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“I Refuse To Believe A Single Soul Wants To Eat It”: 35 People Share Overhyped Foods
Interview With Author
It's natural for people to have different tastes – taste in music, movies, interior design, clothes. The same goes for food. Different people like the taste of different things. Some people have a sweet tooth, others go crazy for all things savory. But can we say there are foods that almost everyone likes? Pizza, maybe?
Redditor YarnSpectre wanted to know if there are popular foods people just don't get the hype about. They asked netizens 'What's one food everyone seems to go crazy for, but you just don't understand the hype?' And the people delivered – from parsley, truffles and pumpkin spice to olives, kombucha and bacon. Wait, there are people who don't like bacon?!
Bored Panda reached out to the author of this thread, YarnSpectre. She was kind enough to chat with us and tell us more about what inspired the post on r/AskReddit.
This post may include affiliate links.
"It was just one of those weird random thoughts," YarnSpectre says when we ask her about the inspiration for this thread. The Redditor explained that her brain just sometimes goes to weird places.
In her opinion, the most overhyped popular food is the croissant. Apparently, not everyone feels this way – 142 million people in the US alone enjoyed croissants in 2020. Their popularity is undeniable, but their haters are plenty as well. And YarnSpectre is not alone in this.
RELATED:
#2
People like how fondant looks, I refuse to believe a single soul actually wants to eat it
#3
Energy drinks like Red Bull or Monster
Blogger Peter Michaels described croissants as "pretentious, overpriced toast." "I mean, they can't decide if they're bread or cake," he wrote on his blog back in 2021. "You can eat them for breakfast? Can't be a cake."
Croissants had some haters among other commenters in this thread as well. User Scherbatskyyyyyyyy wrote: "I eat to be full, so having a bite with [a] paper-like break with lots [of] air inside is not for me, especially [if] it costs $4 and I'm still hungry."
#4
Foie gras. F*****g gross. Texture is rotten, flavor is no better, plus the animal suffers for it?? No thank you.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
Zoidberg: "What is this? Goose liver? Fish Eggs? I ask for rich guy stuff and you give me this garbage?"
#6
Hot Cheetos or takis. Anything with the artificially colored spicy powder
Mama Penguin 1 year ago
I love hot Cheetos, although I don't love what they do to me afterwards.
White Sauce Hot Sauce 1 year ago
I'm here for a good time, not a long time. Give me all the spicy chips.
Jeff White 1 year ago
I'm with the OP. Anything is artificial power "cheese" or "spice" gives me the heebie-jeebies
KatSaidWhat 1 year ago
Jalapeno cheetos are a thing of joy. That said, they are crippling expensive in the UK because of imports and it got to a point where I considered eating them wearing gloves to stop my hand being so orange.
49 reasons 1 year ago
People actually eat hot Cheetos?!? I've never even heard of that - and I liked it that way. 🤢
ImagineThat 1 year ago
The best ones are the ones with lime in it. Got me through my second pregnancy cravings.
ScoobyLinny 1 year ago
Takis. I'm not American so we don't usually have them here, but one time I went to a candy store where they also had American products. I'm a very big chips fan, but that was disgusting. Who tf came up with the idea to put lime in chips??????? That was so bad???
UnamedJelly 1 year ago
I adore spicy chips like that but I recognize that they are a little gross
Grace Briseno 1 year ago
takis are another one of those foods where i can physically feel it ruining my body as i eat it. still eat them as a treat every now and then.
UncleJon_TheMadScientist 1 year ago
I like the spice, but the phony coloring is just annoying as hell
Sami-Jo Ross 1 year ago
Utz Red Hot chips are my favorite. Not just the heat, but they taste good. They're also a clear indication that my red-headed nemesis is on the way, because I get a horrible craving for them.
XanthippeⓐWulf🇨🇦️️🇬🇧 1 year ago
Blasphemy! Lol sorry, somthing about Takis and an ice cold pint hit sooo right.
Becky Samuel 1 year ago
The red dyes used in these kinds of products (in the USA) are either proven carcinogens or regularly contaminated with carcinogens.
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LokisLilButterknife 1 year ago
I got to admit that I love Takis. Give me more of that Red Dye 5.
People really had a lot of preferences to share – the post got over 13k comments. YarnSpectre says she didn't expect that kind of reaction. "I was very surprised. It was overwhelming," the author admits.
Still, the Redditor doesn't think it's fair to yuck other people's yums. "It's fine to politely say 'I don't care for that', but not ok to criticize or pick apart what you think is wrong with it," YarnSpectre shared with Bored Panda.
#7
Pumpkin spice. It’s fine, but absolutely not anything to make a fuss about
Susan Bosse 1 year ago
For me, it just signifies the season. I don't eat or drink everything pumpkin spice but it is definitely a favorite and has been since I was little. Pumpkin bread was the first quick bread recipe I ever learned!
#8
Those dry a*s Walmart sugar cookies
For a long time, we believed that our tongues had different taste zones. But today scientists believe that all regions of the tongue can detect different taste qualities. And not just the sweet, the sour, the salty and the bitter. There's also a fifth one – savory, also referred to as umami.
#10
Truffles… WTF?…. Tastes like leaf mold mixed with aged compost and everybody’s like oooooohhh… it’s expensive so I love it…….nobody needs truffle oil on their French fries damn it
Barong 1 year ago
Love them. But they aren’t something you could just eat a bunch like other mushrooms, which I also love. Even if you don’t necessarily like it it’s hard to not agree that the taste is unique, and powerful. I worked for a high end catering company in NYC and we would get cases of them in and I would shave this slices for various dishes. If it’s an acquired taste I certainly acquired it then. Mushrooms varieties other than portobello/cremini/button are not commonly found in restaurants in the US. Chanterelle, morel, woodsear, enoki, lion mane, lobster, porcini, oh so many delicious and unique flavors. But, truffles outshine them all in its unique firm texture, aroma and flavor.
Neuroscientist and taste expert at the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, Brian Lewandowski told Brain Facts that the differences picked up in the different zones are there, but are too minute to actually matter.
"All regions of the tongue that detect taste respond to all five taste qualities. There are some mild regional differences in sensitivity for different taste qualities, but these differences are small enough that they do not play a clear role in taste perception."
#13
Caviar
Jane No Dough 1 year ago
Another instance where there are many different kinds, and the taste varies significantly. Also depends what it is paired with as most of us don't just dig into a bowl of caviar like it was cereal.
#14
Kale. I never understood what people saw in it.
#15
Nutella. It’s just ok.
Flora Porter 1 year ago
For an adult palate, it's way, way too sweet. Luckily there are good alternatives, like Bonne Maman.
#16
Red velvet cake. I've had ones that were supposed to be excellent but it's just red cake.
We can explain scientifically why some people like a certain food and others hate it. It's apparently in your genes. Research scientist on sensory, flavor and consumer sciences Nicholas Archer writes: "The receptor proteins are produced from instructions encoded in our DNA and there is significant variation in the DNA code between individuals."
#17
Turkey. As a non-American living in the US, it's a f*****g miserable bird. Everyone is like Yeah but if you brine for 37.5 hours in this mixture, dry rub it for 22.7 hours, it tastes so good! Spend that amount of time and effort and any kind of meat is going to taste better than the turkey. Not to mention that people are prepared to destroy their major asset trying to cook it. Lastly, there is no turkey based fast food chain in the US. Y'all claim to love it so much but the market knows the truth.
A 2013 study found that each person has a unique set of genetic variations and almost no two people have the same aroma perceptions. In fact, they claim that any two individuals have genetic differences that translate to differences in 30% of their receptors.
#19
Licorice!! Tried it for the first time about 2 years ago. Gulped it down in front of people, all the while fighting the urge to spit it out. Yucckkk
Rieschelle Roberts 1 year ago
Black licorice: You either love it or hate it. I've never yet met a person who could go either way. Myself, I'm on the 'Love it' side.
#20
Every time McRib comes back, I’m SUPER excited for it. I bite into one and then…the spongey texture hits me and makes me remember why I don’t need to buy it ever again. Then, somehow, McRib season rolls around again 2 years later — and there I am in line…
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
It's just a frozen patty of mechanically shredded pork pressed into a riblike shape. The frozen food companies have been making them for fifty years. The only thing missing is the sauce. Just buy some Swansons and use your own BBQ sauce and bread.
#21
Can it be a beverage? Cause I kind of hate IPAs but everyone else seems to love them - and I like beer, just not IPAs.
#23
Most red velvet cakes are just sh**ty vanilla cake with red food coloring. Get one (or make one) the correct way with non-Dutch-processed cocoa powder, buttermilk, and vinegar. It's an incredibly smooth, very different type of chocolate cake.
DarkGlassSphere 1 year ago
So it's suppose to be not just red cake with the taste of a coloring.
#24
I mean, people go crazy in both directions, but cilantro. There’s the whole “does it taste like soap or not” thing, but it’s usually presented as “people either think it tastes like soap or they find it amazing”. I am neither. It doesn’t taste like soap to me, but I also don’t love it. Meh.
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
Coriander does taste like soap to me, but then so does rocket. Yuk.
#27
Sweet pickles/relish
Susan Bosse 1 year ago
Omg!! Thank you!!! I HATE sweet relish. Mom used to make bread and butter pickles and I liked those but never loved them. I'm a dill pickle girl all the way!
#28
Mint flavored drinks or candy. I like some mint gum or a peppermint but it’s disgusting in actual food
Angry Panda 1 year ago
No I love mint with anything. Might be controversial to some people. Some say “tastes like toothpaste”
#29
What about lobster? I can dig it with drawn butter and I ain’t mad at it. But if I’m gonna pay $29.99 for a lobster. I’d rather eat shrimp.
#30
Ranch Dressing.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 1 year ago
OMG same and I'm an American! WTF is it with the ranch and ranch flavored everything? I thought I hated salad until I was in my 20s and discovered vinaigrette. I didn't hate salad. I hated ranch dressing!
#31
Nutritional yeast.
It does NOT taste like cheese. It smells like what I imagine an early to mid severity case of trench foot would.
Tiago Cortinhal 1 year ago
it is amazing on food. I love it. Specially with foods with umami (mushrooms for example).
#32
anchovies
Hagebumi 1 year ago
A long time I thought I hate it, but then I was in Italy and my Italian wasn't that good and accidently I ordered a pizza with anchovies. I am a very proud person and I did not want to admit my mistake so I sayed nothing and ate it. Since this time I love it more than it's good for me.
#33
Macarons. I never cared for them either. I had one yesterday at a potluck, homemade ones. They were seriously something else, with some sort of butter cream and jelly inside. Never had anything quite like it. Now I wish I had grabbed a few to take home. Still won't eat store bought ones though.
Jane No Dough 1 year ago
Depending on where you are buying them, most "store bought" macarons shouldn't be legally permitted to call themselves macarons!
#35
Poutine. Cheese curds are a big nope from me. Especially on soggy fries. I’ve had someone tell me “but they squeak on your teeth!” as if that would somehow change my stance lol
#39
I've lived in Texas for the last ten years, and I just don't understand why everyone here goes so crazy for jalapeños. They're alright, but they put them in literally everything except breakfast cereal. It's overkill.
Jeremy James 1 year ago
That would be some breakfast cereal. Introducing Sugared Jalapeño-O's! From the makers of Churro-O's.
#40
Goat cheese. I've tried and tried. Tastes absolutely terrible.
#41
Alcohol. It tastes terrible.
Hagebumi 1 year ago
Thank you ! I don't like alcohol at all but I really hates beer. But everybody around me go nuts for it. There are people who do it in and over their food. Disgusting. Alcohol is from rotten things like fruit or corn. Why I am supposed to like something that tastes rotten. Cake with Cointreau or Rum, and meat with wine..I don't get it.
#44
Coffee. Not really a food but I can’t stand the smell or taste. Literally everyone I know loves it
T'Mar of Vulcan 1 year ago
I like my coffee very creamy and a bit sweet. Apparently this is blasphemy.
#46
Mayonnaise
#47
Honey. I don't like honey-flavored things. I can't explain it.
DarkGlassSphere 1 year ago
Honey (real, natural honey) and honey flavored things, are absolutely different things.
#48
Peanut butter is disgusting. My grandfather used to call me unamerican for hating it and I always thought it was a weird insult. But it turns out it's not as common in other parts of the world? I married a Russian guy and he didn't grow up eating peanut butter and can't stand it either. Our son doesn't eat it either. I love that none of us eat it. I mean, I never think about it, but when I do remember, it makes me feel cozy.
WeeBitOfSumfin 1 year ago
It's amazing with plum jam (we call it "powidła" here) it's a long cooked plum jam, with almost no sugar, until it gets brownish purple. It's like a roasted plum pulp, not sure how to describe it. It goes so well with peanut butter.
#49
This will probably be an unpopular opinion - but Bacon.
What do you think ?
Amelia Jade 1 year ago
It is a really weird concept to me that if someone doesn't like something they assume everyone else must be lying about liking it. I hate lima beans, I've never once considered that everyone who says they like them must be faking it for some odd reason. I just assume people have different tastes.
Nykky 1 year ago (edited)
It was the opposite way for me. I always wondered why I was such a weirdo and hated mint when everyone else loved it. Turns out, I'm allergic! Lol. But have you ever tried pressure cooking Lima beans in a dish for the cooker? I hate them too, cannot stand them, unless I put them with a dish that goes into the pressure cooker. It's like all those flavors get crushed into the beans and it actually makes them edible!
Load More Replies...
R Dennis 1 year ago
THAT should be on the list! Half of the stuff on it is delicious... marzipan tastes like fraud.
Load More Replies...
VonBlade 1 year ago
I love how through these people reply "well if you add half a pound of bacon and some cheese to it it's delicious". I mean, yeah of course it is. You could add those things to red velvet cake and it would be delicious.
Nykky 1 year ago
I mean, salt and fat are the things to typically make things taste great. It's why restaurants are terrible except for every once in a while. They load every dish up on the sodium and fat. Ever taken a look at IHOP's chicken sandwich? It has over half the DV of recommended sodium.
Load More Replies...
Alethea Fletcher 1 year ago
I'm English. I hate tea. (As in the drink). You can imagine how well that goes down here...😬🤣
Nikki Sevven 1 year ago
I'm American, and the idea of putting milk into tea makes me gag. Love Twinings Earl Grey, but with no sugar and no milk, and it has to be Twinings because no one else gets the bergamot right. Also love Chinese black tea with Chinese takeout, also unadulterated.
Load More Replies...
Freddy M. (He/Him) 1 year ago
A lot of people in these comments are saying that you can't dislike something since it's a category under which a lot of things fall, but usually there's a lot of common taste, texture, ingredients, etc. that is used as a defining feature for most of the category. And when you reference the exceptions to this conformity as reasons why someone can't dislike something, then you're mostly just picking holes in what we define as being in the category, not what they dislike. When someone says they dislike or like food, such as sushi or alcohol, we well know what they mean, trying to nitpick doesn't really get us anywhere (I'm just giving my view on things here, I may be wrong but this is how I see it)
DinsdalePiranha 1 year ago
Right after the holidays and no one mentioned my favorite — fruitcake!
Papa 1 year ago
It's very near sacrilegious in my part of the country, but I just don't understand why people make such a big deal about boiled crawfish. That's too much work for that little bit of meat that doesn't taste all that good anyway. I'd rather have shrimp any day of the week.
The Darkest Timeline 1 year ago
Newsflash: not everyone likes every kind of food. That doesn’t make any food “bad,” it just means we have different tastes.
Anony Mouse 1 year ago
Pickled onions. It' started becoming trendy maybe 10 years ago for "house made" pickled stuff to appear on menus, especially at BBQ places. Then it became a side, and you'd have a small, sad, and sour pile of slimy purple onions taking up space on your plate. Bleah. Oh - and any "house made" ketchup. You just know it's going to be chunky, unpleasant, and taste nothing like ketchup.
Zaphod 1 year ago (edited)
I am a super adventurous eater. My parents said that I had to try everything once, but I never had to eat if again if I didn't like it. I've had a lamb's eyeball in Morocco. I've had snake 3 ways (eggs, stew, jerky) in Cambodia. Lutefisk in Sweden. The only food that I ever refused was BALUT (a fertilized developing egg embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell.) My friend bit into one and it looked too gross. Still, I find olives are the worst.
ZuriLovesYou 1 year ago
For me, it's any type of carbonated drink. How do people drink that stuff? It's awful!
Nitka Tsar 1 year ago
I thought this site is supposed to be European? How come nearly everything on here is so US centered? Americans probably don‘t even realize this. Most of these foods are very US American. Red velvet cake, pumpkin spice, Walmart sugar cookies, ….. I wish there would be less articles about the US. It‘s like an obsession here.
Nikki Sevven 1 year ago
The site may be based in Europe, but the internet is worldwide and there are loads of American Pandas, including me. Personally, I'd rather see more articles about the rest of the world. Most of the American articles get nearly everything wrong and almost always take one person's opinion and extrapolate to a ridiculous stereotype.
Load More Replies...
Steve Hall 1 year ago
I wouldn't eat most of the things on this list, but I wonder why boiled peanuts didn't show up here. I love boiled peanuts but they are usually frowned upon by people who didn't grow up in the southeastern US.
DeoManus Argentem 1 year ago
What's with the byline, "I refuse to believe a single soul would want to eat it?" I understand the hype angle, but only a couple are truly unusual! You really can't believe anybody likes Oreos or Cheetos?! I can't believe people who say they like pizza but will only eat plain cheese, but it's still good! I expected more stuff like cat/dog/horse or other things that are popular in some regions but not most!
Andrea Steinacher 1 year ago
Sushi. Well. it looks nice and is a lot of work, but - whatfor did we invent fire? I do not want to eat raw fish
Moonchild 1 year ago
Try California rolls. It's cucumber, avocado, and cooked crab meat. Yummy. Philly roll is also good its same thing except instead of avocado it has cream cheese.
Load More Replies...
Amelia Jade 1 year ago
It is a really weird concept to me that if someone doesn't like something they assume everyone else must be lying about liking it. I hate lima beans, I've never once considered that everyone who says they like them must be faking it for some odd reason. I just assume people have different tastes.
Nykky 1 year ago (edited)
It was the opposite way for me. I always wondered why I was such a weirdo and hated mint when everyone else loved it. Turns out, I'm allergic! Lol. But have you ever tried pressure cooking Lima beans in a dish for the cooker? I hate them too, cannot stand them, unless I put them with a dish that goes into the pressure cooker. It's like all those flavors get crushed into the beans and it actually makes them edible!
Load More Replies... R Dennis 1 year ago
THAT should be on the list! Half of the stuff on it is delicious... marzipan tastes like fraud.
Load More Replies... VonBlade 1 year ago
I love how through these people reply "well if you add half a pound of bacon and some cheese to it it's delicious". I mean, yeah of course it is. You could add those things to red velvet cake and it would be delicious.
Nykky 1 year ago
I mean, salt and fat are the things to typically make things taste great. It's why restaurants are terrible except for every once in a while. They load every dish up on the sodium and fat. Ever taken a look at IHOP's chicken sandwich? It has over half the DV of recommended sodium.
Load More Replies... Alethea Fletcher 1 year ago
I'm English. I hate tea. (As in the drink). You can imagine how well that goes down here...😬🤣
Nikki Sevven 1 year ago
I'm American, and the idea of putting milk into tea makes me gag. Love Twinings Earl Grey, but with no sugar and no milk, and it has to be Twinings because no one else gets the bergamot right. Also love Chinese black tea with Chinese takeout, also unadulterated.
Load More Replies... Freddy M. (He/Him) 1 year ago
A lot of people in these comments are saying that you can't dislike something since it's a category under which a lot of things fall, but usually there's a lot of common taste, texture, ingredients, etc. that is used as a defining feature for most of the category. And when you reference the exceptions to this conformity as reasons why someone can't dislike something, then you're mostly just picking holes in what we define as being in the category, not what they dislike. When someone says they dislike or like food, such as sushi or alcohol, we well know what they mean, trying to nitpick doesn't really get us anywhere (I'm just giving my view on things here, I may be wrong but this is how I see it)
DinsdalePiranha 1 year ago
Right after the holidays and no one mentioned my favorite — fruitcake!
Papa 1 year ago
It's very near sacrilegious in my part of the country, but I just don't understand why people make such a big deal about boiled crawfish. That's too much work for that little bit of meat that doesn't taste all that good anyway. I'd rather have shrimp any day of the week.
The Darkest Timeline 1 year ago
Newsflash: not everyone likes every kind of food. That doesn’t make any food “bad,” it just means we have different tastes.
Anony Mouse 1 year ago
Pickled onions. It' started becoming trendy maybe 10 years ago for "house made" pickled stuff to appear on menus, especially at BBQ places. Then it became a side, and you'd have a small, sad, and sour pile of slimy purple onions taking up space on your plate. Bleah. Oh - and any "house made" ketchup. You just know it's going to be chunky, unpleasant, and taste nothing like ketchup.
Zaphod 1 year ago (edited)
I am a super adventurous eater. My parents said that I had to try everything once, but I never had to eat if again if I didn't like it. I've had a lamb's eyeball in Morocco. I've had snake 3 ways (eggs, stew, jerky) in Cambodia. Lutefisk in Sweden. The only food that I ever refused was BALUT (a fertilized developing egg embryo that is boiled and eaten from the shell.) My friend bit into one and it looked too gross. Still, I find olives are the worst.
ZuriLovesYou 1 year ago
For me, it's any type of carbonated drink. How do people drink that stuff? It's awful!
Nitka Tsar 1 year ago
I thought this site is supposed to be European? How come nearly everything on here is so US centered? Americans probably don‘t even realize this. Most of these foods are very US American. Red velvet cake, pumpkin spice, Walmart sugar cookies, ….. I wish there would be less articles about the US. It‘s like an obsession here.
Nikki Sevven 1 year ago
The site may be based in Europe, but the internet is worldwide and there are loads of American Pandas, including me. Personally, I'd rather see more articles about the rest of the world. Most of the American articles get nearly everything wrong and almost always take one person's opinion and extrapolate to a ridiculous stereotype.
Load More Replies... Steve Hall 1 year ago
I wouldn't eat most of the things on this list, but I wonder why boiled peanuts didn't show up here. I love boiled peanuts but they are usually frowned upon by people who didn't grow up in the southeastern US.
DeoManus Argentem 1 year ago
What's with the byline, "I refuse to believe a single soul would want to eat it?" I understand the hype angle, but only a couple are truly unusual! You really can't believe anybody likes Oreos or Cheetos?! I can't believe people who say they like pizza but will only eat plain cheese, but it's still good! I expected more stuff like cat/dog/horse or other things that are popular in some regions but not most!
Andrea Steinacher 1 year ago
Sushi. Well. it looks nice and is a lot of work, but - whatfor did we invent fire? I do not want to eat raw fish
Moonchild 1 year ago
Try California rolls. It's cucumber, avocado, and cooked crab meat. Yummy. Philly roll is also good its same thing except instead of avocado it has cream cheese.
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