We may all have had vegetables that we hated when we were young, such as bitter gourd, coriander, carrot, celery, onion and green pepper. When I grew up, I found that I was less disgusted and even liked this kind of vegetables. Or when I was a child, I didn't like coffee and tea, and I felt particularly bitter. I liked sweet drinks such as sugar water and soda. When I grew up, it was just the opposite. I gradually fell in love with bitter coffee and tea and abandoned sugar water. So why on earth is this? Were we too picky about food when we were young? Or did we consciously change our eating preferences when we grew up? What is our dietary preference related to?

1

First of all, let me talk about my personal experience. When I was young, I hated vegetables such as coriander, carrot and celery, and I was extremely sensitive, especially coriander. As long as I put a little in it, I am sure I can smell it, and I won't eat the whole dish. Slowly, with the growth of age, especially after learning food nutrition, I realized the nutritional value of these vegetables and began to try to eat them. Up to now, I not only don't hate this kind of vegetables, but I especially like them. Because I know that these vegetables tend to have higher nutritional value and contain more vitamins and dietary fiber. So, from this point of view, it seems that this aversion to smelly vegetables is purely caused by psychological factors. But the fact is not so simple.

2

Tell me why these vegetables have a bad smell (some people say they smell, others say they smell). Take coriander as an example, the volatile oil composition of coriander is complicated. The main components in the stems and leaves we eat include nonane, decane, phenylacetaldehyde, undecane, decanal, cyclodecane, undecaldehyde, tridecane aldehyde and tetradecanal. People who like coriander will describe its taste as fresh and fragrant (for example, my parents), but for me when I was a child, this smell can really be called extremely smelly. The same smell, why is there such a big difference?

3. Tell me about the factors that affect human taste preference.

The factors that affect human taste preference can be roughly divided into two aspects: heredity and culture. The perception of taste (sweet, sour, bitter, salty and fresh) is related to the tongue, throat and esophagus. Taste receptors are distributed on the surface of these structures. Although they are distributed regionally, different parts may feel different tastes, but they are also interspersed, but the sensitivity is different. After receiving the signals from the taste of food, these receptors quickly transmit them to the brain, and the relevant parts of the brain analyze and store the taste. Studies have proved that this preference for different tastes of food is related to specific genes, that is, it is influenced by genetic factors. Of course, this does not mean that if both parents like a certain taste, children will like it (such as me). This may also be caused by genetic variation.