squash…winter butternut squash was the feared thing at Thanksgiving and Mom always put a spoonful on our plates.
Now I buy them by the bushel in the fall to make soup, risotto, stir fry…roasted with olive oil and pasta
I was a very picky eater as a child the only cheese I ate was “pizza cheese” had a melt down once at a McDonalds as I received a cheeseburger and not a plain hamburger… “peel the cheese off” said Mother… it still had a little melty of cheese on it…worst day ever. 40 plus years later I can still see that burger,( now the more cheese the better)
Smoked oysters was my grandfathers favorite treat. The smell of them was enough to turn my stomach as a child. Now I love them. Maybe something to do with the memory of Grandpa
awwww…
every time I make never fail fudge from the back of the marshmallow container (the smell of it) I end up crying and thinking of my dad whom I would make it for with the condition that he did the dishes.
Squash is my most recent. I used to never eat it because I didn’t like it, until one day I was at a friend’s house and they were having it, and I figured it’d be rude to not have at least a little, so I dished up about as much as I figured I could choke down… and it turns out it was good. It’s not just a matter of my mother’s cooking, either, because I’ve since had hers again, and it’s good, too, and Mom is very good at preparing veggies in general.
Much earlier in my life, at some point I also transitioned on green beans, but I can’t remember the circumstances of that one.
And I really do need to get around to trying asparagus again one of these times. Last I knew, I didn’t like it, but who knows?
When I was a kid I was allowed two “opt out” foods - things I wouldn’t have to eat when they were served at dinner. I chose lima beans and asparagus. I now eat asparagus (as long as it is the skinny kind cooked al dente) willingly.
I still gag at the thought of a lima bean…
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Avocados…slimy & green- used to pick them out of the otherwise awesome Taco Salad that my mom used to make. Now I want them all back in my tummy! The turning point was when I first had a California roll- I wanted to try them but was put off by the avocado but after a few of those, I immediately jumped to eating a half of avocado by itself with a little lime and salt…
Cream Cheese & Sour Cream - never liked either growing up, figured they were the same food group as cottage cheese & ricotta which I still dislike. But love both now and have the thighs to prove it.
Medium Rare beef- My grandfather used to burn steaks to a charcoal flavored crisp and that’s how I liked it until my early twenties when I discovered cooking steak over medium rare is a crime.
Eggplant. I’m not a picky eater at all, but my mom never cooked it so it’s entirely possible I never even tried it before age 20. Then in my 20’s I came across a few particularly poor examples of eggplant dishes. I thought it was simply irredeemable and generally avoided it.
Then sometime later I had a fried eggplant calzone from my local pizza shop and my eyes were opened. Sometime after that I made a lasagna, using fried eggplant instead of lasagna noodles. Then came ratatouille with vegetables fresh from the garden, Egyptian style stuffed eggplant, eggplant curry…
Sam: Do you like emping?
Irv: Dunno, I’ve never emped.
But seriously, my mother force fed me asparagus when I was very little and I gagged. After I married, my wife insisted I try it and I found it delicious. Now I even grow it.
My brother once said to me something like, “Why didn’t you ever tell me how good mushrooms tasted?”
Another one: Cilantro. I’m one of those unfortunates who tastes the bitter, soapy flavor in cilantro. But it’s in so many things that I like that, even despite that, I’ve come to appreciate it… in moderation.
Pretty much everything other than hamburgers or meat/potato combos. Yeah, I was one of those picky eaters; why my mother let me get away with it is a mystery. She even used to make half the meatloaf without onions, so that I would eat it without picking all the onion bits out of it. Hated vegetables and most fruit and wouldn’t eat them. What a little PITA I was.
Scotch. Before I lived in Thailand, I wouldn’t drink it on a bet. But it’s very popular there, and unless you’re just a teetotaler, you’ll drink it at some point and probably fairly regularly. I like it now.
Baked beans. I don’t actually purchase them or make them, but I will eat them if they are offered at a family function. Outside of turning my nose up at them when I was a kid, I think I first ate them at 35 to be polite and decided they weren’t bad.
Haggis! Just a few weeks ago, I tried it for the first time at a dinner celebrating Robert Burns. I’d always heard it was horrible, so poked my fork into it with great trepidation.
It was…scrumptious. I don’t know if all haggis tastes like that, or I just tried an exceedingly tasty batch, but based on what I tried, I’m a total convert. Based on my limited experience, haggis is a mouthwatering treat.
…
Another taster here. If it is a restrained amount of cilantro as an ingredient [like in guacamole or salsa] it is fine, it is a part of the overall flavor profile. But if you just dump a handful of it chopped on top of something as a ‘garnish’ blech - omit or use chopped fresh parsley instead.
I also am an asparagus pee smeller. Though I have never tried to find out, can a smeller smell the asparagus pee from someone else?
I will still admit, while I love a well made lobster tail [ever had the poached in butter one? Holy mouthgasm!] I still prefer blue crab.
Many things- asparagus, brussel sprouts, homemade chili instead of canned, peas, oranges/orange juice, blueberries, raw strawberries…I used to be pretty picky.
I still don’t like olives, but when I was younger they were a horrifically disgusting deal breaker; now the taste doesn’t bother me much. Honestly, it’s the same story with a lot of foods: the only food I regularly come across that I absolutely won’t eat is ranch dressing.
Well, that and meat … I’m a vegetarian. But that’s not because I despise meat.
Oh, broccoli. Even as late as my early twenties I professed to hate the stuff, but now I think it’s great.