Abominations of the food industry

[J.McMillen]

When I was in college years ago, the dorm cafeteria use to make this dish call Mexican Chicken.

The good: Tasted great. I didn't know anyone who tried it and didn't like it.
The bad: Looked like someone threw up on your plate. Seriously, it did. We'd even make jokes about it while eating it.

 

[Vegosiux]

Should never, ever, ever have been made, ever and is an abomination:

I mean pineapples on a pizza!? Pizza's not supposed to be sweet!

Is very delicious even if unconventional:

Gotta be careful with it though, raw meat can be a rather dangerous doozy.

 

[amara2021]

This is a hard list to follow, what with pineapple pizza and Red Bull having already been mentioned.

I think the worst thing I've ever eaten that was objectively horrible (As in I hate peanut butter paired with chocolate but that's just my personal taste so I won't mention that) was bacon flavored bubble gum. I should have known exactly the kind of horror that was in store for me from the description alone, but I was also kind of curious so I took the piece that was offered to me. It started out tasting sugary sweet like a normal gumball might when I first started chewing it. But as the gum got all soft and globular I got a hint of smokey flavor that eventually devolved into a horrendous sort of old motor oil-y tasting abomination.

I think one of the weirdest foods I actually like is Sweet Corn Soda thanks to Rocket Fizz. It sounds horrible but it tastes sweet and refreshing and is a nice change from the same 5 flavors normal drinks come in. Also, strangely enough, before trying the bacon bubblegum I tried corn dog flavored mints. They were actually not bad.

 

[DugMachine]

Those little mexican candies that look like normal hard candies but have chili powder on the inside... MY GOD. I've only ever seen them used to prank people, yet I've only HEARD people say they actually do like them. I don't. Chili powder by itself is "echk!" to me, but having it bust through the metaphorical walls of my metaphorical sweet, happy taste room like a metaphorical Kool-aid man is just cruel! It's like a punch in the face! Mexico, Y U DO DIS?

I think the ones where they start out with chili powder and end with a sweet center are the best. I hate the ones that just interrupt the sweetness with some chili powder.

I think any and all mushrooms are fucking disgusting and I can't stand eating them. "Oh but they absorb the flavor of whatever you cook them with!" No they fucking don't. Even had a vegan friend try and sneak me one of those huge brown mushroom caps to pass it off as a burger patty. Was about to take a bite and thought the "burger" looked a little funny.

 

[AldUK]

I love pineapple pizza. I love pineapple anything though to be fair. I hate Red Bull and all energy drinks, they are poison in a can. I actually almost passed out from drinking 2 large cans of Monster while working a few years ago. The pain I felt in my innards and the actual dark-vision was terrifying. Only went away after I stumbled into a friend's house and wolfed down half a loaf of bread to soak it up. Never again.

I think dry roasted Christmas turkeys are pretty damn awful. People eat them out of tradition, which is crazy. Get a goose, or just have a great fat chicken. Nothing's worse than a piece of dry, chewy turkey stuck in your teeth and mixed in with brussel sprouts.

Oh and my personal passion has to be salt and pepper crisps. (Chips for you yanks.) The taste is amazing. Though I agree with an above poster that salt and vinegar is disgusting.

 

[Groxnax]

There is one thing I saw in a candy store that both grossed me out and made me want to try it at the same time, didn't try it yet.

Bacon Soda.

Yes, someone made a soft drink with bacon in it.

I hate Red Bull and there is a few things I won't try: Ice cream treats with bacon in them, burgers that look like they can give you a heart attack by just looking at them, potato chips with maple flavoring and things that shouldn't be fried in oil but are; like fried candy bars.

I do love pineapple on pizza though.

 

[lunavixen]

I dislike a lot of the prepackaged processed bakery items you find in supermarkets (things like the prepackaged 'swiss rolls' god they're gross, very chemically and nasty tasting, also found that with a lot of the prepackaged biscuits)

Oh and whoever decided Red Bull should make it onto shelves needs to be hit with a very large and heavy item.

Strange things I like, noodle omelettes (2 minute noodles), I typically use chicken and corn ones

 

[DudeistBelieve]

I didn't hate it, but Red Bull Cola is an odd taste. Not Red Bull mind you, this is Red Bull Cola.

The only accurate way I can describe the taste is "Red 1950's Crusier Bycycle", because that was the image that popped into my head with every sip. It had this odd metallic taste to it, like Chrome.

Again not that I taste metals, but its just what comes to mind.

 

[TAGM]

I love pineapple pizza. I love pineapple anything though to be fair.

Pineapple anything? What about...

Spoiler: THE PINEAPPLE FRITTER!

If you don't know what that lump of batter is, it's a pineapple ring dipped in fish batter. It... actually tastes better then you may expect.
On the topic of fish and chips, Britain just can't help but flavor everything like them! Special mention goes to the makers of French Fries, who for a promotional thing did Fish and Chip flavor French Fries (As in, the crisp/potato chip, not the chip/french fry, if you get me) with specially made hollow "fish" inside. But still, every single crisp maker has, at some point, thrown in a "fish and chip" flavor. Walkers also did a Squirrel flavor, apparently. Never tried it, and I pray to god I never have to, because it sounds disgusting.

OT: I'm not a fan of just about any kind of energy drink, myself. I'm guessing I don't like the sharp taste of Taurine or whatever.
Also? Any kind of sour sweet which is a fine white powder, like flour. Those sweets seem to have been made with "sour" firmly in the mind, and "nice-tasting sour" firmly OUT. And this is coming from someone who was literately sucking lemons as a kid, and enjoying it!

 

[Strain42]

I feel like this Sheldon comic is practically the epitome of this thread.

And while we're on the subject, I did see Christmas Marshmallow Peeps at the store the other day...

 

[Jenvas1306]

For me this year had in stock a little adventure with pringles new flavors, minth choc and sweet cinamon.

to be fair, ITS YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT!

how the hell did you thought: man, these salty potatoe chips with sweet chocolate coating and refreshing mint oughta taste good.."

its like eating strawberry jam with mustard on top of a salty bagel. even the thought makes me vomit in my mouth a little.

you kind of knew what you were getting into. you just had to know..

I didnt think they would simply use the normal pringles base, because why would you, that would be aweful, right? such a thing couldnt get the green light, right?
I thought: mint chocolate with salt would be aweful, so its probably similar to the normal pringles in shape and stuff but not salty.
well, I was wrong.

 

[Varrdy]

Deep-fried Kool-Ade. This particular abomination of food can be found on the Atlantic City boardwalk right here in Jersey. The weird thing about it is that it's not even that bad, just strange tasting, with a taste that can't really be described. If you don't believe me just Google it.

How in the buggering hell does one deep-fry Kool-Ade?!? Or why?

OP

Good:
- Those chocolate-covered pretzels had no business being as tasty and moreish as they were / are.

- Bacon with syrup. Bonkers idea; beautiful taste!

- Potato-dog. Basically a hot-dog sausage / Frankfurter wrapped in hashbrowns, sold at a local petrol station. Bad for me? Sure, but it tastes fantastic!

Bad:
- Deep-fried pizza. No, just no!

- Testicles. I don't care which species they came off, certain things are just not meant to be eaten! I was at a BBQ last year when someone produced some sheep's bollocks with butter. There was a unanimous vote from everyone else that they went on the grill last!

- Christmas Tinner. This one should be most relevant as it is aimed at gamers, what with it being sold by GAME and everything. It is a thing, look it up. Essentially it's a can that contains layers of egg and bacon for breakfast; two mince pies for a snack, presumably; turkey and potatoes, gravy, bread sauce, cranberry, Brussels sprouts and stuffing / broccoli and stuffing and roast carrots and parsnips for Christmas Dinner and a final layer of Christmas pudding.

See here for more info: http://www.game.co.uk/en/game-christmas-tinner-181968

Frankly if I found myself eating one of these, I would be beyond rock-bottom and sobbing quietly as I ate it.

 

[kailus13]

Deep-fried Kool-Ade. This particular abomination of food can be found on the Atlantic City boardwalk right here in Jersey. The weird thing about it is that it's not even that bad, just strange tasting, with a taste that can't really be described. If you don't believe me just Google it.

How in the buggering hell does one deep-fry Kool-Ade?!? Or why?

Presumably, they deep fry it while it's still a powder. Why I can't tell you.

I maintain that adding Chicken Supernoodles to the top of anything will improve it. My sister is doubtful of this.

 

[Varrdy]

I maintain that adding Chicken Supernoodles to the top of anything will improve it. My sister is doubtful of this.

Chicken Supernoodles on top of a can of this: http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=257440217 - Best meal I ever ate as a student / bachelor. I hope to be moving back out my parents house in the new year so thank f**k this stuff is still available!

Canned Tuna also goes well with Chicken Supernoodles...but as you pointed out, most things do!

 

[lunavixen]

How in the buggering hell does one deep-fry Kool-Ade?!? Or why?

It's mixed into a sweet batter and then small balls of it are fried, not too dissimilar from churros or a sweet fried doughnut. It's not great by any means, but it's not horrible (if you make them yourself like I did)

 

[Pyramid Head]

Foods which should never be made: Corndogs. Okay, they don't taste that bad but a hot dog sausage battered and fried in oil? If that isn't a crime against healthy eating I don't know what is.

Strange foods which I like: alligator and buffalo were pretty nice when I tried them, oh and spouts and broccoli are among my favourite vegetables. I'm also quite partial to orphan stew when I can find some cheap.

You're right. You don't know. Contrary to health nut claims, frying something doesn't automatically make it unhealthy. When something has enough moisture and is properly fried to doneness at a high enough temperature, very little of the frying oil is actually absorbed.
But you'll note the PROPERLY FRIED detail. When something is fried to the point that it gets very greasy? That actually is unhealthy and usually a mark of low talent. Which isn't to say greasiness is universally bad, some fats are actually good for you when consumed properly. But said fats usually have a very low smoke point and aren't suitable for deep frying, hence again why frying is something that takes talent.


Anyway abominations of food... i'd have to say one thing i could never stand was Southern Comfort. Southern Comfort egg nog though? It's like drinking the vomit of someone on a Tab binge. I'd say it's up there with Bud Chelada.


But i do have an odd thing i like. After a discussion on fish markets in America and odd phobias about whole fish, a local sushi bar served me the deep fried heads of U-12 sweet shrimp. Probably the second best seafood experience i've had in my life. The best was at that same sushi bar, but it wasn't quite so unorthodox. I'm a slut for ikura, or pickled salmon roe.

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Foods which should never be made: Corndogs. Okay, they don't taste that bad but a hot dog sausage battered and fried in oil? If that isn't a crime against healthy eating I don't know what is.

Done properly, frying isn't nearly as bad as people think it is. Water vapor actually does a fair job of keeping oil out of the food being cooked so long as you cook properly (have oil of the appropriate temperature, proper portions being dunked, correct cooking times, correctly drained, etc). The result is that properly made, you're not likely to end up with more than a tiny fraction of a teaspoon of oil in any given corn dog.

To put it in perspective, I once made fish and chips for two - a meal that required frying about a pound of potato and a total of 8 small battered fish fillets. After I was done, and retrieved and strained the oil for storage and future use, less than an ounce of oil was missing. To put that in perspective, a few tablespoons of creamy salad dressing (say Ranch) has a similar amount of oil in it.

Ultimately, all frying is going to do to a dish is raise the calorie content. In the example above, frying added about 120 calories to the meal. To put that in perspective, the potatoes natively had at least double that before being cooked.

 

[infinity_turtles]

I know people like to harp on American cheese, but it's not that bad. Except the stuff from my local dollar store. Put it in the microwave and it melts EXACTLY like plastic. I'm the type of guy who hates wasting food and will put down some pretty horrible stuff just so it doesn't get thrown away. That cheese? The sandwiches I made from it and the rest of the cheese went in the trash. Couldn't even afford to do that at the time and didn't eat for the next couple days, but no way in hell was I eating that.

Anyway, not sure what's so weird about it, but based on reactions I usually get I'll say calamari and eel. Goddamn delicious.

 

[Frothy Gibblets]

Black Pudding. Congealed pigs blood fried and served with an English Breakfast. I possibly can't comment as I've never tried it but just the very idea of what it is turns me off. What's worse is I get stares of disbelief from the folks who frequent cafes for breakfast for not wishing to eat it.

This topic comes at an interesting time though as just last night I learnt about a couple of food items that surely take the cake as TRUE abominations of Food. Cans of fizzy drink, processed cheese, deep fried whatever all take a back seat. Scandinavia, I salute you.

Hákarl - The meat of the Greenland Shark. Not so bad you think? The Greenland Shark has no urinary tract and so secretes waste through its flesh and skin. This makes it toxic to eat fresh. From what I gather there are different, modern methods of now preparing the meat but traditionally? Bury the shark in sand for 6-12 weeks and allow it to rot, then cut it into strips and hang to dry for a few months. Remove the crust, cube it up, then serve. Fermented ammonia shark meat, not for the faint hearted.

Surströmming - "Fermented" Baltic Herring. Rotting fish in brine! Apparently one of the foulest smelling foodstuffs, particularly when the can is first opened. There is an amusing video called "Texans eat Surstromming" which shows the effect of simply opening the tin on those who have not experienced it before. If any Swedes wish to correct me feel free, always interesting to learn, but from what I gather it's mainly popular in Northern Sweden. Apparently it was used as rations during the 30 years war, with the Northern Swedes quite happy to eat it, whilst the Southern Swedes and foreign auxilliaries refused to go near it.

I'll take a Monster and a Battered Sausage anyday!