This one is pretty straightforward. Below are my picks for foods that I cannot stand or that I think are way overrated in standard Western cuisine. Unless stated as much, there may be exceptions to each one, so read my reasons carefully.
Chile Pepper Extract
With the advent of super-hot chile peppers like bhut jolokias (AKA ghost chile peppers), 7 Pots, Trinidad Scorpions, and the new Carolina Reapers, it’s SO easy to get extract-level heat (as long as we’re not talking about millions of Scoville Heat Units) in a hot sauce. Plus…those chile peppers can have an excellent flavor! Chile extracts are absolutely nasty, bitter, and chemical-like. Virtually all sauces that contain them are unsuitable for consumption. A note to hot sauce makers: don’t add extract; that era is over!
Olive Oil
There’s just the lightest touch of the bitter flavor of unripened olives that ruins this for me. Unless the EVOO is buried in certain recipes and dishes, this taste gets to me.
Horseradish and Wasabi
Now I can preemptively state that I like a little wasabi in my…