Things like mouldy cheese are awful initially, but after a while they become sought-after delicacies for many people. How does this work?
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I think you’re reading too much into this. Acquired taste isn’t a physical response at all. It has more to do with psychological growth. Any food can trigger your aversion reflex just by the fact that it is new or different. As an intelligent human, you are able to overcome this because you know that the food is consumed by other people safely and you can assume that you can also safely eat it. The taste of cheese, for example, doesn’t change the more you eat it. You just get used to the taste, and it doesn’t seem abnormal any more. I personally believe that anyone has the ability to like any food. Tastes, whether it be food or music, are really just a choice that you make, and you can change them at any time.
I think you’re reading too much into this. Acquired taste isn’t a physical response at all. It has more to do with psychological growth. Any food can trigger your aversion reflex just by the fact that it is new or different. As an intelligent human, you are able to overcome this because you know that the food is consumed by other people safely and you can assume that you can also safely eat it. The taste of cheese, for example, doesn’t change the more you eat it. You just get used to the taste, and it doesn’t seem abnormal any more. I personally believe that anyone has the ability to like any food. Tastes, whether it be food or music, are really just a choice that you make, and you can change them at any time.
Your first experience with an “acquired taste” is generally going to be negative because you lack context for your senses. Cheese tastes like it’s gone off, alcohol is bitter and astringent, raw food defies expectations on proper preparation, ETC. This is not a new behavior for you: As a toddler, you had to be introduced to foods in a similar way to build your palate.
Once you’ve learned what to expect from a food, you are capable of appreciating the experience behind that original off-putting experience. You still experience the same taste (The food hasn’t significantly changed), but your senses are tuned to the enjoyable qualities and have either muted or recontextualized the ones that originally tasted disgusting.
Your first experience with an “acquired taste” is generally going to be negative because you lack context for your senses. Cheese tastes like it’s gone off, alcohol is bitter and astringent, raw food defies expectations on proper preparation, ETC. This is not a new behavior for you: As a toddler, you had to be introduced to foods in a similar way to build your palate.
Once you’ve learned what to expect from a food, you are capable of appreciating the experience behind that original off-putting experience. You still experience the same taste (The food hasn’t significantly changed), but your senses are tuned to the enjoyable qualities and have either muted or recontextualized the ones that originally tasted disgusting.
Your first experience with an “acquired taste” is generally going to be negative because you lack context for your senses. Cheese tastes like it’s gone off, alcohol is bitter and astringent, raw food defies expectations on proper preparation, ETC. This is not a new behavior for you: As a toddler, you had to be introduced to foods in a similar way to build your palate.
Once you’ve learned what to expect from a food, you are capable of appreciating the experience behind that original off-putting experience. You still experience the same taste (The food hasn’t significantly changed), but your senses are tuned to the enjoyable qualities and have either muted or recontextualized the ones that originally tasted disgusting.
I think this is a lot to do with your taste buds changing as you mature. When you’re younger all you want is sweet. Like chocolate syrup on chocolate fudge ice cream washed down with a coke. (maybe just me) But as you get older you prefer salty and are even ok with some bitter. Also with alcohol I think peer pressure has a major effect on acquiring the taste.
I think this is a lot to do with your taste buds changing as you mature. When you’re younger all you want is sweet. Like chocolate syrup on chocolate fudge ice cream washed down with a coke. (maybe just me) But as you get older you prefer salty and are even ok with some bitter. Also with alcohol I think peer pressure has a major effect on acquiring the taste.
I think this is a lot to do with your taste buds changing as you mature. When you’re younger all you want is sweet. Like chocolate syrup on chocolate fudge ice cream washed down with a coke. (maybe just me) But as you get older you prefer salty and are even ok with some bitter. Also with alcohol I think peer pressure has a major effect on acquiring the taste.
Some of it is psychological, I think, and can change with new information; for years I would avoid sushi, under the assumption that they would/did sit around in stores for days. It wasn’t until about senior year in college when a friend informed me that they make them daily and often make the rice just shortly before making the rolls, and that the fish are flash-frozen to kill the germs (not to mention some types are cooked, too). So she started me out on California rolls and shrimp rolls, and eventually I found myself “graduating” to tuna and other fish. These days, sushi in nigiri or maki (roll) form, as well as sashimi, are among my favorite foods.
Some of it is psychological, I think, and can change with new information; for years I would avoid sushi, under the assumption that they would/did sit around in stores for days. It wasn’t until about senior year in college when a friend informed me that they make them daily and often make the rice just shortly before making the rolls, and that the fish are flash-frozen to kill the germs (not to mention some types are cooked, too). So she started me out on California rolls and shrimp rolls, and eventually I found myself “graduating” to tuna and other fish. These days, sushi in nigiri or maki (roll) form, as well as sashimi, are among my favorite foods.
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