Developing a taste for a new food

[tcavallo]

Well my grandmother has been making me hummus and tabouleh since I was very small, and I am sure it took a while, but I can't imagine ever not liking it.

My first oyster was at least a 3-biter, and I found it rather hard to swallow... I still prefer the smaller ones.

I kind of jumped right into sashimi, I think I liked it by my third piece of tuna belly.

And olives... my once mortal enemy, ruiner of pizzas, pastas, falafel sandwiches... i spend a loooooong time on this one, and now I can eat tapenade with a spoon, and like it!

[Ling]

I think I was 10 or 11 the first time I had sashimi, and I hated it. I've been hooked on it since I was about 13-14, though!

The first time I had sea urchin (uni) it was a bit "off" (not that fresh, smelled and tasted like garbage) and I didn't touch it for another 2 years. Now, it's one of my favourites things to eat when I go out for Japanese food.

I really disliked bitter melon and eggplant when I was younger, but I love both vegetables now.

There wasn't much I didn't like to eat when I was a kid...

[percyn]

Ling, you beat me to the punch....

I am the only one in my family who eats sushi and sashimi. Began eating sushi about 10 yrs ago but sashimi only about 3 years ago. Now, I am hooked and have to have it at least once a week (luckily there is a great place on my way home from work).

About the only thing I do not eat is watermelon. I could force myself to eat but, but do not enjoy the flavor.....no flames please

[patti]

Strangely enough, the first food I can recall having to learn to like was mashed potatoes. I hated the stuff as a very small child. It was just too gloppy and heavy and made me want to gag. I'd ask for seconds on the spinach and the brussel sprouts, but couldn't tolerate mashed potatoes. I learned to like it by topping it with LOTS of gravy, and over time, I needed less and less gravy to appreciate those glorious mounds of creamy goodness.

My father brought home a sack of raw oysters when I was about ten and I took to them immediately. I slurpred 'em down as fast as he could shuck 'em (although I had to wait my turn with the siblings). Yum!

It took me a couple of tries to fall in love with sushi and sashimi as an adult, but now I can't get enough.

I hated the first curries I tried, but now I love Thai curry and am going to expand my horizons to other kinds.

Cilantro. Nope, just bought some this weekend to give it another go, and if you saw the movie, "Big" with Tom Hanks and recall the scene of him trying to get the caviar off of his tongue, you'll know how I reacted to the cilantro.

Horseradish - first time I had it was in a restaurant, served as a condiment for a platter of oysters on the half shell. I didn't mix it with anything, but tried it just as it came and had to restrain myself from spitting it right out! Now, I adore it, especially with boiled crawfish.

[Dani Mc]

stinky cheese. had a camembert this weekend that smelled like hobo feet. I wouldn't have touched it even a year ago, but now...yum!

weird organ meats. I was in London this weekend, and we paid a visit to St. John. Oh, rapturous joy. Spleen: tastes like liver....only BETTER!

[ruthcooks]

Ricotta cheese. Over the years, I thought it ruined every dish I made with it. Then I ate it cold, on a chocolate ricotta muffin, and loved it. Now I eat it with fruit compote for breakfast sometimes. Guess it's cooked or hot or in combination with tomatoes that I don't like.

I'll never eat it in lasagne, though, 'cause I don't like lasagne no matter how it's made.

[ellencho]

I too hated mashed potatoes when I was little and admittedly, I still don't love them now but I can appreciate them. Also, my first experience with curries was with the S&B brand that you find at asian supermarkets and my mom would always make the spiciest one and I absolutely HATED them. I still hate S&B curries but I love Indian and SE asian curries.

Speaking of SE asian curries and Indian food, I have also grown to love cilantro. I always put a generous pile in my summer rolls. But oddly enough, as much as I love SE asian curries I don't like a strong taste of lemongrass or kefir lime.

[Hest88]

Goat cheese and runny egg yolks.

[Dani Mc]

runny egg yolks.

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good one. I've only learned to love soft boiled eggs in the past year or so.

[jhlurie]

My life has pretty much been a series of stages where I add to or reevaluate my palate. I'd always assumed it was much the same for most folks.

As a kid, I hardly ate cheese at all, for example. Now I can hardly imagine not doing so.

[elion_84]

My life has pretty much been a series of stages where I add to or reevaluate my palate.  I'd always assumed it was much the same for most folks.

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Is this a conscious act or something that just happens?

I used to hate seafood. Over the past 8 years I've gone from almost never eating it to having some kind of seafood at least once a week. I don't think it was a specific descision to eat more fish, more of "I can make this or that dish" and it kind of built on its own.

[purplewiz]

Beer in general, and Guinness in specific. The first time I tasted beer I thought "ok, who's serving toilet cleaner?" - it was unspeakably nasty. I guess my tastes changed, or I started drinking better beer.

But even then, it took awhile for me to warm up to Guinness. It was just too much...until the beers lecture in my wine tasting course (two free elective credits towards graduation). Something just clicked, and the deep flavor was exactly what my taste buds wanted. Especially with a thick turkey sandwich on a kaiser roll during a snowstorm (one of the 10 best meals I've ever eaten).

Marcia.