Do people get set in their taste as they get older?

My FIL refuses to eat lamb or avocados, though my MIL loves them. So when I am making lamb chops and invite them over, I have to make an alternate meal for him, and I occasionally make guacamole to take to my MIL and have to listen and watch him make noises and facial expressions of disgust while she's eating it. As a result, when she buys groceries she will not buy lamb to prepare for herself and rarely buys avocados because even though she likes them, she doesn't want to deal with the feeling of disapproval she endures for eating things he doesn't.

But OTOH, if my husband liked liver (thank goodness he doesn't), he would have to likely order it when we go out to eat because I don't think I could cook it for him, it's too bloody and disgusting to look at in it's raw state and smells awful when it's cooking (my mom used to make it all the time and it stinks IMO). Now I also don't like sweet potatoes but I would not be adverse to preparing them for him if he wanted them. When I get Texas Roadhouse (casual US steak chain) takeout for us I usually will get him a sweet potato.

Edit: TastyReuben would you cook shrimp in your kitchen for MrsT?
 
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SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
You don't have to look at anyone else to be grateful for what you've got. It's just a way focus on the good bits.
The fact he can live independently is a big thing😊
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I am very proud of him. There was a time I wasn't sure how far he would go in life and was afraid he might be destined to flip burgers (not that there's anything wrong with that).

He actually isn't completely independent, however. He doesn't have any bills in his name and lives in a wing of our home that is sealed off from our side of the house. He has his own kitchen, laundry room, etc. and he pays a fixed amount to his dad that includes rent, utilities, car payment, etc. One thing that's interesting is he leaves himself notes all over the house and follow a checklist (brush his teeth, set his alarm, turn off lights and lock the door before he leaves the house (post it note by the door)...

Okay sorry for the thread divert. Back to food.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
I am very proud of him. There was a time I wasn't sure how far he would go in life and was afraid he might be destined to flip burgers (not that there's anything wrong with that).

He actually isn't completely independent, however. He doesn't have any bills in his name and lives in a wing of our home that is sealed off from our side of the house. He has his own kitchen, laundry room, etc. and he pays a fixed amount to his dad that includes rent, utilities, car payment, etc. One thing that's interesting is he leaves himself notes all over the house and follow a checklist (brush his teeth, set his alarm, turn off lights and lock the door before he leaves the house (post it note by the door)...

Okay sorry for the thread divert. Back to food.
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I think taking care of your loved ones is simply a lovely thing to do.
It must be stressful trying to leave things set up for when your numbers up?
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I dunno I think all meat is bloody and disgusting. If I am going to eat it I may as well eat the lot 🤷‍♀️
I've only encountered two things I don't like.
One was the fermented pigeon blood served at Heston Blumethals place (just NOOO 🤮) and the other is a much love veg by most people - peas!
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Not even mushy peas? Isn't that some sort of English transgression to not like peas (especially mushy ones)?

Butchering a whole animal is disgusting, and killing one would be worse. If I had to kill and butcher my own meat I would indeed be a vegetarian. For some reason, I can kill and clean a fish and think about how good that's going to taste.

I once saw a bumper sticker that said, "I love animals. They are delicious!" (or something like that). I also saw a bumper sticker once that said, "Envision whirled peas". Thought that was pretty funny as well.
 
SandwichShortOfAPicnic said:
I think taking care of your loved ones is simply a lovely thing to do.
It must be stressful trying to leave things set up for when your numbers up?
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His sisters will make sure he is taken care of. They are very protective of him and there are 3 of them, plus DH has things set up for them all financially so no worries!
 
lemme 'splain changing tastes . . .

today for "brunch" I whipped/toasted up a (Bays) English muffin, schmeared in cream cheese.
topped with sliced 'hot smoked salmon'

my suggestion . . . produced a 'yuck' response from DW.
who upon a silvered taste . . . pronounced it needed a topping of capers - and obtw - where is that Mumm's mini-bottle?

so,,,, we brunched on hot smoked salmon, muffin, capers and champagin.....

never ever, ever give up on a cuddly spouse . . . .
we did the champagin, the rest is not suitable for a family forum . . .
however, it is to note, the cork hit low orbit.
 
I've actually become more adventurous as I've got older. Given the appalling fare I was doled out as a child/adolescent, I suppose that's not surprising.
It's quite probable, too, that giving up Corporate America and venturing into the world of gastronomy helped, because you can't very well say "I'm a cook!"and then not try anything new.
I've never had a problem with anything vegetable or sweet; only with meat and fish. I expanded my fisht palate as soon as I got to Venezuela and will try fish and seafood with no qualms. Meat is another area; I just can't chew meat because the texture makes me want to throw. If I absolutely HAVE to try it, I'll move the meat around my mouth then spit it out.
 
I got more adventurous in my late teens and from then on. Daddy didn't cook. He actually nearly set fire to the kitchen boiling water, truly, but he was never an adventurous eater anyway. Mother never cooked outside her comfort zone, American country mostly. What she cooked was good, but never adventurous. My first serious boyfriend in my teens and later first husband was Cuban, a Peter Pan kid actually. He kept nagging mother and me to try "jello" rice and chicken. Mother and I both thought that sounded nasty and didn't want to try it. Well, one time when BF and I went for dinner, he talked me into trying it and I discovered it was YELLOW rice and chicken, he just couldn't pronounce it correctly. I was hooked after that on Cuban food. Several Cuban dishes are among my very favorites today. Once I was working and on my own, I'd try different things. I will never forget once when I was out with my mother and DD when she was little for dinner, and the place had escargot. I had always wanted to try it so I ordered despite the ewww look on my mother's face when I ordered and then ate every bit of it. I got some out another time when we were out to dinner with DD and ex-SIL. It was served in an escargot dish, so no shells. Tried to get SIL to try it when he asked what it was. He refused saying "no, cause you eat weird 💩"

I have a few hard nos that I'll never knowingly eat, frog legs, snakes, baby rats and bugs. I know I've more than likely eaten bug bits in commercial foods, but never knowingly or whole.
 
medtran49 said:
I got more adventurous in my late teens and from then on. Daddy didn't cook. He actually nearly set fire to the kitchen boiling water, truly, but he was never an adventurous eater anyway. Mother never cooked outside her comfort zone, American country mostly. What she cooked was good, but never adventurous. My first serious boyfriend in my teens and later first husband was Cuban, a Peter Pan kid actually. He kept nagging mother and me to try "jello" rice and chicken. Mother and I both thought that sounded nasty and didn't want to try it. Well, one time when BF and I went for dinner, he talked me into trying it and I discovered it was YELLOW rice and chicken, he just couldn't pronounce it correctly. I was hooked after that on Cuban food. Several Cuban dishes are among my very favorites today. Once I was working and on my own, I'd try different things. I will never forget once when I was out with my mother and DD when she was little for dinner, and the place had escargot. I had always wanted to try it so I ordered despite the ewww look on my mother's face when I ordered and then ate every bit of it. I got some out another time when we were out to dinner with DD and ex-SIL. It was served in an escargot dish, so no shells. Tried to get SIL to try it when he asked what it was. He refused saying "no, cause you eat weird 💩"

I have a few hard nos that I'll never knowingly eat, frog legs, snakes, baby rats and bugs. I know I've more than likely eaten bug bits in commercial foods, but never knowingly or whole.
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I was cracking up at JELLO rice. I keep seeing Al Pacino (as Tony in "Scarface") in my head saying it.
 
Oh, and I'll never eat alligator or pork liver again, but at least I tried them.

I'll never try andouilette or shortbreads either.
 
JAS_OH1 said:
Yeah me too, and sweetbreads, brains, rocky mountain oysters, and lamb testicle (or any testicles).
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Craig had rocky mountain oysters once, though they were called something different, once when he was in Italy with a business client who ordered a platter of various meats for the table to share. He said they weren't bad, just something he'd never order on his own.

A friend of ours who owns a company that does business worldwide was in 1 of the Asian countries bidding on a job. He was at a dinner hosted by the prospective client and was served monkey brains like in that 1 Indiana Jones movie. He had to eat at least a few bites because it would be an insult if he didn't. He needed to excuse himself to the bathroom shortly after.
 
medtran49 said:
I have a few hard nos that I'll never knowingly eat, frog legs, snakes, baby rats and bugs. I know I've more than likely eaten bug bits in commercial foods, but never knowingly or whole.
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I happen to like frog legs, but feel a bil guilty if I see so many legs on a plate.
I've had snake, not impressed.
Bugs: yes. Flying ants are eaten here and are not bad when fried. They taste a bit nutty. They are disgusting when boiled, basically because boiling them stinks!
 
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