How I Grew to like Beets

The other night over dinner my husband, daughter and I were discussing how tastes can change over a lifetime. It's interesting how something that you absolutely detested as a child could ever be something you would consider eating. On the other hand, sometimes a food we loved as a child now has a big ick factor for whatever reason. What causes this curious culinary transformation?

One food that I simply could not stomach as a child was beets. Even the sight of them made me gag, although I tried to eat them at various times in the interests of earning my dessert. Alas, on beet nights I never was able to achieve that goal. Now I love them! I don't eat them often, because nobody else in my family likes them. They're my sweet, guilty pleasure when I'm eating alone. There's nothing better than a small bistro salad topped with roasted beets, goat cheese and balsamic vinegar. Heaven. Why did my palate change so drastically?

Well, let me state for the record that my mother is a wonderful cook. However, we were pretty poor when I was younger and she had limited resources, a husband, and three kids to feed, all with differing likes and dislikes. So dinners were usually fairly bland affairs, consisting of dishes such as oven baked chicken, iceberg lettuce salads and canned vegetables. We didn't eat very many varieties of fresh vegetables until I was quite a bit older and became a vegetarian. That was when I realized that vegetables are really quite delicious and have a lot more potential than as a salad or side dish. I also learned that fresh vegetables have a completely different taste, texture and scent than canned ones.

My daughter has always hated mushrooms. She can pick them out of anything, even if they're part of an indistinguishable casserole dish. However, one day I sautéed them with some soy sauce and garlic and she absolutely loved them. Now she's even tried them in a few other dishes on occasion. This shows that as long as we keep expecting kids to try different foods often that eventually they might grow into their taste.

Part of the changes in palates are most likely due to exploring foods that are different from the ones we ate with our families. Of course, the ultimate grown-up comfort foods are the ones that we revered as children, such as gooey homemade Mac and cheese, spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, chicken pot pie, etc. Yet most adults who are into food and cuisine enjoy exploring new flavors, even if they don't always like what they taste. They know, unlike kids, that they can still have dessert if they don't finish their dinner. I wonder if in the future I will ever learn to like liver? Naw, I doubt it. But I do like pate, so figure that one out.