Do you remember when your mom tried new things and made you eat ‘em? Even if you didn’t like ‘em? Been there, don’t that (on both sides), but did you know our tastes change over time?
Seriously! I never ate green peas growing up…hated ‘em being so mushy. Then ‘long about college age, I started liking ham and split pea soup (where the peas are often COMPLETELY mashed!). And when my boyfriend (now my husband) took me to his parents’ house for dinner, you guessed it…green peas…and of course, I ate ‘em. What made the change?
Taste a new food multiple times
In reading up on this, I found a range of ideas…from 5 up to as many as 20 times tasting the new food before someone began to adapt to the taste (check it out here, here, and here).
I can attest to this. Those green peas my mother-in-law served? I’m certain I ate them more than 20 times. And while I wouldn’t choose them now, I no longer avoid them. In fact, I added them to my favorite tuna noodle casserole (find that here) when they weren’t there originally.
And over time, I found I prefer the olive green “baby” or “spring” peas over the bright green ones, though they’re okay in a layered salad.
We’re always changing!
Not only does it make a difference how many times you taste something, our tastes just change…just like every other part of us changes (check it out here).
I decided to try curry powder when I was first teaching myself to cook right out of college. But OH MAN did that smell made me sick! I literally held my nose to eat that dish, then promptly gave the curry away.
A few years ago, I saw a recipe that looked good and decided to give it another try. WOW! That Tandoori Chicken was fabulous.
So just yesterday, I tried green curry paste for the first time (in Green Thai Chicken Coconut Curry)…and it was tasty, too!
Don’t give up…tastes do change!
I’m just saying, don’t give up after the first try…and even if you don’t like it after 10 tries, try again in a decade. You might be surprised!
Was there something you hated but grew on you over time? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
