What's your spice aversion?
Is there one spice/herb/flavor that you just can't stomach?
Mine is cloves. In high school, I had to have all four of my wisdom teeth out, and it wasn't like kids nowadays who have the luxury of being completely put under, only to wake up with a few gaping holes in their mouth. I went to our local family dentist who simply yanked them out with the help of a little novacaine and laughing gas.
Once the bleeding subsided, the dentist packed the open cavities with gauze soaked in clove oil. On top of that, the laughing gas left me nauseous. Ever since then, cloves have been my arch nemesis.
This aversion is sad for me, because I love fall/winter flavors. Cloves seem to sneak in everywhere. I swear I can detect them in a lot of curries. Clove-scented candles= Do Not Want.
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55 Comments:
Caraway....its the only spice that I dislike...and of of the few things that when used makes a dish inedible to me...
2qrs at 3:18PM on 10/24/09
Anise.
MoEats at 3:23PM on 10/24/09
Cilantro, and many other flavors used in Thai food. No can do!
Brownie at 3:30PM on 10/24/09
Nutmeg! It is much too strong for me and the smell gives me an instant headache. When it's called for in recipes, I usually omit it or add a sprinkle. I was watching Ina make mac and cheese yesterday and she put in half a teaspoon of nutmeg, I gagged.
While I love rosemary, I hate finding it in food.
eeels at 3:35PM on 10/24/09
Cumin. I'll eat food that's made with it (because it's in freaking everything), but I feel that it's really overused as a way to make things taste "ethnic," when it's really just overpowering.
GirlFromJetCity at 3:36PM on 10/24/09
garam masala makes me ill when i smell it cooking.
otherwise, i simply dislike cardamom, savory, and parsley. i can eat things that have them in it, but i tend to ignore or replace them in a recipe if im in charge...
blizcheetah at 3:38PM on 10/24/09
Fresh parsley. It just tastes so awful to me. I wish there was a good substitute. Any ideas?
kalajo at 3:40PM on 10/24/09
Turmeric. I think this is why I'm not a fan of curry.
beth1 at 4:06PM on 10/24/09
Lavender. Tastes like soap.
salpico at 4:20PM on 10/24/09
Cilantro and nutmeg
ag3208 at 4:28PM on 10/24/09
Thyme.
moibec at 4:30PM on 10/24/09
Cilantro. I have the taste thing that makes it soap-like to me. Yuck.
Not a huge tarragon fan either.
sadiepix at 4:40PM on 10/24/09
Tarragon and anise. I'm so sorry to hear about your horrible clove experience (I love cloves) but I completely understand. There are foods that are completely ruined for me because of associations with bad experiences.
gingercookiewithlime at 4:42PM on 10/24/09
Anise/fennel seed and as long as ginger is a background note it's fine, but once i can pick it out, no thanks. tastes like soap to me.
Alm25 at 4:54PM on 10/24/09
Nutmeg and lavender (or anything "floral" for that matter)
Cary at 5:08PM on 10/24/09
Cinnamon. I'm actually ok with it, but not the ridiculous amount that most people use in baked goods. (Recent example: the pumpkin whoopie pie from Baked - it tasted like a cinnamon whoopie pie. I threw it out.)
charm city cupcake at 5:34PM on 10/24/09
Cardamon is one flavor I don't care for. I like the flavor of cilantro, but every time I have it I end up with a headache afterwards, so I avoid that now.
dhorst at 5:39PM on 10/24/09
You may want to see if it's turmeric or fenugreek that's making you feel bad about curry. For years - decades, even - I thought I didn't like curry. Any curry. Then I found out specifically what I didn't like was fenugreek, which also is something they use in fake maple flavoring. Do a little sniffing at a spice store. Turmeric is often called more for its color than its actual flavor - much of the color of most ballpark-style mustards are from turmeric.
I am still not crazy about it, but can manage it, have come to like cilantro, and am working on rosemary.
lemons at 5:42PM on 10/24/09
Mint and curry powder. Can't tolerate either one.
therealchiffonade at 5:48PM on 10/24/09
Nutmeg
lambowner at 6:33PM on 10/24/09
rosemary, as much for taste as for texture
AliceBlue at 6:59PM on 10/24/09
Rosemary, can't stand it. Not crazy about chinese 5-spice either.
dmcavanagh at 7:01PM on 10/24/09
Anise.
Carioca at 7:37PM on 10/24/09
Oh, it's anise for me as well. I love just about everything else edible, but anise is an absolute no-no.
Onepot
http://onepot.wordpress.com
Onepot at 7:40PM on 10/24/09
I can't stand cilantro and I avoid anything with cinnamon in it because as @charm city cupcake said everyone uses WAY too much. I usually substitute nutmeg or use just a tiny pinch of cinnamon in recipes.
tapioca at 8:01PM on 10/24/09
I don't like either cilantro or coriander -- I'd like to think it's because they're from the same plant, but they really don't taste at all like one another. I tried cooking several curries before I realized the coriander in them all made me dislike the dishes so much I had to throw them out. I'm honestly scared to make curry now, hopefully I get over it soon and just try to make some without coriander.
Cilantro tastes like soap to me.
leighana at 8:24PM on 10/24/09
I am intrigued by everyone's comments. I like all of the aformentioned spices (except for lavender), keeping in mind that a very small amount goes a long way. Too much of anything is off-putting.
I make an "Asian" braised beef brisket, scented with anise seed, that would knock your socks off. It sounds weird, but it is delicious.
salpico at 8:26PM on 10/24/09
Dill and Chinese 5-Spice - I swear there is something that gives me a migraine in the latter.
Potboiler at 8:31PM on 10/24/09
Dill.
I can't even stand the smell of it. The worst part about it is that it appears quite frequently in dishes when I eat out but somehow is overlooked on the menu.
foo d mi at 8:35PM on 10/24/09
nutmeg and cilantro!
joanne at 8:44PM on 10/24/09
cilantro. There is a web site called I Hate Cilantro. I'm a member and my user name is Vile Weed!! It's horrible stuff!!
BakerPhlebo at 8:58PM on 10/24/09
Rosemary,Mint and Ainse. Just, no.
machellebelle at 11:05PM on 10/24/09
Anise.
foodbuff at 1:10AM on 10/25/09
i stood up and cheered when i read a passage in elizabeth david about how much she hated rosemary and never understood why people cooked with it. it is SO nasty to me.
cybercita at 2:02AM on 10/25/09
Clove, smells like a funeral.
GinaPet at 2:09AM on 10/25/09
cumin, though I tolerate it in some things, especially chili powder.
Have come to tolerate the taste of cilantro, but can not abide the smell. This is a genetic thing, I understand. With so many people not liking anise I wonder if that is too. I roll the dough for springerle in whole anise and love the flavor.
lemonfair at 6:15AM on 10/25/09
@GinaPet - Cloves always remind me of a dentist's office because years ago, dentists used a lot of clove-scented things in the office.
therealchiffonade at 6:29AM on 10/25/09
The dentist stuff is called eugenol, and it's a derivative of clove. I don't know why it's used, but then again, I'm not a dentist.
finewinendine at 9:21AM on 10/25/09
Regular old black pepper. I use just the teeniest pinch of it while cooking, and rarely do I use any on anything I am about to eat. Just can't stand the taste, including fresh cracked pepper. Ugh.
marciev at 11:48AM on 10/25/09
I detest star anise but like fennel, especially roasted. Guess the anise is just too strong. Used to hate tarragon, but have discovered I like fresh tarragon - a little goes a long way. I sympathize with your clove aversion. It's very strong and I can only stand a little of this, too.
Middle eastern desserts use a lot of rose and it's NASTY! Tastes like my grandma is making me wash my mouth out with soap! Gack!!!
Chef Jo at 12:20PM on 10/25/09
not huge on anise, but i'll eat it. also marjoram seems to give me that soapy feeling that other people say they get from cilantro.
annabanannas at 6:12PM on 10/25/09
Dill, sichuan peppercorns, horseradish
Aynsl156 at 8:23AM on 10/26/09
Tarragon.
avaryne at 10:08AM on 10/26/09
"Cookie spices" when uses in savory foods can be offputting to me. I use them sparingly and taste as I go. Nutmeg in particular. That one I will always leave out.
Licorice flavored herbs and spices can be really cloying to me (tarragon, anise, fennel), so that's another group I use sparingly or not at all.
Amandarama at 10:26AM on 10/26/09
I don't care for celery salt, especially if it's around the rim of my bloody mary.
smallkitchen at 11:09AM on 10/26/09
Anise...bleck.
sammie at 11:35AM on 10/26/09
anything overwhelmingly licorice flavored (i can't do star anise, but i can do anise in biscotti), and anything with too much cumin...i'm not a huge fan of cumin
korovka at 12:13PM on 10/26/09
Tarragon - most people who use it overuse it.
Anise - never did like it.
lakeloverhh at 2:39PM on 10/26/09
Fenugreek is gross. I can tolerate rosemary, but only in small quantities. My roommates sometimes take the liberty of sprinkling white pepper on my food when we eat together. No thank you.
Vegetarianka at 4:24PM on 10/26/09
Tarragon.
sorahatch at 4:56PM on 10/26/09
Dill and cilantro. Cilantro, to me, tastes like licking the inside of a tuna can. I absolutely hate it!
virgogrrl at 11:20AM on 10/27/09
I have several:
White pepper-smells/tastes like rotting flesh to me
Saffron- overpowers everything, and I prefer my food to have it's own natural color.
Turmeric-see "saffron"
Kerosena at 12:24PM on 10/27/09
I almost thought I had nothing to add, but then @vegetarianka mentioned white pepper. While I don't detest it, I never cook with it as I think it has a musty aroma. I've never liked whole caraway in rye or pumperknickel bread but then I made Bobby Flay's red cabbage sauerkraut, and Jacques Pepin's stuffed cabbage, both of which have caraway as an ingredient and have made me appreciate caraway as more than just an annoying seed in an otherwise tasty slice of bread.
Otabenga at 12:33PM on 10/27/09
I really like the flavor of all spice, but it always causes me to get nauseous. I don't like anise, but I do like fennel.
joe1155 at 10:35AM on 10/28/09
CUMIN... after 3 weeks in India a few years ago, i developed an aversion to cumin after a whole week straight of eating food seasoned with cumin. Everything tasted the same.
Now, I can't even smell it at the supermarket.
MadelynRodriguez at 10:31AM on 11/07/09