What may be honey to me may be poison to others - why do everyone have different tastes?

A long time ago, I expressed my feelings about Hu La Tang in my circle of friends.

As a southerner,

I always think this is a weird food.

I have been in Xi'an for many years.

I ate so many spicy soups that I could count them on my hands.

Still can't fall in love~

However,

Friends from Henan and Shaanxi said they loved it.

And everyone loves their own dishes~

There is no doubt that we are biased about taste.

When two different people taste the same food,

Everyone will have a different experience.

The question is, where does this bias come from?

And, is there any way we can change this bias?

My little wish is,

I hope my friends around me will not ask me this question again:

[Is there any coffee that is neither sour nor bitter?]

Occasionally read an

[One man's meat is another man's poison]，

Talking about the plasticity of taste,

Let me see some light,

hahah~

Humans’ natural biases towards food

Humans, like many other mammalian omnivores,

Have strong food-related biases.

We like sweet things and dislike bitter tastes;

We are skeptical of new foods.

We learn from our experiences with food and the influence of the people around us.

Learn what to like and what to dislike.

Our food preferences and avoidances,

To ensure that the diet is nutritionally adequate,

And helps us avoid toxins.

Not surprisingly,

A preference for sweet tastes appears to be innate in humans.

Almost all newborns

The response to sugar solution was more positive than to water.

This is measured by their facial expressions.

Most infants also show a strong aversion to bitter and sour tastes .

A preference for salty taste is also common.

It appears slightly later at four months of age.

Babies' reactions to sugar and lemon juice

People also avoid foods they have never eaten before.

This characteristic is called "food phobia".

It is common in omnivores.

It has been observed in a variety of species including warblers and capuchin monkeys.

The adaptive value of avoiding new substances is obvious:

It reduces the possibility of poisoning from toxic plants or animals.

Another interesting finding is

The tendency to like a food is related to the energy density of the food.

Even foods that are generally low in energy density,

Such as fruits and vegetables,

Children also prefer foods that have more calories per gram.

Genetic influence

Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, fresh

and possible fat taste receptors,

Combined with nasal and retronasal olfactory receptors,

Produces a complex taste for food.

therefore,

Genetic differences in taste receptors

are obvious candidates for differences in food preferences.

But so far,

The link between receptors and hedonic responses to food

It has not been well portrayed.

Quantitative genetics provides a

Methods for assessing the “bottom line” of genetic influences.

Heritability is a factor that can be used to identify candidate genes.

If heritability is low,

The reasons for individual differences in food preferences may be environmental factors.

A large study

A sample of 428 pairs of young twins was used

and an extensive food list,

The foods were divided into four categories based on similarity of preferences within the group.

The results show that:

Sweet food preference has low heritability (0.20).

The heritability of vegetable preference was low (0.37).

Fruit preference has a medium heritability (0.51).

The heritability of protein preference was high (0.78).

In general,

Experimental evidence from twin studies suggests that

Genetic differences cannot fully explain

Individual differences in food preferences.

Cultural influence

Culture as a shared experience

It also affects our food preferences.

Even if it's a taste I don't like,

For example, peppers,

or something potentially disgusting,

For example, insects

If they were part of the culinary culture when you were growing up,

It might also be liked.

The impact of personal experience

A person's experience with food can override any innate tendencies.

If an animal or human eats a food,

Especially a new food.

Negative consequences such as nausea or diarrhea may occur soon after.

They usually develop an aversion to such food.

Even if they later learn that the illness was not caused by food,

This situation will continue.

Dislike seems to come faster than like.

It's not so easy to overcome.

And it could last for decades.

Personal first experience with new food

Might help them be willing to eat it in the future.

A negative physiological state.

Such as fatigue, illness or negative emotions of parents,

is considered to impair children's eating enjoyment,

It may also have an adverse effect on the hedonic response to novel foods.

Provide new or less-favorite foods in a pleasant dining atmosphere.

Will increase the likelihood of positive future evaluations of these foods.

Force-feeding creates a tense and negative atmosphere at mealtimes.

The enjoyment of the food may therefore be impaired.

Feeling hungry when first exposed to food

May result in more positive reviews.

(Lian Yue, who is fasting for the next day, said that hunger is the greatest respect for food. When it is time to eat, you can discover the wonderful taste of food, and even a mouthful of white porridge can move you.)

Environmental influences

In animals,

Food preferences are thought to be socially transmitted:

Seeing members of their own species eating,

Even the smell of food can be encouraging.

These mimetic effects have also been observed in humans.

In one study, it was found that

Children watch models drink new drinks with different flavors

and express their likes or dislikes for the same drink.

I prefer the flavors that models like.

This shows that at home,

If parents, preferably people of the same age,

Show that they like a certain food.

Children will be more inclined to taste and accept it.

Plasticity of taste preferences

Taste preferences are plastic.

And it changes with experience.

Babies may react negatively to unfamiliar foods.

But extremely soft and sweet foods are an exception.

Some studies have shown that

Before children change their preferences,

You need to try new foods at least ten times .

Especially when initial palatability is low.

In conclusion,

Food preferences appear to be more plastic than previously thought.

Not so stiff,

This is a good thing.

Finally, a few words

Let’s go back to the question of my friend who doesn’t drink much coffee.

[Is there any coffee that is neither sour nor bitter?]

Think about it carefully.

She could ask,

That actually makes sense.

We humans are naturally repelled by bitter tastes.

Be cautious about sour tastes.

So I love coffee,

I especially love to drink specialty coffee.

It's simply against human nature.

hahah~

There are ways to get people into coffee.

We don’t have a coffee culture.

Then try to reshape your taste preferences.

Isn't that what a certain Nasdaq-listed company did?

If it doesn’t work once, drink it ten times!

Think about it this way,

If I eat Hu La Tang a few more times,

I should love it too~

No more talking.

I went to eat spicy soup~

Main references :

[1] Jane Wardle et al. One man's meat is another man's poison. 2010