I don't like...

There are very few foods that we consider to be "food" in the United States, that I will not eat. I don't necessarily love every food there is to eat, but generally speaking, if you put it in front of me, I will eat it.  I prefer not to try a few things that I can't wrap my mind around (like tripe or various other types of organ meat) but I've had things that other people I know think is yucky, like squid, octopus, sea urchin, sushi in general, etc, and as I said, for the most part if you put it in front of me I won't turn most foods down. I will turn down peanuts if I'm pregnant or nursing.

And I'll turn down watermelon.

I don't like watermelon.  I know this makes me some kind of a freak, because EVERYONE likes watermelon. But I don't. And I'll point out that my mother in law doesn't either, which is something we can kind of bond over. I don't like the flavor. I don't like the texture. I don't like having to eat around seeds. I simply DISLIKE it. And somehow, people get weirdly annoyed at me when I don't want it.

I try it every so often. If they're putting out testers at the farmer's market, and it doesn't have seeds, I'll test out a piece to see if my opinion has changed. So far, it hasn't.

There was a short time during my last pregnancy when I liked watermelon. I think it is because I had it in a salad and it seemed to work as an ingredient better than it does on its own. But I was also pregnant, and you know, I also thought that pineapple and blue cheese tasted good together.

I know it's weird, but I also think that as someone who will eat just about anything, I am entitled to my little watermelon hatred quirk. And the thing is, I'll eat it if it's a matter of being polite, and I'll not enjoy it, and it will ruin an otherwise awesome dinner for me. Just so I can be polite!

There are certain circumstances under which I will eat watermelon and not absolutely abhor it. It has to be completely fresh and not over-ripe or under-ripe. It has to be crispy and not a drop mealy. It has to be nearly seedless or have only edible seeds. It has to be not refrigerated.  I almost never come across a piece of watermelon this way.

Yesterday when we picked up our farm share, it included a watermelon. I kept it out of the fridge and cut into it for the kids after dinner. Alas. Seeds. I had a tiny piece that had no seeds, decided it was still not my thing, and gave the rest to the kids. My children ate half of a (small) watermelon on their own, all the while the 4-year-old asking me when I was going to have some. *sigh*.

So that's it. The food I don't like. Considering how many people I know who won't eat fruit or vegetables, I think I can live with the quirk.