The top 10 foods that Brits are terrified of eating

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With Halloween lurking just around the corner, recipe box service Green Chef  has conducted a study uncovering the top 10 foods that make our skin crawl, revealing Brits' biggest food phobias and how we can tackle them head-on. The results? Not what you might expect. 

Topping the list of freaky food phobias are anchovies, with over a third of us (34%) fearing them above all else. Aubergines came in second on the list, closely followed by broccoli (see below for recipe). The research also revealed that younger people tend to be more open to anchovies (22% of 18-24 year olds) compared to the older generation (39% of over 65's). Moreover, it seems that those who live in the North East of the country are the most terrified of Anchovies, with nearly half (42%) voting them as their number one feared food.  

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  1. Anchovies
  2. Olives
  3. Gherkins
  4. Prawns
  5. Seafood
  6. Aubergine
  7. Peanut butter
  8. Kale
  9. Brussel sprouts
  10. Chickpeas

Sticking to what's familiar 

The results also showed that 34% of us are afraid to even try new foods, and therefore stick to what we are familiar with when it comes to cooking and eating out. Perhaps this can go some way in explaining  why we fear certain foods, and what we can do to overcome this.  

Anna Tebbs, head chef and nutritionist at Green Chef, commented on the research: “Many people often convince themselves that they don’t like certain foods because they are actually afraid to try them. Some of the best tasting foods might not look all that delightful until they’re rustled up into a delicious recipe, so it’s about being open to taking inspiration from new places and ingredients you might have never tried. I’m a great believer that one of the best ways to overcome your fears is to face them and that couldn’t be more relevant when it comes to food. So overcome your fear of the unknown by giving some new recipes a go. Regardless of your diet preference, you never know, you might be inspired and discover a new favourite.”   

And with almost a quarter (23%) of us saying that the best way to overcome our biggest food phobias is to challenge how we would usually consume them - the benefits of trying out different recipes cannot be underestimated. Perhaps this Halloween, it's time to overcome your fears and try something different.  

Green Chef’s fear busting recipes include:

 

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