With the exception of all manner of fuzzy, feathered, or fishy critters, there’s very little I won’t eat. I love food, all manner of tastes and textures. But there are certain foods that, though I enjoy them in certain dishes, completely gross me out on their own. Here they are:

1. Hard boiled eggs: Tasty on a salad, ghost of Easters past on its own. Remember how you’d eat all the jelly beans, all the chocolate rabbits, and then crack open the egg, only to find that it had turned green? Yeah.

2. Mayonnaise: Fabulous when home-made and served with roasted beets. Delicious in moderation on sandwiches. On its own, in a jar? I can barely look at it.

3. Gum: I had a friend in high school who used to put gum balls in rice krispy treats. As far as I’m concerned, it’s gross no matter where you put it. And does it even count as food if you’ve got to spit it out when you’re done with it?

4. Avocado: I love it in sushi. Even more in Guacamole. But on it’s own, slowly turning brown in its reptile shell? Ew.