Why are we less picky and more open-minded about what we eat as we age?
In: Other
As we age, our tastebuds become less sensitive to sour and bitter flavours.
Another aspect is that as we age, we may learn new ways of cooking that reduces the bitterness of foods we thought were icky.
Finally, there are rare cases, like Brussels sprouts, where the food itself has been engineered, in this case by natural selection, to remove the offensive tastes.
As an example, broccoli, notoriously, has a bitter taste to many young people if it’s not prepared correctly. That’s usually because it’s boiled or steamed.
If one instead broils broccoli with butter in the oven, it becomes super yum.
As we grow older, our taste buds change and become less sensitive, so foods that might have tasted too strong or weird when we were kids don’t bother us as much anymore. Also, as we experience more types of food over the years, we get used to new flavors and textures, so things we didn’t like before might start to taste better. Plus, our brains learn that trying new things isn’t so scary, so we become more open-minded and less picky about food!
my grandpa refused to eat his potato salad without black pepper on it.
gandma used white pepper for taste and just put a few sprinkles of black pepper on top so grandpa wouldnt complain
We do get less open minded when we age.
Most people stop trying new food nearer or after middle age. We might be able to try a different brand of canned food but we do stop trying food from new cultures.
Adults are more on control of their food there is less risk in a bad meal.
If I order something I’m not certain of, I might order an extra ‘safe item’ in case it’s bad. Or I can get a pizza. I can walk out or get tacos if a restaurant is bad.
As a kid you don’t have these options. Depending on your parents they may force you to eat your bad experiment, which obviously results in trauma leading to extreme picky essentials
I’m much more willing to try new food if I know I don’t have to eat the whole thing if it’s terrible and I have another option.
I challenge your premise. Are we? Tastes certainly change over time but do they become less “picky” or discerning? I’ve known many old ladies who only wanted to eat food that’s been overcooked and their habits did not change over the years. I’ve known plenty of kids who happily want to sample what everyone else is eating, no matter if it’s new.
I see a bunch of comments about taste bud changes and they’re not wrong, but they also discount the fact that as we get older and gain more confidence from not experiencing negative outcomes from previously unknown things, we become less risk-averse and are willing to try new things.
We develop a better frame of reference and start thinking that “hey, I like shrimp and it’s kind of similar in appearance and texture to octopus, and my friends who like both say that octopus is like eating a thicker and more rubbery shrimp, so maybe I’ll try octopus. It won’t hurt to try it.”
For me it’s just an accumulation of all the times I tried something weird and unfamiliar, or even something I straight up thought I’d hate… and ended up finding a new favorite food.
Have that happen enough times and trying a new, strange food becomes like an exciting experience, whether it turns out bad or good.
It drives me crazy when people I know refuse to try a food cause they think it’ll be gross… like just eat it… what’s the worst outcome possible? It’s yucky and you spit it out and it’s over.
We are? I strongly disagree. I’m pickier now than I ever used to be for health reasons.
I think the answer is simply that little kids are brats when it comes to food
But I posit the opposite: Have you ever traveled with an elderly person? Or even just gone to a new restaurant with an old relative? People become very close-minded about what they eat with advanced age
Latest Answers