People Explain Which Meals Absolutely Traumatized Them As A Kid

Asparagus

"My grandma’s asparagus, it traumatized my dad more as it was the only way he had had asparagus until he met my mum."

"We would go out and harvest fresh asparagus when I was a kid, and my mum would grill it, sauté it, or make a salad."

"My grandma only made it for me once. Well my grandma would put it in a pressure cooker on a steam tray and cook it at pressure for 3 minutes."

"It would come out just holding itself together, she would slide it onto the plate, put slices of hard boiled egg on top, salt, and pepper. It was hot mush in a stringy tube with cold egg and no real seasoning or flavor left."

"Just a miserable symphony of textures that would stick in your mouth and teeth."

~ APe28Comococo

Cantaloupe

"My grandma knew I hated cantaloupe but my sister loved it, so so when we would visit my grandma when we were kids she made me eat a piece of cantaloupe for every piece my sister ate."

"To this day I do not know why."

"I f'king hate cantaloupe."

~ SuitableBet2455

Liver

"My father would put raw liver in a juicer and make liver pancakes, no bacon no onion."

~ ThatWomanNow

"Your father seems like the type to have…secrets."

~ Winter-Egg94

"I’m wondering if fava beans and Chianti were involved."

~ 5hrs4hrs3hrs2hrs1mor

Leftover Stew

"Mom had a habit of clearing the fridge of leftovers by tossing everything in a pot and serving it for dinner. Ugh."

"The most...ahem...memorable combination was: some old spaghetti sauce (not a bad start...) some baked beans (kinda weird, but okay...) some leftover tuna-noodle casserole (getting weirder...) some peas (gotta have a vegetable) and, I kid you not, the leftover cherry Jell-O (why, Mom? Why the Jell-O???)."

"I still have NO IDEA why it all had to go in a single pot."

~ candlestick_maker76

Mayonnaise

"I was forced to eat a mayonnaise sandwich at a sleepover once."

"It was so disgusting, and I wasn't allowed to leave the table until I was done."

~ rocky_2277

Bribery or Extortion?

"Not traumatized, just salty. Mom took my brother and me to a restaurant with another one of her mom friends and her kids, that mom was really into making kids try new foods."

"She made me eat a stupid octopus or squid tentacle or something to get dessert, whereas my brother held out until all he had to try was some basically normal piece of cheese."

"Clearly I didn’t know how to be stubborn."

~ never-at-grade

Hidden Veggies

"My mom found some 'hidden veggie' article that called for zucchini in brownies. Two bites in, something tasted off."

"I looked in the brownie and saw the green fibers of vegetable and my mom gleefully told me the secret ingredient. I protested and complained and refused the brownies and she said I wouldn’t even notice."

"Mother, if I wouldn’t notice, then why did I almost immediately notice?"

"Took a long time for me to trust her desserts after that."

"F'k those 'hidden food' recipes. Just learn to cook zucchini in an appetizing way and let me eat the zucchini for dinner and a normal brownie for dessert."

~ FormerLurker3

Salads That Aren't Salads

"Oh God, this 'salad' my mom would make that was literally just frozen peas and cheese chunks coated in mayonnaise. I couldn't even be near it without gagging.

"Whenever she'd make it I'd start crying and hide under the bed (I was around 5 or 6). Thank Christ she eventually stopped making it."

"I still hate mayo. To this day even the smell of it makes me physically sick."

~ immedicable

"With my grandma it was green Jello, grapes, celery, walnuts, shredded cabbage and carrots in a Jello mold."

"When she unmolded it, she would fill the center with Miracle Whip and sprinkle it with paprika."

"Most disgusting side dish ever."

~ RubyNotTawny

Bland

"Meatloaf. My mom would force me to sit at the table and eat a bland meatloaf with no seasoning whatsoever."

~ VenusSwift

"My grandmother's cooking in general is always bland. Salt and pepper. That's it."

"So when I moved out with my boyfriend. It was a kick to the face cause he actually uses spices and seasoning."

"Love the woman, but damn. And I get it. She lived on a farm with 11 brothers and sisters. So taste wasn't really the point of eating."

~ Xeillan

"At least she uses salt. My MIL doesn't even use that!"

~ boxsterguy

"That's disturbingly common in some regions - especially the Midwest.

"I have family who deliberately don't add any salt as they're cooking, and then offer guests a salt shaker (which they, themselves don't use)."

"Holidays are agony. And the worst part is that I'm not sure if everybody is suffering in silence with me, or if they've all somehow been indoctrinated and just don't even want the salt."

~ The_Law_of_Pizza

Oysters

"I went to a wedding as a kid where they served oysters but not fresh ones. They were from a jar and then put back into shells."

Anyway I put it in my mouth and I wanted to spit it out, but my dad gave me one of those looks (death stares) so I had to swallow the snot like thing."

"I love seafood but have never been able to eat a fresh oyster since."

~ Redditor

Not Finger Lickin' Good

"Cow's tongue. I was 8 or 9. I sat at the table until 9 pm, refused to eat it, just sitting there crying as quiet as I could."

"I didn't want to get in more trouble."

"Finally my mother gave up and I got a cheese sandwich and sent to bed."

"I will never, never eat another mammal's tongue. Just typing that out made me gag."

~ crunchygravy

Potatoes

"I was around 6 at the time. My dad used to season and roast baby potatoes. For some reason as a kid, I just couldn't stomach them."

"They made me want to throw up. After a few of them I would run to the toilet."

"One time, I thought I was clever by hiding them under the cushions of my seat. I got away with it for a few weeks."

"Until my mother was obsessively cleaning because she couldn't get rid of the smell of compost from the dining room."

"Eventually she lifted the cushion to see a heap of mouldy squashed potatoes."

"That day for dinner, my dad made an extra portion just for me. Apparently when I saw the plate I went pale."

~ Slight_Bodybuilder25

Don't Name Dinner

"It's not at all fun to name and raise a chicken only for it to be served for lunch."

~ OinkMcOink

My Mother was not a good cook because she hated to cook.

She could reheat things from a can or make something from a box, but she had a tendency to add canned peas or cut up hot dogs.

Luckily I loved cooking and took over all family cooking duties as a child.

My only food trauma was a dish my Sister made: Polynesian liver. Yes, it was liver baked with pineapple rings.

None of us could eat more than one bite.

Do you have food trauma? Share your story in the comments.