Food People Pretend To Like Because It's Expected Of Them

“Caviar. It’s so salty.”

Ayoub

• Published in Interesting
• November 10, 2022

Some food tastes terrible to some people but good to others. It's something we experience every single day, but have you ever wondered why?

The bumps on our tongues are called papillae; people who have a lot of them tend to find flavors overwhelming. They are called “supertasters,” and they usually prefer their food mild instead of spicy and always make sure to add cream to their coffee.

People with low papillae, on the other hand, are called Subtasters, and they usually prefer their food with as much flavor as possible. However, sometimes individual taste has nothing to do with papillae and how our buds interact with the different molecules. 

Our brains generally recognize five tastes—bitter, sour, sweet, salty, and umami (savory). However, it varies from one person to the other since the suite chemicals that trigger those signals always differ.

A Redditor who goes by the username u/ExtremeC*mMaster made a post on the r/AskReddit subReddit containing the following question: "What food do you swear people only pretend to like?" The user received a lot of interesting answers to their question, scroll down to check them out!

1. “The meals I prepare for them.”

--BrianAVasquez

No, no, it was great, I just had a really late lunch. Anyways, who wants ice cream?

--diabloplayer375

2. “Fondant on like wedding cakes”

--foullittletemptress

I think fondant is selected for it's looks, not it's taste.

--bstump104

3. “Circus Peanuts.”

There's no way people are actually out there enjoying those things,but enough people pretend to keep them in business.

--The_Sexiest_Redditor

I love circus peanuts, but also candy corn. So I'm probably not to be trusted.

--DoDaDrew

4. "Stevia…there’s absolutely no way someone enjoys that aftertaste."

It’s a weird cult that I’m not willing to join and such a dominant flavor.

--thenebulai3

I’m with you, but I just recently learned some people can’t taste the aftertaste you and I can, which helps explain a lot about its popularity.

--KaimeiJay

5. "Gold leaf – need I say more?"

--Satanicjamnik

It has no real taste- it’s there so that you can feel rich and entitled

--EgoSenatus

6. "Extremely hoppy IPAs (if drinks can be included in the discussion)."

I enjoy bitterness in my beer, and I know there are some good IPAs out there, but it’s gotten to the point that breweries seem to be competing with one another to see who can make the bitterest, most unappealing beers imaginable. They taste like earwax.

--Ned_Shimmelfinney

I love IPAs, but I agree with you. Ever since they became trendy there seems to be an influx small breweries that just want to capitalize on it by putting out cans called “Hopsplosion XXX!!!” Or “Hops Face Fuck!” and completely forgetting that what makes a good IPA is how the bitterness balances with the other flavors of the beer. I want my IPA to have flavor, not punch me in the face.

--MidvalleyFreak

7. "Once upon a time, I swore that salted licorice was the vilest thing ever to have graced our fair planet."

--octoprickle

I had a Norwegian flatmate that loved that stuff. I got used to it too, kinda liked it. Then he got me to try this stuff called Turkish Pepper. That’s a line I won’t cross again.

--finzaz

8. Hákarl.

I can’t imagine someone coming in from a long day of work and tucking into a plate of fishy-smelling, ammonia-flavored chewy shark chunks that make you smell like a bait camp for the rest of the evening.

It seems like survival food – you will stay alive if you eat it, but it’s not appealing … to me.

If you’re Icelandic – please help me understand why this is a thing.

--kickasstimus

9. Chitterlings.

My mom-in-law made some at my house, and it smelled like a grown man shitted all over my home and walls.

[deleted]

10. "Caviar. It’s so salty."

Fun fact (cmiir): you’re supposed to eat it with a spoon made of bone because using metal causes a chemical reaction thereby altering the flavor.

--yourusernameistaken

11. “Vodka…it tastes like the walls of a hospital”

--bravo90

Yeah but it doesn't lie to you

--furiouscottus

12. "Kale. You fookin’ liars!"

--OrlandoMB

13. Grapefruit.

People will be like “I love grapefruit” and then proceed to dump enough sugar on it to lose a foot.

--Jenkies89

14. “Extremely spicy foods”

I get liking a little bit of spice. But I don't see how it's enjoyable when your mouth is literally on fire.

--RadiantHC

15. Overnight oats.

It's what I imagine prison food to be like; sloppy and cold.

--REidson89

16. Oysters. Revolting.

--MissLethalla

I used to think this until I worked at a high quality oyster bar. That’s when I learned that the kind of oyster and where it’s from really changes the taste of each one. After 30 years of not eating them, now i love oysters.

If someone really loves oysters they would have them with just lemon and mignonette sauce (which is just a light vinegar based sauce because it brings out the flavor of the oyster). If you like oysters with cocktail sauce, horseradish, and hot sauce, it’s likely because you like all those things, because that’s all you taste.

That being said it also really depends on where you get your oysters from. You should only eat cold water oysters raw, meaning from New England, Canada, or the North West Coast in the US. Warm water oysters, are dirtier and have more bacteria which can be deadly.

Someone just died last week here in south Florida from one bad gulf coast oyster; this was at a very classic restaurant here too. First case in over 60 years of being open, it’s just a luck of the draw, but the odds increase greatly in warm water.

Thank you, this has been my Ted talk on oysters and oyster safety.

--pulp-fictional

17. Kombucha

--Low_Piece_2828

MUSHROOM PEOPLE! SITTING AROUND ALL DAY!

--Timmichanga01

18. "Any of those keto substitute foods."

Use your imagination as much as you’d like but lettuce wraps will never be as good as a real sandwich with bread

--Live_Skin9254

19. Chicken liver

My family makes it for every big holiday dinner, I’m convinced that no one actually likes it but they make it out of tradition and the older people force it down.

--TapeDespencer

20. Licorice

Am dying inside. After scrolling through this thread, I'm starting to think there is something wrong with me because people are hating on a lot of my favorites. Just waiting now for someone to say licorice.

--AnusEinstein

Everybody else hating licorice means I get all of the black jellybeans. Life is good.

--Cacafuego

21. "Tastes change as you get older."

I like a lot of stuff people are shitting on here, but I am in my 30s so I think tastes change as you get older.

Love me some cheese that smells of feet, anchovies on pizza and coffee strong enough that I see through time.

I used to go crazy for gummies, especially the sour ones. Now I find sweet things a bit, meh, I can take or leave it. But you'll have to prize a stinky cheeseboard out of my cold dead hands.

--Metal-Harambe

What food do you pretend to like? We all have something, right?

The moral of the story is don't yuck someone else's yum, what you may think is absolutely delicious is disgusting for someone else. If you enjoyed this list, make sure to check out similar content on our platform.

Ayoub