What food did you formerly despise but now love?

[Gingersnap]

What changed? You? The recipe? The environment where you ate the food? Peer pressure?

This can also be drinks (milk, liquors, etc.) or flavors (cherry flavor, licorice, cumin, etc.). Say what the food/flavor is and when you realized you really liked it. Tell us why you think it changed for you.

[scott]

Black beans and rice. I hated them growing up, tolerated them 20 years ago and have developed quite a fondness for them recently. I like them simple, too. Pour the can of Goya beans in a pot, sprinkle oregano on them, mix, boil, eat. I also like them as leftovers because they add moisture to dried out rice.

Arugula. Seriously, it's my favorite salad base. It's best with a strawberry vinaigrette, chopped walnuts, and dried strawberries or cranberries.

Raw spinach. I still can't stand the stringy cooked stuff, but I love it raw in a salad. That's a recent taste change too.

Tequila. Maybe it's just because I never had good tequila before because I still hate Jose Cuervo, Sauza, El Torro, etc. But I absolutely love the various Patron higher end flavors, and the absolute best tequila on the planet, Leyva.

Liver. Maybe it's because Mom always cooked it, tasted it, then cooked it again to make sure it was well done and then the phone rang, someone came to the door, oh the vegetables, ok, it's time to eat let me pull the liver out of the oven. I had a properly prepared slab of liver at a restaurant a couple of years ago and it tasted quite good.

[Gramps]

What changed? You? The recipe? The environment where you ate the food? Peer pressure?

This can also be drinks (milk, liquors, etc.) or flavors (cherry flavor, licorice, cumin, etc.). Say what the food/flavor is and when you realized you really liked it. Tell us why you think it changed for you.

Probably shrimp.

As a small kid, we were poor so our diet consisted of beans, eggs 'n potatos and on Sat, a fried chicken that fed us through Sunday. Lots of potatoes.


Early 50's, Tulsa Ok, mom, sis and I are downtown and at the cafeteria of a downtown store. For those not of my age, the large 'department' stores always had a cafeteria on one of the lower floors.

Mom orders fried shrimp.
The smell gags me. Seriously gags me.
I have eaten 'farm food', poor food, all my life and the smell of deep fried shrimp is just as foreign as it can be.

btw, no bacon with the eggs.
At least twice a week it was eggs and fried potatoes.
Meat, was reserved for the week end and was always chicken.
Shit, I can't even remember eating beef until I was 12 years old.

[phillygirl]

Oatmeal and lentil soup. I never liked either one. A couple of years ago I suddenly craved them. Now I absolutely love them. I don't know why. I still wouldn't eat lentil soup from a can, only make my own.

Lima beans are another one. Again, though, I was used to the frozen succotash my mother served. I now eat fresh lima beans and there is a world of difference.

[Adam]

Beans in general. I never really cared for beans of any type growing up, but I have developed a real fondness for most beans now, particularly a good sweet-and-VERY-sour bean salad. I'm still not much of a fan of string beans or lima beans, but I love kidneys, navy beans, and garbanzos are like candy to me now.


Since scott brought it up, I have developed an appreciation for excellent tequila. I'm still not a huge fan of it, partially because of the price and partially because it's just not a flavor I particularly crave, but the difference between a high-quality pure agave and Cuervo is like the difference between perfectly-prepared prime rib and rancid lunch meat.

[Frostbit]

My "transition" was more global palette wise. I was apparently a very picky eater as a child and now eat anything and everything regardless how foul looking, smelling, or tasting (Except Stinkheads). I think it began as a badge of courage and now I realize the flavor experience is worth the risk. The Mopani Worm Larvae in Namibia was a prime example. They were so sweet and melted in your mouth it was like cotton candy.

[Lanie]

What changed? You? The recipe? The environment where you ate the food? Peer pressure?

This can also be drinks (milk, liquors, etc.) or flavors (cherry flavor, licorice, cumin, etc.). Say what the food/flavor is and when you realized you really liked it. Tell us why you think it changed for you.

The only thing I can think of is alcohol. I'm still picky, but I'm no longer insistent on things being totally sweet anymore.

[Bob Loblaw 3.0]

Sauerkraut (with sausage). Consequently, I love Reuben sandwiches now.

Broccoli

Pancakes - my dad used to love them, so we got a lot of them, and I was sick of them. Now I have trouble staying away from IHOP's.