What's a food you love, but can completely understand other people hating?

I don’t understand people not liking lentils. I think they do not know how to cook it 🤔

Dobradinha: Brazilian caipira stewed beef intestines with beans. Really goes all the way with emphasizing the jelly texture
Chicken hearts: we eat them by the dozen but IME gringos don't like them much
Chicken feet: love them plain caipira style but dim sum style is even better, especially the more spicy ones
- I had a friend turn me on to chicken hearts when I was heavy into grilling and love introducing people to them. Super easy to grill too. Season, skewer, throw them on, done. Chicken feet though??? Idk, hard for me to get behind knowing they've been treading through dirt their whole lives, or worse.
  
  Oh wow. Wait until I tell you how (proper) sausage is made, what part of the body the casing is generally made of, and what goes through that for animals' whole lives... 🤣
  
  Marinating the hearts with limes and herbs is super good, too.
  Yeah, feet turn a lot of people off because of the dirtiness and how messy they are to eat. Here's more info: they are basically pure gelatinous skin with some juicy tendons, you eat them with your hands (at least in my family) to really get in there, and they taste however the broth as a whole tastes (I can't imagine having them roasted)

Blue Cheese

Meat, cheese and dairy

Grilled liver and onions and jarred Gefilte Fish. Both I grew up eating as an Ashkenazi jew with a working mom who didn't have time to make her own Gefilte Fish haha. I do understand that both are an acquired taste though.
- Liver is still a fave of mine but there's next to nowhere that serves it restaurant-wise and no idea where I'd be able to pick it up locally to try cooking it myself. I'm not even sure what seasoning would be good on it as well if I were to get a hold of it.
- Never ate liver and onions until I was married. My own mother was grossed out when I told her I ate liver. But it is so flavorful! I'm sad I missed out as a kid because my parents thought it was gross. I promised myself I will not do the same to my kids.

Most of my lazy dishes are pretty terrible on paper but are really tasty imo.
For example I sometimes make a fried noodles and tofu that as a sauce has a fuckton of sriracha and nutritional yeast. It's basically a super spicy ans super umami dish, but you kind of need to let it grow on you.
- Ive made nooch, Sriracha and tofu with toast and with rice, I'll try it with noodles next, thanks for the idea!

Pineapple on pizza.
- I only understand other people hating it because so many people have said so. So it's more of an acknowledgement than actually understanding.
  Of course, I understand people are different, so there's that.

Fried Blood Sausage.
It looks like actual, coagulated blood.
But it's really tasty (to me).

Black licorice
Anchovies
Cantaloupe
I love each of them, but all have such unique flavors it's easy to imagine not liking them.

Button Mushrooms / Cherry Tomatoes - my friend once commented that it felt like chewing eyeballs.
- Idk, tomatoes overall I can't get behind. There was ONE time I enjoyed eating a tomato. They were huge, and served as a single slice with salt and bleu cheese. The tomato itself was actually flavorful and sweet. I feel like tomatoes in the south are just gross and flavorless, and when in the context of a burger add nothing but sogginess.

Blue cheese.
- So good with wings. This place near me makes amazing "boneless" wings that aren't just chicken breast. I think it's thighs? It's non white meat boneless wings and I just love the spicy wings you just dunk and eat in some blue cheese. Can't get enough.
- Totally agree especially with fruit cake
  
  Omg yuck please tell me you didn’t try that
- I love how funky it is. who knew moldy cheese could add so much to a dish?
  
  I think most cheese is "moldy". Like isn't sharp cheddar aged with the moldy edges cut off?
  I'm not a cheese expert but I'm pretty sure most cheese is aged and has some level of "mold".
  I think blue cheese is just special in that the process just results in chunks of pieces that contain the mold from the aging process?
  Total speaking out of my ass. Correct me please. This is speculation and a question not an answer.

Lamb brain sandwich
- Never heard of this but now I'm intrigued? What is the flavor / texture like??
  
  Kind of bone marrow mushroomy.

Bleu cheese. It's got the funk, and is literally moldy; I can see how that could be off-putting for someone.
Cilantro. Because I know there's people who have a gene that makes it taste like soap to them.
- I'm so sad I have the bad genetics for cilantro. Everyone who loves it seems to love it so much! But alas, soap.
  
  Yeah, coriander is great if you're not stuck with those genes.

Beer. My partner doesn't care for it but I love it. I know tons of people love beer but I totally get the people that don't. It's kinda very different from most drinks!
- I mean, even within beer there's a huge variation in flavors.
  
  Fair! I guess I mean traditional old school "beer" when I say it, but even that has some variation too

I really like olives, but I totally get how they're not for everyone. I also love capers and seaweed.
- I still have no idea what capers are used for. I see them in delicatessens all the time, but I don't buy them because I have no idea what I'm supposed to do with them.
  
  they go well in sauces and savory dishes. I'd describe the flavor as a very robust and meaty olive.
  
  They're a little pop of salt and acid, so go really well with, eg, oily fish. I make a warm smoked mackeral salad which would be a bit meh without the capers.
  
  They're great with smoked salmon. Put a little smoked salmon, a squeeze of lemon, a few capers, and maybe a sprinkle of fresh dill on a crostini or cracker. They're also nice in pasta sauce.

Black licorice.
- If you're not eating black licorice (made from actual licorice root!) with double-"salt" (it's not really salt...) are you really living!? Salmiakki forever!
- Salt that bad boy and you got a party going on.
- mmmm, I love the black licorice jelly beans.
  
  Salmiakki!

Sea Oysters! Back when I lived by the coast, I would tag along for a ride with my fishermen uncle; we would cut some oysters with a knife from the side of the port and snack on them through the day; Just opening them up with a knife, add chopped purple onions, avocado, tomatoes, lemon and hot sauce and slurp em' off the shell!
- That sounds like the best ceviche imaginable

Espresso with tabasco.
- You've got me curious! I've always enjoyed eating spicy foods along with coffee, so this sounds like something I'd like.
- Of everything here this has me laughing. I can't even imagine what you do to the toilets you frequent, holy shit.
  
  Always striving for minimal bloat. Be that on my machines, or my tummy.
- I have to know more. What ratios are we talking here? Assuming just a few dashes.
  
  3 generous dashes for a shot of double espresso.
- my god
  ಠ⁠_⁠ಠ

Sushi. Steak tartar.
I like my meat raw if I can eat it without dying.
- I like to say that I want it done so that a good veterinarian could bring it back to life.
- I'm the polar opposite. Steak tartar makes me gag and the highest quality sushi I ever ate barely reached "meh". (Normal sushi falls into the "let's just slide this in the garbage bin when nobody is looking" camp.)
  
  More for me lol.

Haggis
They're wrong, but I get it
- I always heard “haggis is an acquired taste” and “it’s disgusting because of what’s in it”. But the first time I tried it… holy shit it’s awesome.
- Haggis is only hated by those who haven't tried it.
  Goes great with some neeps and tatties ❤️
- Dammit, now I want some haggis.
- The only thing that gets to me in haggis is the presence of kidney. I can't stand kidney. The rest is fine.
  
  There's no kidney!
  It's the heart and lungs with liver.
  Kidneys aren't used, but people often think it's basically all the bits of offal
  I still appreciate that it's not for everyone, but it's definitely worth trying

Marmite
Mochi
Olives
Pickled ginger

Boiled Peanuts. I love 'em, but they're salty and sodden and messy, and they can range from a disconcerting pop texture to a disconcerting slimy texture, all in the same batch.
- I love them!!! I make my own in the crock pot then I can get them Cajun style.
- Boiled peanuts are the second best way to make peanuts! (The best way is roasted in red clay.)

皮蛋 a.k.a. "century egg" or, more boringly, "preserved egg".
I get it. I really do. Everything about these from the colour to the texture to the aroma to the flavour is highly alien to most people's tastebuds. (It took me ten years to warm up to them myself!) But now that I pushed through it, they're one of my favourite things.
...edited to add this picture for those who are unfamiliar:
- I got in a huge argument with someone who actually thought they were preserved for 100 years…
  
  So with someone who doesn't understand how reality works. Got it. 🤣

Waiting on the balut comment... 🤢🤮

Liver and Onion, anchovies, chunchullo, whitebait, blood and tongue sausage... generally these fall in two categories:
Food that has a particularly strong flavor that clashes with what people are used to, and
Food that is made from the parts of an animal that is not "meat" and therefore has an unfamiliar texture.
They're wrong on all accounts - taste is acquired, and people should at least try food out of their comfort zone - but considering that it took 20 years for me to even consider trying shrimp (which still isn't my first choice, but I like it now) I can understand.
- Blood products (including blood sausage/black pudding, duck blood "tofu", etc.) react very badly with my stomach. I like the taste fine, but I really hate tasting it, along with any other food I'm eating with it, twice (if you get my drift).

tofu
- mmm, I could go for some crispy tofu with hot sauce right about now
- I used to eat tofu to be vegan. I didn't like it much but I put up with it. 1-2 years later and I've acquired a taste for it. Now I can eat it cold, fried, baked, etc. It does need some sort of sauce to be genuinely good to me, but it requires a lot less effort than it used to.
  
  The key to tofu that tastes good, rather than being a carrier for whatever sauce or spices you're using and nothing else, is freshness.
  When I lived in Canada I hated tofu (to my mother's eternal anger). It was tasteless crap and if I wanted the taste of the sauce or soup or whatever, I'd drink the sauce or soup or whatever without the tofu. Nowadays I get tofu that, if I time it right, is still hot from the process of making it. When it's like that it has its own flavour that's actually quite nice. (Which makes sense: it's made from legumes which, you know, have flavour.)
  
  My kids who are most assuredly not vegan like tofu, I think because it was never a substitute anything for them, just an ingredient I use. Ma Po tofu, kimchi jjigae, miso soup, they love it. The youngest even loves the soft silken tofu in miso or seaweed soup, I don't like that kind.
  
  I’ve never been vegan but I cook tofu for vegan friends and myself when they come over and I LOVE IT. My first experience with it was super firm, water squished out with heavy weights and a plate, marinated then in soy sauce and sesame oil, and fried in a pan. I overcooked it a little bit but I still thought it was delicious!
  
  My go-to is usually: cubed, marinate briefly in sesame oil and soy sauce (or brine for neutral flavor), then laid out on a pan and baked for 15 or so in the convection oven, which makes it crispy. I use these in various dishes, but theyre also great as-is.
  Literally everyone Ive prepared it for likes it, even the ones that "hate tofu." Because tofu doesnt really taste like anything.

Uni:
- I've had sea urchin once, at a fishmarket in Tokyo. It's definitely an acquired taste.
  I can barely remember what it tasted like, just that my friend and I each had one and immediately concluded that we didn't need another. Very different from most sea creatures at least. I expected a mussel, but it was much softer in texture and much stronger in taste.
  We ate them plain, but I kinda want to give them another try with some other stuff to dampen the impact.
  
  Tried it once. Reminds me of sea water flavored Jell-O.
- I really want to try uni someday! I've yet to see it on the menu where I live
  
  If you ever fly into Vancouver bc, you are like 10 minutes away from some of the best Asian food in North America(or so I'm told)
  Richmond BC(where the airport, pretty much) is where you will find many good sushi places. You can take a train right from the airport and be there in a few minutes.
  I'm not crazy about seafood, so i can't personally recommend any particular places, but if you want a really interesting(and expensive!) experience look for omakaze places and make arrangments MONTHS in advance
  
  It tastes like the ocean… feels. It flavors the rest of your meal, it’s wild! It’s best reeeally fresh, so it’s tough to get around here, but some nice restaurants do have fresh stuff. Very spendy.

Parsnip.

Sprouts, THEY ARE AMAZING
people are bitches, so I understand 😒
- Boiled sprouts is the worst food on the planet. Roasted sprouts is the best food on the planet.

Durian. Apparently it's absolutely disgusting for some people.
- I love durian stuff... gf refuses to kiss me for 2 days afterwards but its worth it every time
- I had heard about it, so of course I had to try it when visiting Malaysia. It was alright. Durian chocolate carries a whiff of fart when you open it, but the taste is OK.
- To me it tastes good but I cannot enjoy it because of the smell.
  
  The smell is interesting, I've had it once and it initially smelled like rotting fruit or compost.
  Now, it's the other way around. Rotting fruit smells like durian to me.

Goat cheese, lamb/mutton, truffle and any kind of mushroom, spicy foods
Once I had this dark chocolate with chile pepper and pop rocks in it, no one else wanted to try it but I really liked it
- I was with you on the chocolate until the pop rocks. Wut.

Cauliflower soup. It tastes amazing to me, but it really does smell like farts

Oatmeal. Yes, it's the texture and temperature of boogers, but I never ate my boogers growing up. What I ate growing up was a lot of oatmeal.
- You must have been eating rolled or, worse, coarsely ground oats if you got the texture of boogers. If you want a completely different experience that tastes great and has a nicer texture, try cut oats instead. They take longer to cook, but they're MAGNIFICENT.
  
  I've had all three througout my life and I prefer the rolled oats.

Spaghetti with sugar.
- Absolute heathen.
  
  I was bullied so bad in school when I said I like sugar in my spaghetti 😅
- Philippines?
  
  Nah, just black.
- not too bad. I used to think dipping my ritz crackers in apple juice was the bomb until other kids looked at me funny for it.

I like Sushi Bake, but when I posted it in one of the food communities on lemmy, I was surprised that a significant % of people in the comments hated it.
- What is Sushi Bake?
  
  Pretty much any of those rolls you would see at Western sushi places with sauces and toppings, usually cooked. Unrolled and made more like a casserole.

Mustard
- I can't look at a bottle of mustard anymore without saying MUSTAAAAAAAAARD!

Vegemite on toast
- I've never tried vegemite, but I'm very curious to try it
  
  I use miso these days. It's a similar salty umami flavour to Vegemite. Miso and butter on toast is tasty.
  
  The trick, if you ever do, is to ignore the way Aussies have it. It really is an acquired taste, and Aussies lather it on thick. But when first starting out, the best way to do it is to spread a large amount of butter (or margarine) on toast, and then over the top of that spread a very thin coating of Vegemite.
  
  Buy a jar and go to town. (Equivalently, though I've just made every Brit and Aussie wish my death, go with Marmite.)
  You don't have to worry about wasting it. If you don't like it, it's very good wood filler as well. (Indeed for my purposes that's its prime usage.)

It’s not about the food but about the time of enjoying the taste of it
I like big dishes in the morning. Like really salty, savoury and messy
I routinely wake up, smell an imaginary scent of a whole dinner (hallucinations) and proceed to eat it as first thing in the morning

Cannibal sandwiches

Bean chili on waffles the look of disgust on people's faces but then they try it.

Quince cider. It's tart in just the right way.
- There's a related plant whose name in Estonian directly translated to English would be something like "unquince" (as in undead). It's so sour and I just love the juice they make of it. Makes cider too dry imo though