Taste Bud Evolution

Every individual has a different palate of tastes and foods they enjoy.  And that remains relatively stable throughout one's life.  But there still can be subtle changes, minor shifts.  Something that was just okay becomes a passion, something you once liked is no longer interesting.

Expanding the most for me in recent years have been vegetables.  I have added more and more vegetables to my favorites as I grow older.  The best example of this is broccoli.   I used to hate the very look and smell of broccoli.   The stalk was like eating seaweed, and the florets mealy clumps of dirt.  But then I grew to tolerate it, the stalks particularly. If they were on my plate, I could eat some of the stalks.  Then I grew to actually like them, even beginning to try the floret.  Now I absolutely love them, and we have them two or three times a week.  We buy them in the grocery produce section, in big bunches.  We cook them in spices, and sometimes with Italian dressing, sprinkled with parmigiana.

I resisted zucchini for ages but have recently moved that to my okay category.  I enjoy squash where I did not a decade ago.  There is not a legume that I do not now treasure.  I still resist some things, like Brussel sprouts and artichokes, but check back with me in a few years.

Fruits I have changed less on.  I still struggle with the tart, sharp flavor of some fruits.  The biggest change from years ago is probably the addition of strawberries.  I used to avoid them at all cost, but now I enjoy them, particularity when they're raw and fresh.  I don't even need to add sugar and/or whipped cream like I used to.

I am too sensitive when it comes to fruit.  If I get an apple, for example, that is mushy or rotten when I bite into it, it could turn me off apples for months.  Alison says that part of the pleasure of fruit is that they're not processed foods - their tastes may vary with individual fruit, and it's those surprising taste variations that make them so enjoyable.  Uhhhh, I don't know if I'm quite there yet.  I am, however, making every effort to add more fruit to my diet.

A place where my palate is shrinking is with meats and fish.  My variety of meats is pretty much confined to chicken, turkey, pork and a little bit of beef/steak.  Any experimentation with other things as I did when I was younger, is gone.  No lamb or rabbit or ostrich or deer. Although once in a great while I may have a hamburger out, we never use ground beef at home, and steaks are a rare two or three times a year treat.

Fish and seafood have almost completely disappeared from my diet.  I've tried, but neither Alison nor I can stomach the taste anymore.  Scallops, deviled crab, crab-cakes and Long John Silver's battered fried cod (the Twinkie of the sea) is about the limit of what I can do.

So how have your tastes evolved over the years?  I will keep you updated as my taste buds continue to change.  When Brussel sprouts, kale or kiwi come on board, you'll be the first to know!