Acquired tastes...

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange

"An acquired taste often refers to an appreciation for a food or beverage that is unlikely to be enjoyed by a person who has not had substantial exposure to it."

So, barring the situations when you're FORCED (or otherwise compelled) to eat something... why would you ever "acquire" a taste for something that requires "substantial exposure?"

I hear this with beer a lot and wine --I'll never acquire the taste because I find it gross so I won't drink it.

There are many foods like this as well...

raw oysters, anchovies, coffee, and blue cheese.

What foods have you developed an acquired taste for? How did it come about?

For me..definitely coffee and sushi. I guess it was gradual--really gradual, and my aversion wasn't that great in the first place.

ValerieMartini2Olives

My big one was beer. I was one of the only persons I knew who did not drink any beer. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stomach it. But then I put my mind to it and said "I'm going to learn to love it." And I found out I actually do love it and the reason I didn't love it is because I was drinking bad, cheap, commercial beer. There's a bar near me that serves 100+ different beers daily and I would go there several times a month and just keep trying different styles of beer. Now I love beer, but I have become way too snobby about it.

ScatteredThoughts

Coffee - When I was working a 9pm to 9am shift I would have a cup here and there to help stay awake,and now I have a cup every morning at work.

Beer - I'm still not a huge beer drinker, but being stationed in Germany helped me realize there are actually some good beers.

SeaRunner26

Coffee for me too. I've always loved the smell but it took until I was in college before I started enjoying the taste.

AimersBee

wine.. red wine to be specific.. then again you have to try the wines in order to find some you like.. there is a lot of red wine i still don't like..

makemewannadie

I've always loved coffee! haha
for me it was ginger based things... i used to hate ginger beer or ginger in stir fries/teas etc. but now I love them

tbruegg

Mine would be cottage cheese- had to get past the thought of how it comes about now I love it with saltines. Sushi -Once again the whole idea of raw fish..... seriously...... My Daughter and her husband loves it so decided to give it a try, not real impressed but then I tried it again now I'm hooked just love it.

vtmoon

Anchovies couldn't stand the smell of them but tried them on a home made pizza a friend of mine made, she made them taste life heaven so now I order them every now and then. Haven't in a while since I don't eat as much pizza.

A lot of veggies I use to not care for but the different methods of preparing them helped me enjoy them a lot.

hbrittingham

Sushi, shrimp and tomatoes.

As a kid, I only liked fried fresh caught fresh water fish. The idea of eating raw fish was repulsive. Now I LOVE sushi.

I came from the midwest and didn't even try my first shrimp until I was a sophomore in high school. Same with steamed clams. Both are some of my favorite foods now.

I couldn't stand anything tomatoey except for tomato soup and ketchup when I was a kid. Now I grow my own tomatoes and eat them every which way I can. I love them!

LethalBeauty

popcorn! i didnt like popcorn for the longest time. but now since last month i have it almost everyday (only the natural flavored one)

AprilRN10

For me, it's pumpkin. As a child, I couldn't stand anything pumpkin. Yes, even pie. Now I love all things pumpkin. I just kept trying it different ways until I became used to it because it is actually pretty decent for you. One of my favorite things right now is pumpkin oatmeal!

bathsheba_c

Coffee - Too bitter, but then I got into Turkish coffee (with cardamom only) and into cappuccino
Sushi - I didn't mind the raw fish, but the nori got to me. Eventually I learned to like it because of limited dining options
Tomatoes and peppers - I had to move to a country that had higher quality produce than the US to learn to like them

Things I still can't stand:
Raw cheese (pizza cheese is great, as is cheesecake)
Anything smoked (lox, whitefish, pastrami, bacon)
Luncheon meats (that texture isn't natural)

jjscholar

I would say that veggie burgers can be an acquired taste... However, the Boca brand veggie burgers are actually quite tasty... At least to me they are...

brevislux

Of course beer and wine. Also sushi and coffee.
Some things just take getting used to. Right now I love all those things I've mentioned though I didn't enjoy them the first time I tried them (and some even for several years, like wine - I hated wine with a passion until about two years ago). There are things I absolutely hate and would never put in my mouth - for example porridge or apple mash - but when I'm just not enjoying something so much I'd still give it another try when the opportunity rises.

Softrbreeze

I acquired a taste for turnip greens after moving from MD to GA. Having never been exposed to dark leafy greens before, when I came south and saw how prevalent they were in every restuarant and how they are touted as being SO good for you, I decided I WANTED to like them. It took a few tries lol and adding vinegar certainly helps but after a while, I started to CRAVE them. Cracker Barrel makes them the best but alas, I can't eat them there anymore since I gave up meat (they mix shredded pig in with theirs). I can eat collard greens too but they don't have quite the same appeal as the turnips.

Softrbreeze

I would say that veggie burgers can be an acquired taste... However, the Boca brand veggie burgers are actually quite tasty... At least to me they are...

I agree, JJ! Boca makes them taste good

Thesoundofwolf

Well, when I was yonger I didn't like some foods, but our tastebuds naturall 'dull' and change as we get older, up till about the early 30's, so it's always good to go back and try foods you didn't like before.

I used to hate like tofu and veggie alternatitives to 'meat' food. but now some arn't so bad. Like boca.

vcht

Durian!
The Southeast Asian "King of Fruits"..I was never a fan of it as a kid but somehow I grew to like the creamy richness of it. Most foreigners would probably find it repulsive but once you get past the smell it's really not that bad

mdonovan

Yogurt!! Ugh, I hated anything involving yogurt. The taste, the look, the texture, all of it. But, a few years ago I stared to incorporate it into my diet my by stuffing it with granola. Lots of granola. I still can't sit down and eat a bowl of yogurt without fruit or granola, but I have some every day now, in one form or another, so success!!

trophywife24

I love coffee, sushi, blue cheese, anchovies, green olives, or anything salty/vinegary. My anchovy love grosses out my family, lol.

katie070563

Guinness .............grew to love it so much, have had to give it up...way too many calories!!