The topic came about from a conversation with my lovely wife (who’s certain to be reading this thread).
Specifically, the question is what foods did you love as a child but now won’t eat and what foods can you eat now that you couldn’t stomach then?
For both of us, we loved canned ravioli. I loved the stuff so much that --remember I was a kid then- that after finishing off the ravioli, I would typically lick the plate clean. (I said I was a kid dammit). Now there’s a can in the cupboard that’s been gathering dust for months now since I haven’t worked up the taste for it.
Also while growing up, my opinion of pop tarts was that they were the absolute greatest breakfast item man had created ; now I find them decidedly ho-hum.
On the opposite end of this, as a kid I couldn’t stand eating French fries with vinegar on them and now this is the preferred method of consumption.
The only thing I stopped liking is Campbell’s chicken noodle soup, but I eat most other brands.
And as a little kid I wanted hamburgers with just mustard, never lettuce and tomato, but that changed as a teen, and I now add onions, dills, and/or sauerkraut, but still am not fond of lettuce and tomato.
I will try certain things now, like calamari or snails, but I still don’t like them.
I really liked frogs’ legs the one time I tried them but haven’t seen them since.
I’m never going to try eel or sushi. Or anything Thai. The aroma makes me gag.
I used to love Kraft dinner. I hated it when my mom made homemade mac ‘n’ cheese instead. It’s been years since I’ve eaten Kraft dinner now, though I love to make homemade mac ‘n’ cheese.
There are a lot of foods that I eat now that I wouldn’t have as a kid. Some of them are in limited quanities, such as hamburger, but I will eat them if necessary.
I used to love pickled beets. I’d eat them every chance I got. Now the mere sight of them at a salad bar makes me queasy. But over the years my tastes have matured, I think. I used to think Cantonese was Chinese cooking at its finest, for example.
When I was a little kid my Grandma gave me some blue cheese and I thought the taste was so awful it made me physically sick. Now I love Buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing.
I also started eating fried calamari at the age of 35, which I think is either octopus or squid. When I was younger the thought of it would make me queasy.
I tried Gefilte fish once, I will never touch it again in my lifetime, it’s still the foulest thing I ever tasted. I still haven’t tried sushi.
My 17 year old son used to love Raviolli too, but I don’t think he’s eaten it in the last 5 or so years, his tastes are changing too.
When I was a little kid my Grandma gave me some blue cheese and I thought the taste was so awful it made me physically sick. Now I love Buffalo wings with blue cheese dressing. I like really hot spicy foods now too.
I also started eating fried calamari at the age of 35, which I think is either octopus or squid. When I was younger the thought of it would make me queasy.
I tried Gefilte fish once, I will never touch it again in my lifetime, it’s still the foulest thing I ever tasted.
Kraft mac and cheese - used to love the stuff, now I can’t stand it. Has to be homemade with real cheese, or at a minimum velveeta shells and cheese.
Cottage cheese - my mom claims that I loved it and ate it all the time as a youngin. As long as I remember though I can’t stand it. The texture, the smell, even just the idea of something be called food that’s essentially milk turned bad grosses me out.
Bananas - I’ve gone back and forth on them a few times, loved them as a kid, hated them for 10 years or so and went to liking them ok the last 5 years or so.
Leftover pizza - I used to eat it all the time. These days, if it’s not fresh I won’t touch it. After it’s hit the fridge I won’t go near it.
I used to love any candy except black licorice. Chocolate and Bernie Botts jelly beans are the only candies I’ll eat and it’s rare now that I will. As a kid I hated dark chocolate - now it’s my preference (and good for me too!)
As I kid I thought French dressing was the best and the classiest. I really thought I was showing off at restaurants asking for French. All I really like now are certain types of Ranch or Caesar.
I don’t like ketchup on anything anymore. I like garlic salt on fries (when I’m not on Atkins - sigh) and I put mayo on cheeseburgers.
I still love Maypo and Ovaltine - comfort to me although I haven’t had either for a couple of years, I see them in stores and can almost taste the yummies.
The smell of bubblegum makes me gag - I used to chew it every day.
I also used to love French dressing as a kid, now I can’t stand it. too sickly sweet. I prefer vinagrettes now.
I used to hate most dark green veggies, but I now attribute that to my grandmother’s cooking. She overcooked everything! It would make me vomit to have grteen beans or spinach placed in front of me. My eyes would start watering right away. Now I love spinach and green beans, asparagus, broccoli and the like.
I can’t stand bologna now, as a child it’s all I ever wanted. Same with strawberries. my mom tells me I used to eat whole pints at a time. I can just see the sticky, red-stained face on that chubby 4 yr old!
I was a very fussy eater as a child; my mom & dad report that all I would eat one year was Cheerios and grilled cheese sammiches.
I am more willing to try new things now, although I have not lost all of my past food prejudices: I still refuse to eat liver, olives, and avocado. But I’ve added more food choices, and I don’t think I’ve subtracted any from childhood.
I take that back; there is one thing I’m much fussier about: I will no longer eat crappy American mass-produced milk chocolate, and I’m not too fond even of good milk chocolate, unless it’s got nuts or fruit added. I really love dark chocolate, though.
I’ve always had a sweet tooth, but as I advance into middle age it’s getting a little more refined. Like, I had some Oreo Double-Stuffs last night, just cuz they were available and I’ve always liked them…meh. Kinda sweet and tasteless. Good chocolate, though, is always welcome.
On the other hand, I don’t think I’d ever eaten a pickle voluntarily until the last few years. I’ve found that I rather like dill pickles.
My tastes have expanded but I don’t really dislike anything I liked then. I was a weird little kid though. When I was about 4 years old, I developed a taste for raw oysters. I mainly like the seafood sauce and lemon but raw oysters were a good vehicle for that. My parents took me to a seafood restaurant and my father ordered a half dozen raw oysters for me. The owner came out and said “Kids don’t eat raw oysters!” My father said, “This one does” and the owner said that I could have as many free that I wanted because he didn’t believe it. I wiped out 18 of them and he was hurting because they aren’t cheap.
One of these does not go with the other.
(I’m Cantonese, so…)
I prefer black licorice now, and I like slow-spicy foods. I still don’t like burn-your-mouth-off fast-spicy, though; I just like it when it makes me sweat. I loved canteloupe for a long time, but lately if I eat too much, it makes my mouth itch on the inside, so I don’t eat it so much. Until I was 18 I figured I just hated salads; then I discovered that I only hated the Iceberg-lettuce/tomato/carrot/Ranch excuse for salad that my parents made. If there’s something worth eating as greenery, I’ll take one with oil and vinegar (vinaigrettes welcome). I still think it’s weird to eat vegetables raw; I just live with it now instead of refusing.
