I have a question.

[conuly]

An unanswerable question, to be sure, but listen anyway.

I like certain foods. Other people dislike some of the foods I like, while I dislike foods that *they* like. Do the foods I dislike actually taste different to me than they do to the people who like them?

Comments

[eclectic-1.livejournal.com]

Yes and no. They have proven that some tastes vary due to genetic diversity. I remember in biology, we all tasted a substance (I forget what it was) that most people said tasted like aspirin, but about 25% of the class could not taste it at all. They've also discovered some people are super-tasters, tasting things much more acutely, while some people are at the other end of the spectrum needing a lot of something for it to make an impression.

I was reading an article recently about how taste changes as you grow. Children tend to taste bitter much more strongly than adults, which would explain why parents have a hard time getting kids to eat vegetables.

Did you know a baby under three months can not taste sour? My oldest daughter used to love sucking on plain lemons, until those taste buds developed.

On the other hand, taste can be developed. I can't even begin to list the things I used to not like that I like now. One of the weirdest ones was horseradish. I never liked horseradish, but then one day I had a craving for it. I've liked it ever since (at least in cocktail sauce form).

I've often had a similar thought about colors. Who's to say what I see when I see blue is the same thing you see when you see blue? The brain is a mysterious place.

[leora.livejournal.com]

Half my household has the genetic mutation that makes cilantro taste really horrid to them. When I am seriously dehydrated, I can drink sweetened iced tea and it won't taste horrid. As I'm drinking and hydrating, it starts to taste more and more disgusting. When I can't bear to drink the sickly sweet stuff anymore, I figure I'm sufficiently hydrated.

[conuly]

Hell, I *still* like sucking on lemons. Not that I can't taste the sour, I just happen to like the sour.