Who doesn't like curry?

[CraigC]

My first taste of Indian cuisine was on a business trip to New Zealand. I ate there each evening of my stay because it was with in walking distance of the B&B I was staying at. The food was good but I didn't pursue it after my return home. It wasn't until recently that we really took an interest in it. There was a local talk radio host that said "Indian people smelled like curry". Maybe subconsciously I believed that.

 

[Duck59]

There are a lot of people who get very stuck in their ways about all sorts of things. I remember one place where I worked where some people were going out for a meal and someone booked a table at an Indian restaurant. My boss looked most taken aback - at the age of 48, he'd never had a curry in his life.

The "I wouldn't like it" line always mystifies me. By definition, one must taste everything for the first time at some stage.

And yes, I like curries, if one can use the widely generic term. The best food I've ever had on any holiday (or time spent in other countries) was in Sri Lanka.

 

[Mountain Cat]

I love curries!!!!

I liked it, but it left the kitchen smelling like Indian food take out. Never revisited the cuisine again.

Karen, is that a bad thing???

 

[TastyReuben]

The "I wouldn't like it" line always mystifies me. By definition, one must taste everything for the first time at some stage.

I always say, "I'll try anything twice, because I might have gotten a bad one the first time."

Here's an interesting spin:

Let's say I make the comment, "I hate Italian food! Oh, all those tomatoes and pasta and meatballs and pizza...it's just too much!"

Many people would come back with, "Italian cuisine is much more than just spaghetti and meatballs. Every region is different, lots of seafood, you can't just write it all off based on pasta and tomato sauce! How can you say you hate it, you've had 1% of that cuisine! You need to educate yourself and try a bigger variety of Italian dishes!"

Now consider the opposite. If I said, "I love Italian food! All that tomato sauce and pasta and meatballs and pizza...I could eat it every day!" - no one would come back and say, "Oh yeah, how do you know you love it?! It's a lot more than just spaghetti and meatballs. You need to eat a lot more variety, then you might find that you hate it!"

That never happens, but boy, say you don't like something, and people come out of the woodwork trying to convince you that they know your tastes better than you do.

 

[Morning Glory]

I love curries!!!!

Karen, is that a bad thing???

Visitors often say my whole house smells of curry let alone the kitchen. I take it as a compliment! I also have woks and pans that smell of curry spices - not to mention the aroma of certain cupboards which house spices.

 

[Morning Glory]

Now consider the opposite. If I said, "I love Italian food! All that tomato sauce and pasta and meatballs and pizza...I could eat it every day!" - no one would come back and say, "Oh yeah, how do you know you love it?! It's a lot more than just spaghetti and meatballs. You need to eat a lot more variety, then you might find that you hate it!"

True - up to a point. But I've been known to challenge folk who say they love traditional British food - good old roast beef and Yorkshire pudding etc. I say 'there's a lot more to British food than that'.

 

[TastyReuben]

It's something of a double-edged sword, really; we need some kind of commonly-accepted definitions in order to communicate, but there are just too many interpretations based on individual environments.

 

[Karen W]

Visitors often say my whole house smells of curry let alone the kitchen. I take it as a compliment! I also have woks and pans that smell of curry spices - not to mention the aroma of certain cupboards which house spices.

That's why you drive on the wrong side of the road. Downwind. Take the cumin with you

 

[Karen W]

True - up to a point. But I've been known to challenge folk who say they love traditional British food - good old roast beef and Yorkshire pudding etc. I say 'there's a lot more to British food than that'.

I think some folks think American food is all about hots dogs, hamburgers, pizza, BBQ and fast food. Occasionally, we have a cheeseburger. :p

 

[TastyReuben]

I think some folks think American food is all about hots dogs, hamburgers, pizza, BBQ and fast food. Occasionally, we have a cheeseburger. :p

...which brings this around full-circle. If someone asks, "Do you like curry?" - how to answer?

If a person says, "No, I don't," then gets a response along the lines of "Well, curry doesn't mean one thing, so how do you know for sure," then it should be perfectly acceptable to put it back on the one asking by saying, "Maybe you ought to be a little more specific next time!"

I always feel like, "Do you like such-and-such food/dish/cuisine?" to be a loaded question, like the person asking is secretly hoping you say no so they can pounce on you to tell you how ignorant and/or unsophisticated you are.

 

[The Late Night Gourmet]

As utterly opposite as it may seem, I now recall how my opinion of vanilla ice cream has changed over the years. When I was young, I always had crappy, bland ice cream made with imitation vanilla. I thought it was slightly better than frozen paper. But, once I had some really good ice cream, I realized that I couldn't say I hate vanilla ice cream anymore...I just hate bad vanilla ice cream.

Curries can vary so much - from hot vindaloo to mild aromatic dishes with no chilli at all - India is a huge country with many different cuisines and the word 'curry' doesn't really mean very much in terms of defining a dish. When I hear folk say they don't like curry I always think its a bit like saying they don't like casseroles. And I always get the urge to cook them a curry that will change their mind!

I think this could be a big part of it: if your only experience with curry was a blazing hot vindaloo, you might never want to get anywhere near Indian food ever again. My wife hates spicy food: unlike my ice cream situation, it's not because she hasn't had properly-prepared spicy food...it's the spiciness that overwhelms her ability to enjoy the food.

I always feel like, "Do you like such-and-such food/dish/cuisine?" to be a loaded question, like the person asking is secretly hoping you say no so they can pounce on you to tell you how ignorant and/or unsophisticated you are.

Except on this forum, I can't imagine someone asking me if I like a particular cuisine unless there was a good likelihood of having some (such as, "we're going downtown for dinner. Do you like curry? There's an amazing Indian restaurant we want to try.")

 

[Karen W]

As I stated, I can take it or leave it. If someone doesn't care for a dish/ ingredient, I don't push it. It's when a certain dish/ingredient one doesn't like repeats their loathing every time it's mentioned, it's childish & annoying.

 

[Morning Glory]

...which brings this around full-circle. If someone asks, "Do you like curry?" - how to answer?

If a person says, "No, I don't," then gets a response along the lines of "Well, curry doesn't mean one thing, so how do you know for sure," then it should be perfectly acceptable to put it back on the one asking by saying, "Maybe you ought to be a little more specific next time!"

Very true. The trouble is that most folk aren't very specific when in conversation socially. Its different in a work situation perhaps when we need to be precise to avoid misunderstanding. Having said that...

Anyway - there is no harm in exploring our likes/dislikes (even prejudices!) about food or drink so long as we do it in the spirit of sharing ideas. It fascinates me why and what foods are liked and disliked. I often learn a lot by listening to what people say.

 

[Yorky]

Visitors often say my whole house smells of curry let alone the kitchen. I take it as a compliment! I also have woks and pans that smell of curry spices - not to mention the aroma of certain cupboards which house spices.

When we lived in Yorkshire we owned a semi-detached house. The neighbours in the "attached" house reckoned the curry aroma came through the dividing wall!

 

[Mountain Cat]

..


I always feel like, "Do you like such-and-such food/dish/cuisine?" to be a loaded question, like the person asking is secretly hoping you say no so they can pounce on you to tell you how ignorant and/or unsophisticated you are.

When I ask it, it's because I want to know if I can serve that sort of food to them & they'll appreciate it, or if I'm wondering if they'd like to join me at an Indian, or a Vietnamese, or whatever restaurant.