What Herb/Spice Do You Most Dislike?

Question

I'm pretty much a spiceophile. Rare is the spice I do not love. The strongest exception to this rule, however, is Mexican oregano. First tried it no more than a couple of years ago, and simply have not developed a taste for it. Gotta say I dislike Mexican oregano more than anything else in my spice shelves.

You lot?

Answer

I'd have to say cinnamon. I like cinnamon, but I feel it is the "fall back" baking spice too often. Same in pickled items. It is often used so heavily that the flavor obliterates all others.

I usually cut back or eliminate the cinnamon and increase the mace, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.

Answer

Tarragon. I've tried it many times. I want to like it but I can't stand it.

Answer

Cumin. Terrible metallic taste and smell to me

Answer

Sage. Can't stand it.

Answer

Cloves; hate them in anything.

Answer

Asafoetida. I'll eat food at a restaurant that contains it, but I refuse to keep it in my home because of the smell.

Answer

Hey P Khan, is that photo for your avatar taken at the fort in St Kitts?

Answer

Not sure if it qualifies as a "spice", but my nomination is for sassafras root. I am OK with the leaves, as in filé powder.

Answer

Star anise. It is just SO strong; its flavor overwhelms and dominates just about anything it touches. I enjoy other herbs with anise flavor (tarragon, fennel, fennel seed, etc.), but star anise is just toooooooooooooo licorice-y.

Answer

only one..nutmeg. Not sure why, but I just do not like the flavor..

Answer

I bought a plant of Mexican oregano (coleus amboinicus) once, and so hated everything about it that I killed it immediately.

Answer

Ironically, given the amount of South Asian and Middle Eastern cooking I do, I have never been a fan of cumin. I find its flavor aggressive and don't much care for it as a main seasoning, though I can tolerate it when tamed in a blend.

Answer

Rosemary. I grow it and love it as an outdoor plant, but can't abide the texture or taste in food.

Mr. Pine abhors cinnamon, and I love it. So, no snickerdoodles for him (leaves more for me).

Answer

Dill, dill, dill, dill..............ewwwwww..........

Answer

Rosemary here too. I grow it as an outside plant but can't stand the flavor/texture. Even the grasshoppers won't touch it and they'll eat just about anything.

Answer

Dried tarragon is awful but fresh it is wonderful

Answer

Additional votes for star anise and cloves. And I cannot
tolerate more than a touch of black pepper or it overpowers
the dish for me .

Answer

White pepper. I do not like the horsey mustiness of it (that's how it comes across on my palate). When we lived in Europe, I frequently stashed a pre-filled plastic grocery store black peppercorn grinder in my purse so I could have black pepper at the table when we ate in hotels and restaurants.

Answer

Mint, any type, hate it!!!
Not a big fan of anise.

Answer

Tarragon, sage, rosemary, aniseed. 
Hate all of them - sage is the worst.
I like the smell of them in a sunny garden, but not on my food.

Answer

Lavender. Love it as a home fragrance, but not in my food.

Answer

Cilantro. It always tastes like soap to me.

Answer

Cinnamon.

Answer

Anise and lesser so tarragon. Tarragon I can do in small doses, but not as a main flavor. 

Also I am not totally sure on this, but I think I am allergic to sage. I don't feel so hot after eating it. Interesting because my mom is allergic to it as well. I like the taste, but not the aftermath.

Answer

Curry powder (the yellow one is all I have tried so far). It stinks my whole place up for hours and I can't get it to go away. I'm also not really fond of the overall flavor of it either, way too overpowering no matter how little I use.

Answer

I can take just about anything as long as the dose is appropriate and/or small enough, but I've yet to find an amount of epazote that I can tolerate in my food.

Answer

Not a big basil fan, myself.

Answer

Nigella seeds! I have a very very strong negative reaction to them to the point that even if I pick them off the top of a bread roll the lingering taste is still too strong and horribly unpleasant.

Answer

I like them all! Granted I've never tried asafoetida, but I enjoy all the others mentioned so far. I love thai basil, all mints, cumin, dill, Mexican oregano, lemongrass, etc. etc. 

There might be some applications in which I don't enjoy a spice but it's not the spice's fault. I'm looking at you, "pumpkin" -flavored cheesecake/latte/cream cheese/yogurt/frosting/coffee/etc.

Answer

Chervil, bleh! The stuff took over my garden and I had to pull up every plant. It wasn't a favourite then, but after pulling it up and smelling it for hours, I now despise it more than any other herb.

Answer

Tarragon! Blech!

Answer

Mint and cardamom..I could live without both

Answer

Fresh sesame leaves, which Koreans liked to use as a wrap for their barbecued meats. Has a heavy, dull scent which I couldn't stand.

Answer

Dill. Fresh dill, to be specific. I don't like it dried either, but I can handle it (kinda) if it's dried and in something, like a salad dressing or something. But fresh...BLECH! Really bums me out when people put it in potato salad. Ruins it for me.

Answer

I've been pondering this for several days and honestly can not think of an herb/spice I dislike. The herbs I use the most are parseley, basil, tarragon, rosemary, sage, oregano, mint, and chives. Spices, cumin, paprika, turmeric, curry powder, ginger, and mustard seed.

Answer

Dried basil. The real thing is hands-down my favorite of all the herbs and spices, but the dried tastes like every pot of bad "spaghetti sauce" in New Jersey.

I can only use a little, tiny bit of cumin; more smells like armpit or ass to me.

Answer

Anise (particularly star anise) and caraway. I'm not a big fan of fennel either, but it has its place (Italian sausage).

Answer

I honestly can't think of a single herb or spice I outright hate...although it would be easy to hate many of them if they're used inappropriately or in too great a quantity. 

Of course, I'd be hard pressed to _define_ either of those caveats though, since it is always very much in the tastebuds of the beholder. Kind of like the unintentionally hilarious discussions among the more uber-geeks on the beer forums as to what constitutes "good" beer or "bad" beer.

Answer

Dill

Answer

I like fenugreek, but I don't like being next to someone who ate it the previous day. So I avoid it out of consideration for my colleagues.

Answer

I do not like anise ... at all.

Answer

I don't HATE any of them but my least favourite is saffron. It tastes metallic to me. I won't avoid it at restaurants but very rarely prepare anything at home that requires saffron.

Poor quality cumin can ruin a dish but the good stuff is lovely. Same with thyme (dried). I love thyme but recently bought some dried thyme (Whole Foods brand) because I was out of my French dried thyme from The Spice House. It has ruined every single dish I've added it to. It went in the compost.

It's interesting to see how many don't like the licorice spices. I love them. Fennel, tarragon, star anise - yes please!! I have never been able to eat the licorice candy though.

Answer

Dill. Can't stand it. Not crazy about tarragon, either. Tastes like the smell of an old lady's purse.

Answer

Fennel seeds & Thai Basil

Answer

Cilantro! I wish that many restaurants would wake up to the fact that it tastes terrible to about 15% of people. I don't know why there have been so many studies on cilantro aversion (shouldn't they be curing cancer?) but for some strange reason there have been a ton. If you, like me, are in procrastination mode today here's an article from Huff Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/20/cilantro-aversion-gene-study_n_1901124.html (includes neat pesto recipe)

And a pretty funny one:

http://ihatecilantro.com/ (I love the "no cilantro" logo!)

Ah, well, back to the garden. Need to plant Italian parsley, which is a great substitute for the nasty "C" plant.

Answer

Curry or capers

Answer

Bay leaf.

Answer

Wow.
Old Bay Seasoning is the WORST, but Mint, Curry Powder, Ginger, and Cilantro are all on this list.

Answer

hing

ack!!!

Answer

Saffron
Cilantro
Does chipotle pepper count? If so, "chipole pepper"

Answer

nutmeg
fennel seeds
cloves

Answer

Heck, I can't discern one oregano from another. I do know that I HATE cilantro (and by association and origin coriander) and I HATE rosemary and I 'dislike' sage. Yeah, that starts to limit my herbs.

Anyone else?

Answer

i don't care for cinnamon

Answer

Cinnamon- totally overused, especially in bathroom "potpourris"

Epazote- who the hell decided that this was something to eat??

Dill- except for some pickles, it ruins most everything

Curry powder, curry leaf- see epazote, above

Mint, for the most part. Sometimes it's a nice addition, but not often.

Answer

Like Perilagu Khan, I used to hate cilantro but somehow came around to liking it.

For many years now, the only spices/herbs I find repellent are lavender and tarragon.

Answer

Cumin . Smells like B.O .

Answer

For years I hated ginger, it reminded me too much of when my mother would wash my mouth out with soap. Then out of nowhere about 5 years ago I developed a taste for it and I truly enjoy ginger now. Funny how your tastes do change over time.

Answer

As a passionate (aka obsessed) herb and spice enthusiast, the only one I dislike is caraway seed. I've wanted to like it, I've tried, but just cannot.

Answer

I avoid sage and rosemary, but really dislike "Chinese 5 Spice Powder," probably due to the star anise.

Answer

The tiniest amount of cilantro will ruin any meal for me. The mere smell of it makes me nauseous. I garden in a community garden and someone near me was growing it - it was horrendous. I hate it with the fire of 1,000 suns. It's so vile and I don't understand why restaurants don't warn that they're using it. I will send a dish back if it has it on it.

Answer

Cumin.
Hate it.

Answer

A question of what constitutes a herb/spice...?
FENNEL - it is almost impossible to find a good sausage. The only ones I can find are fennel sausages that have a bit of meat in them. The taste of the meat is lost. Is someone working on cutting out the meat entirely to be replaced by fennel?
SALT - salt is a taste enhancer; not a substitute for taste.
HOPS - I love hops, but many beers are getting to be silly with their hop input. Hops should be a friend to beer, not the chairman of the board + sergeant at arms. All tastes at the boardroom table should have a say.
SUGAR/HONEY/CINNAMON (the unholy trinity) - is it possible to find a breakfast cereal without any of these 3 ubiquitous ingredients? They also unexpectedly gangbust into bread/pancakes etc. without invitation.

IMHO, herbs/spices and other 'additives' should be there to enhance the 'basic' taste of the fundamental food. A good horse should have a good jockey - when the jockey bullies the horse, the team under-performs.

Answer

Parsley! I have tried for years to include it in every thing, but I just don't like it. I never buy it anymore. I have just owned my dislike of it.

Answer

I also can't stand basil.

Topics

Locations

Your post has been published!

What Herb/Spice Do You Most Dislike?

Discussion Summary

Recipe

Chicken Stew with Coriander, Cilantro, and Chard Recipe SimplyRecipes.com

More from Chowhound

Guides

The Ultimate Spring Produce Guide: What's in Season & How to Use It

Recipe Round-Ups

Quick and Easy Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes for Less Morning Stress

Guides

How to Care for Enameled Cast Iron So It Lasts a Lifetime

Home

The Best Tool to Clean a Wood Cutting Board Is Probably in Your Compost Bin

Trending Discussions

Chowhound Recipes That You are Saving

A Final Goodbye for Chowhound

Favorite Chowhound Memories

NY Times: Chowhound Closes After 25 Years of Food Obsession, Wisdom and Debate

January–April 2022 Baking COTM: DESSERT PERSON by Claire Saffitz

Quick Links

Latest Discussions

Cookbook of the Month

Dish of the Month

Weekly Menu Planning

Get fresh food news delivered to your inbox

12 Irish Foods to Celebrate St. Patrick's Day That Aren’t Corned Beef and Cabbage

Chowhound

Policies

Community

Editorial

Content