Everybody has foods they can’t stand. Sometimes there’s a genetic component (Ina Garten uses an herb alternative for cilantro for this reason), and sometimes it’s an everyday food most of us love. For Guy Fieri, it’s eggs. The celebrity chef host of Food Network’s “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” has made it known that he doesn’t like to eat this common breakfast food.
Fieri has spoken publicly about his egg aversion — though he has gone on the record about how important they are for cooking and that he does use them, and he’s spoken passionately about eggs from the chickens he raises. He’s said he doesn’t like the look or texture of scrambled eggs, calling them “liquid chicken” (via YouTube). So what does he eat for breakfast? Apparently, his morning fave is ham and grits with coffee-based red eye gravy.
Food aversions are a complicated thing. You might be able to trace yours back to an upsetting incident, like if a food made you sick, or a negative experience. But a lot of the time it’s unknown why we develop an aversion to a particular food.
How you can still enjoy eggs if you’re not a big fan
Eggs can provide a nutritious and sustaining start to the day. They are the gold standard of protein, and they contain iron, zinc, and a plethora of vitamins. So, even if you’re like Guy Fieri and don’t really like eggs, there are ways to make them more appealing and keep them part of your diet.
Scrambled eggs, for instance, Fieri’s kryptonite, are supposed to be creamy and soft, and there are lots of tips for making them that way, like Alton Brown’s scientific hack for the creamiest scrambled eggs and using water versus milk to make fluffy scrambled eggs.
But the key to making them more palatable is other ingredients. So cook them with cheese, meats like bacon, sausage, and ham, or veggies — mushrooms, peppers, and potatoes. Serve them with salsa, hot sauce, or ketchup, or in a sandwich or wrap. It would be blasphemy to a French chef, but you could cook the eggs a little more, so they don’t have that runny texture.
Try other egg preparations like making them in a casserole with hash browns and bacon, or cook an omelet or frittata with lots of fillings. Don’t eat hard-boiled eggs alone; serve them on a sandwich or chopped up in a salad with a blend of ingredients. The goal is to make eggs part of the overall flavor and texture of what you’re eating instead of the star. Just like those with a genetic aversion to cilantro can overcome it with sustained exposure, so too can you incorporate eggs into your diet — with a little masking.
