Most Hated Herbs & Seasonings

Jade

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14 Mar 2014
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I dislike cilantro a lot. I wouldn't say I hate it, exactly, as if still eat a dish with it and I can even still enjoy it, but I'd just much rather if it weren't present. I can appreciate the contrast it brings to certain dishes, but the taste just disagrees with me for some reason. I also don't like mint very much, especially when used in chocolate products or desserts. The only time I like mint is when it's in drinks, and even then it's very rare for me to find one where I consider it a necessary addition.

What herbs or seasonings do you guys dislike? Any particular dishes which are exceptions, meaning that you find said hated herbs acceptable?
 
For me the biggest offenders are things like curry powders and garam masala's. I have bottles of each in my cupboards and I can smell them a mile away, it drives me nuts. The lid is even shut tightly on them and they are in glass bottles, but the odor still permeates through them - it's ridiculous. What I really don't understand is that I have many of the individual ingredients used to make these and they never stink this bad on their own. But when they are all blended together it's super strong for some reason. The only thing I can think of is perhaps there are some more spices in them that I am not aware of which are really adding to the smell.

Next in line would be stuff like Cloves, Anise, and Mace. I don't mind these in small amounts, but I'm wary of any recipes that call for a ton of any one of them. I tried a recipe not too long ago that was supposed to convert a pork chop into a ham steak and it called for an awful lot of these spices in it. Not surprisingly it tasted awful and I had to throw it all out.

The final one on my list would be fennel seed - again, I'm fine with a little bit of it in sausages, but I do not like stuff such as roasted vegetables tossed in a bunch of it, or tablespoons of it in saurkraut.
 
Parsley is at the top of my list. I cannot stand the stuff. I hate it when restaurants feel the need to use a sprig of parsley or chopped parsley as a garnish. Chopped parsley is the worst as it is scattered over each individual component of the meal and sticks to everything. Then you have to scrape it off before you can eat the meal. At least you can just lift a sprig of parsley off and just put it to the side of your plate.
 
WANSOY!!! It tastes and smells funny. It actually reminds me of an insect when I smell it. I don't understand why some people love this. They even make wansoy salads. :(
 
I'm not big on Tarragon, mostly because a chef at a restaurant I worked at years ago overdid it on everything, and I do mean everything. Same with nutmeg. I swore I would hide both of these seasonings from him.
 
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