Why do I now enjoy eating things I hated as a child

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Q.� Have my taste buds 'matured'

A.� Probably not, although there are some changes in our sense of taste and smell, generally when we gain a liking for a particular type of food it isn't related to any changes in our sensory system.

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Q.� So, what causes changes in food preferences

A.� Conditioning, where we associate food and its consequences to its sensory characteristics; basically we learn to like certain foods.

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The most likely way we learn is through smell, rather than the taste. Cooking aromas are unique to each food whereas tastes, like salty, sweet etc, are not. Maybe Isaacr has come to love olives and anchovies due to the inviting smell of a puttenesca sauce, which contains both these ingredients.

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Another way of learning is through linking a taste with positive physiological or psychological outcomes. Very few children have the same enthusiasm for alcohol or coffee that adults display, having learnt to love the taste in tandem with their desirable biological effects.

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Q.� Can I learn to love any food

A.� In the same way that we can learn to love food with positive associations we can be put off others for life that have negative ones. If you have had a severe bout of vomiting or stomach problems after eating a certain dish, even if the food itself wasn't related to your illness, it's likely you'll never touch that dish again because of its negative association.

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Interestingly, alcohol, or certain types of alcohol, can also have a negative as well as positive association. Anyone who has experienced an under-age drinking binge with his or her parents long forgotten bottle of martini can suffer a lifetime's aversion to the drink.

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Q.� Why do our tastes change over time

A.� Because it makes biological, and, therefore, evolutionary sense, for us to modify our rather limited childhood palate to one that appreciates a wide range of beneficial foods.

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Do you have question about why your senses work the way they do Click here to ask.

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by Lisa Cardy