Been thinking about picky eaters again....

I have two children (many years apart). DS was the first-born - and when
he was a "toddler" we had little or no access to seafood or shellfish,
with the result that he never had much of either. To this day, he
dislikes anything remotely "fishy". He will eat almost anything else,
tho'. OTOH, our younger one (3 y/o) has been exposed to many kinds of
food, including seafood/shellfish and she seems to like it all.

I have noticed it with a quite a few of my friends - both with them and
their children as well - they seem to like what they grew up with and
are not all that keen to try anything that could be termed "strange food".

Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
try something "new" when they are adults?
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy - just curious about other people's experiences.

Chatty Cathy wrote:
>
> Been thinking about picky eaters again....
>
> I have two children (many years apart). DS was the first-born - and when
> he was a "toddler" we had little or no access to seafood or shellfish,
> with the result that he never had much of either. To this day, he
> dislikes anything remotely "fishy". He will eat almost anything else,
> tho'. OTOH, our younger one (3 y/o) has been exposed to many kinds of
> food, including seafood/shellfish and she seems to like it all.
>
> I have noticed it with a quite a few of my friends - both with them and
> their children as well - they seem to like what they grew up with and
> are not all that keen to try anything that could be termed "strange food".
>
> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
> say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
> develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
> try something "new" when they are adults?
> --
> Cheers
> Chatty Cathy - just curious about other people's experiences.

Because of my own rearing and intense dislikes of many foods (especially
cooked green veggies), I had one rule for my DS, and that was he had to
give anything served an honest try and taste. He'll soon graduate
university in December (knock on wood!), and he eats everything and
anything served by anyone. OK, some foods are not meant to be eaten
like well-done steaks and other burnt and ruined foods. But then, DS is
a product of divorced parents and has always had to deal with many
different styles of cooking and foods between the two households (and
several step-mothers), so he's learned to adapt and make do.

So yes, I do agree with your premise: Children exposed to different
cooking styles and foods are more willing to experiment with their
palates than are kids who never were.

Sky

On Tue, 22 May 2007 18:20:07 +0200, Chatty Cathy
> wrote:

>Been thinking about picky eaters again....
>
>I have two children (many years apart). DS was the first-born - and when
>he was a "toddler" we had little or no access to seafood or shellfish,
>with the result that he never had much of either. To this day, he
>dislikes anything remotely "fishy". He will eat almost anything else,
>tho'. OTOH, our younger one (3 y/o) has been exposed to many kinds of
>food, including seafood/shellfish and she seems to like it all.
>
>I have noticed it with a quite a few of my friends - both with them and
>their children as well - they seem to like what they grew up with and
>are not all that keen to try anything that could be termed "strange food".
>
>Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
>say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
>develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
>try something "new" when they are adults?

There could certainly be some truth in that. I cook mostly from
scratch and use a wide variety of ingredients, including some that are
a bit "exotic" in our part of the world. Our youngest always ate
whatever we were having and she has very catholic tastes when it comes
to food. The oldest, who was raised on packaged stuff and fast food by
my husband's ex, is unadventurous when it comes to food, to say the
least. And the youngest kid's friends are the worst. ;P I've learned
to order pizza when we have sleepovers.

Regards,
Tracy R.

Chatty Cathy wrote:

> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
> say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
> develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
> try something "new" when they are adults?


In general, yes, I think you're right, and there are anthropologists who
note the truth to what you say, too. It's a cross cultural trait that
adults tend to view as weird and disgusting foods that they didn't see
adults eating when they were a child.


On the other hand, the exceptions are hard to miss. My boyfriend and
his sister were reared in the same household by the same parents in the
same city with the same access to foods. That is, it was their mother's
home cooking from start to finish. They're 3 years apart. He loves to
try ethnic restaurants and will often order the weirdest thing on the
menu just to try it. His sister is even pickier than her parents,
refusing to eat as an adult many of the foods that would have been
normal to her as a child, foods her parents would have encouraged her to
try.


That's one example. I can think of countless more.


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
>
> On the other hand, the exceptions are hard to miss. My boyfriend and
> his sister were reared in the same household by the same parents in the
> same city with the same access to foods. That is, it was their mother's
> home cooking from start to finish. They're 3 years apart. He loves to
> try ethnic restaurants and will often order the weirdest thing on the
> menu just to try it. His sister is even pickier than her parents,
> refusing to eat as an adult many of the foods that would have been
> normal to her as a child, foods her parents would have encouraged her to
> try.
>
> That's one example. I can think of countless more.


My wife and I are both pretty adventurous when it comes to eating food and
trying to recipes. My oldest brother his wife and one of his sons are
pretty adventurous, but the other son is a very picky eater, to the point
where it is a PITA to have him for a meal because he is so limited,
compounded by his childish reaction to not having what he likes. Another
brother and his whole family are generally easy going when it comes to
food, though I could not get them to try calamari or smoked eel. MY
youngest brother is the pickiest, but still not a major problem. So in one
family we run the gamut, from those who will try just about anything to
those whose weekly food consumption could be limited to 5 different items.

Chatty Cathy said...

> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
> say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
> develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
> try something "new" when they are adults?


I am wondering if the sense of smell might be keener than taste in infants so
even great smells from the kitchen could be creating food memories that could
come in handly later when they can also taste and the brain goes "Ding! Ding!
Ding! I remember that aroma and it even TASTES great too!"

Or not,

Andy

"Chatty Cathy" > wrote in message
...
> Been thinking about picky eaters again....
>
> --
> Cheers
> Chatty Cathy - just curious about other people's experiences.

Okay, I'll bite.

True story 1): I'm walking down the street in Portland, OR, about six
months after after Sept, 11th. It's 10:30 in the morning and I'm on-foot in
an industrial section of the town on the east side of the Columbia river. A
small, dark man - who I can only describe as 'swarthy' (ie, he had a 5
o'clock shadow at 10 in the morning) steps-out of a door wearing a white
apron and a fold-open signboard. He sets it up as I walk past and I see
'Syrian restaurant' and a bunch of squiggly arabic writing. I take about
five steps, turn around and walk into this little hole-in-wall on the heels
of the swarthy fellow.

He looks startled to have large white guy in his restaurant. I reach
behind me. He looks suddenly afraid. I take out my wallet and lay a twenty
dollar bill on the counter. The conversation goes sort of like this:

"What you want?"
"Lunch"
"You know syrian food"
"Nope?"
"Babba-ganush?"
"Nope?"
"What you want?"
"You pick."

He brings tea. He brings these little square, crumbly white cookies that
reek of anise - a spice I'm not fond of, but eat 'em anyway. They're okay
with tea, which is strong and very aromatic with a spice I am not familar
with. Then he brings out a platter on a little fold-up table. It's quite
literally stacked with food - and I have no idea what it is. He's
chattering non-stop, pointing-out this and pointing-out that and I'm
catching none of it. I know the flatbread and I know the cucumber / yogurty
sauce and the tasty pieces of grilled lamb. The rest - not a clue. But I
eat it all. He's watching me and I grin and occassionally give a big
'thumbs-up' and he grins back. Then when, I'm finished, he clears the table
and lays my bill on the table, along with the ubiquitous peppermint candy
wrapped in cellaphane. I start gathering my stuff - it's still winter in
Portland, so you get wet, especially if your on foot.

The swarthy fellow is back. He's got a platter, with two tiny white cups,
two little plates and a covered pot with elaborate floral patterns on it.
He sits down in the booth with me and put a little cup in front of me. One
cup of what turns-out to be incredibly strong and bitter expresso for me
and one cup form him. The he starts spooning-up what I can only assume are
stuffed figs. They are lemony and dripping with honey and incredibly,
incredibly sweet. We eat these little things and sip our expresso in this
empty restaurant. We don't say a word. Just sip expresso and eat figs.
When we're finished, he clears the table and leaves.

I gather-up my raingear and stuff and approach the counter, wallet in hand.
No expresso or tasty little treats was on the bill. He just waves me off
with a satisfied smile. I nod, thank the swarthy little man and leave.

True story 2): I've been self-employed since 1994, so my hours are my own.
Which means I'm free a lot of the time other people are at work. It's
Portland, OR again - my home for almost sixteen years. I'm at a bus-stop
and I look across the street and notice that a mexican restaurant I'd eaten
at a couple of weeks ago is closed. But a banner across the top of the
building announces a Thai restaurant has just opened. And I haven't eaten
lunch yet and I've never eaten thai food in my life. So I figure 'what the
hell' and walk across the street.

The place is empty. The mexican decour is still in-place. Same tables,
same fixtures, same dancing red and green peppers on the walls. Only later
did I learn just how appropriate those peppers were to be. There is just a
young waitress and a wrinkly looking guy in a white t-shirt with no sleeves
and a paper hat who peers at me from around the corner of the kitchen. I
sit at a booth and the young waitress brings me a glass of ice water and a
menu. The menu is in Thai with really bad english descriptions - at that
time I couldn't tell Pad Thai from crying tiger from drunken noodle and I'd
never eaten a curry - indian or otherwise - in my life. So I look it over
and then lay it on the table. The waitress approaches.

"You like?"
I shrug. She tries again.
"You like... chicken?"
I wait.
"Maybe... duck?"
I nod. I've never eaten any duck I didn't kill with my own shotgun.
"in curry? You like red curry?"
I nod. Much later I've learned the significance of this decision. I now
prefer green thai curry, but red curry was a good place to start.
"You like hot?"
I wait.
"Medium?"
I nod.

The young waitress brings a covered ceramic bowl with a spoon sticking-out
of the lid and a covered bowl of rice. I spoon out fragrant, sticky rice
into a bowl. I spoon a glistening, creamy red-sauce with huge chunks of
falling-apart meat and bright green leaves and some root vegtables over the
rice. And I eat.

With tears streaming down my face, with all my senses exploding with the
firey heat of the chili and the amazing sweetness of the coconut milk and
the taste of the chinese roasted duck, The divine talked to me that
afternoon. I saw the face of god in a plate of thai red-curry duck and I
knew that this white boy from Montana had just been born-again and as God as
my witness, I'd never eat Chinese again!

<grin>

As I sat there in the booth, people started walking by and looking-in to
this restaurant where the only customer was weeping, wiping his brow and
eating like a glutton. I pointed at my plate and mouthed 'It's very, very
good." and then people started walking-in. Shortly the place was full and
the waitress looked frazzled but grateful. I came back the next week and
there were three waitresses and two cooks in the kitchen. And the old guy
in the sleveless tee-shirt grinned his toothless grin when he saw me and
waved.

True Story 3): I'm shopping in my favorite Oriental market in Portland, OR.
All the produce is market in oriental characters so I don't have a clue to
what the hell I'm buying. I pick-up this huge bag of green 'stuff' - it's
got thick stalks and wide, thick leaves. I go to the check-out counter. I
hold-up the bag of leafy greens to the clerk.

"Is this spinach?"
"Not spinach."
"What is it?"
"NOT SPINACH!"

I take my huge sack of 'not spinach' home with me. I eat not spinach raw in
a salad. I eat not spinach braised in a stir-fry with chicken. I eat not
spinach in a soup with noodles. I eat all the not-spinach, ever stalk, ever
flat, bitterish leaf. And to this day I don't know what it was I ate.
Except that is was NOT spinach.

<grin>

And people wonder why'd I risk eating an mushroom I found growing in my lawn
and that I identifed with a key.

--
MJB

Mr. Tin's Miniature Painting Workshop:
http://web.newsguy.com/Mrtinsworkshop/

"Chatty Cathy" > wrote in message
...
> Been thinking about picky eaters again....
>
> I have two children (many years apart). DS was the first-born - and when
> he was a "toddler" we had little or no access to seafood or shellfish,
> with the result that he never had much of either. To this day, he dislikes
> anything remotely "fishy". He will eat almost anything else, tho'. OTOH,
> our younger one (3 y/o) has been exposed to many kinds of food, including
> seafood/shellfish and she seems to like it all.
>
> I have noticed it with a quite a few of my friends - both with them and
> their children as well - they seem to like what they grew up with and are
> not all that keen to try anything that could be termed "strange food".
>
> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
> say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really develop
> a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to try
> something "new" when they are adults?
> --
> Cheers
> Chatty Cathy - just curious about other people's experiences.

I grew up in a family where mom or dad would make the same meals on a
certain day of the week, week after week. None of it seafood either. It
did effect me until I was in my early 20's, but I got over it slowly. Now
I am always the first to try something new, and I will eat just about
anything other than fast food junk. I will go out of my way to try new
things, and always pick something I have never had when eating out. I love
to cook at home and either create something new or make dishes from around
the world. No ingrediant is too strange.

My sister, who is 1 year older than I, never grew our of our childhood food
habbits and has a very narrow range of food she likes.

"Steve Wertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 22 May 2007 18:20:07 +0200, Chatty Cathy wrote:
>
>> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
>> say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
>> develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
>> try something "new" when they are adults?
>
> I was exposed to very few types/styles of food as a kid. Today,
> there are very few things I won't eat.
>
> I even ate my first serving of cottage cheese (full fat, large
> curd) just this last Sunday. It always scared me as a kid.

I don't know many people who eat it out of the container like I do :-)
Sometimes I add a dash of black pepper. Yummy stuff!

I have perhaps a different take on this.

For reasons I won't bother going into, my food childhood was one of "let
him eat what he wants" and I then had the money and freedom to choose
what I ate. The result is that now I am amazingly picky as to what I
eat. I will try new things/new ways of cooking, but only when I choose to.

Moral of my tale is to persuade kids to try stuff using foul means or
fair but without going too far, I still will not eat Tongue or Tinned
tomatoes (served on their own) basically because of memories of aunts
that were well meaning but far too strict

Steve




Chatty Cathy wrote:
> Been thinking about picky eaters again....
>
> I have two children (many years apart). DS was the first-born - and when
> he was a "toddler" we had little or no access to seafood or shellfish,
> with the result that he never had much of either. To this day, he
> dislikes anything remotely "fishy". He will eat almost anything else,
> tho'. OTOH, our younger one (3 y/o) has been exposed to many kinds of
> food, including seafood/shellfish and she seems to like it all.
>
> I have noticed it with a quite a few of my friends - both with them and
> their children as well - they seem to like what they grew up with and
> are not all that keen to try anything that could be termed "strange food".
>
> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
> say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
> develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
> try something "new" when they are adults?

Dave Smith wrote:
So in one
> family we run the gamut, from those who will try just about anything to
> those whose weekly food consumption could be limited to 5 different items.


I've wondered if there could be something physical or genetic involved.
I was a picky kid. I didn't want to be a picky kid. I suffered a
fair amount of anxiety over watching socially adept classmates enjoy
foods that the thought of eating made me gag. My parents did everything
short of child abuse to make me try ordinary foods (cheese, vegetables).
I wanted to please them and was a good kid in most other
ways, but I couldn't bring myself to put foods in my mouth, chew and
swallow them.


I can think of ways my parents should have handled the power struggle
with me differently, but I can't think of why I was such a picky kid
when my brother wasn't. I started growing out of the pickiness when I
was in my late teens.


My niece is 14 now and very like I was at that age as regards food. Her
brother is like my brother in that he's open to eating a larger number
of foods. It would sort of make sense if I were a major influence in my
niece's life, but I haven't been. I'm the sort of relative who visits
and brings presents, but I haven't been feeding the kids. There's no
reason for her to know that I was picky.


Which makes me wonder if we both inherited the picky gene.


--Lia

Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
> Dave Smith wrote:
> So in one
> > family we run the gamut, from those who will try just about anything to
> > those whose weekly food consumption could be limited to 5 different items.
>
> I've wondered if there could be something physical or genetic involved.
> I was a picky kid. I didn't want to be a picky kid. I suffered a
> fair amount of anxiety over watching socially adept classmates enjoy
> foods that the thought of eating made me gag. My parents did everything
> short of child abuse to make me try ordinary foods (cheese, vegetables).
> I wanted to please them and was a good kid in most other
> ways, but I couldn't bring myself to put foods in my mouth, chew and
> swallow them.
>
> I can think of ways my parents should have handled the power struggle
> with me differently, but I can't think of why I was such a picky kid
> when my brother wasn't. I started growing out of the pickiness when I
> was in my late teens.
>
> My niece is 14 now and very like I was at that age as regards food. Her
> brother is like my brother in that he's open to eating a larger number
> of foods. It would sort of make sense if I were a major influence in my
> niece's life, but I haven't been. I'm the sort of relative who visits
> and brings presents, but I haven't been feeding the kids. There's no
> reason for her to know that I was picky.
>
> Which makes me wonder if we both inherited the picky gene.
>
> --Lia

There's definitely some truth to this, and picky eaters (I'm one!!!) are
somewhat scientifically vindicated (finally!!!!!!). Just do an internet
search - use search engine of choice - for the terms "super tasters" and
see what comes up. Some folks really are physically very sensative to
particular components of some foods. Of course this 'tack' does not
take into consideration any 'emotional' barriers to eating some foods.

Sky

Julia Altshuler wrote:

<snippety>
>
>
> Which makes me wonder if we both inherited the picky gene.

You may have a valid point there. My daughter will eat foods that I
don't like, but DH does, and vice versa. However, her maternal
grandfather is a big "foodie" - I cannot think of anything offhand that
he won't cook or that he dislikes (not even cabbage!) - so she may have
gotten some of those genes from him too.
--
Cheers
Chatty Cathy

Skyhooks wrote:

>
> There's definitely some truth to this, and picky eaters (I'm one!!!) are
> somewhat scientifically vindicated (finally!!!!!!). Just do an internet
> search - use search engine of choice - for the terms "super tasters" and
> see what comes up. Some folks really are physically very sensative to
> particular components of some foods. Of course this 'tack' does not
> take into consideration any 'emotional' barriers to eating some foods.

That is an interesting theory, but there are lots of theories around and
not all of them are valid. I would be more inclined to believe it if picky
eaters would actually try things, but most picky eaters will not even give
new things a taste to see if they like it, and so many of them can't even
tell you what it is about something that they don't like. Our tastes change
as we develop. A lot of young kids like tart and bitter things like dill
pickles and beer until they are 2-3 and then they reject those things.
Later on they start to like them again.

Some of the picky eaters I have known have strange reactions to foods. One
woman I worked with did not like any kind of sauces or gravy. A few months
ago I mentioned a co-worker who was really upset with his wife because she
served him mushrooms. He was going back for his fourth helping of Beef
Stroganoff before his son told him there were mushrooms in it, and he
freaked out that she would dare to give him mushrooms when she knows he
hates them. Obviously, he didn't hate them. He just thought he did. Then
there was the neighbour's kid who liked only hot dogs with salt and pepper
and Kentucky fried chicken, or my nephew who won't eat anything red.

Chatty Cathy wrote:
> Been thinking about picky eaters again....
>
> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain
> foods, say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never
> really
> develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them
> to try something "new" when they are adults?

I don't really know. I was exposed to all sorts of things when I was a kid.
I was snacking on artichoke leaves dipped in lemon/butter by the time I was
8 or 9. Seafood, you betcha. Cabbage and all manner of green veggies
(broccoli, asparagus, etc.) Corn on the cob. Squashes, summer and winter.

But I didn't develop a taste for certain things (peas, for example) until I
was an adult. The first time I tasted fresh peas I was out at a restaurant
with a friend who was buying dinner; green peas came with the meal. Rather
than be rude I took a bite. And was *astonished!* Wow! These are good! I
now routinely buy peas, fresh & frozen. Mom always bought the yukky mushy
canned ones.

I don't like carrots, though. They are too sweet for my taste but I add
them to pot roast, stews and pot pies. I eat around them. My lovebird,
Peaches, adores carrots I still can't stand raw vegetables. It's mostly
a texture thing.

Jill

jmcquown wrote:
>
> C
> I don't really know. I was exposed to all sorts of things when I was a kid.
> I was snacking on artichoke leaves dipped in lemon/butter by the time I was
> 8 or 9. Seafood, you betcha. Cabbage and all manner of green veggies
> (broccoli, asparagus, etc.) Corn on the cob. Squashes, summer and winter.
>
> But I didn't develop a taste for certain things (peas, for example) until I
> was an adult. The first time I tasted fresh peas I was out at a restaurant
> with a friend who was buying dinner; green peas came with the meal. Rather
> than be rude I took a bite. And was *astonished!* Wow! These are good! I
> now routinely buy peas, fresh & frozen. Mom always bought the yukky mushy
> canned ones.

We were expected to at least try whatever was served. Two of my brothers
took a stand on the issue of peas. I never did understand what there was to
dislike about peas. I always liked them. I even like canned peas, which I
think taste more like fresh peas than the frozen peas do.


> I don't like carrots, though. They are too sweet for my taste but I add
> them to pot roast, stews and pot pies. I eat around them. My lovebird,
> Peaches, adores carrots I still can't stand raw vegetables. It's mostly
> a texture thing.

I will eat limited amounts of boiled carrots but I am not crazy about them.
I prefer to eat them raw or roasted. I agree that they tend to be too sweet
for me. Oddly, roasting seems to bring out the sweetness, but they are
still good.

> And people wonder why'd I risk eating an mushroom I found growing in my lawn
> and that I identifed with a key.


I love the stories and thank you for them, but I'm not sure they're
related to cooking up mushrooms you found in your backyard. I mean,
there was every possibility you might not have liked either Syrian, Thai
or not-spinach food, but you weren't really risking that the cuisines
might be deadly, were you?


Decisions of this type are a matter of weighing cost, risk and benefit
for ourselves. For me, the possibility of enjoying a tasty and cheap
mushroom doesn't outweigh the risk of having it kill me. I'm fully
aware that I take other deadly risks daily, but they have more benefits
for me.


Which brings me to the unknown: How great a possibility is it that a
backyard mushroom is deadly? Leave benefit out of it for a moment.
Anyone know? Are we talking struck by lightening chances? Plane crash
chances? Car wreck chances? How common are deadly poisonous mushrooms?


--Lia

On May 22, 10:43 am, Skyhooks > wrote:

>
> OK, some foods are not meant to be eaten
> like well-done steaks and other burnt and ruined foods.

Margarine.
>
> Sky

--Bryan

On May 22, 12:55 pm, "MJB" > wrote:
> "Chatty Cathy" > wrote in message
> Okay, I'll bite.
>
> True story 1): I'm walking down the street in Portland, OR, about six
> months after after Sept, 11th.

Those are all great stories, MJB. Here's one of mine, from late '80s.

I was walking around my neighborhood in the Greenwood district of
Seattle and saw a new restaurant (actually an eatery, my favorite kind
of place) that described itself as an Indian-Pakistani place.

I went in and asked where they were from, and they said they were from
Pakistan, but no one here knows about that. I said I did because I had
worked there in the '60s. So they invited me in and I asked for
several of my old favorite dishes, in Urdu.

They weren't very busy just then, so the two owners and I had a great
time talking about their home place and where I had been in their
country. Turned out, I had been more places in Pakistan then either of
them had been.

Early in my meal, one of the partners went back to the kitchen and
brought out a hot plate so my food could stay warm while we talked.

One of my great memories.

David

"Chatty Cathy" > wrote in message
...
> Been thinking about picky eaters again....
>
> I have two children (many years apart). DS was the first-born - and when
> he was a "toddler" we had little or no access to seafood or shellfish,
> with the result that he never had much of either. To this day, he
> dislikes anything remotely "fishy". He will eat almost anything else,
> tho'. OTOH, our younger one (3 y/o) has been exposed to many kinds of
> food, including seafood/shellfish and she seems to like it all.
>
> I have noticed it with a quite a few of my friends - both with them and
> their children as well - they seem to like what they grew up with and
> are not all that keen to try anything that could be termed "strange food".
>
> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
> say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
> develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
> try something "new" when they are adults?


I was raised from 2-6 on very basic, old fashioned food. Nothing bad, just
nothing fancy. I became a really picky eater until I was about 12 and then
my taste buds began to really want to explore foods. I found I had an
intense love of chilies, spices and complex sauces. The trouble was my
parents just cooked for themselves and they really didn't have much interest
in food. I was the only foodie in the house.

Food is a peculiar thing. Those that love it, seem to love being alive. I
know the fragrances from a meal cooking just make me feel so incredibly
good. I adore the taste of food and I eagerly try new cuisines. Those that
just eat to fill a void and a basic need, always seem to be pretty dreary,
boring and uninteresting people.

It's a personality thing.

Paul

My youngest son is very picky, but my oldest son will eat anything. We
were in the dining room on a cruise ship, and he ordered Gravlax as an
appetizer. He liked it. He will eat anything.

Becca

Chatty Cathy > wrote in
:

> Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to
> certain foods, say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that
> they will never really develop a taste for it, or that it
> will "take some doing" to get them to try something "new"
> when they are adults?

nope. there are lots of foods i eat now that i wasn't exposed
to as a child, either because one of my parents didn't like it
so it was never served or because it wasn't affordable or even
available (grocery stores in the late 50s were different).
OTOH, there are foods my now almost 7 year old would snarf
down like he was starving when he was 2-3 that he won't touch
now for anything. tastes change, & some people (kids or
adults) just are picky no matter what you do.
lee

Julia Altshuler > wrote in
:

> Which brings me to the unknown: How great a possibility is
> it that a backyard mushroom is deadly? Leave benefit out
> of it for a moment. Anyone know? Are we talking struck by
> lightening chances? Plane crash chances? Car wreck
> chances? How common are deadly poisonous mushrooms?

deadly? not so much really (but it only takes a very small
bit of those kind). make you *wish* you were dead? pretty good
chances.
i have a friend who is a mushroom expert. he's the one the
state has on-call to identify what the poor schmuck in the
Emergency Room just ate, so the poor schmuck can (hopefully)
stop vomitting his guts out or start breathing or whatever &
go home not in a box... if my friend tells me a mushroom in my
yard/woods is ok to eat, i'll eat it. if he's not around, i'll
just buy the ones in the store, thanks (except morels. no
other mushroom around here looks remotely like a morel)
lee

On Tue, 22 May 2007 18:20:07 +0200, Chatty Cathy
> wrote:

>Anybody else think that if children are not "exposed" to certain foods,
>say between the ages of 2 and 6 y/o, that they will never really
>develop a taste for it, or that it will "take some doing" to get them to
>try something "new" when they are adults?

I know my ex-DIL trained my grandson as a baby to be a picky eater.
You know those faces that babies make when they taste something new?
Every time she saw it, she would stop feeding him whatever it was.
It's taken a long time to turn that kid around (son has full custody).
He's still pretty picky, but what he likes is amazing. Take him for
sushi at a "boat place" and he's not only taking, but eating all sorts
of things. He's learning to eat vegetables (edamame beans were one of
his first "green" things), but he's not much of a meat eater.

--
See return address to reply by email

On 22 May 2007 15:03:23 -0700, Food Snob > wrote:

>On May 22, 10:43 am, Skyhooks > wrote:
>
>>
>> OK, some foods are not meant to be eaten
>> like well-done steaks and other burnt and ruined foods.
>
>Margarine.
>>
>> Sky
>
>--Bryan

You're getting into small and personal likes and dislikes. This is
about global dislikes, not one specific food. Sky is VERY picky.

--
See return address to reply by email

We have been having our son try things at least once. We've noticed
that the more he is around other kids the more resistant he is to even
try something, saying it is gross or yucky before he has even tasted it.

But we still do insist on just a bite. He can even spit it out if he
needs to. Then we leave it. Sometimes he will eat more, sometimes not.

We don't want a picky eater so we do try to offer him different things
and take him to different places. He seems to be able to eat something
most anywhere we go.

--
Caryn
Caryn Nadelberg - Mommy to Sam and Queen of the May
www.carynen.blogspot.com

Caryn Nadelberg wrote:
>
> We have been having our son try things at least once. We've noticed
> that the more he is around other kids the more resistant he is to even
> try something, saying it is gross or yucky before he has even tasted it.
>
> But we still do insist on just a bite. He can even spit it out if he
> needs to. Then we leave it. Sometimes he will eat more, sometimes not.
>
> We don't want a picky eater so we do try to offer him different things
> and take him to different places. He seems to be able to eat something
> most anywhere we go.
>
> --
> Caryn
> Caryn Nadelberg - Mommy to Sam and Queen of the May
> www.carynen.blogspot.com

I was the same way with my son -- he had to give things an "honest
taste" before he could say he didn't want to eat something new. Now I'm
very proud to say that there are no foods he will not eat. I never
forced him to eat foods he obviously disliked, unlike my own parents!

Oh, how I wish my folks were as enlightened as you when I was a kid! I
cannot begin to count the many times as a child when I had to remain at
the dinner table until bedtime because I adamantly refused to eat the
(read various expletives here!) canned peas and other cooked green
veggies that I was served. My parents knew very well I wouldn't eat
those particular foods, yet they continued with the power struggles and
control issues all the same. More than likely the emotional scars from
those "battles" kept/keep me from trying some foods I otherwise might
try had the circumstances been different.

As it is, I still maintain that there are some people who cannot
tolerate the smell and taste of some particular foods, regardless of how
they're prepared or if they're disguised as an ingredient with other
foods. For instance, I dislike bell peppers no matter how they're
prepared, alone or with other foods. If bell peppers are used in any
recipe, then that's all I taste because the flavor (to me) so overpowers
anything else included.

Sky, who knows the "milage will vary" with this issue

Caryn Nadelberg wrote:
> We have been having our son try things at least once. We've noticed
> that the more he is around other kids the more resistant he is to even
> try something, saying it is gross or yucky before he has even tasted it.


This is interesting. Would you say your son's peer group was more picky
than he is so he's picking up the trait from them? I would have guessed
it worked in reverse, that your son would see his peers eating odd foods
and would try them because the other kids were.


When I was in my young picky years, my parents would tell me that some
day I'd be hungry and I'd see other people taking all the food and I'd
get over my pickiness at that moment as I joined the fray to get
something to eat. (Their scenario often involved wars or famines where
I'd be the first to die because I was too picky to eat available food.)


--Lia

Steve Wertz wrote:
>
>
> I was exposed to very few types/styles of food as a kid. Today,
> there are very few things I won't eat.
>
> I even ate my first serving of cottage cheese (full fat, large
> curd) just this last Sunday. It always scared me as a kid.

We often had cottage cheese fruit salads as summer time dinners. Mom would
lay a dollop of cottage cheese on a lettuce leaf, and serve it with some
variation of fruits, pickles, egg, tuna or salmon salad, maybe devilled
eggs, radishes, carrot sticks. I never disliked cottage cheese, just didn't
see much to like about it, though it was quite edible with piece canned
peach or pear.

I remember when I stopped eating, I was two years old.

I had to have eye surgery and while recuperating in the hospital I had to
wear eye patches.

Since I couldn't see what I was eating, I just stopped eating. Not for just
a few weeks but for the next 20 years.

One night in bed at the hospital I woke up and remember my Mom's hand
didn't reach out when I called her and I panicked. I tore off the eye
patches, slid out of the bed and walked down an empty hallway to a giant
round waiting room with chairs around the circumference. There was Mom with
my aunt and uncle. I couldn't hear myself crying but I knew I was. I
started walking towards them and they rushed up and saved me. And that's
the last I remember about being two years old.

It's not everyday you feel helpless and abandoned like I did. It really
scared the heck out of me at that time. So Mom never forgave herself for
not being there 24 hours a day at my side as I lay in temporary darkness
for those few days.

I kept to my guns and stopped eating.

Before the surgery I ate everything, so I was told many many years later.
TOUGH! I'm not eating anymore!

So, what did I eat for the next 20 years?

Bread and butter
Chicken and turkey white meat
Rice
Veal cutlets
Steak
Potatoes
Spaghetti in butter.
Cereal
Milk
Cookies
Bread and butter with chicken roll slices
Plain hamburgers, no condiments, no cheese
Lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, artichokes, corn, apples
Pancakes with butter and syrup
Ice cream
Split pea soup (? Never figured that out ?)

No... eggs, cheese, ketchup, mustard, onions, beans, pork, fish ('cept fish
sticks), tomato, mayonnaise, mushrooms, broccoli, asparagus and hundreds of
other foods.

My folks took me to the doctor and said "he only eats bread and butter and
milk. Doc said, "he seems to be getting enough protein, etc., let him be."

At 6'3", I'm the tallest of all the family generations!

College was easy since with a cafeteria meal card I could have whatever
crap I wanted 3 times a day and still have some variety with my milk. Even
chocolate milk!

I was never overweight, rather a string-bean!

After college, I was on my own. Got my first apartment. Couldn't cook much
and continued to eat crap.

I got to know the neighbors in the building and one day a couple living
right above my apartment invited me up for a small Sunday breakfast and I
accepted. They called me Sunday morning to come up. So I walked in and sat
down to a breakfast of homemade pumpernickel bagels and cream cheese.

Well... I was trapped! I had to try it, not wanting to insult their
generosity. So, I took a bite and began chewing and all of a sudden part of
my brain sprang to life and I could taste a flavor I'd remembered prior to
my eye surgery. I didn't say a word, just gobbled them down. The whole time
thinking to myself this is a miracle!!!

It was a pretty friggin' remarkable occasion and I remember it like it was
yesterday.

A week later they invited me up for dinner and I again accepted. This time
I walked in and sat down to spaghetti in homemade marinara sauce and
parmesan cheese (YUCKKK!!!). I bit the bullet again and spun some on a fork
and ate it. When it hit my tongue, I lit up!!! There was no mistake!
Silently, "I've had this before and I remember loving it. And wow does it
taste delicious!!!" I finished it with great haste and had a second
serving.

Very soon after, I began trying other things. My first scrambled egg was a
hurdle, as was my first cheeseburger and my first tuna-fish sandwich with
mayo and on and on, confidently breaking down food walls I installed at 2
years old. Every taste rang a "delicious" bell!

I remember visiting the family soon after and my interest in eating
everything for dinner came as quite a shock to everyone except me! I wonder
if Mom didn't secretly weep tears of joy later that night.

Nowadays, everything but lima beans is fine. There are still plenty of
foods I have yet to try, but I'm happy with my progress over the past 27
years since a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese changed my food life
around.

Andy

"Andy" <q> wrote

> Nowadays, everything but lima beans is fine. There are still plenty of
> foods I have yet to try, but I'm happy with my progress over the past 27
> years since a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese changed my food life
> around.

That's quite a story, Andy, thanks for sharing.

nancy

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Skyhooks wrote:
>
snip

> .....or my nephew who won't eat anything red.



My father, God rest his soul, knew some 'interesting' people. One such
person took my father on a bender with some 'homebrew'. Finest kind made in
the bathtub. Father dear got deathly ill....swore until the day he died it
was because he drank it out of a green bottle. Would eat or drink nothing
from that day on that originated in a green bottle.
-ginny

Andy wrote:
> I remember when I stopped eating, I was two years old.
>
> I had to have eye surgery and while recuperating in the hospital I
> had to wear eye patches.
>
> Since I couldn't see what I was eating, I just stopped eating. Not
> for just a few weeks but for the next 20 years.
>
> One night in bed at the hospital I woke up and remember my Mom's hand
> didn't reach out when I called her and I panicked. I tore off the eye
> patches, slid out of the bed and walked down an empty hallway to a
> giant round waiting room with chairs around the circumference. There
> was Mom with my aunt and uncle. I couldn't hear myself crying but I
> knew I was. I started walking towards them and they rushed up and
> saved me. And that's the last I remember about being two years old.
>
> It's not everyday you feel helpless and abandoned like I did. It
> really scared the heck out of me at that time. So Mom never forgave
> herself for not being there 24 hours a day at my side as I lay in
> temporary darkness for those few days.
>
> I kept to my guns and stopped eating.

(snip)

> I got to know the neighbors in the building and one day a couple
> living right above my apartment invited me up for a small Sunday
> breakfast and I accepted. They called me Sunday morning to come up.
> So I walked in and sat down to a breakfast of homemade pumpernickel
> bagels and cream cheese.
>
> Well... I was trapped! I had to try it, not wanting to insult their
> generosity. So, I took a bite and began chewing and all of a sudden
> part of my brain sprang to life and I could taste a flavor I'd
> remembered prior to my eye surgery. I didn't say a word, just gobbled
> them down. The whole time thinking to myself this is a miracle!!!
>
> It was a pretty friggin' remarkable occasion and I remember it like
> it was yesterday.
>
> A week later they invited me up for dinner and I again accepted. This
> time I walked in and sat down to spaghetti in homemade marinara sauce
> and parmesan cheese (YUCKKK!!!). I bit the bullet again and spun some
> on a fork and ate it. When it hit my tongue, I lit up!!! There was no
> mistake! Silently, "I've had this before and I remember loving it.
> And wow does it taste delicious!!!" I finished it with great haste
> and had a second serving.
>
> Very soon after, I began trying other things. My first scrambled egg
> was a hurdle, as was my first cheeseburger and my first tuna-fish
> sandwich with mayo and on and on, confidently breaking down food
> walls I installed at 2 years old. Every taste rang a "delicious" bell!
>
> I remember visiting the family soon after and my interest in eating
> everything for dinner came as quite a shock to everyone except me! I
> wonder if Mom didn't secretly weep tears of joy later that night.
>
> Nowadays, everything but lima beans is fine. There are still plenty of
> foods I have yet to try, but I'm happy with my progress over the past
> 27 years since a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese changed my food
> life around.
>
> Andy

Great story, Andy, because I kind of suffer from the same problem you used
to. I started to get anorexia back when I was about 13 because that's when
I developed colitis. Food to me = severe stomach pain followed by a trip to
the bathroom. I thought to myself, "Why go through that? Why eat at all,
if food makes me sick?" I'm 5 feet 7 inches tall and at my lowest I weighed
114 pounds due to the affliction. I started lifting weights and my appetite
finally kicked in, but food still made me ill. I just knew I had to eat in
order to be a body builder and so I dealt with the frequency and
inconvenience of the colitis pain. Eventually, 10 to 15 years later when I
stopped lifting so regementally, I ended up being about 30 pounds
overweight.

For the past 4 years, I've been back on the food repulsion thing again. I
eat one bite and end up at the toilet. I love talking about food, I love
the idea of food, I love cooking food, I love collecting recipes, but when
it's all said and done, I don't want to eat what I made or what anyone else
makes. I'll make a meal for myself, take a bite or two and put it away. We
go to a restaurant, I'll take a bite or two, wrap the rest up, and I
eventually throw it out. It's such a waste. I'll easily go up to 3 to 4
days without eating anything but a mint or something. Since I've been sick,
it's gotten way worse, too. I feel the food in my mouth and I get nausea.
I can be *so* hungry, too, but food in front of me turns me off.

So, yes, I can appreciate your story, completely. My husband, OTOH, is an
absolute glutton and won't stop eating until you quit putting food in front
of him. (Not putting food in front of him doesn't work well in a
buffet-style restaurant, though. <g>) He's got to totally monitor his
weight and food intake in order to prevent him from becoming "The Fat Man"
again. For me, I think my adversion to eating is partly due to anxiety and
obviously I'm still battling the anorexia that I thought I had conquered way
back in my mid 20's.

In any case, if I *am* hungry, I don't berate myself if the only thing that
appeals to me is a heavenly, sweet, caloric piece of baklava, because that
might be the only thing I'll eat for the next few days. :~)

kili

Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
>
>
> My father, God rest his soul, knew some 'interesting' people. One such
> person took my father on a bender with some 'homebrew'. Finest kind made in
> the bathtub. Father dear got deathly ill....swore until the day he died it
> was because he drank it out of a green bottle. Would eat or drink nothing
> from that day on that originated in a green bottle.

:-)

Lots of people won't drink certain liquors because it was the first thing
they ever got so drunk on that they puked their guts out, but they usually
blame the booze, not the colour of the bottle it came in.

Julia Altshuler wrote:
>
> This is interesting. Would you say your son's peer group was more picky
> than he is so he's picking up the trait from them? I would have guessed
> it worked in reverse, that your son would see his peers eating odd foods
> and would try them because the other kids were.
>
>
> When I was in my young picky years, my parents would tell me that some
> day I'd be hungry and I'd see other people taking all the food and I'd
> get over my pickiness at that moment as I joined the fray to get
> something to eat. (Their scenario often involved wars or famines where
> I'd be the first to die because I was too picky to eat available food.)
>
>
> --Lia
>
I think he does have some peers that are more picky than he is and he is
picking up on that. Sometimes I think it's just the words that he is
picking up. His peers are probably not eating odd foods in front of him
is my guess for the most part, except at the caregiver's house. He is
still in pre-school, so snacks there are the same for all.

He did surprise me the other week when we went on a field trip to the
market and they offered up some steamed shrimp to sample. Very few kids
took some, but my son did and ate it happily. I was impressed with him.
He didn't even eat the tail, but found the sample lady and put it back
in her hand.

I think having the food out there on the table and our eating it and
saying how good it is might entice him more. Sometimes it does,
sometimes not. But he does try things.

--
Caryn
Caryn Nadelberg - Mommy to Sam and Queen of the May
www.carynen.blogspot.com

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
> Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
> >
> >
> > My father, God rest his soul, knew some 'interesting' people. One such
> > person took my father on a bender with some 'homebrew'. Finest kind
made in
> > the bathtub. Father dear got deathly ill....swore until the day he died
it
> > was because he drank it out of a green bottle. Would eat or drink
nothing
> > from that day on that originated in a green bottle.
>
> :-)
>
> Lots of people won't drink certain liquors because it was the first thing
> they ever got so drunk on that they puked their guts out, but they usually
> blame the booze, not the colour of the bottle it came in.

I resemble that remark. Wild Turkey got me and now I can't drink any liquor
with an amber color.......with Tequila being the only exception, but drop a
Whiskey, Scotch, Dark Rum in front of me and I'll start gagging.
KW

"Dave Smith" > wrote in message
...
>
> I never did understand what there was to
> dislike about peas. I always liked them. I even like canned peas, which I
> think taste more like fresh peas than the frozen peas do.

I've always liked peas, too (of course, I've always liked veggies--excluding
lima beans and turnips) and also don't understand why some people don't like
'em. My 8-month-old twin daughters love everything they've tried so far--all
sorts of fruits, veggies, meats, and grains--except peas. Not sure why, as
peas are sweet (and babies tend to prefer sweeter tastes). They'll scarf up
green beans, even. But offer them peas, and they'll just sit there shaking
their heads and refuse to open their mouths. They're very good eaters,
though, so I really can't complain.

Mary

On 2007-05-23, KW <keith_warrennospamatallteldotnet> wrote:

> Whiskey, Scotch, Dark Rum in front of me and I'll start gagging.

The same happened to me with gin. Took me 40 yrs before I could even
smell the stuff without wincing. Of course, I had the same reaction
to buttermilk. But, all these years later, I can enjoy both, now.

nb

Nancy Young said...

>
> "Andy" <q> wrote
>
>> Nowadays, everything but lima beans is fine. There are still plenty of
>> foods I have yet to try, but I'm happy with my progress over the past 27
>> years since a pumpernickel bagel with cream cheese changed my food life
>> around.
>
> That's quite a story, Andy, thanks for sharing.
>
> nancy


You're welcome.

Andy

On Wed, 23 May 2007 10:39:58 -0400, Dave Smith
> wrote:

>Virginia Tadrzynski wrote:
>>
>>
>> My father, God rest his soul, knew some 'interesting' people. One such
>> person took my father on a bender with some 'homebrew'. Finest kind made in
>> the bathtub. Father dear got deathly ill....swore until the day he died it
>> was because he drank it out of a green bottle. Would eat or drink nothing
>> from that day on that originated in a green bottle.
>
>:-)
>
>Lots of people won't drink certain liquors because it was the first thing
>they ever got so drunk on that they puked their guts out, but they usually
>blame the booze, not the colour of the bottle it came in.

this is known as a learned food aversion. people have that mechanism,
but not as strongly as, say, rats. i suppose you could call an
aversion to the bottle color stimulus generalization.

(my bête noire is scotch, due to an unfortunate experience as a
college freshman, generalized to a certain extent to bourbon and rum.
oddly, i've puked many times drinking beer, but the aversion never
kicked in, thank god.)

your pal,
ivan