# What Food Did You Once Despise Yet Now Eat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 4, 2017, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349 "2017-03-04T00:10:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/41 "2017-03-05T15:00:57Z")
For the longest time I hated broccoli. Now I love it. ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/42 "2017-03-05T19:34:01Z")
Carrots. ---
**Author:** ![Sangahyando](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f14d63/32.png) [@Sangahyando](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sangahyando)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/43 "2017-03-05T21:11:14Z")
I may have told this tale before; but – I long found pickled gherkins revolting. However; in my thirties, I got a yen to visit Poland – chiefly in pursuit of an interest of mine, re which Poland was then a good place to visit. Picture was got in advance, that that particular country – especially with its then being a Soviet satellite, with life there consequently rough in various ways – was very much not “foodie heaven”. I read an article about a visit there by Westerners a couple of years previously, in which their not-very-pleasant eating experience had included pickled gherkins in quantity, pretty well at every meal. Got the impression from that article, that any trip to Poland would be gherkin-heavy; so I set out to school myself to tolerate eating said pickled items. Managed to do so, more or less. Oddly – when in Poland, I was confronted with gherkins on the menu, once only. Can only assume that the couple-years-previous visitors had happened to go there at a time when Polish farming had over-fulfilled its gherkin plan… I’m not mad about gherkins now; but can eat them quite happily when they come my way. I’ve always liked mushrooms; but my brother, as a child, found them nasty. He, aged twelve or thirteen, did a similar thing to me-and-gherkins. He discovered and fell in love with Tolkien’s _The Hobbit_ and _LOTR_ (books – this was decades before the films) – decided that if hobbits were mad about mushrooms, he was damn well going to learn to like the things himself: the exercise succeeded – he now loves mushrooms. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/44 "2017-03-06T01:32:29Z")
Pretty much anything that didn’t come in hot dog casings or with the Kraft label on the box. My single mother wasn’t a cook, so I would refuse to eat anything that wasn’t familiar to me. And as Michiganders on special occasions going to Ponderosa, a well done NY Strip was de rigueur, and I didn’t even really like that (well done, so, yeah). I’ll eat anything now except seafood other than fish (allergies) and insects other than crickets (but only if prepared by Mexican experts), and offal. Some things I don’t prefer, but I’m willing to try them. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/45 "2017-03-06T01:35:22Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Tree-of-life. I ate it once. It really messed me up. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/46 "2017-03-06T01:56:47Z")
Broccoli, Onions Eggs that aren’t hard-boiled Corn off the cob Bell peppers Tomatoes Cabbage Probably lots more that I can’t think of right now. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/47 "2017-03-06T02:07:31Z")
> [@beowulff](#): > > Tree-of-life. What is this? Google has nothing about anything called this as food. Most of what I get are hits on metaphysical subjects, or the biological concept, or some kind of Canadian brand name. The only thing close seems to be Arborvitae (the genus of plant whose generic name literally means tree of life) but that doesn’t look actually edible (other than as a tea for acquisition of Vitamin C). ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/48 "2017-03-06T02:16:35Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > What is this? Google has nothing about anything called this as food. Most of what I get are hits on metaphysical subjects, or the biological concept, or some kind of Canadian brand name. The only thing close seems to be Arborvitae (the genus of plant whose generic name literally means tree of life) but that doesn’t look actually edible (other than as a tea for acquisition of Vitamin C). [Tree of Life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pak_Protector#Tree-of-Life) ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/49 "2017-03-06T03:50:32Z")
Mushrooms Spinach Black olives (I still don’t like the green ones) Hot peppers Pineapples in savory dishes Cottage cheese Yogurt ---
**Author:** ![NetTrekker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nettrekker/32/2909_2.png) [@NetTrekker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NetTrekker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/50 "2017-03-06T04:17:17Z")
rye bread ---
**Author:** ![stillownedbysetters](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/41988e/32.png) [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/51 "2017-03-06T04:39:32Z")
As a youngster, I hated sour cream and tomatoes. Now I love both. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/52 "2017-03-06T04:48:21Z")
Turkish Delight. First time I tried it, I thought it tasted like chocolate-covered soap. Spat it out as discreetly as I could. Then I tried it again and it didn’t seem so bad. Now I get cravings. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/53 "2017-03-06T12:06:33Z")
> [@Aspenglow](#): > > Turkish Delight. First time I tried it, I thought it tasted like chocolate-covered soap. Spat it out as discreetly as I could. Then I tried it again and it didn’t seem so bad. Now I get cravings. Never heard of this, so I googled. Turns out it’s what they served with the Turkish coffee service at the end of a really great Turkish meal the other night. Cool! Anyone near Greensburg, PA should check out [Anatolia](http://www.anatoliaturkish.com/), a new restaurant run by a very nice Turkish family. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/54 "2017-03-06T18:33:46Z")
Beans! I despised beans as a kid, not that it got me out of eating them. My dad would make pinto bean soup about once a month and it ruined my day to come home and smell a pot of beans for dinner. I like them now, but I still won’t eat bean soup. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/55 "2017-03-06T18:47:39Z")
Spinach. As a kid it was always, always served cooked to death and was just this brown, bitter mush. Then at some point I had some uncooked and it was revelatory. Why the hell does anyone cook this stuff?! ---
**Author:** ![Clawdio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d07c76/32.png) [@Clawdio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clawdio)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/56 "2017-03-06T18:59:20Z")
Closest thing for me would also be olives. Love them now, especially kalamata. Sure, as a kid I didn’t like many vegetables or dark chocolate, but it seems like that’s most kids. But it took me longer into my adult years to realize that olives were tasty. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/57 "2017-03-06T21:09:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > [Tree of Life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pak_Protector#Tree-of-Life) Ah, okay. There’s a LOT of Niven I’m not up on. Not really my favorite sci-fi author. ---
**Author:** ![bmasters1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5e925/32.png) [@bmasters1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmasters1)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/58 "2017-03-06T21:20:50Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > For the longest time I hated broccoli. Now I love it. Me too! Broccoli’s now one of my favorites, and it’s great both cooked and raw. In fact, whenever my mother gets lunch for us from the deli at the Wal-Mart in Simpsonville (usually chicken tenders, potato wedges and okra [I can’t stand okra]), I always try to have her get something called broccoli cheddar pasta salad, as to me, it goes well with the chicken tenders and potato wedges. Another one is black beans, and the way I like them is in a combination of cabbage, black beans and hamburger that my mother makes sometimes. Unfortunately, that’s the only kind of bean I’ll ever eat-- no others have even come close. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/59 "2017-03-06T21:26:26Z")
in the 80s when chilli cheese fries became big the first time I tried them they were homemade and looked like barf on a plate … I refused to eat them … one day I was hungry and just scarfed a bunch .now I eat them for breakfast when possible … ---
**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:** [March 6, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349/60 "2017-03-06T23:44:20Z")
Peas. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-food-did-you-once-despise-yet-now-eat/781349.md?page=4)