Saranak
Senior Member
Bello you hate Napoli then for me smell of sea an sea foods is heaven. I adore salt smell in air is fantastic best aroma ever.
Sarana x
Fast food, convenience food and food snobbery
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Sarana x
Saranak
Senior Member
Ciao Bella, sea smell clean for me when I young girl we swim all time in sea is big part of Napoli no harbour other places on coasts. I love stand on coast in wind an feel spray hit my face. But we sea faring peoples so make difference.
Sarana x
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I read the foregoing posts regarding preferences, tastes and aversions and become increasingly puzzled as to why, having been vegetarian for many years and having been fed just about the blandest diet imaginable as a kid with zero fish (unless fish fingers count) and little meat, I will now eat virtually anything and revel in new tastes.
I love the smell of fish cooking (must be fresh, of course) and of meat searing. I like every vegetable and fruit. The only things I like less are sweetish tasting ones like sweetcorn or sweet potatoes - but I will eat them and cook them. Oysters are my idea of bliss (oddly they don't really smell fishy or of much at all). I'm not a huge meat eater on a daily basis but there isn't any meat I won't eat, including offal, which I never had when growing up.
What happened to me? I've so many times heard that food tastes and preferences are down to upbringing. It certaintly can't be down to that in my case. I feel rather sad when I hear stories about people's food aversions. I know this is a complex issue though.
I love the smell of fish cooking (must be fresh, of course) and of meat searing. I like every vegetable and fruit. The only things I like less are sweetish tasting ones like sweetcorn or sweet potatoes - but I will eat them and cook them. Oysters are my idea of bliss (oddly they don't really smell fishy or of much at all). I'm not a huge meat eater on a daily basis but there isn't any meat I won't eat, including offal, which I never had when growing up.
What happened to me? I've so many times heard that food tastes and preferences are down to upbringing. It certaintly can't be down to that in my case. I feel rather sad when I hear stories about people's food aversions. I know this is a complex issue though.
Me too.
Lullabelle
Midlands, England
We grew up on a tight budget plus my folks like simple food, as I got older, met TVC, we have embraced cultures and cuisines. Maybe having a restricted duet as a child has made me curious, perhaps the same for you too?
My mom is a good one for saying, "They learned/didn't learn that as a kid!" That always puzzled me.
Let me explain: if I, as an adult, were to buy an extravagant item, maybe a $150 chef's knife, my mom would disapprovingly say, "Well, that must be that fancy-pants wife of his - he didn't learn to be so careless with his money from me!"
If, OTOH, I were to say I liked living in the country with a fat little country girl doing my bidding, my mom would say, "Well, of course he likes that, that's how he was raised up!"
IOW, if it's something she sees as positive, that developed under her careful rearing of me, and if it's something she sees as negative...well then, she had nothing to do with that.
You can't have it both ways, Mom!
How does that pertain to food preferences? Well, I don't know if childhood exposure is good, bad, or indifferent. Maybe it affects some more than others. I knew a guy who had the most wildly eclectic palate, and when I asked about his upbringing, I was surprised to learn he was raised on the blandest of diets.
I've know people the opposite (my brother, for a start)- they eat very limited foods, and they'll say it's because that's what they were raised with and that's what they like. Mountain Cat is like the opposite of that - was raised with lots of choice and still embraces that. Is her openness today because of her experiences as a child? If she'd gone the other way, would we say, "Oh, she hates offal now because she had to eat it as a kid?"
Personally, I think it's a fascinating thing, and it's about a lot more than our food preferences. It goes, really, right down to how we experience the world around us, and how we relate to it.
My parents are fairly old-school racists. So are a couple of my siblings. A couple of us, however, are as much turned the opposite as possible, so what gives? We were all exposed to the same language, same ideas, raised in the same house, same school, yet the oldest and youngest are the two most tolerant, and the ones in the middle are the least. Interesting, huh?
Back to food...for the record, I'm somewhere in the middle. While I don't feel my diet as a kid was limited, in that we had beef, chicken, pork, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, beans, tomatoes, turnips, radishes, celery, plums, apples, pears, cherries, berries, and a host of other "common" items, it certainly didn't encompass anything other than a blend of American Midwest and American South diets, and really a subset of those. No Chinese. No Italian. No Greek, Middle East, Mexican, etc. Now, I happily eat dishes from all those cuisines. You know how I am with my pizza - I didn't have a proper pizza restaurant pizza until I was 19. Do I love pizza because I missed out? I don't know. I love pork chops and I ate a ton of those growing up.
Consider this - we generally assume each generation is a little more worldly than the one before. I know it works that way in my family. I eat more things than my dad would ever consider. My mom will at least try something, but odds are, if it's not from that list above, she won't like it. They both absolutely abhor garlic. I love it and double the garlic in any recipe it calls for.
So I eat more things than my dad, I travel more than he ever did, etc. So his dad must have been even worse, or at least the same, right?
Wrong. Grandad would eat just about anything. Born and raised in central Kentucky in 1910 or thereabouts, farmers, fed themselves. When he retired and started to travel a bit, went to Florida, he couldn't get enough seafood. He probably never had a shrimp or lobster or a scallop until he was 62, but once he did, he loved it all.
I think it mainly just comes down to the mix of chemicals in our brains that make us each the individuals that we are: one person will react to something differently than someone else will react to exactly the same thing.
In the end, though, I don't care one way or the other...I eat what I like!
I think so. I'm forever curious to find new tastes.
Indeed. Its not really about food at all. I loved your post above. So thoughtful and insightful.
My wife's taste buds were set in stone at the age of 12. Home made mac and cheese? No thanks. She'd like some Kraft in the blue box please. She never wants to try anything new, although she has done a few times if she thought it looked "safe".
I, on the other hand will try most things once, maybe more if I feel like I SHOULD like them. There are plenty of nights when we have completely different meals. I make her the mac and cheese or whatever and I might be having enchiladas or something spicy. I won't eat that boxed stuff.
We agree on salad. That is about it.
So I really agree with TR when he says it's really not about food at all. I like to try new things, she likes the comfort and predictability of knowing exactly what something is going to taste like every single time.
I, on the other hand will try most things once, maybe more if I feel like I SHOULD like them. There are plenty of nights when we have completely different meals. I make her the mac and cheese or whatever and I might be having enchiladas or something spicy. I won't eat that boxed stuff.
We agree on salad. That is about it.
So I really agree with TR when he says it's really not about food at all. I like to try new things, she likes the comfort and predictability of knowing exactly what something is going to taste like every single time.
This has made me think - am I set in stone in any way? Not where food is concerned I think, but maybe other ways? I don't like that idea!
I will sleep on this...
rascal
Forum GOD!
I'm a dedicated non-seafood'er. Had they brought both seafood and beer, I'd have sent both back.
Bread, OTOH...
Seriously, I did recognize it was extremely rude behavior (though I was rather in my cups at the time) on my part and texted an apology the next day, but they were slightly annoying friends anyway, so it wasn't a big loss.
You have annoying friends as well? Lol. My wife has 7 brothers, two I like, a lot. The other 5 are gutless wonders. One is a complete ass to be around. My wife knows I hate his bragging, so we hardly see him or his annoying wife now. Funerals etc. funny thing is when my wife's brother Gary was starting to see his now wife 47 years ago, Gary asked me to give his now wife a lift home one night, no problem, half way home she asked me to stop and said we can to know each other better. I declined.
Her brothers are all completely different. Two brothers are the nicest of guys. My wife's dad died when she was about 7 or 8. Her mum bought up 9 kids by herself. My wife's second youngest.
Russ
rascal
Forum GOD!
My mom is a good one for saying, "They learned/didn't learn that as a kid!" That always puzzled me.
Let me explain: if I, as an adult, were to buy an extravagant item, maybe a $150 chef's knife, my mom would disapprovingly say, "Well, that must be that fancy-pants wife of his - he didn't learn to be so careless with his money from me!"
If, OTOH, I were to say I liked living in the country with a fat little country girl doing my bidding, my mom would say, "Well, of course he likes that, that's how he was raised up!"
IOW, if it's something she sees as positive, that developed under her careful rearing of me, and if it's something she sees as negative...well then, she had nothing to do with that.
You can't have it both ways, Mom!
How does that pertain to food preferences? Well, I don't know if childhood exposure is good, bad, or indifferent. Maybe it affects some more than others. I knew a guy who had the most wildly eclectic palate, and when I asked about his upbringing, I was surprised to learn he was raised on the blandest of diets.
I've know people the opposite (my brother, for a start)- they eat very limited foods, and they'll say it's because that's what they were raised with and that's what they like. Mountain Cat is like the opposite of that - was raised with lots of choice and still embraces that. Is her openness today because of her experiences as a child? If she'd gone the other way, would we say, "Oh, she hates offal now because she had to eat it as a kid?"
Personally, I think it's a fascinating thing, and it's about a lot more than our food preferences. It goes, really, right down to how we experience the world around us, and how we relate to it.
My parents are fairly old-school racists. So are a couple of my siblings. A couple of us, however, are as much turned the opposite as possible, so what gives? We were all exposed to the same language, same ideas, raised in the same house, same school, yet the oldest and youngest are the two most tolerant, and the ones in the middle are the least. Interesting, huh?
Back to food...for the record, I'm somewhere in the middle. While I don't feel my diet as a kid was limited, in that we had beef, chicken, pork, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, beans, tomatoes, turnips, radishes, celery, plums, apples, pears, cherries, berries, and a host of other "common" items, it certainly didn't encompass anything other than a blend of American Midwest and American South diets, and really a subset of those. No Chinese. No Italian. No Greek, Middle East, Mexican, etc. Now, I happily eat dishes from all those cuisines. You know how I am with my pizza - I didn't have a proper pizza restaurant pizza until I was 19. Do I love pizza because I missed out? I don't know. I love pork chops and I ate a ton of those growing up.
Consider this - we generally assume each generation is a little more worldly than the one before. I know it works that way in my family. I eat more things than my dad would ever consider. My mom will at least try something, but odds are, if it's not from that list above, she won't like it. They both absolutely abhor garlic. I love it and double the garlic in any recipe it calls for.
So I eat more things than my dad, I travel more than he ever did, etc. So his dad must have been even worse, or at least the same, right?
Wrong. Grandad would eat just about anything. Born and raised in central Kentucky in 1910 or thereabouts, farmers, fed themselves. When he retired and started to travel a bit, went to Florida, he couldn't get enough seafood. He probably never had a shrimp or lobster or a scallop until he was 62, but once he did, he loved it all.
I think it mainly just comes down to the mix of chemicals in our brains that make us each the individuals that we are: one person will react to something differently than someone else will react to exactly the same thing.
In the end, though, I don't care one way or the other...I eat what I like!
Interesting topic here tr, I and my two brothers were raised by mum, dad walked out when I was three, I remember him a bit, nicotine on his fingers. Anywho im pretty much the opposit of my mum. I never had a holiday out of our area until I was 13, a school friend asked me away for a week. I enjoyed seeing the Nelson area, we lived on cheap meals, but we're always fed, warm and loved.
I have travelled extensively, I live on good foods, steak whenever I want, my kids were raised to my standards, they had holidays in Australia every year for years, in all states. I ate at expensive restaurants since I was about 20? My kids grew up priveliged, in fact they still say their friends wanted to be them. My mum and grandparents were strict labour voters, my nan hated right wing national party with a vengeance. My wife, son and I vote national. I had my own business since 91. My daughter went through teachers college, a staunch labour stronghold are teachers. She was brain washed IMHO. She's staunch labour now. We don't talk politics . Ends badly,lol
They both have kids and the one thing in common is their love of kids and they give them as much as they got. I'm the only seafood person though. Don't know how that happened?
Like you I love what I love.
I still eat cheap meals we had as kids, mince beef on toast, baked beans, eggs on toast, simple things so perhaps I havnt changed??
Russ
Thanks. Most people just tell me I'm crazy.
My FIL had a saying I've always loved: "I'll try anything...twice. The first one may have been bad/off!"
rascal - that was a good post!
One thing I'm adamant about is beer. I won't drink beer from big national breweries like Bud-Miller-Coors (BMC). Their offerings are just so pizz-poor, even when they buy out a craft brewer, they end up effing that up as well (looking at you, Goose Island...).
The closest to that I'll drink is Sam Adams. They're probably the biggest of the "craft" brewers, but they pale in comparison to the big three. They brew interesting varieties, and a good portion of it is brewed right here in Cincy, so it's a local beer for me.
I was sat at a bar a few years ago, about to order my first beer, when the bartender set one down next to me without my asking.
"What's this for?"
"Private party in here earlier, we're still finishing the keg, so it's on the house. Coors Light."
I thanked him and pushed it right back and ordered my regular.
On the one occasion we hosted a party, one of the guests brought a 24-pack of Busch. Quite rude in retrospect, but I was fairly well lit on gluhwein, but upon leaving, I handed it back to them, thanked them again, and as nicely as possible, told them "No one here is going to drink this, you may as well take it back."
Weird, they never spoke to me again!
What beer did you like in college? My favorite beer was FREE Beer!
If I am doing heavy yard work on a hot day, something light like Coors Light burried under ice in a cooler seems to work for me. That and out on the boat in the hot sun. Otherwise, I go a bit more top shelf. Well, "went." Now it is non-alcohol beer. I hear the selection of non-alcohol beer in Yurrip, and even Canada is considerably better than in Murica. Other than in California, I never find it in bars.
CD
epicuric
Legendary Member
I feel a new thread coming on here - something like 'Food adventures, journeys outside the comfort zone'. What do you think MG?