Snarfing up our pasta with tomato sauce last night, heavy on capers and anchovies, got me thinking about how much I used to despise both ingredients, and how much I absolutely adore them now. These weren’t just dislikes in my childhood — as kids tend to eschew more pungent flavors overall (yes, I know there are exceptions).
I also used to hate any kind of heat, e.g. buffalo wings (the mildest kind) were a challenge, and cilantro used to taste like soap to me. I am now a registered chili head, and could eat cilantro by the bushel… OK, maybe not that much, but you get the picture.
I’ve also grown fond of many blue cheeses, and can stand caraway in context, but that one is still a holdout of sorts.
What are foods you used to hate that you now love, or vice versa?
What comes to mind is foods with a (to me) chemical-y taste, which I used to be fine with but am now repelled by. Margarine was a staple in my grandparents’ kosher home, but now I think it tastes like plastic. Flavored potato and tortilla chips are so citric acid forward that I can only eat a few. My tolerance for Velveeta has also tanked, but I occasionally crave the shells and cheese or queso - for a few bites. And I used to practically live on Tab - all diet soda tastes bad to me now. Except Fresca. Fresca is awesome.
We dropped soda probably well over a decade ago — until then I was ok with Coke Zero. Now I can’t stand any diet soda (Dr. Pepper being the one glorious exception for me, but I don’t seek it out), and will gladly indulge in the occasional bottle of Mexicoke, which we sometimes share. Fresca tastes like aluminum to me. Maybe it’s the can, tho , I don’t like canned drinks.
I also suspect most adults’ tolerance for overly sweet things goes down with age.
My sister won’t go near many foods which were common on our table as kids. If she eats jam or jelly, it can’t be grape because that is the ONLY type we ever had as kids. Now she insists on strawberry or raspberry.
I’m OK with grape jelly because it doesn’t exist in Japan and apparently it’s a VERY North American thing…especially in the USA because concord grapes, the standard grape variety used in grape jelly is not commonly found elsewhere (also “jelly” usually refer to gelatin, not jam/preserves in most of the world.). In Japan, strawberry jam is king.
As kids, grilled cheese was almost always served with Campbell’s tomato soup and the sandwich was made with Kraft American “cheese” slices or Velveeta. My sister won’t go near either of those “cheeses” not because she’s lactose intolerant (she can take Lactaid if she wants to eat dairy products) but because she looks down upon them as “being for the masses” and because she was “forced” to eat them as a child.
I’m OK with either of those “cheeses”, but detest Campbell’s tomato soup as it’s sweet to me and because tomato soup/sauces tend to give me heartburn (ketchup doesn’t, but I don’t use much of it.)
I’m not a picky eater in general, but my sister is. I’m in the “cilantro tastes like soap” camp, though and besides semi-spicy curry, wasabi/horseradish can’t do spicy because it gives me heartburn, too. BUT until I pushed myself to try the above few spicy foods, I would entirely steer clear of them.
Lastly, due to textural issues, I wouldn’t go near avocado until I tried it in a California roll as an adult. I still steer clear of guacamole because of cilantro and texture, but enjoy avocado in many other dishes. As a child, I wish I had been introduced to avocados because I had an uncle who had a HUGE avocado farm in Fallbrook, CA in northern San Diego County and could have had all the avocados I wanted. But since my parents didn’t eat avocados, they literally never were to be found in our home.
Both the love for cilantro and spicy foods were a process over time, for sure. My ex def nudged me into hot foods (she kept cranking up the heat in our instant ramen meals ), whereas the cilantro happened organically for me. Once I got into Mexican food, to which I was a very late bloomer — perhaps no surprise, having grown up in Germany, then moved to the NE of the US — there was no turning back
Another reason I ache to return to Thailand, where I had to order everything ‘farang mild’ and without P̄hạkchī
I used to drink soda, I don’t like it now, especially the ones with sugar, I can’t stand sodas with sugar. Sometimes I like some of the Sparkling Ice sodas or Fresca with some rum or tequila, but that’s about it.
I don’t like overly sweet drinks either, including wine & cocktails — e.g. a rum & coke is a total nonstarter for me…but something about a Mexicoke (often just 1/2) over ice just hits right with a cheeseburger & fries, or spicy/salty Chinese food
I wouldn’t mind eating other spicy foods if they didn’t give me such bad heartburn. As a teenager, I’d visit my Nana Pauline in South Florida and she put raw sweet red peppers in her nightly salads and make stuffed bell peppers and I loved both. Until one day, I constantly got intense heartburn from both and ANY type of fresh chili or any other kind of pepper…even if I take them out of the prepared dish. BTW, the same thing happens when I eat mackerel or other fish high in EPA & DHA. And not only heartburn, but the taste repeats on me for days. So no food, no matter how delicious is worth going through that. Oddly, dried chili peppers, like in kung pao chicken or in curries, rarely if ever bother me.
Re: cilantro, I used to be able to stomach cilantro in one dish…gazpacho at one specific restaurant in Glendale, CA. But in anything else, it not only tastes like soap, it overpowers the taste of anything else in the dish. The only similar experience I have is with rosemary in many dishes (I do like it as a focaccia topping) and I have issues with a Japanese herbal vegetable called “shiso”. In English, one name it goes by is “perilla” (it’s not exactly the same as Korean perilla). If either the green or red shiso is in a dish, that’s all I can taste.
I’m decidedly neutral on shiso, but felt the same way about cilantro. Overpowering everything… just like I felt about spicy dishes until my tolerance increased.
Sorry about the heartburn. I occasionally suffer the consequences of a particularly hot meal the next day, but it doesn’t happen often enough for me to have to give it up entirely. Yet.
Fennel, absolutely hated it, tasted like cheap black licorice (still don’t like black licorice) I love it now, roasted or raw. Also the same with tarragon.
The opposite for me. I tolerated fennel and anise, and liked sipping ouzo, but now I can’t stand even the smell of the wild fennel growing in my backyard.
I came from a family with a lot of food fears. So I could list just about anything. Especially anything seafood.
My two brothers still hold many of these fears. In the case of a food fear, it’s not a question of trying something and then not liking it. They won’t even try. To this day my older brother jokes he does not eat vegetables with more than one syllable.
Creamy things (cheese, creamy soups/sauces). Cheese was not big in Korean culture back then, so it wasn’t a big deal. As a kid, my brother loved creamy mushroom soup, shredded cheese on his salad at the salad bar when we used to go to Ponderosa, anything cheesy. I detested anything creamy/dairy-laden. I even preferred my pizza without cheese (but then again, I’m from RI where pizza strips are a thing).
Now I love good cheese and pizza with cheese. Used to like a good grilled cheese sandwich once in a while but it’s been a long while. I’ll eat some leftover Mac and cheese sometimes thanks to a kid who eats like a bird and leaves us leftovers but I’ve never made it for me and his dad (nor do I crave it). I’ve still never had cacio e pepe, had an Alfredo pasta maybe twice in my life. I love a showering of Parmesan to add umami to pasta dishes or salads. But I’m not clamoring/craving more cheese in my life. Keeps my cholesterol in good shape, I guess.
Other than the classic hate-as-child food examples (e.g., strong cheeses, asparagus, lutefisk), I haven’t “come back” to many. Nor have I grown hateful of many, flavor- or texture-wise, that I once liked. I still can’t do mutton or kidneys.
Drinkwise, I used to enjoy fruity blender drinks, but don’t any longer. Same with Scotch.
I wasn’t sure if I liked shiso when I first tasted it either, but now I’ve come to enjoy it in most applications. There are still a few occasions when I’ve found it overdone, but generally I like it. I particularly like the Korean spicy marinated shiso leaves.
I used to strongly dislike goat cheese, but I’ve come to appreciate it way more now especially when not overloaded. Whipped goat cheese is a game changer too.
I’ve more recently grown to like dill in limited applications when it’s fresh. Still don’t care for it as a dried herb, but in certain Greek salads and foods, I’ve come to appreciate it much more. Still hate it as a throwaway garnish on salmon and/or potatoes.
Dr Pepper is the best of diet soda, IMO, but they’ve just switched sweeteners to the “Zero” ones. Haven’t tried it yet. It may be a bye bye, because I find the other Zeros the be cloyingly sweet. I’m not a big soda drinker; those mini cans were made for me …
, I don’t like canned drinks.
), whereas the cilantro happened organically for me. Once I got into Mexican food, to which I was a very late bloomer — perhaps no surprise, having grown up in Germany, then moved to the NE of the US — there was no turning back 
