Acquired tastes...

love4fitnesslove4food_wechange
love4fitnesslove4food_wechange Posts: 6,897 Member
in Chit-Chat
"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.
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Replies

  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
    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
    ScatteredThoughts Posts: 3,562 Member
    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
    SeaRunner26 Posts: 5,143 Member
    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
    AimersBee Posts: 775 Member
    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
    makemewannadie Posts: 401 Member
    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
    tbruegg Posts: 283 Member
    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
    vtmoon Posts: 3,436 Member
    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
    hbrittingham Posts: 2,518 Member
    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
    LethalBeauty Posts: 52
    popcorn! i didnt like popcorn for the longest time. but now since last month i have it almost everyday :o (only the natural flavored one)
  • AprilRN10
    AprilRN10 Posts: 548 Member
    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
    bathsheba_c Posts: 1,873 Member
    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
    jjscholar Posts: 413 Member
    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
    brevislux Posts: 1,093 Member
    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
    Softrbreeze Posts: 156 Member
    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
    Softrbreeze Posts: 156 Member
    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
    Thesoundofwolf Posts: 378 Member
    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
    vcht Posts: 17 Member
    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 :tongue:
  • mdonovan
    mdonovan Posts: 44
    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
    trophywife24 Posts: 1,472 Member
    I love coffee, sushi, blue cheese, anchovies, green olives, or anything salty/vinegary. My anchovy love grosses out my family, lol.
  • katie070563
    katie070563 Posts: 246
    Guinness .............grew to love it so much, have had to give it up...way too many calories!!
  • stevwil41
    stevwil41 Posts: 608 Member
    Coffee. I used to add cream, sugar, flavoring or whatever to it to try and make it taste like something other than coffee and I hated it. Once I started drinking it black I found that I actually grew to enjoy it. Another thing is salt and vinegar potato chips. I used to hate them but grew to love the tartness. Unfortunely, they're not diet friendly so I don't have them very often anymore.
  • ndfaninaz
    ndfaninaz Posts: 65
    Asparagus, blue cheese, and tofu. Those are the 3 that come to mind.
  • Tangerine302
    Tangerine302 Posts: 1,509 Member
    ricotta cheese and yogurt

    I used to hate ricotta cheese when I was young. Now I love it in cannoli or lasagna. I like yogurt now too! :)
  • matchbox_girl
    matchbox_girl Posts: 535 Member
    Beer for me. I absolutely hated it. HATED it. Then when my best friend and I started going to house parties next door, ALL THEY HAD WAS BEER.....and it was beer pong all night long. I had no choice but to choke it down.....and now I love it.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
    See to me (english isn't my first language so I apologize) an acquired taste refers to "not everybodys liking". Like scotch to me. Many people don't dig it. I absolutely love it!

    But I'm with you on the repeated exposure. If I don't dig it first, maybe second time, I'm not coming back for more just in case i'll like it
  • martincsaint
    martincsaint Posts: 18
    I have a way too dirty mind for this. ;)

    Martin
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
    I used to really hate vegetables, but I ended up acquiring a taste for them so I could reteach myself how to eat well. Now, I have several that I just love.
  • Kandi150
    Kandi150 Posts: 167 Member
    I've always said if you have to aquire a taste that just means its gross and you eat/drink it anyway and swore if I had to aquire a taste I just wasnt going to have it.... Then I realized how expensive it gets only drinking mixed drinks lol and how readily available beer is at most parties/outings. So I am now a beer drinker. But I orginally thought it was absolutely disgusting!!!
  • jg627
    jg627 Posts: 1,221 Member
    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 :tongue:

    I was going to bring up durian, but you already did. I'll see your durian and raise you one bag of freeze dried squid.
  • pudadough
    pudadough Posts: 1,271 Member
    Acquired taste to me means you have to "learn" to like it.

    Flan, for instance. The first time I tried it, I was a little squicked out by the texture. "Custard" is such a gross sounding word anyway...

    Now, though? I hear "flan" and start throwing 'bows to get to it. I LOVE IT. So much. Marry me, Flan.

    :laugh:

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