# what determines our taste for food? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 18, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987 "2000-03-18T21:26:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![vanilla\_rice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vanilla\_rice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla_rice)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/1 "2000-03-18T21:26:00Z")
i’ve always wondered this, what determines our taste for food? there’s the stuff that people would rather not eat, then there’s the stuff that makes people throw up (tofu, strong cheese, and mushrooms are on my personal list)… ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 18, 2000, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/2 "2000-03-18T23:42:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by vanilla\_rice: > **i’ve always wondered this, what determines our taste for food? there’s the stuff that people would rather not eat, then there’s the stuff that makes people throw up (tofu, strong cheese, and mushrooms are on my personal list)…** A taste for, say, tofu-mushroom-strong-cheese custard, is determined by the individual—not the people. That’s the simplistic reply. ---
**Author:** ![vanilla\_rice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vanilla\_rice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vanilla_rice)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/3 "2000-03-19T00:26:00Z")
that’s what i meant… i think a more appropriate question would be what determines an individual’s distaste for specific foods. does it have anything to do with the grade school broccoli(sp) experiment? ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/4 "2000-03-19T00:53:00Z")
My evil stepmother beat me with a belt while making me eat grilled chicken in a mustard-vinagrette marinade. To this day, I cannot abide the sight of it. On the other hand, I first got laid while I was eating a pork roast seasoned with lemon pepper and garlic, accompanied by spaetzle and red cabbage. This remains my favorite dish. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/5 "2000-03-19T01:14:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by vanilla\_rice: > \*\* > …what determines an individual’s distaste for specific foods. does it have anything to do with the grade school broccoli(sp) experiment?\*\* Exactly! Right! That grade school broccoli experiment! I’ll never forget it! Ms. Sully asked, “I want you to tell me, children, which taste is better: dis or dat.” And she had us taste raw broccoli and cooked broccoli. It was right then and there that, referring specifically to the cooked broccoli, I determined, as per my here-given statement, “Ms. Sully, I prefer DISTATE!” Well, she kept me back for daring to differ. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/6 "2000-03-19T01:18:00Z")
\*\* [/QUOTE] Yes, I continue to hold the same distate. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/7 "2000-03-19T01:21:00Z")
\*\* [/QUOTE] For Ms. Sully. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/8 "2000-03-19T01:32:00Z")
Yes, memories evoked by smells and sights(of different foods) certainly can, by association, influence whether or how (much) we like or dislike the certain items or meals that have those smells or appearances which we connect to a likeable or unlikeable experience/time/person. There are different terms for this association, and I’m sure someone can refer you to an interesting website. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/9 "2000-03-19T01:35:00Z")
That’s the tasty tibit on psychology. Munch any general biology site or text for ruminating the physioloy of taste. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/10 "2000-03-19T07:50:00Z")
How were you raised? This should determine your values in a lot of things. Including foods. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/11 "2000-03-19T17:30:00Z")
No one can say why you like any particular food, but biologists will tell you that there are certain GENERAL evolutionary principles at work in detrmining why animals (including humans) like certain flavors. Fundamentally, why do we like things that are sweet, salty and/or fatty? Well, NOWADAYS, it’s very easy for a human being to go to the grocery store and get all the sweet, salty, fatty foods he/she wants. Indeed, it’s far TOO easy to get sugar, salts and fats in our diet. But for most of human history, that was NOT true. Salt, sugar and fat are ESSENTIAL for good nutrition, and until we learned to refine sugar (and mine salt, and domesticate cattle and separate the cream from their milk), humans didn’t get those things easily. A “sweet tooth” (or desire for sugar) led the cave men to seek out fruits and berries, which was a good thing. A desire for salt led humans (and other animals) to salt licks. And a desire for fat led him to kill and eat animals with large fat contents. All those things were beneficial to primitive men. Problem is, we outsmarted ourselves… and in the modern world, our primitive desires for sugar salt and fat can be very UNHEALTHY. ---
**Author:** ![MissMonica7](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@MissMonica7](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissMonica7)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/12 "2000-03-19T17:40:00Z")
I have something to add to this… I have always been a picky eater. my mother is too, which is where it probably came from. but I also believe that there is something else that makes me not like many foods that other people eat. I think that my tongue is more sensitive than other peoples…here are some examples: 1. mild salsa, and even bbq sauce, makes my mouth burn 2. i can’t stand anything remotely tart—sweet tarts hurt to eat 3. i have never liked my food really hot, i always have to let it cool way down before eating. even when drinking hot tea, i have to let it sit for at least 10 minutes 4. i dont like chocolate, it tastes bitter to me. and ive tried several kinds. does anyone else agree that some people (like me) have more receptive or sensitive tongues?? can this be why i dont like a lot of foods? * * * “I am so smart, I am so smart, s-m-r-t, i mean s-m-a-r-t” ---
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [March 19, 2000, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/13 "2000-03-19T17:58:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by MissMonica7: > \*\*does anyone else agree that some people (like me) have more receptive or sensitive tongues?? can this be why i dont like a lot of foods? > \*\* I agree fully. I also have been a very picky eater throughout my life. I find myself having to smell all my food before I even begin to eat…Even the stuff I like. I often taste things that others claim they cannot taste. I am extra sensitive to onion. and just the slightest hint of broccoli in anything makes my stomach litterally heave. I’ve never been a fan of barbecue sauce or anything especially hot or picante, but I don’t mind a bit of salsa on my nachos (very lightly dipped is what I prefer.) On the whole, I have expanded my palate as I’ve grown older, but I still have a very large and specific list of things I won’t eat. * * * -Dragwyr “If God had meant for man to eat waffles, he would have given him lips like snowshoes” -Rev. Billy C. Wirtz ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2000, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/14 "2000-03-20T02:22:00Z")
It’s interesting — yet simplistic — to conclude that our desire for fats lead us to kill for large quantitites of animal fat, if you’re speaking of natural desire. The natural desire is, of course, more than satisfied without the slaughter and consumption of animal meats. In fact, we’ve lost our primitive desires in the “outsmarting” of ourselves, so we’re not healthfuly aware and in touch with the natural sugars, salts, and fats. Also, tp the person who feels he or she is a “picky eater”: consider that your taste may or may not be more natural than unpicky eaters. Also, what’s natural to your taste may be partly determined by generational and regional orientations in your heritage. For example, aversion to milk may suggest either that you are sensitive to bad additives and/or bad husbandry involved in getting that stuff to your dining table OR that you come from generations of, say, grain farmers (many of whom did not rely on milk in their diet) in contrast to animal farmers (many of whom did). It’s fun and healthy to be consious of your ‘regional’ or ‘generational’ background and to explore how that may conceivably contribute things ranging from tastes for foods to sense of humour. ---
**Author:** ![ultress](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/7c8e57/32.png) [@ultress](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultress)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2000, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/15 "2000-03-20T02:32:00Z")
A lot of people today consider how much weight they will put on by consuming a certain food, they then avoid that food. * * * _I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it._ ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2000, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/16 "2000-03-20T02:46:00Z")
Speaking for myself: Some things I dislike because of bad mental associations. I have had a long-standing phobia of sorts about physically touching arthropods (insects, crabs, shrimp, etc.) and do not typically eat such. I dislike most alcoholic beverages partly because the fungal-ferment smell reminds me of rot (which it is, I guess) but largely because I was raised not to drink by people who in fact never had alcohol around–a combination of unfamiliarity and disapproval. Fatty meats, gristle, and mushrooms have a texture I find unpleasant–hard to chew. I do have the problem with mouth-burning foods–peppermint, peppers, etc. Oddly, I can contentedly eat somewhat moldy cheeses, stale bread/biscuits, and burnt stuff, which many people would sooner throw out. This is apparently my mother’s influence. There’s probably more… * * * I was born with the Moon in Pisces!! Leave me alone!! _SOB!!_ ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [March 20, 2000, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/17 "2000-03-20T02:52:00Z")
I should explain that my mother eats more kinds, and more of “mold-flavored” stuff than I typically do (wine as flavoring, cheeses) and has a liking for burnt bread, etc. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/18 "2000-03-21T01:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by foolsguinea: > \*\*Speaking for myself: > …I can contentedly eat somewhat moldy cheeses, stale bread/biscuits, and burnt stuff, which many people would sooner throw out. … > \*\* They discovered PENICILLIN, as you may know, while it was sittin on some mold (on toppa some very very very stale bread. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/19 "2000-03-21T01:21:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Originally posted by foolsguinea: > \*\*Speaking for myself: > …I can contentedly eat somewhat moldy cheeses, stale bread/biscuits, and burnt stuff, which many people would sooner throw out. … > \*\* They discovered PENICILLIN, as you may know, while it was sittin on some mold (on toppa some very very very stale bread. ---
**Author:** ![ASPA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b19c9b/32.png) [@ASPA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASPA)\ **Post date:** [March 21, 2000, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987/20 "2000-03-21T01:22:00Z")
[quote] Originally posted by ASPA: \*\* > [@](#): > > Originally posted by foolsguinea: > …and burnt stuff… > \*\* burnt stuff actually can be an aid to digestion and trap bad stuff [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-determines-our-taste-for-food/8987.md?page=2)