To Eat or Not to Eat: Reddit Users Debate Foods They Cannot Stand

Picky eaters are among us all, though some foods tend to draw stronger reactions.

Redditors around the globe chimed in on what foods they absolutely cannot stand in a thread posted today that has been upvoted over 33,000 times and has included more than 31,000 comments.

One of the top responses was fermented fish, which was a preservation method employed prior to refrigeration, canning and other options becoming available. Since fish can swiftly spoil, fermentation makes fish muscle more acidic and, in turn, helps kill bacteria.

The bringing up of fermented fish prompted others to mention surströmming—a lightly-salted herring native to the Baltic region, especially in Sweden. It is said to have one of the most foul smells worldwide, so egregious that YouTubers have filmed challenges to see if they could handle the smell. Most are unsuccessful.

"My mom buys it every time she's in Sweden on her monthly food shopping trip, and will text me when she has some so I know not to come by on visit for 2-3 days until that horrible smell is 100% gone!" one Redditor commented.

Another user said his uncle would put a can of surströmming on a stump and shoot it from a distance with a small caliber rifle, to which another user joked that the can was put out of its misery.

Balut also received many mentions. It is a fertilized duck egg and street food widely consumed in the Philippines, but is also popular in Vietnam, Thailand, China, Malaysia and other southeast Asian countries.

The egg, served warm, is seasoned by Filipinos with salt, vinegar or soy sauce. In Vietnam, where the egg is known as hot vin lon, salt, pepper and a Vietnamese coriander that mimics cilantro is added once the egg is ready to be served.

One user who claimed to be Filipino said that balut is very common when growing up in the Philippines. The person said their uncle had a client who owned a poultry business and regularly provided a dozen balut—sometimes present at weekend family lunches.

"I liked balut but only ate the soup and the yolk part," the user said. "My grandma loved balut though but was told by her doctor that it was bad for her. So we struck a secret deal. I'd eat the soup and yolk and give her the rest. Win win. One of my uncles found out though and caught me giving the chick to my grandma. He got mad and as punishment, he told me I couldn't leave the table until I finished eating the whole thing. I sat on there for probably an hour forcing myself to eat the chick. I never ate balut again."

For some, it's simply the look and feel of balut—or any other animal, for that matter.

"For me it's brains," another user said. "I don't care if they're from a cow, a pig, a sheep or some other unfortunate creature. Doesn't matter if they're baked, poached, breaded then deep-fried. No, just no!"

Other foods that popped up in the thread included imitation coconut, jello from chicken (common in Poland), papaya, liver and natto—a fermented Japanese food made from soybeans.

Some foods, like eggplant, are often on "hate it" lists because they're easy to botch if not prepared properly.

"I've tried eggplant probably 5-6 times at different parts of my life and have thought it was gross every time," one user said.