Hold the pickle==hold the coffee?
May 31, 2010 4:05 PM Subscribe
Food Preference Filter: Do you hate pickles? Do you hate coffee? Do these taste aversions always co-occur?
My husband has a profound aversion to pickles. He absolutely cannot stand pickled cucumbers of any kind (sweet, sour, dill, relish, etc.) and deeply dislikes any other kind of pickled vegetable, though not to the same extent as pickled cucumbers. He also can't stand the smell or taste of coffee.
Yesterday we discovered that another friend has this same pair of food aversions, to both pickles and coffee. My husband says he's spoken to several people who dislike both of these flavors, and he theorizes that there's some biological basis to it, that they trip the same taste buds or something like that. Maybe true, maybe not, but kind of curious....
So, my Metafilter friends, an unscientific poll just for kicks: if you hate pickles, do you also hate coffee? Or do you hate one of those flavors but not the other?
My husband has a profound aversion to pickles. He absolutely cannot stand pickled cucumbers of any kind (sweet, sour, dill, relish, etc.) and deeply dislikes any other kind of pickled vegetable, though not to the same extent as pickled cucumbers. He also can't stand the smell or taste of coffee.
Yesterday we discovered that another friend has this same pair of food aversions, to both pickles and coffee. My husband says he's spoken to several people who dislike both of these flavors, and he theorizes that there's some biological basis to it, that they trip the same taste buds or something like that. Maybe true, maybe not, but kind of curious....
So, my Metafilter friends, an unscientific poll just for kicks: if you hate pickles, do you also hate coffee? Or do you hate one of those flavors but not the other?
LOVE coffee, hate all pickles besides sweet ones. love dill on its own.
posted by nadawi at 4:08 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by nadawi at 4:08 PM on May 31, 2010
LOVE pickles, hate coffee.
posted by kate blank at 4:09 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by kate blank at 4:09 PM on May 31, 2010
I hate pickles and pickled-anything, but I absolutely love coffee. Just one data point here.
posted by bread-eater at 4:09 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by bread-eater at 4:09 PM on May 31, 2010
Best answer: Does he hate these foods, as well?:
* certain alcoholic beverages[15]
* Brassica oleracea cultivars
o Brussels sprouts[17][18][19]
o cabbage[17]
o kale[19]
* coffee[17]
* grapefruit juice[18]
* green tea[18]
* spinach[17]
* soy products[18]
* carbonation in drinks such as in soda, beer, etc.[20]
Other foods may also show altered patterns of preference and consumption, but only indirect evidence exists:
* chili peppers - capsaicin burn is more intense in supertasters
* tonic water - quinine is more bitter to supertasters
* olives - for a given concentration, salt is more intense in supertasters
posted by stavrogin at 4:11 PM on May 31, 2010
* certain alcoholic beverages[15]
* Brassica oleracea cultivars
o Brussels sprouts[17][18][19]
o cabbage[17]
o kale[19]
* coffee[17]
* grapefruit juice[18]
* green tea[18]
* spinach[17]
* soy products[18]
* carbonation in drinks such as in soda, beer, etc.[20]
Other foods may also show altered patterns of preference and consumption, but only indirect evidence exists:
* chili peppers - capsaicin burn is more intense in supertasters
* tonic water - quinine is more bitter to supertasters
* olives - for a given concentration, salt is more intense in supertasters
posted by stavrogin at 4:11 PM on May 31, 2010
I hated coffee as a child. I've since developed a tolerance and appreciation for the flavor, but I still wouldn't say that I like it. In contrast, as a child I loved pickles, and I still do.
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:16 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by Faint of Butt at 4:16 PM on May 31, 2010
Response by poster: stavrogin, that's an interesting idea (and an ass-kicking song by They Might Be Giants....) but neither my husband nor our friend have difficulty with the rest of the entries on that list. I know both are fine with brassicas, carbonated sodas, hot peppers. My husband is fine with grapefruit, tonic water--likes black olives, doesn't care for green olives but doesn't hate them with a passion like pickles.
Thanks for the responses, keep 'em coming!
posted by Sublimity at 4:16 PM on May 31, 2010
Thanks for the responses, keep 'em coming!
posted by Sublimity at 4:16 PM on May 31, 2010
my husband is a super taster and loves pickles and olives but hates coffee, so even if you don't tick all the boxes you can still be one.
posted by nadawi at 4:17 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by nadawi at 4:17 PM on May 31, 2010
I love pickled anything and coffee.
posted by ethnomethodologist at 4:17 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by ethnomethodologist at 4:17 PM on May 31, 2010
As a child, hated coffee and loved pickles. Now, hate pickles and love coffee.
posted by srrh at 4:18 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by srrh at 4:18 PM on May 31, 2010
I like pickles, and coffee.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 4:18 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by furiousxgeorge at 4:18 PM on May 31, 2010
Love, love, love coffee. With cream. But will drink it black if no cream is available.
Hate, hate, hate pickles. Do not like cabbage, kale, chili peppers, tonic water, grapefruit and brussels sprouts.
posted by jeanmari at 4:19 PM on May 31, 2010
Hate, hate, hate pickles. Do not like cabbage, kale, chili peppers, tonic water, grapefruit and brussels sprouts.
posted by jeanmari at 4:19 PM on May 31, 2010
Love coffee, can't stand pickles. YMMV, and does.
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:19 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by roomthreeseventeen at 4:19 PM on May 31, 2010
Response by poster: I wonder how many people are going to go out and dye their tongues blue with food coloring tonight, as suggested by that wikipedia article (and the reference at the bottom of that page) due to this discussion.
May have to try that and will report back!
posted by Sublimity at 4:21 PM on May 31, 2010
May have to try that and will report back!
posted by Sublimity at 4:21 PM on May 31, 2010
Enjoy pickles. Strongly dislike coffee and coffee flavor. Peanuts in sweet food as well - but I'm fine with savory peanut things like peanut sauce.
posted by sciencegeek at 4:21 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by sciencegeek at 4:21 PM on May 31, 2010
Oh, and I love pickles and love coffee even more. Your husband may hate coffee or he may only hate bad coffee. Good whole beans, not too old, freshly ground, in a french press or through a mesh filter, yum. And no bitterness, at least not to me.
posted by stavrogin at 4:21 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by stavrogin at 4:21 PM on May 31, 2010
I love pickles, and have all my life.
Even the smell of coffee gives me heartburn, and I can not stand the taste of water run through dirt.
posted by Rendus at 4:24 PM on May 31, 2010
Even the smell of coffee gives me heartburn, and I can not stand the taste of water run through dirt.
posted by Rendus at 4:24 PM on May 31, 2010
Hate pickles (and dill especially is godawful to me, I would rather eat a shoe than eat dill). LOVE coffee and coffee flavored things.
posted by biscotti at 4:25 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by biscotti at 4:25 PM on May 31, 2010
I like (good) pickles and love the smell of coffee but really hate the taste of coffee.
posted by bluedaisy at 4:33 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by bluedaisy at 4:33 PM on May 31, 2010
I hate both pickles and coffee, but I'm okay with most of the things on stavrogin's list, so I guess I just fall into the category of "really picky eater."
posted by lilac girl at 4:35 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by lilac girl at 4:35 PM on May 31, 2010
Love pickles, HATE coffee. Love cilantro, HATE olives & mushrooms. Go figure - wish I loved them all!
posted by ourroute at 4:35 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by ourroute at 4:35 PM on May 31, 2010
I love coffee and hate pickles. I hate pickles to an almost irrational level.
But I love coffee. Black.
I don't mind cucumbers.
posted by birdherder at 4:37 PM on May 31, 2010
But I love coffee. Black.
I don't mind cucumbers.
posted by birdherder at 4:37 PM on May 31, 2010
Love pickles, any kind. Like the smell of coffee but not the taste. Other bitter things are fine, though- love Brussels sprouts.
posted by janell at 4:45 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by janell at 4:45 PM on May 31, 2010
Hate pickles, coleslaw, mustard, olives, grapefruit, kale. Used to hate all mushrooms, trying to get over that. Love coffee, cilantro, spinach, and cabbage if it isn't coleslaw. Love sparkling water.
posted by ambrosia at 4:46 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by ambrosia at 4:46 PM on May 31, 2010
Hate coffee -- and the flavor in coffee I hate is the same flavor I hate in chocolate and stouts (beers). That doesn't sound like the same flavor you and your friend hate!
Always liked pickles, but can't eat them without getting sick since I got pregnant ... I thought after I had the baby it'd be better but it's not!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:48 PM on May 31, 2010
Always liked pickles, but can't eat them without getting sick since I got pregnant ... I thought after I had the baby it'd be better but it's not!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 4:48 PM on May 31, 2010
LOVE pickles, ok with the smell of coffee, HATE the taste of coffee.
posted by magnetsphere at 4:49 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by magnetsphere at 4:49 PM on May 31, 2010
I'm with magnetsphere: love pickles, like the smell of coffee, hate the taste of coffee. (Even the really good expensive organic freshly roasted kind that's supposed to taste just like it smells is too bitter for me.)
posted by saveyoursanity at 4:53 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by saveyoursanity at 4:53 PM on May 31, 2010
Love coffee. Hate pickled anything.
posted by chez shoes at 4:55 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by chez shoes at 4:55 PM on May 31, 2010
Love pickles, hate coffee.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:03 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 5:03 PM on May 31, 2010
I think pickles are pretty good, and although I love the smell of coffee and enjoy coffee ice cream, I absolutely cannot stand the taste and bitterness of brewed coffee.
posted by Cygnet at 5:08 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by Cygnet at 5:08 PM on May 31, 2010
I feel the same way about pickles and pickled foods. I also can't stand vinegar.
I like the smell of coffee most of the time, but the only way I can drink it is with copious amounts of milk and sugar, as in a caramel Frappuccino.
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:18 PM on May 31, 2010
I like the smell of coffee most of the time, but the only way I can drink it is with copious amounts of milk and sugar, as in a caramel Frappuccino.
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:18 PM on May 31, 2010
Oh, and yes, coffee ice cream is good too. Again, lots of milk and sugar to cut the bitterness.
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:19 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:19 PM on May 31, 2010
(supertaster here, btw)
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:23 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by cmgonzalez at 5:23 PM on May 31, 2010
Love coffee, love pickles - except sweet pickles, bleeah. I like all the foods on the supertaster list except for brussels sprouts, which have literally made me vomit.
posted by Metroid Baby at 5:26 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by Metroid Baby at 5:26 PM on May 31, 2010
I don't like pickles (and oh, the different varieties of pickles they have here in Japan), don't like coffee, don't like vinegar (except in salad dressing), don't like sour-savory foods, strong smells drive me crazy most of the time and also sometimes make me sneeze nonstop (whether delicious like baking bread or awful like strong perfume).
I also hate green peppers. And that they make everything else taste like green pepper.
posted by that girl at 5:29 PM on May 31, 2010
I also hate green peppers. And that they make everything else taste like green pepper.
posted by that girl at 5:29 PM on May 31, 2010
I hate pickles and think coffee tastes like burnt cigars.
posted by mathowie at 5:31 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by mathowie at 5:31 PM on May 31, 2010
I hate both pickles and coffee and don't see that changing anytime soon.
posted by anderjen at 5:47 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by anderjen at 5:47 PM on May 31, 2010
Love, love, love coffee and anything coffee-flavored and always have; hate pickles of any kind and always have. I like all the other stuff on the list above, although I am only just coming around to olives.
posted by newrambler at 5:59 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by newrambler at 5:59 PM on May 31, 2010
LOVE coffee, LOVE pickles (and anything else fermented or vinegar'esque)
posted by Etta Hollis at 6:26 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by Etta Hollis at 6:26 PM on May 31, 2010
Unscientific polls just for kicks are not what Ask Metafilter is for.
Oh, and I enjoy both pickles and coffee, but not sauerkraut or kimchi.
posted by box at 6:30 PM on May 31, 2010
Oh, and I enjoy both pickles and coffee, but not sauerkraut or kimchi.
posted by box at 6:30 PM on May 31, 2010
hate pickles (but love pickled eggs), like coffee (but greatly prefer tea)
posted by itesser at 6:32 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by itesser at 6:32 PM on May 31, 2010
My wife HATES Coffee and Pickles - two things I can't live without.
posted by blaneyphoto at 6:41 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by blaneyphoto at 6:41 PM on May 31, 2010
I love pickled anything (except kimchi, which is a human rights violation) and adore all the things that supertasters apparently loathe. But coffee? DO NOT WANT. Even the smell makes me ill.
posted by elizardbits at 6:48 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by elizardbits at 6:48 PM on May 31, 2010
I love coffee.
I think pickles are repulsive and gag-worthy.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 6:58 PM on May 31, 2010
I think pickles are repulsive and gag-worthy.
posted by Pirate-Bartender-Zombie-Monkey at 6:58 PM on May 31, 2010
I hate coffee. Prefer sweet pickles to the other sorts of pickles, but am fine with them in general.
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:22 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by jenfullmoon at 7:22 PM on May 31, 2010
Oh, and when I say I love pickles, I mean real, sour, dill pickles, not those weird sweet ones.
posted by misha at 7:28 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by misha at 7:28 PM on May 31, 2010
Love both.
posted by mokudekiru at 8:46 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by mokudekiru at 8:46 PM on May 31, 2010
Love pickles, hate coffee (although I do enjoy the smell of coffee).
Also a supertaster.
posted by deborah at 8:56 PM on May 31, 2010
Also a supertaster.
posted by deborah at 8:56 PM on May 31, 2010
Enjoy a good pickle, hate pretty much anything else pickled (and relishes, etc.) Love the smell of coffee, hate the taste.
posted by buzzkillington at 9:44 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by buzzkillington at 9:44 PM on May 31, 2010
I am almost-phobic about pickles and vinegar, except that I love capers and pickled ginger. I adore coffee.
I would be very pleased indeed if someone were to do some info-viz magic with the data in this thread.
posted by rdc at 10:11 PM on May 31, 2010
I would be very pleased indeed if someone were to do some info-viz magic with the data in this thread.
posted by rdc at 10:11 PM on May 31, 2010
I love coffee, hate pickles and my husband is the opposite.
posted by meepmeow at 10:23 PM on May 31, 2010
posted by meepmeow at 10:23 PM on May 31, 2010
Love, love, love pickles and pickled vegetables.
Also love coffee, but I can only drink it with a ton of half and half and sugar dumped into it. It also gives me heartburn. Consequently, I've switched to tea.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:21 PM on May 31, 2010
Also love coffee, but I can only drink it with a ton of half and half and sugar dumped into it. It also gives me heartburn. Consequently, I've switched to tea.
posted by spinifex23 at 11:21 PM on May 31, 2010
Best answer: Nthing the super-taster suggestion. When I read the Wikipedia section on things super-tasters avoid, it was everything I would eat after a good-sized helping of dirt.
Want to know if you are a super-taster? Basically you need to count your taste-buds. The easiest way is to get some food coloring (blue gives good contrast), cotton swab it, then your tongue, approximately in a square or circle so you can measure it. Count the bumps, which are roughly proportional to the quantity of taste buds, divide by the area you counted (for density per area), compare to average.
posted by whatzit at 3:40 AM on June 1, 2010
Want to know if you are a super-taster? Basically you need to count your taste-buds. The easiest way is to get some food coloring (blue gives good contrast), cotton swab it, then your tongue, approximately in a square or circle so you can measure it. Count the bumps, which are roughly proportional to the quantity of taste buds, divide by the area you counted (for density per area), compare to average.
posted by whatzit at 3:40 AM on June 1, 2010
Love pickles and loathe coffee, in equal proportions.
posted by venividivici at 4:16 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by venividivici at 4:16 AM on June 1, 2010
Hate pickles, love coffee. Hate olives, too.
posted by desjardins at 7:08 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by desjardins at 7:08 AM on June 1, 2010
My husband hates pickles but loves coffee.
I like both pickles and coffee (and also my husband).
posted by kataclysm at 7:52 AM on June 1, 2010
I like both pickles and coffee (and also my husband).
posted by kataclysm at 7:52 AM on June 1, 2010
Hate dill and cilantro, can take or leave coffee, like pickled foods and vinegar, as long as there is no dill.
posted by mareli at 7:54 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by mareli at 7:54 AM on June 1, 2010
Best answer: Being a supertaster is complicated - there are plenty of people who are full-on supertasters who are fond of certain things because they grew up with it. (The classic example would be good country people who enjoy that single cup of black coffee every morning because everyone they and everyone they every knew starts the day with a cup of black coffee sometime between 4 and 5 a.m.)
There are also plenty of people who cannot reliably distinguish between chocolate cake and zucchini bread in low light –which might be a clue about their tasting abilities - who are very very picky eaters and claim to hate half the foods on earth.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 8:32 AM on June 1, 2010
There are also plenty of people who cannot reliably distinguish between chocolate cake and zucchini bread in low light –which might be a clue about their tasting abilities - who are very very picky eaters and claim to hate half the foods on earth.
posted by Lesser Shrew at 8:32 AM on June 1, 2010
Data point: I dislike pickles of all varieties (but I like cucumbers and dill by itself) and don't like the taste of coffee (although I like the smell).
posted by jmevius at 8:54 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by jmevius at 8:54 AM on June 1, 2010
Love coffee, hate American pickles (which seem only to be pickled cucumbers) although I've enjoyed the variety of pickled vegetables I've tasted in Japanese cuisine.
posted by Rash at 10:44 AM on June 1, 2010
posted by Rash at 10:44 AM on June 1, 2010
My mother and I both HATE pickles. She loves coffee and I haven't yet learned to really like it (but I don't hate it.). I also LOVE the smell of coffee and we both hate the smell of pickles.
posted by majikstreet at 12:08 PM on June 1, 2010
posted by majikstreet at 12:08 PM on June 1, 2010
I love sweet pickles, don't care for other pickles, don't like coffee.
posted by fings at 2:38 PM on June 1, 2010
posted by fings at 2:38 PM on June 1, 2010
love coffee, hate pickles, like other pickled veggies
posted by kenbennedy at 11:56 AM on June 2, 2010
posted by kenbennedy at 11:56 AM on June 2, 2010
Response by poster: Thanks all for your answers. Box, you're right, this isn't a question with a "right" answer--but it did provide me with some info to go on about my husband's assertion that these food dislikes are frequently linked. I wondered if that was bias on his part, and though this is hardly a scientific poll, there are some interesting trends that suggest the opposite....
I tallied info about 72 people in these responses.
Of the folks who like pickles (with no qualification regarding type):
18 hate coffee
13 like coffee
8 like the smell but hate the taste, or otherwise have mixed response
Of the folks who like some pickles but not others:
2 hate coffee
2 like coffee
1 has a mixed response to coffee
Of the folks who hate pickles:
6 hate coffee
19 like coffee
3 have mixed response
What's the takeaway message? This survey suggests that a person is *more* likely to to enjoy coffee if they hate pickles than if they like pickles. 67% of the people who reported hating pickles also reported liking coffee, whereas 33% of people who reported liking pickles also like coffee.
I marked all the supertaster answers as best because I think they may well be on the right track. We tried the blue food coloring trick and sure enough, my husband has far more and bigger taste buds than me. Our friend who prompted the discussion rated as a supertaster on the BBC site quiz, but we haven't stained his tongue to look--yet!
Finally, RBC, thanks much for the info-viz link. Too cool!
posted by Sublimity at 7:08 PM on June 2, 2010
I tallied info about 72 people in these responses.
Of the folks who like pickles (with no qualification regarding type):
18 hate coffee
13 like coffee
8 like the smell but hate the taste, or otherwise have mixed response
Of the folks who like some pickles but not others:
2 hate coffee
2 like coffee
1 has a mixed response to coffee
Of the folks who hate pickles:
6 hate coffee
19 like coffee
3 have mixed response
What's the takeaway message? This survey suggests that a person is *more* likely to to enjoy coffee if they hate pickles than if they like pickles. 67% of the people who reported hating pickles also reported liking coffee, whereas 33% of people who reported liking pickles also like coffee.
I marked all the supertaster answers as best because I think they may well be on the right track. We tried the blue food coloring trick and sure enough, my husband has far more and bigger taste buds than me. Our friend who prompted the discussion rated as a supertaster on the BBC site quiz, but we haven't stained his tongue to look--yet!
Finally, RBC, thanks much for the info-viz link. Too cool!
posted by Sublimity at 7:08 PM on June 2, 2010
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posted by vickyverky at 4:07 PM on May 31, 2010