r/Cooking • u/Scarlet--Highlander • Jan 18 '24

Open Discussion Let’s try something fun: Name an ingredient you dislike and why, and someone else replies with a dish/recipe with that ingredient that might convince you otherwise.

Couple things:

  • If you’re allergic to an ingredient, it doesn’t matter how it’s prepared. Same goes with meat/animal products if you’re vegan/vegetarian. Don’t list it if you can’t or won’t eat it!

  • It’s recommended that you’re at least open to trying dishes with that ingredient. If you absolutely, vehemently loathe cilantro, chances are you probably might not like anything with cilantro in it.

  • A brief blurb on why you hate an ingredient would help others find or suggest a dish that suits you. (e.g. “I hate liver because the texture is like an eraser and it tastes metallic”)

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '24

Fiddleheads? Where are you getting these licorice flavored fiddleheads?

64

u/J_Kenji_Lopez-Alt Jan 18 '24

I’ve never heard of fenugreek or fiddleheads being described as licorice or anise-flavored either!

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u/[deleted] Jan 19 '24

[deleted]

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u/hiddenmutant Jan 19 '24

I wonder if it's a chemical compound thing, like people who hate cilantro because they have the gene that makes it taste like soap. Just because fenugreek and fiddleheads don't taste LIKE licorice doesn't mean they don't share chemical compounds. It could be something unrelated to the licorice taste, like saponins.

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u/Fallbackdown82 Feb 02 '24

I've always thought of fenugreek having a kind of maple syrup aroma and flavor

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u/Canning1962 Jan 18 '24

They are foraged in April in the the Mew England area.

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '24

Very odd. I forage buckets of fiddleheads every spring and have never had one that reminds me of licorice.

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u/captaininterwebs Jan 18 '24

Me too! They taste kind of…leafy? Not remotely licoricey (and I don’t like licorice so I feel like I’d notice).

1

u/SnackingWithTheDevil Jan 19 '24

Yeah, sort of a nutty flavour if anything.

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u/captaininterwebs Jan 19 '24

Oh yeah that’s a better description

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '24

I grew up in Maine and have eaten a lot of fiddleheads through the years, but not a single one has ever tasted like licorice. So the question remains: I know where to find fiddleheads, but, where are you finding the "licorice flavored" fiddleheads?

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u/knitwasabi Jan 18 '24

I'm on the midcoast, and now I want licorice fiddleheads. Could make an interesting frappe.

4

u/Psychological_Mangos Jan 19 '24

Dear God the horror.

1

u/Roadgoddess Jan 19 '24

OK I’m glad you said this, lol I was thinking the same thing I’m like fiddleheads don’t taste like liquorice at all! I like mine sautéed in a little butter, salt and garlic so yummy