What Are the Factors That Affect Our Sense of Taste and Smell?

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around personal preferences regarding food, specifically the factors that affect individuals' sense of taste and smell. Participants share their experiences with various foods they refuse to eat and the reasons behind their aversions, touching on sensory perceptions and cultural influences.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express strong aversions to specific foods based on their taste or smell, such as white hominy corn, green lima beans, and mangos.
  • Others mention cultural or ethical reasons for not eating certain foods, like primates and cetaceans.
  • Several participants discuss their preferences for how food is presented, such as not wanting food to touch on the plate.
  • Some express a willingness to try new foods, while others have strict dislikes, such as processed foods or specific ingredients like Kaffir lime and soy sauce.
  • There are mentions of foods that some participants enjoy that others find unpalatable, such as caviar and mushrooms.
  • Participants share humorous or light-hearted comments about being picky eaters and the implications of food choices.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is no consensus on what constitutes acceptable food preferences, as participants express a wide range of individual dislikes and cultural influences. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the implications of being a picky eater.

Contextual Notes

Participants' claims are based on personal experiences and sensory perceptions, which may vary widely. The discussion reflects subjective tastes and does not establish any objective criteria for food preferences.

  • #31
gravenewworld said:
Sugar snap peas
peas
okra
acorn squash
lima beans
brussel sprouts
green beans
raw onions


AhAHha you could steam all of those and give it to me in a big plate. YUMMMM. I LOVE brussel sprouts.
 
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  • #32
Evo said:
I love thinly sliced calves liver smothered with caramelized onions and bacon.

Kosher chicken liver pate. :!)

I will (and have) eaten anything put in front of me at least once. I love snails, frogs, all types of animal innards, anything out of the water, anything that flies in the air or walks on the land. Although I have seen some things eaten on the tv shows Wildman, Survivorman, and Mark and Ollie, living with the Mek, that I would only eat as a last resort to starvation, I still say green lima beans and white hominy are among the foulest things on earth.
OK, you have redeemed yourself, if you will just renounce eggplant.
 
  • #33
I think all foods can taste good if they're put in the hands of the good cook. Though, I will not eat liver of any kind, cantaloupes, or meats from different animals cooked together. I won't eat food prepared by a person who looks unhygienic (fat lady with arteries popping out from the cafeteria, pimply teen who works at a fast food chain, etc.).
 
  • #34
I will try anything. And I will very likely LOVE it.

Bussel sprouts? Heavenly.

Lima beans? I swear, food of the GODS. I used to buy a bag of frozen lima beans at the end of finals and treat myself to a huge bowl of them!

I won't eat beets. My aunt Bernice-- she was my favorite aunt -- slapped me at a family reunion because I wouldn't eat them (my family is...odd), but it's one of my favorite memories of her! So I don't eat beets to honor (rebel against?) her.

Calves liver...the chocolate of meat.

OK, I won't eat goose liver pate...I'm sure I would love it but the cruelty to the goose is something I can't stomach :rolleyes: .
 
  • #35
lisab said:
Bussel sprouts? Heavenly.
Alien from Planet Earth.
 
  • #36
lisab said:
Calves liver...the chocolate of meat.

 
  • #37
sweet potatoes! BARF!
 
  • #38
Number2Pencil said:
sweet potatoes! BARF!

What about yams? They taste similar to me.

(I love them both!)
 
  • #39
Nope..I overate on yams when I was 4 or 5 years old...haven't touched em since! even the sight makes me nautious
 
  • #40
Our childhood experiences are so influential on how we perceive food.
 
  • #41
I really think that's true. One of my brothers was never exposed to many varieties of baby food when he was a young'un (financial troubles with my parents)...and he is definently the pickiest eater I've ever known...he'd be dead if there wasn't cheese pizza, pickles, and grilled cheese sandwiches
 
  • #42
I can't stand okra. Period.

I don't care for raw tomatoes. I can stand them in small pieces as part of a salad or chili, or as a slice in a sandwich, although I prefer to order my hamburgers, cheeseburgers, etc. without tomato if possible. When I get a large chunk of tomato in a salad, I let my wife take it. On the other hand, tomato sauce on spaghetti, pizza, etc., is fine with me. So is ketchup.
 
  • #43
lisab said:
Our childhood experiences are so influential on how we perceive food.

Probably in a complex way. During early childhood my son was an extreme picky eater. it seemed even that he was to happy to starve rather than eat. It required very inventive games to trick him into eating something. Every bite he took was a major victory. Nowadays he eats about anything.
 
  • #44
Number2Pencil said:
I really think that's true. One of my brothers was never exposed to many varieties of baby food when he was a young'un (financial troubles with my parents)...and he is definently the pickiest eater I've ever known...he'd be dead if there wasn't cheese pizza, pickles, and grilled cheese sandwiches
Man, you youngsters have it good. We never got cheese pizza-, pickle- or grilled cheese-flavoured baby food when I was young...
 
  • #45
I had some pickled okra the other day and i thought it was great. I was hungry though. Whoever said cantelope is crazy. Good cantelope is one of the best tasting of all the fruits/melons. Goose liver pate with truffles is the best waste of $50 I can think of. All that being said, I don't like bananas.
 
  • #46
:smile: I don't know why but I was scrolling down the page and saw the title as
"what fools won't you eat" ":smile:
and I was like this is a new but familiar post title and then I read it again.
 
  • #47
I ate a bug once. I don't know what kind it was. It just flew in my mouth, so I ate it. The head was kind of cruchy and tart.
 
  • #48
Huckleberry said:
I ate a bug once. I don't know what kind it was. It just flew in my mouth, so I ate it. The head was kind of cruchy and tart.
:rolleyes: Most people's reaction would be to spit it out. :biggrin:
 
  • #49
Evo said:
:rolleyes: Most people's reaction would be to spit it out. :biggrin:
I was going to do that, but there's starving children in Africa dontchaknow.
 
  • #50
The only foods I have ever had trouble eating have been crustaceans. I'm not fond of most seafood besides fish, but crustaceans I dislike a lot. I still eat those crab rangoon things that come as sides for chinese take out, but only because I hate to see anything go to waste.
 
  • #51
I don't eat fish, I have fish as pets. So to me it would be like eating my dog.
 
  • #52
I thought pets were emergency food that follows you and doesn't need to be refrigerated to be kept fresh. That's why cats are bad pets. They aren't good at being there when you need them, and they are a bit stringy.
 
  • #53
Id eat cat or dog if it were served to me at a restaurant.

I've eaten: Cow, snail, calf, pig, chicken, duck, fish, fish eggs, bird eggs, eel, lamb, frog legs. I need to add more to the list.

I want to try shark, snake, and some more types of fish. I am having a hard time thinking of new kinds of meat right now. I think you can get kangaroo meat down under. Id eat that too.
 
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  • #54
Entire cows and sometimes small children.

*edit* Damnit i thought it said what food do you eat.
 
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  • #55
I ate smoked rattlesnake. It was really, really fishy.
 
  • #56
Cyrus said:
I want to try shark,
Shark is like swordfish, IIRC, I had some years ago. I love all seafood.
 
  • #57
Cyrus said:
I've eaten: Cow, snail, calf, pig, chicken, duck, fish, fish eggs, bird eggs, eel, lamb, frog legs. I need to add more to the list.

No offense, but that list is pretty mundane. How about a trip to China, where you can eat anything from roaches to human placenta?
 
  • #58
Werg22 said:
No offense, but that list is pretty mundane. How about a trip to China, where you can eat anything from roaches to human placenta?
I wouldn't imagine those things would be too difficult to get anywhere in the world.
 
  • #59
I will eat just about anything on the planet... including dog food and tree bark, but what I can't eat is a combination of hard and soft foods.

I can eat an onion raw, and whole... but I can't eat onions sliced and diced on a burger. Same goes for pickles.

It's a texture thing. I've ran into a couple other people who were the same way too.

If my teeth are chewing into something soft and chewing then all of a sudden they hit a pickle or onion... or anything significantly harder than the majority... I feel like I'm biting into a fingernail, a bone, or in Wendy's case... a finger. I instantly gag... and can't swallow. (But give me the toe by itself, and I'd probably dip it in mayo and down it!)

I have no problem with slapping ruffles chips on a burger though either... I just can't stand the little nib let's of crunchies in my food.

Been that way since I was a wee tyke too. My mum used to make spaghetti a lot, and found out the hard way she can't put whole tomatoes in the sauce... and no onions either. I'd heave all over the floor!
 
  • #60
I'm looking forward to eating a California Condor. I've heard the taste is a cross between Northern Spotted Owl and Whooping Crane, and I want to verify for myself.