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Any creamy substance in the proximity of a savoury dish is an abomination.
And dreadfully popular here: A sandwich is not a sandwich without butter, and perhaps mayonnaise, salads have creamy dressing, soups are loaded with dairy substances... everyone just loves this stuff, but I'm feeling queasy just thinking of it.

@mongoose..........i just wrote about butter on sandwiches on the graham cracker thread. my mother always did that, even if she also added mayo or mustard. she was Canadian. any connection? nobody else seems to have done that. I can see it with something that could soak through the bread, but she did it with meat and cheese too.

@moibec........with you there. No raw meat or fish for me.

I have a problem with almost anything cooked at a chain restaurant, especially the ones that assert to be "neighborhod" joints. Even if the food is good, I can't get over the marketing. That just makes for a bad experience. I know this is off-base from the question, but TGI-McFunsters (Bourdain) just slays me.

To make sure my post isn't deleted by right-thinking moderators, I guess I simply hate salads made in America at "popular" joints. Even some good restos I've eated at pimp out these crap "garden salads." What, did the gardener grow up in a barn?

PerkyMac, my mom always buttered sandwich bread. I do too. She was born & bred in New England.

PerkyMac, I don't know if it's a Canadian thing, because my family does that, too. I have never really understood that, either. Even on peanut butter sandwiches. Isb' the peanut butter enough?

Mayonaisse. I just enver understood it. Egg salad is definitely another one. I think that the mayo things comes into play for that one, though. The smell alone is all wrong.

Potato chips. I have never really understood their appeal, even though I like other kinds of chips (soy, corn, tortilla...). Pringles are *okay*, but only in a hunger pinch.

peanut butter and jelly. triple yuk!!!!

although peanut butter, banana and honey is pretty good.

I think the butter/creamy spreads on sandwiches tendency has northern climate origins. I grew up in Florence, and to me a sandwich is bread and a single layer of fairly low-moisture meat. Nothing slippy or oozy. Danish sandwiches just freak me out, and asking for it plain is not enough; it is necessary to specify 'NO butter, NO remoulade, NO mayonnaise...' and have them give me odd looks, as if they suspect me of being on some sort of ridiculous diet. Awkward.

I hate hot dogs. I cannot abide most cooked fruit and hence do not really eat pie (the crust doesn't do anything for me either, so why bother). I do not like hot cereal. I will not eat yogurt unless it is smooth (no fruit on the bottom - gross!). Except for the hot dogs, my food dislikes are mainly texture problems as opposed to flavor. There are more, but you get the idea.

Oatmeal

I can't stand pumpkin pie or pumpkin desserts either, brooke29 - but I also love squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. As a vegetarian, I am constantly called into question for my hatred of mushrooms, especially when the only veg item on a resto's menu is the ubiquitous portobello burger. Yuck.

I really really dislike fried eggs! I think it's because my dad hates eggs in all forms (and complains about the smell whenever I scramble them or make an omelette at home) and my mom never made us fried eggs when I was a kid, because she doesn't like them. The runny yolk just freaks me out, even though I have no problem eating raw eggs in other forms (homemade mayo, tiramisu, cookie dough).
On the buttered sandwich topic, I was shocked my first time in England to find that almost every sandwich had a ton of butter on it, especially the ubiquitous "baguette" sandwiches. I have found this to be especially true in Cambridge, where I've spent most of my time in England. I have developed a sandwich eating ritual there of scraping off the 1/4 cup or so of butter from every sandwich before consuming. I get a lot of strange looks...
For a while I hated chocolate, but I've been getting over that in the past month or so

I am such a picky eater! Mayonnaise, sushi, cheese, tomatoes (unless cooked and crushed), citrus fruit and strawberries (texture), bananas (unless made into bread), cottage cheese, peanut butter on bread, ah, the list could go on, I'm sure!

My dad has always put a bit of butter on his sandwiches, too. He's from International Falls, MN, on the Canadian border.

coffee. mayo. mustard.

Almost all fruit. Unless in pie/cobbler form. It could be psychosomatic but I swear I feel sick to my stomach after eating an apple, orange, etc. Peaches, melons, and bananas are OK. Some pineapples. Otherwise it has to be in a dessert! You shouldn't tell people you don't like fruit though, they act like you are a horrible person. :)

Pork rinds. I understand the whole concept of "nose to tail" eating but I don't understand the concept of humans actually consuming those things. I used to give my dog pig ears to chew on and that is what those nasty things smell like. The gals I used to work with snacked on them constantly (not as part of the Atkins diet, either) and IMO, they are the noisiest, stinkiest and most annoying snack food ever invented.

Okay, I am completey with the pie people. I can't stand it. I love cake and cookies, and I have nothing against fruit, but I just don't like pie.

And to clarify, my family, too, is from right along the Canadian border (with ND and MN), so that might explain the groos butter on breat thing. A nice pesto, or (my favorite) mustard is nice, but why butter?

Also, cool whip or any sort of whipped cream. It's a texture thing.

And canteloupe and papaya. honestly. Just not right. Long story, bad memories.. :(

Watermelon. Can't stand Watermelon. And Pickles. I won't even eat a sandwich that a pickle has touched. I hate the smell of pickles so much.

Peeps!!!

@sheeats - Did you comment on the Fennel-Phobe thread? My husband felt very validated by the response of his fellow fennel haters, BTW.

I think my dislike of the green bell pepper has been well-documented on this site, lol.

I don't love raw tomatoes. Cooked tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, ketchup - all okay. I don't like the raw ones.

The idea of putting butter on sandwiches has never occurred to me, and I've never seen it done. I live in Wyoming too, and peope here eat some odd, crazy rural food...but not that.

tofu. whipped topping junk, asparagus, pimento cheese, crunchy peanut butter, green bell pepper, jalapenos but love chipotles, pork rinds, cottage cheese, raw blueberries and raspberries.

Coffee - I can't stand the taste and I don't like the smell very much, either, but I got used to it in college.

Also - oranges (also can't stand the smell), pineapple, coconut, mango, cranberries, cherries. So finding a mixed drink I like is a problem! Oddly enough, I consider myself a fruit lover and can't wait until raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries are in season!

I can't believe I forgot the most obvious popular food I dislike - potatoes. I don't like them mashed, baked, scalloped, roasted, or even in fries or chips. And I've never met anyone else who shares this very strange food aversion!

Soy patties....

Polenta . . . I just can't stand it.

Raw tomatoes. They are so terribly awful I retch thinking of them. I'm not a food philistine, I like all tomato products, but the very thought of a caprese salad strikes fear into my heart! Also the concept of eating offal. To summarise: offal=gross!

Are wilted greens (i.e. collard, spinach) popular? Unless they're served with another food they make me cringe.

i forgot to mention bananas and any and all organ-type meats.

Cottage cheese, lima beans, whipped cream, coconut, banana or pineapple in foods( I will eat fresh pineapple or a banana...just not in anything). Actually, I prefer my fruit in it's pure state best.

^I agree, so as for the 'popular' stuff I hate. I will also eliminate foods I liked as a kid, but don't eat now for ethical or health reasons. These are foods I just don't 'get.'

Roast meats. Turkey with all the trimmings. Honking big lumps of protien like pork or lamb roasts.

GRAVY.

Whipped creme, even the real stuff is vile--takes up space that could be filled with ice cream!

White sauces--alfredo, etc.

Baked pasta and ravioli.

I love chocolate, but gummi bears, gummi anything leaves me cold, as do pure sugary foods like Pixie Sticks, etc.

Chili.

I admit when I lived in England I thought the jacket potatos with stilton and Flora from Convent Garden were pretty yummy, though.

Mayonnaise. I don't care what you think- I like Miracle Whip.

Eggs. Why is so hard to find something for breakfast that doesn't come with eggs.

after reading the above comments it's obvious that some of you need to contact dr. phil.

olddad, right on! ;)

I'm actually not that much of a fan of pizza, hot dogs, fried chicken, or even hamburgers. I might have a craving for any of those once every other month, if then, and since I'm a lactose-intolerant vegetarian, they're not hard to avoid.

Garlic.

Sushi, mayonnaise, meat/fish from a can, bananas, sour cream, yogurt, grits, shrimp, cooked fruit (excluding apples), hot dogs, ham

Lima beans (love other kinds tho - that's odd), tofu (and I've tried it every which way), licorice.

I am Canadian and I butter sandwiches every time, even peanut butter. But my husband is American and he flinches every time he sees me to it - he also will not eat mayo on a sandwich unless it is a teeny bit in egg salad.

Glutinous sauces used at Asian retaurants. Blerg.

Also, I usually eat the cake from between the layers of frosting on a birthday cake. I guess I'm just a freak that way.

Oh wow. Thank you, billyjoe, for mentioning chipotle. I really thought I was the only one. But I disagree about the smokiness. To me, just the tiniest bit of chipotle permeates and overwhelms the entire dish, and just puts me off my feed. I just can't stand the flavor!

Mind you, I'm no wimp. I adore spicy food -- the hotter, the better, I say. I grew up on awesome, traditional Mexican food, made by people born and raised in Mexico. But in 40-some years of eating that stuff, I almost never encountered a chipotle pepper.

It's gotten so bad with them being in EVERYTHING, that I actually have to ask what kind of chiles are used when I see a dish described as spicy. I've been unpleasantly surprised one time too many.

There's really not much I won't eat. But I'm thinking there are other things that are really popular that seem way overrated, too. Just can't think of them. I do know I'd never miss ketchup if it disappeared from the shelves. I don't hate it, although it IS downright gross on some foods. Other things... well, I'll eat it if it's served to me, but I just don't get the appeal.

The fruit filling between the layers of cake or jelly filled donuts, they
make me shudder.
Bananas
Coconut - I will eat an Almond Joy though...

You put butter on sandwiches when you want to be fancy here in WI. All funeral sandwiches have to have butter then mustard & mayo are placed along side the platters so you can add whatever else you want.

I HATE watermelon and I always feel like such a freak for this. Especially during the summer when a huge slice of watermelon constitutes as dessert. Also, oatmeal cookies are disgusting, even if they have chocolate chips in them. And lastly, rasins- anything with rasins will not be going in my mouth.

Pie. I've had only one good slice of pie in my entire life. Largely, it's a disappointing combination of downtrodden and soggy -- or, too-greasy and tasteless -- crust and gelatinous, droopy fruit.

Raspberries

Popular things I dislike: Curry, paella, balsamic everything, pasta dishes that include onions.

I always want to like curries and paella, but I find their spices so overwhelming. It's hard for me to distinguish individual ingredients, and that makes me a little sad. It reminds me of something my dad used to say about those "smooth jazz" radio stations: listening to them is the aural equivalent of putting maple syrup on all of your food. Yeah, it's different, but it all tastes (sounds) the same.

Actually, I kind of feel the same way about balsamic. I like other types of vinegar, but balsamic is just so...inky.

And onions. They have a place in many dishes. Just not with my pasta.

I can't stand the taste of Rosemary.
I don't like chunky yogurts. In fact, I can only eat about 1/2 container of smooth yogurt at a time, something about the texture.
Chocolate & mint together-- it's like eating chocolate and brushing my teeth at the same time, gross.
Licorice- ew. just ew.
Coconut- i love the smell, can't stand the taste
"fishy" seafood- i love sushi, shrimp (except when fried), tuna, salmon, but if it tastes distinctly seafoody/fishy, i can't do it
hot dogs
jello
wheaties/shredded wheat/soggy cereals
american cheese (blech)

i'm so picky haha
spaghetti and angel hair pasta- the tiny noodle texture bugs me

We actually did a Monthly Mouthful on this same question...."What food does everyone else love that you can't stand?" We got some good answers!

Hillary

vinegar. shudder.