P.s.: For all those people who recall Captain Picard to you ... {laughs} after all, people were enamored of Earl Grey tea long before Captain Picard was (invented.)
The correct chain is
Earl Grey => Captain Picard
not
Captain Picard => Earl Grey
I've lucked out. The only two things I ever DIDN'T like (or didn't mind, anyway) were
1. Corn Meal Mush, and in fact it must have been that brand, it was almost caustic and un-foodlike.
2. Lemon Grass. To me, it tastes metallic.
I am one of those 1 in 7 people who tastes the aldehyde in Cilantro, so it tastes SOAPY to me ... but I can handle it, I just don't seek it out.
Apart from those. NOTHING (food) bothers me, a fact which impressed my parents. But I understand disliking things (since there are things I dislike, if few.)
Sorry for you to dislike Bergamot. Then I conjecture: do you have a problem with other oils, say derived from the skin of fruits, e.g. Orange Peel oil, then you would dislike Constant Comment too. OR, it could just be Bergamot.
Have you ever eaten Cardamom seeds? {I wonder what it is about Bergamot you don't like.}
==
Also, you should follow me at
because I run that server, thus will always be there. I seem to be thrown off other sites for having unpopular opinions.
{laughs and laughs} Oh PATCHOULI. Oh FAVORITE MEMORIES of HEAD SHOPS in the '70s. They were famous for seeming to have dumped GALLONS of patchouli oil on the floor and walls ... THAT, certainly was oppressive.
I don't mind it so much otherwise, in fact it bears that memory (patchouli => head shop.)
But one doesn't EAT patchouli ... ?
In Oakland (CA), I forget the name of the shop (circa Telegraph and 46th), it sold to people following the occult, and they stocked various oils. I tried some (for fragrance.) One in particular was Frangipani, a name I always thought interesting. I'd lived on Guam, there was a shrub that grew these wonderful flowers, fragrant, exotic. We called them PLUMERIA, but I later learned it was the SAME as Frangipani (I was edified to have liked it in advance.) So of course, that was an oil I checked out.
But the REAL test is to go to an Indian food store, and get FLOWER WATERS. Oh synesthetic heaven. They "taste like shit" to just taste them per se (too strong!) But add them to a confection, OH BOY. Where do you get turned on to that?
Rice pudding. ROSE water, ORANGE FLOWER water. We know those. But the Indian food store will have another half dozen flavors with unfamiliar (to Americans) names.
https://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/slideshow/flower-water-recipes
It's a real bitch to get the <epithets> internet to cough up names, but here's ONE, at least:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kewra
I had four kinds, whose names I can't recall. It begs belief that the fucking net CAN'T ANSWER THE FUCKING QUESTION!
Here's another ABNQ (almost but not quite):
https://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/news/weird-ingredient-wednesday-5-kinds-flower-waters-0167257/
and
https://food-hacks.wonderhowto.com/news/these-edible-flowers-will-literally-shock-you-0162055/
FINALLY, a start, but still not the Indian stuff:
https://foodsofnations.com/collections/floral-flavored-water
and this is as close as I can get to a list of /Indian/-used flavors; and I give up.
https://www.cntraveller.in/story/12-edible-flowers-india-add-pantry/
In retrospect I should be proud, because my attitude toward so many things is "I don't know, so I'll try it." And "I'll try anything once."
That stood me well in my earlier drug days, what a fun attitude. And thanks to my posture, I know A GREAT MANY THINGS.
==
I don't know where you live, I don't know how multifarious your vendors are. Hopefully there are little places that enjoy stocking "strange stuff". As I recall, I first ran into Choward's at DeLauer's news stand in downtown Oakland CA.
Choward's also makes a violet gum, like chiclets.
Be like me and check it out
{IF you can find it.}
Yeah, the packaging. My attention was attracted to them by the strong coloring, indeed; and since I didn't already know what they were, I TRIED them.
You don't know a thing unless you TRY. People don't remember that as well as they should: TEST REALITY. ALWAYS.
The joke, you tell little Joey "don't play with matches", and what's the first thing little Joey does? Goes to his room and starts playing with matches. Well, good for little Joey. I am little Joey. We should all be little Joey. Yeah, I burned my fingers: but now I KNOW ABOUT SAFETY AROUND MATCHES. We just hope Joey did not burn the house down, but adults should let children play in "sandboxes":
HERE, Joey (says Joey's mom or dad), we're going to PLAY WITH MATCHES. Here is a matchSTICK, here is a matchBOOK, watch how they work. And, oh, try this: how long can you hold a burning match before you have to drop it OR you'll get burned? You DEMONSTRATE WHY to be careful; you DON'T say "just never touch them."
I would SHOW my children various drugs. Why? So they would KNOW. Some are FUN and USEFUL (and if you disagree, the fist question is "are you dissenting from ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE, or just HEARSAY? Because I'm speaking from DIRECT EXPERIENCE.) Some are harmful, or debilitating; or addiction risks. DON'T use PCP; it deranges you, you can't think in a straight line for more than a few seconds, and that's not fun. But if you eat some by accident, don't panic. Just wait it out. How do I handle Cocaine? I'll do it once; and again, maybe a week later. But then I WON'T use any more for months. I WILL NOT get addicted to it. That was easy.
CHOWARD's is not addictive (unless it is for you, o peril, did I inflict a habit on someone?) -- so after the first lozenge -- I anyway -- ate FIVE at once, crunch crunch, yes, a strong flavor rush. Sadly, not special enough to keep doing. {laughs}
I don't know what "laundry violet" is. No, this is the FLOWER, Violet.
{laughs} Almost without a doubt, that laundry stuff is not edible, and is likely toxic.
Remember, in America (or "under Capitalism", if you prefer), nothing IS what they say it is. It's all "FLAVORED". It's chocolate FLAVORED, or raspberry FLAVORED. Real chocolate or raspberries need not apply.
If you read "FAST FOOD NATION", was it chapter 3, "Why the fries taste so good", a harrowing account of the artificial-flavor industry. Even "natural flavors" should be shunned. What makes the taste of a STRAWBERRY? Somewhere long ago I read that the principal flavor ingredient was AMYL ACETATE, so to convince you that what you're eating is "starwberry", they'd add Amyl Acetate. But I tried to confirm that later, and amyl acetate wasn't even mentioned (as I recall), instead the article said (what should be obvious), the flavor was the result of DOZENS of compounds. Or CHERRIES. As a child, I had had cherry CANDY before I ever ate a CHERRY. "oh, THESE DON'T TASTE RIGHT," I said when eating REAL CHERRIES for the first time, but I to my own rescue: "Who's kidding whom? I'M EATING REAL CHERRIES, so THIS IS WHAT THEY IN FACT TASTE LIKE." Reality trumps belief.
And not only that, but I was amazed to discover that NO TWO CHERRIES TASTED THE SAME!! => !!!! And //thus I understood//. Nature is various: the X-flavored BULLSHIT, is BULLSHIT.
What tastes LIKE chocolate? CHOCOLATE.
I don't mind artificial flavors PER SE. What bothers me is when they're used to CHEAT THE CONSUMER. We eat them, so they're not deadly. Tell you what I'd LIKE to see: SELL FLAVORING KITS TO THE PUBLIC. Sure. "Here is a kit containing 500 ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS for you to experiment with. Want to make "artificial french-fry flavor"? "artificial Turkey Gravy flavor"? Knock yourselves out. National award for the best "artificial beanless chili flavor" of the year ... Texans will compete ...
==
Yeah, don't eat "laundry violet". I will make you a virtual nickel bet: READ THE BOX (or bag.) It will say "warning: poison control {mumble mumble}."
BUT DO TRY CHOWARD's.
p.s. I am not paid by Choward's, in case you wondered. {laughs}
{forgive me ...} Yes, smelts ARE delicious.
Sparklepants
ecsd
Ryan The Red 🖥️🚲🍺🏳️🌈
Julie