It's an acquired taste is a phrase that's used pretty often.
It's said about beer, coffee,
dark chocolate, vegetables, on and on.
There's a reason why our bodies develop
acquired tastes and it goes beyond our taste buds to our psychology,
evolution, and as a means of survival.
Man. It gets so much worse as you keep chewing.
To understand the concept of acquired taste,
we first need to learn how taste works.
Your tongue has four types of papillae which hold
the 2-8,000 taste buds every tongue has.
It's a wide range based on genetics which
shows how wide ranging the ability to taste can be.
More taste buds allows you to taste better.
Taste buds have what's called taste
hairs which recognize the chemicals in your food or drink,
and send signals to your brain creating the taste you experience.
A common comparison is that taste receptors are like locks,
and the chemicals are the key.
But the tongue doesn't do it alone.
We also build a taste profile from the back of the throat,
and through the nasal cavities.
Receptors in those locations are picking up chemicals in scent,
and also convert those to signals which are sent to your brain.
But what about taste? We aren't born enjoying.
We commonly referred to these as acquired.
As we age, we become less responsive in two ways.
Normally, your taste buds die and are replaced about once a week.
As you age, they still die at the same rate,
but aren't replaced as swiftly leaving you with a lower capacity to taste.
With a lessened ability to taste,
your hatred of a taste may not seem as stark.
The decline begins around age 40 for both men and women.
The same goes for our sense of smell,
it dulls as we age.
Kids have sharper senses of taste and smell,
which is again thought to be evolution preventing them from ingesting
poisons while seeking out the foods they really want, foods like candy.
Sweetness indicates sugar and high calories which kids need to fuel their growing bodies.
Taste buds adapt to repeated exposure over time.
Food scientist Harold McGee's research suggests that repeated exposure to
the same tastes causes receptors to gradually lessen their response to taste.
Essentially, if you don't use it, you lose it.
But the other factors that determine
an acquired taste have more to do with human psychology.
We also have associations with food that
affects how we perceive it the next time we eat it.
If we remember eating a carrot that's particularly crunchy,
and then the next time we have a carrot it doesn't seem as crunchy, well,
then that may affect how we perceive its taste,
as if it's gone bad or something.
There are a few ways that our bodies can adapt to make a taste we
previously hated palatable, and even enjoyable.
First off, by varying what you eat,
you'll keep your taste buds sharp.
Just like switching up your routine at the gym,
eating different foods keeps your taste buds stimulated.
You could even train your tongue to like certain foods.
One way is called flavor nutrient learning.
So let's say you hate asparagus.
First off, asparagus is great and you're a monster.
But by covering your nose,
let's assume you're able to get some down.
Which totally works to dull a flavor you don't like by the way,
because as we learned before,
smell and taste work together.
So after eating the asparagus,
you notice you feel good.
It's not surprising, asparagus is high in fiber, vitamins A, C,
K, and also helps digestion,
and can lower blood pressure.
So you're feeling good and your body takes notice.
Congratulations, you now have a positive association with asparagus,
and through flavor nutrient learning,
you now know that if you eat asparagus you're going to feel good,
and so you develop a taste for it.
Then there's flavor to taste learning.
In flavor to taste learning,
you're hiding the taste you're not used to.
So that's people who take their coffee with heaps of milk and sugar,
or an IPA beer matched with nuts or pretzels,
and tequila with a salt lick.
You're pairing sugar or sweet with a bitter so that you're not getting the full blast.
That can associate flavors you don't like with ones you do,
and then it can grow from there.
There's also social learning,
which is basically we want to eat what the people around us eat.
It's as if our bodies are thinking, "Hey,
if it's working for them, it may work for us."
There are studies that suggest that this begins as early as the womb.
These methods of acquired taste can work in reverse,
like if you have a bad experience.
What happens is if you eat something that makes you sick,
your body and mind can remember.
Meaning, you'd be less likely to enjoy it in the future.
So be careful where you get your sushi from,
you may never be in the mood for it ever again.
Although, I shouldn't have to tell you to be
careful where you're getting your sushi from.
You should just know that.
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