Cranky Friday: The Foods I Hate

Even the most open minded eater has foods they don't like, so I thought I'd take a Cranky Friday to sound off on a few of the foods to which I am adverse. As you know, if you are a regular reader, I'm not squeamish about food. I may be no Andrew Zimmern, but I'll give most anything a try. Still, I have my dislikes.

Now mind you, I'm not talking about preparations I don't care for, I'm talking about ingredients; foods I don't like in anything, foods for which the addition of a teaspoon will ruin an entire dish. I covered hazelnuts in the last Cranky Friday installment, so I won't revisit them, but here are some additional foods that I just hate.


Beets

I know they are very hip, and I admit that they look good with their bright red and yellow colors. These days, it seems you can't go into a middle to high end restaurant without having to face-down a beet and goat cheese salad, but I just don't like them; they taste like dirt to me. The one exception is borscht. For some reason, the beetness seems muted once it's stewed with dill and cabbage, but otherwise, I don't want to see these pretty things on my plate.


Tripe

Generally, I'm very pro-offal. I love liver, sweet breads, blood sausage and other mushy, meaty delights. In fact, I'm somewhat embarrassed of my aversion to tripe. It's an essential ingredient in so many cuisines, from French to Vietnamese to Central American, but I just can't stomach it (no pun intended). I've tried and tried again, but I just keep staring at that big, steaming bowl of menudo with its big lumps of chewy, spongy, white tripe. I try gnawing on a piece, cutting it with lime and cilantro, but I just can't do it. It's not for me.


Lima Beans

I really detest lima beans. Now, on this one I have to admit that I may just never have had a good preparation. I am recalling the lima beans of Campbell's vegetable soup and frozen succotash or the lima bean thrown onto a plate of Mexican rice. They are mealy and grainy and sad. I still leave open the possibility for good limas. I like fava beans, after all, and they are really just big limas, so maybe there is hope for the bean after all.