What I wish I liked is more kinds of lettuce.  I like iceberg, and baby spinach (which I know isn't actually lettuce) and that's pretty much it.   I'll eat some other kinds if the dressing is great, but I wish I liked all kinds of salad.

I'm also not an eggplant fan, but I find that easier to avoid.  

[Rosie_0801]

15 minutes ago, Slache said:

Did you make this up? Does it have a name?

I didn't make it up. I got it out of a vegan Ethiopian cookbook. Don't know what it is called because the recipe has disappeared out of the book. (This has happened to me several times, recently. Knowing a recipe is in a certain book, and it definitely not being there when I've looked. Seriously, what is going on?)

Anyway, cut one green bell pepper into cubes and bash it with a mortar and pestle, with a clove of garlic and about that much salt. Eat with injera, because it isn't really worth eating with anything else unless you already love green capsicum and want to burn your nostrils with raw garlic.
 

[Rosie_0801]

29 minutes ago, saraha said:

My kids and dh thought they didn’t like cucumbers too, but I stopped slicing them and cut them into spears and then scooped out the seeds, worked like a charm. Now all cucumbers not being pickled get deseeded , in case that’s helpful to anyone.

I am so going to try this because this years stupid garden is giving us nothing but a ridiculous bumper crop of green beans. I swear I only planted one row to appease dh and one dd, and now we are stuck eating green beans for the apocalypse 😆

Gently cooked green beans with fenugreek and coconut cream is quite delicious. I don't know how it would work with home canned beans.

[Drama Llama]

5 minutes ago, Rosie_0801 said:

I didn't make it up. I got it out of a vegan Ethiopian cookbook. Don't know what it is called because the recipe has disappeared out of the book. (This has happened to me several times, recently. Knowing a recipe is in a certain book, and it definitely not being there when I've looked. Seriously, what is going on?)

Anyway, cut one green bell pepper into cubes and bash it with a mortar and pestle, with a clove of garlic and about that much salt. Eat with injera, because it isn't really worth eating with anything else unless you already love green capsicum and want to burn your nostrils with raw garlic.
 

you don't cook it? 

[Rosie_0801]

13 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

you don't cook it? 

Nope.

[Laura Corin]

4 hours ago, LucyStoner said:

Same to this also except I wouldn't even try the 100 year egg.  I am ok with cooked celery in soup, stuffing and pot pie or raw celery diced up in certain salads but I can't deal with celery sticks or whatever.  Beets, most forms of eggplant and okra are on my blech list.  I would like to like beets and more eggplant but I don't.  

This beetroot dish is good if you feel like trying

http://forrecuisine.blogspot.com/2019/12/roasted-beetroot-with-yoghurt-and.html?m=1

I use mint instead of dill.

[Shoeless]

I thought of more that I don't care for:

-beets (taste like dirt)

-kale and it's bitter cousins (This stuff is just weeds, guys)

-okra (it's like a glue-filled green bean)

-eggplant 

I haven't had eggplant in a very long time, so I should give it another try. 

I'm not crazy about fennel, but I'll eat it. 

 

I loooove Brussels sprouts, raw cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. And cilantro. I kind of like the slightly soapy taste, I don't know why!

Edited August 14, 2021 by MissLemon

[Rosie_0801]

Eggplant seems to need to soak up its bodyweight in olive oil to taste any good.

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, Rosie_0801 said:

Eggplant seems to need to soak up its bodyweight in olive oil to taste any good.

I find that if you just toss cubes of it in oil it works fine roasted.

----    

I forgot okra - can't get past the texture. And there are some more obscure Chinese leafy vegetables that just taste like grass to me - not horrible, but why bother?

Edited August 14, 2021 by Laura Corin

[marbel]

You eggplant haters who feel you ought to like it, might like ratatouille, such as this recipe:  https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/roasted-ratatouille

The one I make includes a bit of balsamic vinegar, which I mostly don't like, but I think it's perfect in this. 

[mmasc]

I love, love okra, BUT where I come from it’s coated in a cornmeal mixture and fried in oil until golden. It’s delicious, but I’m guessing my health would be better off NOT liking it in this case. 😊

(Similar with eggplant—I love eggplant Parmesan—cover the slices in Italian breadcrumbs mixture, then fry in oil.)

I do like most vegetables, raw and cooked. I’m much more picky with fruit. 

[Corraleno]

Since several people have said they're pickier about fruit than veg, I'm curious what fruits people dislike? I love pretty much all fruit and eat a lot of it; it's my go-to for snacks, dessert, and often breakfast. The only fruit I can think of that I wouldn't eat is durian.

[history-fan]

I have noticed a different flavor in several vegetables when I get them fresh from the farmer or my garden vs the store. A new vegetable last year in my csa was salad turnips which became a new favorite along with “breakfast radishes “.

[73349]

4 hours ago, Corraleno said:

Since several people have said they're pickier about fruit than veg, I'm curious what fruits people dislike? I love pretty much all fruit and eat a lot of it; it's my go-to for snacks, dessert, and often breakfast. The only fruit I can think of that I wouldn't eat is durian.

I never tried avocado, mango, star fruit, or some other tropical fruits until adulthood, and I find them difficult to like. I still haven't tried durian. I don't love coconut; DS actually hates it, which is a drag when it comes to picking dairy-free recipes.

[Selkie]

4 hours ago, Corraleno said:

Since several people have said they're pickier about fruit than veg, I'm curious what fruits people dislike? I love pretty much all fruit and eat a lot of it; it's my go-to for snacks, dessert, and often breakfast. The only fruit I can think of that I wouldn't eat is durian.

I am not crazy about pineapples, pears, cantaloupes and similar melons, papayas, apricots, loquats, persimmons.

I eat a lot of pomegranates (my favorite), all kinds of citrus, lots of berries, watermelon, kiwis, apples, plums, nectarines, cherries, bananas, avocados, dates, figs.

I am only so-so on grapes and I can't stand raisins.

[Faith-manor]

A year ago I would have said Brussels sprouts. But I found a way to cook them, and if I do it that way, I actually enjoy them.

I cannot stand grapes, raisins, or avocados. So that is sad. I am actually not all that crazy about fruit except citrus and tart apples which I love. I adore legumes, and eat a healthy variety of veggies though I do think squash is kind of gross. I like to grill zucchini with other veggies, but yikes, my mom insists on putting acorn squash in the oven, then scooping it out and plopping it in a bowl, and I hate it!

[Drama Llama]

4 hours ago, history-fan said:

I have noticed a different flavor in several vegetables when I get them fresh from the farmer or my garden vs the store. A new vegetable last year in my csa was salad turnips which became a new favorite along with “breakfast radishes “.

I need to know more about breakfast radishes.

[Terabith]

I wish I liked beets and cabbage.  I also wish I liked Brussels sprouts, but I haven't tried them prepared many other ways other than boiling.  I need to try them roasted.  

[Spy Car]

2 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I need to know more about breakfast radishes.

They are delicious and pair nicely with a little salt (and butter on crusty bread).

Bill

[Drama Llama]

1 minute ago, Spy Car said:

They are delicious and pair nicely with a little salt (and butter on crusty bread).

Bill

Are they different radishes or just a different preparation of the same radishes?

[Spy Car]

12 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Are they different radishes or just a different preparation of the same radishes?

They are a little larger and have an elongated shape. The taste is somewhat similar to standard radishes, but the pepperiness is more refined (sweeter), if that makes sense.

I generally purchase ordinary radishes (as they are so cheap at my favorite supermarket that they are nearly free vs the French breakfast ones being dear at the farmer's market) but there is no contest in my mind which are tastier.

Bill

ETA: They are a different variety.

 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Spy Car

[Danae]

10 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

Are they different radishes or just a different preparation of the same radishes?

They are longer and lighter colored, sometimes almost pink shifting to white at the bottom.  And delicious.

https://www.rareseeds.com/catalog/product/view/id/1085/s/french-breakfast-radish/?utm_source=&utm_medium=&utm_campaign=&utm_term=&utm_content=&gclid=CjwKCAjw092IBhAwEiwAxR1lRhVQxiiv0hOaSeDJC9nktXpp-m6epDkAth0lZHXv6LfmtsCsZ71fhRoCyikQAvD_BwE

 

[Drama Llama]

23 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

A year ago I would have said Brussels sprouts. But I found a way to cook them, and if I do it that way, I actually enjoy them.

 

I think we need a rule that you can't post things like that, without a recipe or directions.  It's like posting that you have a new puppy without a photo.  Just cruel.

[Innisfree]

For the beet haters, have you tried them in a sweet and sour sauce, like Harvard beets?

And for cabbage, blaukraut was transformative for me. You can find a wide range of recipes online, but basically, start by cutting up and lightly sauteing a good chunk of bacon with some brown sugar, before adding chopped onions and tart apples, and then sliced red cabbage. At some point some vinegar and salt go in also... do find a recipe, don't just go by this. I use one from Mimi Sheraton's The German Cookbook, which may or may not be authentic, but does taste awfully good. I've branched out from blaukraut to other cabbage recipes she includes, using things like caraway seeds. I basically decided that I wanted to learn to like cabbage, and a German cookbook seemed like the most likely way to do that.

For kale, try chopping a good sized onion and several cloves of garlic. Saute (covered) in a big skillet with one of the little bottles of white wine that comes in a  four-pack: the ones I have on hand are chardonnay. Once the onion starts to get a bit soft, add a bag of frozen kale, and a can of cannellini beans. Season with about a teaspoon of salt and a few shakes of red pepper flakes. I've gone from barely tolerating greens to really enjoying this. (Eta: the original recipe for this includes a pound of Italian sausage, which is scrumptious, but for ordinary use I leave it out because it adds so much fat.) 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Innisfree

[Drama Llama]

2 minutes ago, Innisfree said:

start by cutting up and lightly sauteing a good chunk of bacon . . . 

In my experience, any recipe that starts like this will meet approval in my house.  

[Innisfree]

1 minute ago, BaseballandHockey said:

In my experience, any recipe that starts like this will meet approval in my house.  

Yep, here too. And then you add the brown sugar!

I honestly increase quantities of ingredients like these if my main purpose is to introduce a recipe featuring, say, cabbage. I can always gradually decrease them once people decide they like it.

[Faith-manor]

54 minutes ago, Terabith said:

I wish I liked beets and cabbage.  I also wish I liked Brussels sprouts, but I haven't tried them prepared many other ways other than boiling.  I need to try them roasted.  

I have the answer. Very yummy. Quarter them and then toss them hard, hard, hard so they really get a lot of leaves coming off and the rest are loose. Thoroughly toss with olive oil - be generous - and sprinkle with salt. Put in the oven at 425 and roast until they are getting crisp.

For Thanksgiving, instead of olive oil, lightly toss with melted butter and then drizzle maple syrup on top. Same oven temp.

[Faith-manor]

37 minutes ago, BaseballandHockey said:

I think we need a rule that you can't post things like that, without a recipe or directions.  It's like posting that you have a new puppy without a photo.  Just cruel.

I just fixed it. See above!

[Drama Llama]

3 minutes ago, Faith-manor said:

I have the answer. Very yummy. Quarter them and then toss them hard, hard, hard so they really get a lot of leaves coming off and the rest are loose. Thoroughly toss with olive oil - be generous - and sprinkle with salt. Put in the oven at 425 and roast until they are getting crisp.

For Thanksgiving, instead of olive oil, lightly toss with melted butter and then drizzle maple syrup on top. Same oven temp.

Balsamic is also lovely on roasted sprouts.  

[SKL]

All of them?

I am fine with most veggies, but it feels like such a chore to eat them somehow.

[Pam in CT]

re brussel sprouts

1 hour ago, Faith-manor said:

I have the answer. Very yummy. Quarter them and then toss them hard, hard, hard so they really get a lot of leaves coming off and the rest are loose. Thoroughly toss with olive oil - be generous - and sprinkle with salt. Put in the oven at 425 and roast until they are getting crisp.

For Thanksgiving, instead of olive oil, lightly toss with melted butter and then drizzle maple syrup on top. Same oven temp.

Yes, this is the correct way to cook them, LOL.  If you're introducing them to the doubtful, maybe a handful of roughly grated parmesan at the end.

 

I have a question for the apparently many spaghetti squash haters.  Do y'all eat OTHER squashes?  Wondering because to me, the *taste* of spaghetti squash is not too terribly different from (say) butternut.  It's only the texture that is different, and you can compensate for that by overcooking it or pureeing it.

(Squashes of all sorts were really the only vegs that my dearly beloved mother who has lots of other really great qualities didn't boil to death throughout my childhood, and which I therefore liked growing up)

[Spy Car]

12 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

I have a question for the apparently many spaghetti squash haters.  Do y'all eat OTHER squashes?  Wondering because to me, the *taste* of spaghetti squash is not too terribly different from (say) butternut.  It's only the texture that is different, and you can compensate for that by overcooking it or pureeing it.

I not only "eat," but positively adore every other kind of squash. 

Even thinking of spaghetti squash makes me a bit queasy. The texture doesn't work for me.

Bill

[Rosie_0801]

Spaghetti squash aren't a big thing here in Oz, but I've tried them a few times. They taste like watery butternut and watery isn't a great quality in anything pumpkiny.

[Faith-manor]

28 minutes ago, Pam in CT said:

re brussel sprouts

Yes, this is the correct way to cook them, LOL.  If you're introducing them to the doubtful, maybe a handful of roughly grated parmesan at the end.

 

I have a question for the apparently many spaghetti squash haters.  Do y'all eat OTHER squashes?  Wondering because to me, the *taste* of spaghetti squash is not too terribly different from (say) butternut.  It's only the texture that is different, and you can compensate for that by overcooking it or pureeing it.

(Squashes of all sorts were really the only vegs that my dearly beloved mother who has lots of other really great qualities didn't boil to death throughout my childhood, and which I therefore liked growing up)

Zucchini, on a limited basis which is mixed with other veggies, herbed up a bunch, and roasted, is it for me. I simply do not like squash. My husband loves it and thinks it is a texture thing for me.