Gross Foods - Bad Food

Americas Most Hated Foods

A while back, we asked our readers what foods hit their yuck button, and the response was overwhelming. Over 75,000 folks voted in our poll and others, well -- they shared some mighty colorful words 'bout the meals that make 'em squeal.

#20 Blueberries

"Blueberries taste a little like aluminum to me." -- Sharon

"Many people eat handfuls of blueberries without actually looking at them. I used to do that until one time I stared in the bowl I'd been eating from and half were shriveled or rotting. It made me wonder how many nasty ones I'd eaten in my life." -- VW

"I hate the smell of blueberries and it makes me nauseous. Anything that even remotely taste or smells like it." -- Stephanie

#19 Maple Syrup

"Just a whiff of maple syrup and I get nauseous. I am from Maine! Problem: I ate a 2lb box of maple sugar candies when I was 6. I was violently ill for 3 days. The experience has ruined dining out for breakfast for me ever since as most places abound with the aroma of maple syrup!" -- Daryl

"Every Sunday night my Dad would make supper and the only thing he knew how to make was pancakes. And he always had "Meet The Press" on the TV. Could there be a more boring show for a kid to have to endure? Now whenever I smell maple syrup, it makes me think of suffering through "Meet the Press" and knowing the weekend was just about over and there would be school the next day." -- Lesley

#18 Cilantro

(Note: There is evidence that a genetic influence can cause cilantro to taste like soap to some people.)
"First and foremost for me is cilantro. Just the smell and taste make me ill. If I go to a Mexican restaurant, I repeatedly tell them make sure no cilantro touches my food." -- Kathleen

"Cilantro absolutely makes my stomach lurch! Just smelling it will trigger tummy wobbles!" -- Marianne

"I will eat anything and everything under the sun, as long as there is no cilantro involved." - Lemmiwinks

#17 Onions

"Raw onions, yuck, yuck, yuck. I can't even help clean up that stuff, I don't want it to accidentally touch me." -- Samara

"Fried / sauteed ones are the absolute worst - they leave a person's house smelling like the worst case of B.O. that ever was." -- AnnieM

#16 Cooked Carrots

"Cooked carrots / steamed carrots. Raw is fine, but cooked should be illegal." -- Louisianaborn

"BLECH to cooked carrots" -- Pat

"Cooked carrots!!! Steamed carrots. Any carrot that is hot. I love raw carrots and carrot juice but just thinking about eating cooked carrots makes me nauseous!! YUCK." -- nursdani98

#15 Raisins

"Raisins cooked into a dish remind me of roaches from my old apartment. AAACK!" -- Amber

"Cooked raisins look like FAT TICKS!" -- QueenB

"I can't stomach raisins in any form. Raisins & yogurt set off my gag reactor." -- Pam

"A great way to ruin an oatmeal cookies is to stuff it with raisins" -- Melisa

#14 Peas

"Canned peas are awful! They smell like somebody who hasn't had a bath for a week." -- Steven

"PEAS!!! When i was little my mother would count out a pre-agreed upon (after MUCH argument and bargaining on my part) number of peas and place them on a plate with a tooth pick -- at which point I would eat one single pea at a time with my toothpick, while I plugged my nose with all my might with my other hand. As soon as I could force that one little pea down I'd follow it IMMEDIATELY with at least half a glass of chocolate milk. This would go on for 20 peas or so -- usually resulting in me sitting all by myself at the dinner table (with my mother watching closely from the kitchen) while everyone else was excused from the table." -- Jenny

#13 Oysters

"Anything really chewy that never breaks down like clams or oysters, yuck!" -- Trina

"The oyster on the half shell is like swallowing a fresh phleghmball." -- David McDaniel

"Once at the bar someone brought in a huge basket of fresh oysters at about midnight. We ate 'em with Tabasco and plain right out of the shell. I woke up the next morning and I couldn't get out of bed. All I could do was lie there and feel all those raw oysters rolling around in all that beer looking for a way out. I was afraid to move. I knew they were coming out but I didn't know from where." -- Vlad

#12 Pea Soup

"A pond-green pea soup, which sat uneaten at the table, got cold and developed a thick wrinkled skin on top. As a child I hated it." -- Gotti

"Blechh! Split pea soup makes me gag!" -- HuntrJumpr27

"Pea soup looks like vomit." -- Suzanne

"My Dad used to make it in this huge lobster pot and you could smell it all the way down our street! The worst part? He and my mom would freeze containers of it and pull it out whenever 'they just didn't feel like cooking!!!' Oh GOD.....my skin is crawling!!!!!!!!!!" -- Beth

#11 Sour Cream

"Sour cream makes me want to cry. It's like expired chunky milk. I have to hold my nose and look away." -- Jenn

"No no no to sour cream." -- Ellen

"I can't eat sour cream, or ricotta and cottage cheeses." -- Trina

"Disgusting processed smells and tastes like it's gone bad white grossness. Won't go near the stuff. *shudder*" -- Mariposa