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Just like the monster lurking under the bed or those things that go bump in the night, there is nothing scarier than the unknown, and that goes for food too. When it comes to food, from childhood we are often conditioned to be scared of everything that looks weird: iridescent purple eggplant, whole cooked fish with heads still attached, spiny green artichokes.
Being scared of how a food looks for most of one’s young life (and into many adult lives) and thus not eating it just isn't sound policy. There are a whole world of good eats being missed out on, not nearly as scary to eat as they might first appear on the plate. And since Halloween provides a good occasion to confront our fears with a scary movie, Haunted House, or freaky costume, now might be the time for everyone, young and old, to face those frightening foods. You just might find that scary hesitancy you've been feeling has been nothing more than a trick, and you’ve ended up with one delicious treat.
Sometimes our food fears are based on something unrelated to food at all. While some people are scared of raw fish and don’t eat sushi, for most of my life I would go out for sushi and eat everything but one particular sushi roll because I thought it was just too creepy: a spider roll. That’s right, for as long as I can remember my biggest fear has been of spiders, and a spider roll, which is actually fried soft shell crab, was just too creepy sounding and looking for me to do more than glance at it, let alone eat it.
Over the years, I can’t say my spider fear has subsided all that much, but I have faced my demons and met the challenge of the spider-looking soft shell crab. If I closed my eyes, what I discovered was a mild tasting shell fish with a crunchy, fried exterior. What I found was that years of being scared of arachnids had kept me from enjoying the pleasures of a mild and delicious crustacean.
If looks aren’t enough, nothing is scarier than a food that excites your taste bud terrors with both a strange look and texture. I would say both squid and octopus easily fall into that category. Just looking at a ring of fried calamari can trigger a memory of the tentacles it is attached too. If that is not gross or scary enough, a badly cooked ring can taste like rubber bands, an unfortunate mistake that might send that seafood staple to the recipe graveyard.
The thing about those scary looking tentacles is that they tend to have a better texture than the ring of the body once they are in your mouth, as their structure makes them less likely to end up rubbery even if overcooked. The way to avoid that frightening texture altogether is to simply be a more vigilant cook. Squid requires the most minimal of cooking times. Barely cook it through for 1-2 minutes until the skin is opaque. Have it in a rich sauce of tomatoes, red peppers, and slices of salami and you’ll have a dish sure to put that food fear peacefully to rest.
For as bizarre and scary as a kid might find the color of an eggplant to be, there are way stranger and more frightening things being eaten all the time in other parts of the world. In my travels alone, my eyes and stomach have taken on fried scorpion, snake butchered tableside and prepared seven ways, long pasta looking ribbons that turned out to be jellyfish, solid eggs with translucent whites and almost black yolks known as “1000 year old eggs”, not to mention a whole lot of fruits and vegetables in shapes and colors outrageous enough to look like they came from another planet.
The point is, after years of being scared of the simplest of foods because they looked like spiders or the tentacles freaked me out, I learned that my irrational fears were holding me back from some real food enjoyment. Now I haven’t necessarily liked all these scary sounding things I have eaten; I could do without jellyfish and after two attempts, if I never eat another snake in my life it will be too soon. However, scorpions were crunchy with a slight meaty flavor that I did not mind at all and 1000 Year Old Eggs are surprisingly delicious, a dish I now look for every time I am at a serious Chinese restaurant.
The moral of this spooky food story is that just like the creature lurking under the bed or those things that go bump in the night, there is really nothing to be scared of but fear itself. If you let your food fears hold you back, there is a world of fantastic food you might be missing out on. So try that scary colored vegetable, or cook up that fish whose beady eyes have been following you. You might find that facing your food fears has never been so delicious.
©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/788-food-fears/
Scary Foods: More Treats Than Tricks
Just like the monster lurking under the bed or those things that go bump in the night, there is nothing scarier than the unknown, and that goes for food too. When it comes to food, from childhood we are often conditioned to be scared of everything that looks weird: iridescent purple eggplant, whole cooked fish with heads still attached, spiny green artichokes.
Being scared of how a food looks for most of one’s young life (and into many adult lives) and thus not eating it just isn't sound policy. There are a whole world of good eats being missed out on, not nearly as scary to eat as they might first appear on the plate. And since Halloween provides a good occasion to confront our fears with a scary movie, Haunted House, or freaky costume, now might be the time for everyone, young and old, to face those frightening foods. You just might find that scary hesitancy you've been feeling has been nothing more than a trick, and you’ve ended up with one delicious treat.
Sometimes our food fears are based on something unrelated to food at all. While some people are scared of raw fish and don’t eat sushi, for most of my life I would go out for sushi and eat everything but one particular sushi roll because I thought it was just too creepy: a spider roll. That’s right, for as long as I can remember my biggest fear has been of spiders, and a spider roll, which is actually fried soft shell crab, was just too creepy sounding and looking for me to do more than glance at it, let alone eat it.
Over the years, I can’t say my spider fear has subsided all that much, but I have faced my demons and met the challenge of the spider-looking soft shell crab. If I closed my eyes, what I discovered was a mild tasting shell fish with a crunchy, fried exterior. What I found was that years of being scared of arachnids had kept me from enjoying the pleasures of a mild and delicious crustacean.
If looks aren’t enough, nothing is scarier than a food that excites your taste bud terrors with both a strange look and texture. I would say both squid and octopus easily fall into that category. Just looking at a ring of fried calamari can trigger a memory of the tentacles it is attached too. If that is not gross or scary enough, a badly cooked ring can taste like rubber bands, an unfortunate mistake that might send that seafood staple to the recipe graveyard.
The thing about those scary looking tentacles is that they tend to have a better texture than the ring of the body once they are in your mouth, as their structure makes them less likely to end up rubbery even if overcooked. The way to avoid that frightening texture altogether is to simply be a more vigilant cook. Squid requires the most minimal of cooking times. Barely cook it through for 1-2 minutes until the skin is opaque. Have it in a rich sauce of tomatoes, red peppers, and slices of salami and you’ll have a dish sure to put that food fear peacefully to rest.
For as bizarre and scary as a kid might find the color of an eggplant to be, there are way stranger and more frightening things being eaten all the time in other parts of the world. In my travels alone, my eyes and stomach have taken on fried scorpion, snake butchered tableside and prepared seven ways, long pasta looking ribbons that turned out to be jellyfish, solid eggs with translucent whites and almost black yolks known as “1000 year old eggs”, not to mention a whole lot of fruits and vegetables in shapes and colors outrageous enough to look like they came from another planet.
The point is, after years of being scared of the simplest of foods because they looked like spiders or the tentacles freaked me out, I learned that my irrational fears were holding me back from some real food enjoyment. Now I haven’t necessarily liked all these scary sounding things I have eaten; I could do without jellyfish and after two attempts, if I never eat another snake in my life it will be too soon. However, scorpions were crunchy with a slight meaty flavor that I did not mind at all and 1000 Year Old Eggs are surprisingly delicious, a dish I now look for every time I am at a serious Chinese restaurant.
The moral of this spooky food story is that just like the creature lurking under the bed or those things that go bump in the night, there is really nothing to be scared of but fear itself. If you let your food fears hold you back, there is a world of fantastic food you might be missing out on. So try that scary colored vegetable, or cook up that fish whose beady eyes have been following you. You might find that facing your food fears has never been so delicious.
Linguine with Squid, Tomatoes, Red Pepper and Pepperoni
Made with lemon, linguine, olive oil, garlic, diced tomatoes, basil, red pepper, pepperoni, red pepper flakes, squid
Made with lemon, linguine, olive oil, garlic, diced tomatoes, basil, red pepper, pepperoni, red pepper flakes, squid
Serves/Makes: 8
- 1 package linguine
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 1/2 can (14 ounce size) diced tomatoes
- 8 large basil leaves
- 1 red pepper
- 3 ounces pepperoni
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3/4 pound squid with tentacles
- 1/2 lemon
- 1/4 cup minced flat leaf parsley
- salt and pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
In a large saute pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Mince garlic and add to olive oil. Saute for 2 minutes.
Add tomatoes along with basil leaves cut crosswise very thinly into a chiffonade. Stir tomatoes, garlic and basil. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
When water is boiling, add linguine and cook according to package directions.
While pasta and tomato sauce are cooking, prepare red pepper, cutting into 1/2-inch dice. Slice pepperoni into strips 1/4-inch thick. After tomato sauce has been simmering for 10 minutes, add red pepper, pepperoni, and red pepper flakes. Simmer for another five minutes.
Meanwhile, rinse squid in a colander under cold water. Cut the bodies into circles 1/4-inch thick.
When pasta is cooked, drain and set aside, adding a little pasta water to the sauce at this point if it is becoming too thick.
When peppers have cooked in the sauce for five minutes, add squid and cook for another 2 minutes. Add pasta back too pasta pot over medium low heat and toss with the sauce, basil, and juice of the lemon. Cook for a couple of minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
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©2026 CDKitchen, Inc. No reproduction or distribution of any portion of this article is allowed without express permission from CDKitchen, Inc.
To share this article with others, you may link to this page:
https://www.cdkitchen.com/cooking-experts/amy-powell/788-food-fears/