# Is there any empirical reason behind why a food tastes good to one person and bad to another? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 12, 2026, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590 "2026-01-12T09:27:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/82 "2026-01-14T15:10:10Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Some people say adults sometimes like foods they hated as children because the sense of taste weakens with age. When I was in elementary school sweet potatoes tasted so bad to me I’d want to vomit if I tried to choke down a bite. Now at 65 they just taste bad. I still don’t like them but the taste doesn’t make me want to puke. Cilantro? I first tried the fresh herb (vile weed) in my forties and it tastes just as vile now! I don’t know about _liking_ them, but I can say that a lot of foods I actively and intensely disliked as a kid (raw tomatoes, raw onions, sweet potatoes, etc…) I mostly now just am not wild about. I mean, I still don’t like sweet potatoes, but they don’t necessarily ruin the entire dish either. Same with raw tomatoes; if I get tacos with a bunch of chopped raw tomatoes and I miss removing one, it’s not a big deal. I still don’t _like_ them though. Others, like raw onions, I actually don’t mind anymore and in some circumstances (hamburgers in particular) actually like them. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/83 "2026-01-14T15:27:27Z")
PTC papers. They are just a strip of blotter paper with a tiny bit of PTC solution dried into them. PTC stands for phenylthiocarbamide, which is a more sanitary sounding name for phenylthiourea. For teeth whitening dentists use urea peroxide, but they’ll call it carbamide peroxide. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/84 "2026-01-14T16:03:33Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Ha, as you are a Chef I am somewhat surprised. Not a chef, just a humble cook. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/85 "2026-01-14T16:10:40Z")
> [@solost](#): > > As for psychology, I think there are a lot of people out there who are traditionally finicky, unadventurous eaters, and only _think_ they don’t like this or that flavor. I have a friend who has the palate of a 5 year old. Left to his own devices, he only eats things like pizza, spaghetti, hamburgers, mac & cheese, basically everything you’d find on a restaurant ‘kid’s menu’. But once when we were camping on his land up in north Michigan, I cooked up some steaks with asparagus on the side, and made him try the asparagus. Now he loves asparagus. This is very true. I’ve found that eating something when I’m hungry always makes it taste better. When I was raising my kids, the breakfast and lunch menus were always pretty basic. However, I made sure the kids would be hungry at dinner time, as this is when new foods are typically introduced. My kids had very adult palates by the time they became teenagers. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/86 "2026-01-14T17:02:09Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I dunno if there are biological reasons for sensitivity to textures, but it’s common for autistic people to be very picky about the texture of their food. So there’s probably something biological there, too. Definitely something biological. But it also gets into the interplay between neurodevelopmental, psychiatric, and psychological. So autistic children in general frequently have a variety of sensory issues (both hyper and hypo). They seem to really have a different internal experience of these sensations. And a greater fear of novelty. Those are neurodevelopmental realities and then the resulting experiences with foods get overlaid on top of it. More so-called neurotypical children will, as part of normal development, have some fear of novelty and stronger dislike of the more bitter flavors of many vegetables. That is relatively hardwired. The course out of preschool years is OTOH heavily influenced by how caregivers responded. IF they keep offering without any of cajoling bribing or battling, and do not offer the options of filling up on other choices, then usually these kids will eventually model parental eating habits, try the foods, and end up liking them. Of course it is hard to get parents to refrain from those behaviors and lifetime aversions result that extend beyond those periods. Another psychiatric overlay is Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (AFRID) which may have some neurophysiological overlap with OCD. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/87 "2026-01-14T17:18:13Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > They are just a strip of blotter paper with a tiny bit of PTC solution dried into them. Rivkah Chaya mentioned a bitter taste. So these are used to demonstrate to students that not all people are alike, and that some foods can taste different to some people? ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/88 "2026-01-14T17:22:06Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Not a chef, just a humble cook. The Swedish Chef on The Muppet Show is also not a chef, although he wears the hat. One of my favorite characters. Bork bork bork! ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/89 "2026-01-14T17:32:47Z")
Exactly, along with a lesson about genotypes (TT, Tt, or tt) and phenotypes (TT and Tt are tasters, tt folks are non-tasters). ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/90 "2026-01-14T17:42:07Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > More so-called neurotypical children will, as part of normal development, have some fear of novelty and stronger dislike of the more bitter flavors of many vegetables. That is relatively hardwired. The course out of preschool years is OTOH heavily influenced by how caregivers responded. We told our children that five year olds are picky eaters, and the year they were five they were exempt from the general household rule that you had to taste everything. This worked. We created the expectation that they would like more foods as they got older, and our children both were adventurous eaters, despite having parents who are picky eaters. (They both have food dislikes, too. But they’ll try stuff before rejecting it, and enjoy a wide variety of food, including many vegetables.) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/91 "2026-01-14T17:57:33Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > But also, pregnant women are a little nauseated a lot of the time, and that leads to food aversions. Not all pregnant women have nausea. I had none at all. I also had a big appetite the first trimester, and no particular cravings. Second trimester, my appetite was down some-- enough that once a day I was drinking a nutrition shake made by Ensure that was just for pregnant women, an since my doctor recommended it my HSA card covered it. Third trimester, my appetite was back, an I got cravings, but for actual foods, like Subway sandwiches, or a certain French fry. Not clay or pencils, or the stuff of pica. The stuff I got cravings for was stuff I ate already, just not twice a day, every day. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/92 "2026-01-14T18:27:23Z")
My ex-wife never craved any foods, (and thankfully never suffered nausea) but in the early stages of both pregnancies she certainly craved me! I assume this was hormonal, but I can’t really work out why this would be evolutionary beneficial. Perhaps the instinct to retain a mate. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/93 "2026-01-14T20:12:50Z")
I had a lot of food aversions when i was pregnant. I never had any cravings. Except that i was hungry ALL THE TIME. And tired if i hadn’t eaten recently. I gained a lot of weight, and gave birth to tiny babies with no body fat. Something went wrong there metabolically, but not in a serious way. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/94 "2026-01-14T20:17:38Z")
My friend’s wife would get the weirdest cravings at like 3am and he’d dutifully go out to get the stuff. Half of the time she wasn’t hungry anymore when he returned. One time it was caramel apples. He hates wasting food so he ate all of them over the next few days. He joked with her to try to crave nonperishable things going forward. He was the one who gained weight. ---
**Author:** ![P-man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/p-man/32/3606_2.png) [@P-man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/P-man)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2026, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/95 "2026-01-14T23:14:33Z")
During her first pregnancy my wife would have random cravings for various canned vegetables. The guys who ran the bodega across the street got used to me coming in at night to buy a can of whatever she wanted. Eventually they started asking me if the baby had been born yet every time I came in. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/96 "2026-01-15T03:53:36Z")
Regarding the psychological aspect: I am finicky. I HATE being finicky. At lot of contemporary restaurants seem to do this thing where they take ordinary ingredients and then add extras until every dish on the menu has something I dislike. It’s more texture than taste for me: I love slimy but hate unctuous, including warm milk and sauces that are too creamy (though cold milk and cream are fine). I won’t eat tomatoes unless pulverized into sauce, in which case they’re a favourite. But taste is a factor. When I moved to British Columbia, it seemed as if all socializing involved people inviting me over for salmon. I really, really tried: repeated exposure, positive attitude, gamely eating my whole yucky dinner. I just don’t like salmon (or fish in general, with some exceptions for the milder whitefish). Anyway, if there’s a psychological component, I’d love to know how to get over it, because being a finicky adult is neither cool nor fun. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/97 "2026-01-15T04:34:00Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > I’ve never understood why North Americans insist that every breakfast include eggs. > > I hate them, myself. They taste lousy, their texture is yucky, no matter how they are prepared; and why so many people like them is beyond me. > > This wouldn’t normally be a problem—hey, if you like them, go crazy—but it means that breakfast, at a diner, for me, pretty much means toast and coffee. Maybe, if I’m lucky, a BLT and home fries. Diners: Stop including eggs with everything you offer at breakfast, offer them as an optional add-on, and you might get more business from me. > > Until then, I’ll have toast and coffee, and a BLT if you can manage one. We are a kindred spirit in so many ways, but man, I have to disagree with you about eggs. I love them in so many different forms – sunny side up for breakfast, the runny yolks absorbed by toast and loaded with bacon, hard-boiled in many different forms, deviled eggs as hors d’oeuvres – the list goes on! > [@Broomstick](#): > > Data point: To me, cilantro tastes like Pine Sol floor cleaner smells. Which is way beyond timid “soapy”. A friend and I sometimes have lunch at a wonderful winery restaurant. The food is always amazing and consists of multiple courses, each accompanied by a matched wine recommended by the sommelier. Every time I’m there, I summon a resolve to become a billionaire and hire away their chef or maybe just buy the place outright. Alas, the big financial windfall never happens. But their food is always incredible. One time we had a soup that was so delicious that I asked the waitress what the magic ingredient was. She had go to the kitchen to ask the chef because she didn’t know. The answer was “cilantro”. To each their own, I guess. There’s no accounting for taste. ---
**Author:** ![WOLINM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/5f9b8f/32.png) [@WOLINM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOLINM)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/98 "2026-01-15T07:40:25Z")
My son also hates eggs. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/99 "2026-01-15T09:44:17Z")
> [@We\_re\_wolves\_not\_werewolves](#): > > what about individuals with certain genetic intolerances (lactose, gluten, etc.). Are they more likely to find the taste of foods containing those components disagreeable than those who do not have those intolerances? If so, that suggests a link between the taste of a food and our genetic ability to digest it. No. Over time, if their brains develop an association between eating foods containing those things they might develop an aversion, but there’s nothing certain about that. Likewise, many people assume that I don’t like the foods I’m allergic to. Some yes, some no - there are some foods I can never eat again I definitely miss and would still like if I could safely eat them. > [@doreen](#): > > I don’t know what kind of diners you go to - I will eat eggs for breakfast occasionally but not every day and I never have a problem finding something other than toast I’m not entirely opposed to eggs but not an enthusiast, either. When at a diner I’ve never had a problem saying “hold the eggs”. I might get a “two eggs, two meat, hashbrowns, and toast” pre-set meal and just say “skip the eggs”. Sometimes I get an odd look, but I’ve yet to have a diner say “no, you must eat eggs”. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > That is called “The Garcia Effect.” If you vomit after eating something, even from a virus or chemo, you may not be able to eat it again-- or at least for a long time. This is one of the reasons managing nausea during chemo is so important-- it’s no good to survive cancer if there is nothing you can eat again. It’s also why when you’re getting chemo they caution you to NOT eat your favorite foods when in the nausea phase of the treatment. At least, that’s what they told me. The other reason to control nausea is so you can get enough nutrition in you during treatment. > [@Francis\_Vaughan](#): > > My impression was that, in general, you needed to pay seriously more money at a much higher end joint to get food with servings of a sane size. Yeah, portion size at US restaurants are out of control, and have been for years. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2026, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/100 "2026-01-15T10:02:29Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > We are a kindred spirit in so many ways, but man, I have to disagree with you about eggs. And that’s fine. Friends can disagree, and still remain friends. If we ever meet up in a diner at breakfast time, enjoy all the eggs you can eat. Won’t bother me. I’ll find something on the menu (like I said, most often a BLT and hash browns or home fries, or as close as I can get by scrapping together _a la carte_ sides), and we’ll get along just fine. Hey, once the sun is over the yardarm, it’s time for Bloody Caesars and Bloody Marys, right? I’ll bring my own tomato juice. Any leftover bacon? It’s a garnish. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![smithsb](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smithsb/32/12107_2.png) [@smithsb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smithsb)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2026, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590/101 "2026-01-16T17:41:59Z")
> [@WOLINM](#): > > My son also hates eggs Welcome, join in!. I’m pro-egg but I understand dislikes. You’ll never get a snail past my lips. Compressed slime🤮 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-empirical-reason-behind-why-a-food-tastes-good-to-one-person-and-bad-to-another/1026590.md?page=6)