This is interesting. I just like all of the food. I love it. But there are things that some people find gross. I just don’t have that. I’ve cooked for groups of people and reaalized some wouldn’t eat because there was something they didn’t like. Seafood is a big one.
I can handle the whittled down dehydrated versions. Put a fat slice on a sandwich and I’ll fuckin hurl. I’ve tried dozens of times and it’s always gross
Stick a sundried few on a flatbread and I’m fine. Sauces and ketchup? Even better
But for sauces, no chunks of tomato. You turned a tomato into something good, why screw it up by having a mushy chunk of shit in it?
So in our hubris to create perfectly uniform red tomatoes, we accidentally bred out some sugar producing genes. Highly recommend trying an heirloom tomato, several old varieties from before we lost those genes. If youre lucky enough your grocer might have some, better odds with a farmers market but not guaranteed. The seeds are pretty easy to come by and its not too late to plant some this season.
This might sound obvious, but be ready to sample quite a few varieties of heirloom tomato to see which ones you like. Many varieties are just as bland as modern beef steak but others are unexpectedly, and beautifully, fruity. Don’t accidentally buy pounds of duds, get samples!
I would add that tomato texture varies greatly. If you haven’t tried tiny tomatoes, they may be more to your liking. I hate mushy tomatoes but really those are just overripe or were mistreated in storage (afaik)
I feel exactly like this and want to change, but have no idea how to begin. All sliced/diced tomatoes are gag worthy to me, and entire sandwiches have been ruined if tomato was slipped in there.
Its like the only food aversion I have other than cucumbers. If anyone has any tips to overcome let me know
You can get used to any food if you just start small. Like lots of people gag if they smell stinky cheeses or durian or even coffee, but once they get used to it by trying small doses they often love it. Just eat a very tiny piece every day. You might not love it afterwards but at least you probably wouldn’t gag anymore.
And for cucumbers maybe eating just the outer part rather than the mushy inside might help (as part of a dish rather than by itself of course). Cutting them into tiny pieces might also help. That said, almost my entire family hate cucumbers, and I haven't been too successful at convincing them.
I think the first question is, why do you want to like tomatoes? Is it to enjoy dishes other people say are good, to reduce food aversion problems, or for health reasons?
Is it the sight, the texture, the taste, the smell?
If it’s sight, covering it in a sauce will help. A lot of Indian style curries have tomatoes in them.
If it’s texture, try different kinds of tomatoes. Some are softer and wetter snd others are firmer. Heck, you can even see if tomatillos also invoke the same distaste.
If it’s taste or smell, try expanding what you do with them. Cooked tomatoes are different from raw tomatoes, and if you haven’t tried salting your raw tomatoes first, give it a try with a beefsteak slice. It really brings out the “meatiness” of it, which is what helps to complement other parts of the dish.
Try a tomato straight from the vine (not the ones with the dried up vine you can find in grocery stores). They taste much better and even have a sweetness to them. I used to absolutely hate them, but after having a fresh tomato from the vine, it's changed my taste for them!
I used to not like tomatoes and pulled them out of anything I ate, but they’re just whatever now. If anything I think they’re kind of tasteless, like an unsweet watermelon, I barely even notice them. Ketchup and tomato sauce seem to exaggerate their flavor (I’m guessing with whatever other stuff is added in).
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