Question of the Day, Sunday December 10th

[nurseangel]

Do you think certain tastes (likes or dislikes) in food are inherited?

I do. I have never studied or even read anything about the subject. But my mom had never mentioned watermelon or licorice to me as a child and I recoiled at both the first time I tried them. And she liked licorice until she ate too much of it at the movies and it made her sick.

Watermelon is just something we instinctively hated. To this day, I puzzle over how the first person to ever try it thought one of those looked safe to eat.

 

[di and bob]

I think so, especially observing how your parents and friends react to certain food, though that is a 'learned' behavior. All I know is when I was pregnant with my first child, about a hundred yeras ago, I developed a serious 'craving' for hot and spicy food. I HAD to have it, even though it gave me heartburn at times. The problem is, IT NEVER LEFT! Here I am, so many years later, and still crave hot and spicy food. It is a serious, almost physical craving. Everything else might taste good, but so bland! I put crushed hot pepper on everything, and even grow my own to get it hotter. My husband just shakes his head and knows I will fix him something and me tacos several times a week.....

 

[Mia6]

since siblings and parents can have the same med allergies i don't see why
they can[ have the same food allergies.

 

[Winchester]

I agree with di and bob that it might be more of a learned reaction instead of an instinctual one.

When we were kids, my mom told us that we didn't like pizza. One time, we were visiting with one of her GFs and it was lunch time. The woman was going to make frozen pizza squares and I distinctly remember Mom saying, "Oh, no the kids would never eat pizza." Well, you all know the ending to that! I'm a pizza-holic! The first time I ever had pizza in my life was after I started dating Dear Richard and his mom made a Chef Boy Ar Dee pizza mix for dinner. Best. Thing. Ever. At the time. And after we got married, I made it my life's mission to enjoy pizza in all its glory. My brother and sister both eat pizza, too. And yet, my mom said that, "the kids would never eat pizza".

Ironically, one night, Mom and Dad came down for some reason and we were eating a take-out pizza. I asked them if they wanted any and, right away, Mom said, "Your father won't eat it." Only to have Dad put two large slices on a plate and take it into the living room and scarf them down.

There were other foods, too, that Mom said we wouldn't eat. And I know there were times when my parents would come down for dinner and Mom would say, "Your father won't eat that!" only to have Dad eat it and like it.

So for years, we thought we didn't like pizza. I think it was almost ingrained in us. But we never knew because we never had it.

 

[Jem]

While parents can influence their child's tastes, whether they mean to or not, I wouldn't say it's inherited from them. There are a few things that I don't like that everyone in my family do. My Dad hates a couple of things and the rest of us like them fine.
Now having said that, I do think that some food likes and dislikes can be instinctual, due to allergies or nutritional needs. When I get cravings, they are almost always tied to something lacking in my diet at the time. For example, I will always crave red meat when it's the time of the month. But I am anemic and get very tired during that time so craving something with the iron and extra protein is my body's way of giving me the nutritional boost I need. I also crave salt if I haven't hydrated well. There's a few other things too.
My husband has some questionable food aversions...and they are for sure tied directly to his mother and they are "in his head". When we first started living together, I would ask him about dinner and suggest a casserole (various ones). He would always reply that he hated casseroles. Well I eventually figured out that his mother basically over did it with one pot casserole type dishes while growing up...and always the same 2. He got sick of them and associated the word casserole with those 2 dishes. So I got sneaky and never called any of my concoctions casseroles...He will now eat "casseroles".

 

[denice]

Outside of allergies which I believe there is a genetic component to those and those genetic things like cilantro I don't think it is inherited. I think it is a matter of learned preferences. I do think the sensitivities to textures also has a genetic basis.

 

[klunick]

I agree with di and bob that it might be more of a learned reaction instead of an instinctual one.

When we were kids, my mom told us that we didn't like pizza. One time, we were visiting with one of her GFs and it was lunch time. The woman was going to make frozen pizza squares and I distinctly remember Mom saying, "Oh, no the kids would never eat pizza." Well, you all know the ending to that! I'm a pizza-holic! The first time I ever had pizza in my life was after I started dating Dear Richard and his mom made a Chef Boy Ar Dee pizza mix for dinner. Best. Thing. Ever. At the time. And after we got married, I made it my life's mission to enjoy pizza in all its glory. My brother and sister both eat pizza, too. And yet, my mom said that, "the kids would never eat pizza".

Ironically, one night, Mom and Dad came down for some reason and we were eating a take-out pizza. I asked them if they wanted any and, right away, Mom said, "Your father won't eat it." Only to have Dad put two large slices on a plate and take it into the living room and scarf them down.

There were other foods, too, that Mom said we wouldn't eat. And I know there were times when my parents would come down for dinner and Mom would say, "Your father won't eat that!" only to have Dad eat it and like it.

So for years, we thought we didn't like pizza. I think it was almost ingrained in us. But we never knew because we never had it.

I did the reverse with my kids to avoid them being picky eaters like I am. I would tell them they liked something I know they've never had, especially vegetables. I can't count the number of times we'd go out for dinner and the boys would order broccoli as their side instead of fries. Waitresses were always shocked and would say something like "Is your mom making you order that?" Boys would looked confused and tell her that they love broccoli.

 

[nurseangel]

I would have thought it was learned, too. Except my mom and I had never discussed these foods. She never gave them to me, but she didn't tell me she didn't like them until I actually tasted them somewhere else.

But the learned thing, I understand that, too.

And the feeling a need for a certain thing. I am anemic, too, though not on a consistent basis that I know of. But when I worked at a jail and would get out the prenatal vitamins for the pregnant inmates, I would smell the iron as soon as I opened the bottle. I love the taste of iron so much that I am addicted to Carnation Instant Chocolate Breakfast Drink. Of course, it had the chocolate component going for it, which never hurts.

 

[nurseangel]

Once when I lived in Italy, we wentvto someone's home who was fermenting strawberries in a barrel. I asked to taste one and didn't touch another strawberry for years. It was disgusting.

 

[di and bob]

Most kids hate onions but grow up liking them. I know my husband always said he hated onions and rice when i first met him. i ground the onion in things, he didn't know, and after he was done, I told him he ate it and enjoyed it. Rice I had to make tasty and FORCE him to take a bite. He now enjoys rice too! Sometimes you don't know why you hate a food until you have to taste it. Then you find out you like it!

 

[susanm9006]

Cilantro dislike is most certainly a genetic thing since some people‘s taste receptors get a soapy taste from it and others do not.

 

[neely]

Cilantro dislike is most certainly a genetic thing since some people‘s taste receptors get a soapy taste from it and others do not.

I don't remember if either of my parents disliked cilantro or even tried it but I find it absolutely disgusting. Neither of my parents liked overly seasoned food but I love it especially in ethnic food. However, my mom was a chocoholic and both my sister and I love it too.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Growing up my moms rule was that you had to try something and then if you didn’t like it you wouldn’t have to eat it. I like just about everything; including cilantro, which she dislikes. I dislike those jello based salads with marshmallows and cottage cheese and stuff; but everyone else loves them. She loves eggplant; I think it tastes like sweaty feet. (Not that I’ve ever tasted feet…) I don’t really recall my dad being picky about anything and we both enjoy our spicy foods now. I didn’t spend as much time with him as a kid though.

So it doesn’t seem genetic to me. But we did foster an openness to trying new things. Mom and I love trying foods from different cultures too. The area we were all born in has always had a diverse population of emigrants.

DD will eat almost anything. DS isn’t too bad but doesn’t look for much variety. DH can be like that but his family has different food philosophies so I think that affects his choices.

 

[Kat0121]

I don't think it's inherited. My mother will eat any food. She used to say that she could be blindfolded and if someone would put a plate in front of her, she'd eat whatever was on it. My father was one of the pickiest eaters on Earth. If I listed all the things he wouldn't eat, we'd be here for a week. One of the benefits of his pickiness was that we were never forced to eat anything we didn't like.

I think I fall in the middle. There are foods that I do not like and would not eat under any circumstance but am open to trying things. Some things I don't like are because they taste like other things smell. To me, fresh basil tastes like a tomato plant smells. I like the way tomato plants smell but at no point have I ever wanted to eat the vines. Fresh rosemary tastes like a pine tree smells. I love the scent of a pine tree but I've never felt the urge to eat one. I get so annoyed when there is fresh basil on a pizza. Even if it's removed, it leaves the flavor behind.

DH had food allergies. He was allergic to all nuts, shellfish and maraschino cherries. He got a reminder about why he shouldn't eat cherries after going home from the bar one night and having a few. He ended up in the ER where his mother was head nurse. She was the one who took care of him and she read him the riot act. The cherries caused his lips to swell up. DD did not inherit his allergies.

DD was a picky eater as a kid but has been more open to trying things as an adult.

 

[game misconduct]

its inherited/ influenced by the mother while pregnant i think since anything the mother eats gets fed to the unborn kid

 

[MonaLyssa33]

Genetically? No. Parental influence? Yes. My parents never served some foods and it wasn't until I was an adult that I realized I loved them.

 

[nurseangel]

I just did an online search and all sorts of related subject matter appeared. It seems there have been studies, mostly in relation to bitter food (from what I could tell). I often skim articles quickly. Whether reliable information, I have no idea. I was just shocked to find that it has been researched - something I didn't realize when I thought I had a brilliant QOD. I don't know why I was surprised, so many studies on so many subjects. I won't link anything, since this is all in fun, but it's neat to check out.

 

[denice]

I remember reading that anise (licorice) was also genetic in the same way as cilantro.

 

[aliceneko]

I definitely do. It can also have the reverse effect; as when I was a child my mother used to give me banana often since she never liked it and wanted me to like it (luckily back then I did!) though now I don’t like bananas.