Editor’s letter

Hate is a horrible negative word that I’ve banned my kids from saying at home, but when it comes to foods people detest, the h-bomb gets used a lot!

This week we asked Kiwi chefs known for waxing lyrical about ingredients to tell us about those they’ve come to loathe. Yes, even celebrity cooks have food they abhor (see page 26).

I have to agree with foodie Nadia Lim, who hates glacé cherries – they’re like eating plastic. And I can’t fathom how the flavour is supposed to relate to my beloved Christmas cherries. But otherwise, I struggled to think of foods I don’t like. I’m a piggy by nature!

But the Woman’sDay team, on the other hand, are vitriolic in their hate of certain ingredients – mainly vegetables!

Marilynn is mortified by the humble pea, picking them out of every meal and labelling the little veges “mushy and disgusting”. Lynley agrees with Peter Gordon when it comes to Brussels sprouts, declaring there’s nothing redeeming about “the imposter veges that pose as mini cabbages but taste like smelly socks”. Corn on the cob riles Rebekah, who says she hates (there’s that word!) the sweet burst of juice when you bite into it. Demelza can’t stand cooked carrots, saying they’re soft, slimy and “yuck”.

Kate is emotionally scarred by being served okra as a kid, deeming it “foul and disgusting”. Slimy beetroot repulses Sheryn, who complains it infiltrates everything around it. And it’s asparagus that appals Denise because of how smelly it makes your pee! I know coriander can be controversial, and Cloe’s certainly a leader of the anti-brigade, saying it has a soapy taste.

Julie can’t stand kidney, saying it “smells like I suspect a urinal might”. And Penny detests desiccated coconut with its “horrible texture”, and insults lovely lamingtons by insisting they “look like they’re covered in dandruff!”.

Strangely, all this talk of food has just made me hungry! I’m off for chips and a margarita.

Have a great week, guys!