In sitcoms, it’s common to see people having an aversion to broccoli.

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You can see someone say, “this guy wouldn’t eat broccoli if it was deep fried in chocolate sauce” for example.

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Are they always talking about broccoli specifically or is it just a placeholder for vegetables?

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While we are at it, if there’s so much repulsion to broccoli/vegetables, why not just season them or be creative and some sauce/gravy to it?

25 comments
  1. Yes, broccoli.

    “Vile weed!” ~ Newman

    It has a strong taste so people general have strong opinions one way or the other.

  2. Yes, it usually means broccoli. At this point I think it is a meme. But I think a lot of people grew up with frozen broccoli just steamed with no real seasoning. Same with cauliflower, green beans, peas, and Brussel sprouts. I don’t know why. Didn’t take me long to learn how to roast or sauté veggies with fat and seasoning.

  3. It’s just a TV and movie trope.

    It is a stand in for any vegetable picky eaters don’t like. Brussels sprouts is the other common trope.

    Most people like well made broccoli.

    I just served to to my kid at lunch 10 minutes ago. She’s 8 and loves it. It is one of my favorite vegetables. Most everyone I know eats it happily.

  4. broccoli means broccoli. Otherwise we use the word “veggies” or less commonly “greens” to mean generic green vegetables. It’s a stereotype or TV trope, I think, to say most people hate broccoli. I know SOME people who don’t like it, but most people have no problem with it, and it’s a commonly eaten vegetable her in the US, eaten raw dipped in American Ranch dressing, steamed and served as a side during dinner, or used in casseroles or salads. I love broccoli. My kids all eat broccoli.

  5. > While we are at it, if there’s so much repulsion to broccoli/vegetables, why not just season them or be creative and some sauce/gravy to it?

    Seasoning broccoli does not get rid of the flavor. If you don’t like broccoli throwing some garlic on it won’t make the base flavor go away.

  6. Broccoli always just means broccoli. Some people have a particular aversion to the flavor.

  7. I fucking love broccoli. I eat maybe 2 pounds of it per week. I don’t get what people have against it.

    Sorry for my broccoli flex but I don’t eat broccoli so much as “do” broccoli.

    Anyway as to your questions while all Americans hate vegetables, the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy Entry on us would probably include a statement like, “With the exception of corn, in general Americans hate vegetables.”

    This country is so meaty. So, so meaty. Sugary, too.

  8. Yes broccoli; which I don’t get because besides the few hours of gas you get broccoli is delicious. Steamed, fresh, grilled, barbecued with other veggies, whatever, I love it. I live when I have a steak and I can soak up the steak sauce with the broccoli, it is like a non-sweet dessert.

  9. I think a lot of the foods white Americans growing up in the forties, fifties, and sixties learned to dislike was because they were often bought frozen and boiled to within an inch of mush. My parents were born in the fifties, and there were a lot of vegetables we never had in the house because one or both of my parents hated them, but I found out tasted pretty good as an adult. Also, Brussels sprouts were bred to have a bad tasting compound removed from them. I love them, but apparently they really did used to taste horrible when my parents were kids.

    You also might be interested in this – when George H W Bush was President, he made comments about how much he hated broccoli and would never eat it, especially now that he was in charge. People found him to seem old and out of touch because of that, because broccoli had become very popular in the 80s.

    https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_H._W._Bush_broccoli_comments

  10. tbh this confuses me too. I don’t understand this tv trope.

    it’s normal in the US to like broccoli. lots of Americans enjoy it served in different ways. we put it in dishes, we eat it with cheese, we eat it by itself. it’s great. easily one of my personal favorite veggies.

    if you’re an adult American and you have an extreme dislike for broccoli, ngl I’m probably going to assume you’re very picky. that’s pretty unusual.

  11. There are very few vegetables that I don’t like if they’ve been roasted or stir-fried.

    There are very few vegetables that I don’t find disgusting if they have been boiled or steamed.

    Broccoli may be the biggest offender (next to cabbage) of vegetables that I find almost inedible if they have been boiled or steamed.

  12. > While we are at it, if there’s so much repulsion to broccoli/vegetables, why not just season them or be creative and some sauce/gravy to it?

    Broccoli is actually [American’s favorite vegetable](https://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20220620/broccoli-reigns-supreme-as-americas-favorite-veggie#:~:text=Broccoli%20maintained%20its%20favorite%20veggie,37%25%20more%20popular%20from%202021.).

    What you’re talking about is mostly just a TV trope. Nobody actually acts like [Kevin from The Office being forced to eat broccoli](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wW-4R3nYFEg&ab_channel=CoolClipCow). It’s just something to show how fat and unhealthy a person is.

  13. Like spinach before it, broccoli was a staple health food and gained a reputation for that style of eating even though it does fairly poorly when cooked and served in that manner (often steamed without dressing, releasing the sulfur compounds without browning at all).

  14. Yes, it means broccoli.

    It’s a bit of a trope because a lot of people were forced as children to eat broccoli and other vegetables they didn’t like for nutrition reasons.

    Vegetables such as broccoli are often eaten with spices, seasonings, sauces, dressings, gravy, and alongside other foods in the US.

    Some people just don’t like the flavor or texture of broccoli, though. It is what it is.

  15. It specifically means broccoli. I blame President George H.W. Bush – he famously hated broccoli and his hatred flowed to others, it seems.

  16. I ALSO think a lot of times, when it joke is about kids, it’s because toddlers universally have texture aversion to new food, and broccoli certainly has a lot of texture to it.

  17. Broccoli = broccoli.

    While I get that hating broccoli is a TV trope that is (evidently) misunderstood outside the US, I don’t understand the leap to Americans hating all vegetables?

    We don’t. Nor have I seen anything on TV / movies that suggests that Americans hate vegetables as a food group…… This just seems like a big leap to me.

  18. I love when non-Americans do American culture. “Deep fried in chocolate sauce” is just awesome.

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