How long to acquire a taste

You name it, he ate it. Which goes to show you the power of culture. What you eat and how you eat it is a very important part of your healthy lifestyle, and in a lot of cultures, they eat and drink a whole variety of things not for pleasure, but for wellness.

So instead, we have to learn to eat little fish with the heads on them from local fishermen you can always take the head off if you want. We have to learn to eat sea vegetables of all varieties and to eat a greater roster of vegetables, including the ones that are sometimes bitter or sometimes have an odd texture. Try new foods multiple times.

I believe this to be true, assuming the food is cooked the right way. Keep reading for more on this. Try new preparation methods inspired by different cultures. Looking elsewhere for ways in which we might enjoy a food is, I think, a really, really important skill. One of the most popular preparations for kale, for example, is the European model: Pick the kale younger, julienne it needle-thin, rub it with lemon juice and olive oil so it starts to break down, and toss it with some lemon juice, salt and Parmesan cheese.

When in doubt, use a touch of fat, sugar and salt. These ingredients have become the sex lube of our culinary generation. Spicy dishes are everyday fare in certain Asian, African, and Latin American countries, but those same foods may be inedible to someone from Scandinavia.

Hot peppers contain capsaicin , an irritant that creates a burning sensation on the tongue. In some European countries, aged cheeses like limburger, stilton, and camembert are popular parts of the cuisine.

So how can some people grow to love funkiness in their cheese but not in their seafood? Acquired tastes like spicy, bitter, and sour are rarely the sole component of a dish. After drinking enough Frappuccinos, one might link the bitter flavor of coffee with cream and sugar. If they were to switch to black coffee, their brain might produce the same pleasure response it associates with the sweeter version of the drink.

The same goes for cheese and fish sauce: Even the most pungent cheese is still salty and fatty, and fish sauce is used as a flavoring in dishes with other delicious ingredients like noodles, sugar, and meat.

Without knowing any better, seeking out these flavors could be deadly. Humans have an innate aversion to decay because that odor and flavor signals that a food has gone bad, and may therefore carry dangerous pathogens. But many fermented foods which are technically decayed are totally safe to eat and even contain beneficial bacteria. This also applies to bitter flavors , which are present in toxic plants as well as nutritious vegetables. Fortunately, our ancestors have already done the hard work of differentiating the poisonous plants in the woods from the safe ones.

Rozin has experienced this firsthand. Just make sure to eat them with plenty of condiments around people who already like them.