Everyone has at least one food they hated as a kid. Maybe it was boiled vegetables that smelled strange, or a piece of meat that chewed like cardboard. For many of us, these foods were an absolute nightmare, especially when we had to eat them no matter what.
But did we really hate the food, or were they just made badly? As an adult, many people recognise that the same food can be cooked properly and taste like an entirely different dish. In a Reddit thread, someone asked people to share which foods they hated until they finally tried them prepared the right way, and the answers were full of interesting stories.
The story
Someone on Reddit asked, “What food did you hate until you had it prepared correctly?” The replies showed that a lot of foods get an unfair reputation because they were poorly cooked the first time. Some were left bland with no seasoning, while others were overcooked or made with cheap ingredients.
And, when people finally tasted the same foods made the right way, with fresh ingredients and better technique, they often couldn’t believe how much better they were.
The reactions
People had many stories to share about not one, but many food items. From meat to vegetables to even desserts, they shared how they eventually started loving a food that they hated as a child, until they cooked it differently.
Meat, particularly beef, appeared frequently in the responses. One person explained: “Beef. Turns out it's quite juicy when you don't pan fry it until it's jerky.”
Another added: “Steak. Parents always thought it had to be well done or there were health risks”.
Back then, a lot of families cooked beef until it was well-done to make sure it was safe to eat. That often meant leaving it on the stove until it turned hard and dry, which didn’t taste good. Later, when some people finally tried beef that was correctly cooked, still juicy, tender, and full of flavor, they realized just how much they’d been missing out on.
One person had a bad lasagna experience as a child, and people couldn’t stop commenting about it. He said, “Lasagna. My mom makes it with tomato soup, canned mushrooms, and cottage cheese.”
Surprised, are you? So was everyone.
One person even asked, “Is that even allowed to call it lasagna?” Another user added, “That's a crime scene. I’m calling the cops.”
As expected, many people had a bad experience eating Brussels sprouts. One user mentioned.
“I didn't care for them at all until I had them done right. And others said the same thing when I recreated the recipe for them. And it's surprisingly simple."
The reader even shared an excellent method for how to make delicious Brussels sprouts:
"Cut the Brussels sprouts in half. Heat some neutral oil in a pan. Once the oil is hot, add the Brussels sprouts flat side down, and sear until golden brown. Then turn off the heat and add about a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Give the Brussels sprouts a good toss in the balsamic and serve.”
This recipe makes the Brussels sprouts slightly caramelized and crispy, a very different dish from the bitter, boiled versions many people remember from their childhood.
Some people had bad experiences with spinach, too.
One person shared, "I only had it canned as a kid and thought it tasted better on the way back up. I then tried it fresh, sautéed in just a little garlic and butter, and I couldn't believe it was actually the same food."
There is a huge difference in taste between canned spinach and fresh spinach. Canned is often gray and mushy, compared to fresh leaves that have been quickly wilted with aromatics. This dramatic difference explains why many people are genuinely surprised when they first taste well-prepared spinach.
Someone had an interesting perspective about the cream cheese. They said, “I used to hate cream cheese until I had cheesecake. Then buffalo dip. Now I just mix cream cheese with sugary, flavorful stuff, and it's always good. Sounds weird, but a bagel with sriracha and cream cheese is amazing!”
Plain cream cheese might seem unappealing on its own, but when incorporated into desserts or combined with complementary flavors, it becomes an entirely different experience.
There were some surprising mentions about pumpkin, such as this one:
“Absolutely hated pumpkin until I had a savoury pumpkin strudel at an Austrian restaurant. It was out of this world. They'd combined so many different textures: creamy pumpkin, pumpkin pieces with bite, the light crispness of the strudel, roasted pumpkin seeds as a garnish..."
Pumpkin, if cooked or baked in the right way, can have a delicious flavor on its own. You can make puree and use that in many different pumpkin dessert recipes, such as pumpkin bread, pumpkin pies, and even pumpkin brownies.
The takeaway
What becomes clear from all these stories is something most of us already know. It’s not the food that was bad. It was ‘how’ we ate it growing up. The truth is, most of us developed our food dislikes during childhood, when we had no control over how our meals were prepared. Some of us got lucky with great home cooks. Others... well, others got soupy lasagna.
It’s never too late to give those foods another shot. Try a different cooking method, add some more flavors, or ingredients, and you may end up with something that tastes delicious and may as well become your favorite meal!
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