Food taste and childhood experiences (sardines, diet, avocado, chinese)
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Some regional foods taste good even to adults from outside the region trying it for the first time. But there are some regional foods many outsiders just can’t seem to get past the taste while locals love the food. I wonder if anyone’s done a research to see if this disparity in taste is genetic or psychological? Think of how some people think cilantro taste like soap while others love the taste. Another option is food taste and smell association with pleasant childhood memories.
The headline made me think of how the taste of certain foods has changed over the years. Or perhaps more so, our preferences shift as we grow from childhood to adulthood. There are certain things. Your post touches on a variety of aspects of food/taste, so would be hard to find a specific study. Cilantro isn't regional, it's part of many cuisines around the world. That soapy tasting thing I believe is genetic and nothing to do with childhood exposure.
When I think of regional foods one 'had to have grown up eating' I think of something like boiled peanuts. I've only ever heard it discussed right here on CD Food. Never tried it, but knowing what I do about the taste of raw vs. roasted peanuts, and then imagining them boiled in water...It frankly doesn't sound too appealing. I'd try it anyways, if I was in a place where they serve them. I'll try anything twice, I always say.
For me, anyway, appreciating a certain food has nothing to do with whether I first encountered a food in my childhood. I grew up in a pretty unadventurous home, as far as foods I was exposed to. There were many foods I didn't try until after I was well into my 20s, among them avocado/guacamole, sweetbreads, shawarma, tabbouleh, artichokes, Brie, mussels, and yes, cilantro. I loved all of them immediately.
The genetic links with cilantro and fava beans are well documented, as is a type of gluten intolerance. The medical flip on peanut allergies shows that foods introduced to infants allow their systems to develop ways of handling them, so regionalism may play less a part than a varied diet early on, coupled with positive experiences. There does also seem to be connection between certain foods and certain blood types.
The headline made me think of how the taste of certain foods has changed over the years. Or perhaps more so, our preferences shift as we grow from childhood to adulthood. There are certain things. Your post touches on a variety of aspects of food/taste, so would be hard to find a specific study. Cilantro isn't regional, it's part of many cuisines around the world. That soapy tasting thing I believe is genetic and nothing to do with childhood exposure.
When I think of regional foods one 'had to have grown up eating' I think of something like boiled peanuts. I've only ever heard it discussed right here on CD Food. Never tried it, but knowing what I do about the taste of raw vs. roasted peanuts, and then imagining them boiled in water...It frankly doesn't sound too appealing. I'd try it anyways, if I was in a place where they serve them. I'll try anything twice, I always say.
I think it also amounts to have we fix foods differently today. Yes, cilantro is an example as well as cumin. How many of us used to use it regularly? I dons't think we ever had it in the house.
Many veggies used to be only eaten with certain foods, like snow peas and Chinese food or hot chili's with Mexican food. How many of us ever would have thought to make a relish or salsa using hot peppers and mango or pineapple? Southern fried chicken was served in the south. Mexican food, pretty much in So Ca and AZ or NM. I am talking 40, 50 or more years ago. How many of us grew up using and growing fresh herbs?
I think it also amounts to have we fix foods differently today. Yes, cilantro is an example as well as cumin. How many of us used to use it regularly? I dons't think we ever had it in the house.
Many veggies used to be only eaten with certain foods, like snow peas and Chinese food or hot chili's with Mexican food. How many of us ever would have thought to make a relish or salsa using hot peppers and mango or pineapple? Southern fried chicken was served in the south. Mexican food, pretty much in So Ca and AZ or NM. I am talking 40, 50 or more years ago. How many of us grew up using and growing fresh herbs?
Not me. My mother bought little bits of herbs and spice in tiny jars. Of course, ground black pepper was always on the table.
I think fried chicken was common in other regions of the country, as well as the South. There are a few foods I ate as a child that I still like. Canned sardines is one of those. Not a lot of people have a taste for them. Perhaps cornbread, as a savory rather than a sweet bread might be somewhat regional. Buttermilk is another food I acquired a taste for when quite young.
But it cuts both ways. I ate bologna as a child, and now I won’t touch it with a ten foot pole.
In terms of regions, I am aware of different cooking styles, but by the 1950s standardized cookery was prevalent. You can thank women’s magazines and cookbooks for that, as well as the shipping of produce over the continent. For truly distinctive regional dishes, cooked in a regional style, except for outliers, I think you have to push back to 1940s.
[quote=silibran;55133963]Not me. My mother bought little bits of herbs and spice in tiny jars. Of course, ground black pepper was always on the table.
I think fried chicken was common in other regions of the country, as well as the South. There are a few foods I ate as a child that I still like. Canned sardines is one of those. Not a lot of people have a taste for them. Perhaps cornbread, as a savory rather than a sweet bread might be somewhat regional. Buttermilk is another food I acquired a taste for when quite young.
But it cuts both ways. I ate bologna as a child, and now I won’t touch it with a ten foot pole.
In terms of regions, I am aware of different cooking styles, but by the 1950s standardized cookery was prevalent. You can thank women’s magazines and cookbooks for that, as well as the shipping of produce over the continent. For truly distinctive regional dishes, cooked in a regional style, except for outliers, I think you have to push back to 1940s.[/QUOTE
oh, we too used herbs in the little bottles but not nearly like we use today. WE too always had black pepper on the table and we used a lot of spices but not like today and not as many fresh ones. What we used were the dry variety. And I don't know anyone who grew their own except for bay leaves as the bay leaf trees were pretty common in CA at least. You are right about going back to the 40s and 50s. I am not sure if you are old enough to really remember the days when regional cooking really existed. I do remember growing up in the 40s and 50s. As for things like fried chicken, I was referring to true southern fried not just fried chicken. Okra is another food you see all over the south but only recently has it been more common everywhere in the country: Asparagus was mainly eating on the west coast. Much of the changes have occurred due to better shipping and more ways of keeping foods fresh in the past 50 years.
Well, I don’t know how you would characterize “true Southern fried.” I was born in 1946, so what I remember from childhood is 1950s.
I do know there were some differences in regional food. But this was being reversed by the things I mentioned in my earlier post. I am sure many cooks did keep some regional dishes in their repertoire. So maybe we are both right,
I think a lot of food tastes, likes and dislikes are learned and emotional. Food brings up many emotional issues deeply rooted in childhood, well, babyhood and onward.
I always hated bell peppers. Mom and siblings loved them. It wasn't until I grew up that I figured out I don't digest them well and get uncomfortably bloated.
We ate okra in California back in the 60s, so it had escaped from the South by then.
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