It's an aquired taste

djm · Post by **djm** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:09 pm

I vaguely remember reading something about introducing sugar, especially processed sugar, to infants too soon. Apparently, people who were introduced to little or no sugar when young are more accepting and more adaptable to many different types of tastes, whereas those introduced to sugar when young are fussier eaters most of their lives. The reason given was that sugar is not a natural food and acts more like a drug than a food on our systems.

djm

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:24 pm

Some of my acquired tastes--

because of the Sri Lankan students we met during the years my husband was in grad. school...
so hot it used to bring tears to my eyes, now I love it

because of the music recommendations here...
used to make my ears suck right into my head, now I "get it"

from my husband, who reads feminist, pro-ecology, anti-organized religion, turn-society-upside-down sci fi
Sharp / cynical at first, but I'm starting to appreciate it

kinda harsh and twisted at first, but...funny after a while...definitely an acquired taste...

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 1:43 pm

Caroluna wrote:Some of my acquired tastes--
...

from my husband, who reads feminist, pro-ecology, anti-organized religion, turn-society-upside-down sci fi
Sharp / cynical at first, but I'm starting to appreciate it...

I am an avid proponent of reading that particular book. Excellent perspective on human tendencies and potential.

(edited to delete a section that didn't belong, and that led to the following post.

)

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:00 pm

anniemcu wrote:
Some of my acquired tastes--.

feminist, pro-ecology, anti-organized religion, turn-society-upside-down sci fi
I am an avid proponent of reading that particular book. Excellent perspective on human tendencies and potential.

Yup, Sherri Tepper's books are brain-stretching, that's for sure

Inspiring and funny, too.

kinda harsh and twisted at first, but...funny after a while...definitely an acquired taste...
...

I was referring to this author-- the Chickadee of Snarkiness

anniemcu · Post by **anniemcu** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 2:26 pm

Caroluna wrote:...
kinda harsh and twisted at first, but...funny after a while...definitely an acquired taste...
...
I was referring to this author-- the Chickadee of Snarkiness

Oops.. I knew that - failed to delete that part.

sbfluter · Post by **sbfluter** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 3:28 pm

An acquired taste means that it has subtleties you don't notice at first, and once you do, you appreciate how good it is.

Red wine doesn't taste all that great the first time, but then you notice all those undertones and want to taste more to get at the undertones and then you realize how much variety there is and how much fun it is discovering a new one.

And once you taste really high-quality foods with rich flavors and uniqueness, the bland awful stuff that passes for food at the supermarket just doesn't do it for you anymore.

SteveShaw · Post by **SteveShaw** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 7:05 pm

I will eat and drink anything, and with gusto. I have just two exceptions. Sweet alcoholic drinks (with the noble exception of gin, Plymouth of course, and tonic) and apple sauce. I will eat anything but I will not eat the disgusting, sour, sloppy, watery gloop that is apple sauce. How anyone came up with idea of cooking perfectly good, crisp and delicious apples into such an abominable pulp is utterly beyond me. I'm not very keen on things I know have cooked apple in them either, such as various chutneys and the stuff inside mince pies, but I can force myself with these. I find things like apple crumble and apple pie to be the most obnoxious creations on the planet. I'll brook no dissent on this. I cannot be converted. I'd rather die.

BoneQuint · Post by **BoneQuint** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 8:06 pm

sbfluter wrote:An acquired taste means that it has subtleties you don't notice at first, and once you do, you appreciate how good it is.

Here's a field study:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=in651Ix15mU

Walden · Post by **Walden** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:04 pm

A taste not worth acquiring: durian.

feadogin · Post by **feadogin** » Wed Dec 19, 2007 9:15 pm

If a baby doesn't like a food, they tell you to offer it about 10 times before giving up, because they will often start to like it after trying it a few times.

So it must be a natural human behavior...

J.

DCrom · Post by **DCrom** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:27 pm

Walden wrote:A taste not worth acquiring: durian.

I disagree. I *like* durian (though not the smell).

Tastes rather like banana custard, with a consistency very similar to a really ripe avocado.

The real barrier to enjoying durian isn't the taste, it's getting the courage to put something that smells that strongly in your mouth the first time.

The_Celtic_Bard · Post by **The_Celtic_Bard** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 12:32 pm

Isn't everything a person likes or doesn't like an acquired taste? One does have to experience something to acquire an appreciation, an aversion, or an indifference to whatever something maybe, true?

fel bautista · Post by **fel bautista** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:14 pm

Didn't some have to eat the first clam/oyster/lobster/crab?? You mean you're actually going to put that thing in boiling water and eat it??

I really, really , really dislike "skim" milk (<1% milk fat) and is probably the only thing that I won't try over again. I went to the market last nite and saw, for the first time, low fat cream...can some one explain that miracle of bio-packaging???

Ronbo · Post by **Ronbo** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 1:54 pm

Didja ever notice that milk spoils faster the lower the fat content? Ordinary 4 percent milk will last a good long time without spoiling, and 2 percent milk will barely make it past the sell-by deadline. With skim milk, there is no way to tell if it has spoiled or not,it is that bad. Mother nature's trying to tell us something here.

Caroluna · Post by **Caroluna** » Thu Dec 20, 2007 2:51 pm

feadogin wrote:If a baby doesn't like a food, they tell you to offer it about 10 times before giving up, because they will often start to like it after trying it a few times.

So it must be a natural human behavior...

J.

More about babies--

I read that human breastmilk is a lot higher in sugar than, say, cow's milk is, and that's because the brain is an "expensive" organ, and needs a lot of glucose. So we like sugar from day one.

Also read that babies can get accustomed to spices because of the mom's typical diet when she's nursing.

Soon after Kevin was born he had colic, and they recommended that I cut things out of my diet to see if that helped. One by one I eliminated citrus, broccoli, strawberries, chocolate, coffee ...finally I was down to rice and chicken, and that seemed to help. But one day I rebelled from this bland regimen and ate a whole bag of garlic-spicy hard pretzels. Oooh they were good.

But for the next 48 hrs Kevin would only take formula-- he completely refused the "homemade" stuff. A sniff revealed that the spices had apparently been concentrated in the breastmilk.

Poor kid! Vindaloo would have been worse, though