Wondering on Wednesday: Did Your Taste Buds Mature?
I’m sure you must be tired of talking about my funk. I am. So let’s talk about something else. This topic still makes me cry, but it’s self induced and avoidable. ONION.
I’ve despised onion since I realized I have taste buds. I don’t like the texture, the flavor, the smell, the anything. I delete the nasty little things from recipes. They are banned from my refrigerator and I even avoid looking at them in the grocery store.
The problem is that onion is in everything. It’s just about impossible to order in a restaurant without having to ask them to please hold the onion, and if it’s soup or something with a sauce, forget it. My friends and family have tried to disguise them. In their various efforts to trick me they cut the little devils up smaller and hope I’ll not taste them, which just seems follish to me. If something powerful is small, it’s still powerful.
The thing is—I wish I liked onion. It’s in everything and life would be that much simpler if I could develop a taste for onion, scallion and chives (they’re all the same to me). When I was a child, my parents weren’t very sympathetic and kept threatening promising that one day my taste buds would mature. I just had to keep trying. Yea, well, I’m still waiting.
I’m wondering on Wednesday—is there hope? Did your taste buds mature and you now like a food item you never thought you’d like?
If you also think life's too short to be quiet, you can subscribe for your daily dose of Shout here.
TRICIA LYNN !!!!!!
Cranky..... uhhhhh you aint seen nothing yet!!!!!!
XOXOX 
Go easy on Dad. We fathers have to stick together.
Mocha Dads last blog post..The Beagle Has Landed - Part I 
SMB: Oh yes, the champagne is a good one!
Sammanthia: I'd love to have you for a sister. Our boys can ...
Sounds like Dad is going to be great blog fodder and I can't wait for "the rest of the story". ...
Comment by donna on 19 November 2008:
I disliked winter squash of all kinds when I was a child, I thought that I would never like them. I also disliked onions as well, In fact I hated them. When I married Doug he insisted that I keep trying them. Remeber that I told all of you that I was 15 when we got married. I was still a child,I also hate liver and I still do.
However I do have to say that my taste buds did mature and I love winter squash now and I love onions.We use them in everything, accept when Tricia and Kim come to town then I hold off. We have given up on Tricia’s taste buds ever matureing.
Some peoples taste buds do mature and they like the things that were not liked as a child. It is ok Tricia, you can still have somethings that makes you still feel like a child.
When Tricia was a little girl and did not like squash either, she expressed this in front of her brother and sister. One night while serving squash at the dinner table their father had told them that it was pumpkin. Tricia was about to open her mouth and tell them that it indeed was not pumpkin it was squash, her dad looked at her an gave that glance that said if you open your mouth you are in trouble. Her brother and sister ate the”pumpkin” and loved it. They still do.
XOXOX
Comment by Hilary on 19 November 2008:
Yes, mine matured.. some took 50 years to do so, but most of the things I dislike as a child or younger woman now have some appeal to me. I’m watching as my kids’ tastes are maturing too. Even onions! I know how hard it is to avoid them because both my guys hate(d) them. My younger one picks them out of everything. The other day he tells me that he eats onion rings and even had a burger with a raw onion ring on it.. go figure. About the only food that comes to mind that I thoroughly despise is cilantro. I think it’s a vile taste and I don’t think I’m ever gonna grow into it.
Hilarys last blog post..Mental Snapshots
Comment by Jan on 19 November 2008:
I could not stand coffee when I was younger; I didn’t try it as an adult until I was about 35. Now I can’t start the day without at least one cup (preferably 3). I also could not stand asparagus or any form of eggs that weren’t scrambled - the egg whites just grossed me out. Nowadays, I love asparagus and eggs in any form, except soft-boiled or poached (it’s the egg white thing again - I ain’t eatin’ ‘em runny, and that’s just all there is to it).
While I adore onions, we have two kids who pick them out of dishes when they can see them, but have no problem if they can’t.
Jans last blog post..Wordless Wednesday
Comment by Lori on 19 November 2008:
When I was growing up we didn’t have a choice of what we ate or not. If my father knew I didn’t like something, he gave me extra. And this was not because I complained because lord knows I knew better then to do that! Now that I am older, I do like the things I didn’t like as a kid, for the most part. When I was a kid there were things I didn’t like because one of my siblings didn’t like it either or that I didn’t like just because my father wanted me to!
But, I don’t make anyone eat something they don’t like. When my kids were growing up I just made them try these things every once in awhile to see if they liked them which sometimes they did. I didn’t make an issue out of it. Now if they made an issue, meaning caused a scene at the dinner table by making negative or rude comments about the food being something they didn’t like, they would then have to eat it. The reason for this rule is because negativity spreads among children and I didn’t want them influencing their siblings with their comments. It usually only took one time and they learned to keep their dislikes to themselves…lol.
Loris last blog post..Perspective
Comment by Nothing Fancy on 19 November 2008:
I agree with you about onions. I can tolerate them if they are cooked to death, but like you, I simply eliminate them from my recipes.
My taste buds have not matured over the years. I have always disliked watermelon, grapefruit and oranges. Throughout the years, I’ve tried them again and again…but NOPE - they are still YUCK to me. Especially that dern watermelon. The taste is awful and the texture even worse….
Nothing Fancys last blog post..Thanks, Fashion Sensei!
Comment by Twenty Four At Heart on 19 November 2008:
I grew up w/a gourmet mom and she cooked everything. As a result, I got used to everything with only a few exceptions. (Peas, lima beans, brussel sprouts) I love onion, but if you want to learn to like them I would suggest starting with grilled onion and small doses. Raw onion is powerful. I hated eggs as a kid and didn’t start eating them until my late 20’s. I think it’s all a matter of what you get used to.
Comment by Smalltown Mom on 19 November 2008:
I’ve outgrown a lot of childhood dislikes, but I still won’t eat liver or lutefisk (norwegian stinky fish).
Smalltown Moms last blog post..It Wasn’t Me that Forgot! How Refreshing!
Comment by phhhst on 19 November 2008:
I have a friend who hates onions but is trying. She is slowly getting a taste for them cooked. I hated peas as a child, but love them now.
It must be hard, restaurants put onion and garlic in just about everything.
phhhsts last blog post..Wordless Wednesday #8
Comment by WickedStepMom on 19 November 2008:
Because the only little person I have ever been around is the Tyrant, I will say this. First, she didn’t use to eat pizza. She hated it. She would even cry when we asked her to try it. Now, if she doesn’t get her pizza for dinner on Friday she cries and refuses to eat anything. She also loves pizza rolls. Something else that she wouldn’t touch. She still hates all things potato, including French Fries. But, I am hoping she would grow out of that too.
For myself, I never really was a picky eatter. I have always hated cooked spinach and greens and I always will. I think in part because I was forced to eat it. So, we don’t force anything on the kids.
WickedStepMoms last blog post..Where the heck is that other shoe anyway?
Comment by HeatherPride on 19 November 2008:
Yes, yes, and yes! As a kid and all through my teenage years I hated mayonnaise. HATED IT. I mean, I could taste it through the thickest piece of bread, even the thinnest little layer. I knew if it was in a recipe. I’m not really sure what happened, but one day I decided it was palatable. Next thing you know, I decided it was delicious. Same thing happened to me with peanut butter, Chinese food, Mexican food, guacamole, pancakes, eggs….I could go on. Actually, I would be a much healthier eater if my taste buds had NOT matured!!
HeatherPrides last blog post..Spin Cycle : My Fave
Comment by Paunchiness on 19 November 2008:
I used to hate mayonnaise. Mostly because it seemed really gross on a sandwich on white bread with a slice of Oscar Meyer bologna and a Kraft single. I only realized that I would like it on other stuff when my mother pointed out that chicken salad sandwiches had mayo in them. I was still unconvinced but then one of my buddies ordered something from Jack in the Box with no mayo and I realized that it was the ingredient that made the jumbo jack so good.
I’ll never eat it on a bologna sandwich but I do like it on burgers and with turkey or roast beef.
Paunchinesss last blog post..Orgasm on a Bike?
Comment by goodfather on 19 November 2008:
LOL - I’m the same way with cooked egg yolks. I’ve ALWAYS hated them, and once a year or so I try them thinking I’ve killed enough taste buds to like them - NOPE.
goodfathers last blog post..What I’d really like to do is direct
Comment by Mrs. G. on 19 November 2008:
Sweet potatoes, oh how I hated them until my 20’s. Now I could eat them every night.
Mrs. G.s last blog post..Romantic
Comment by Wendy on 19 November 2008:
I like pretty much ALL food now. Seriously. Mmmm, except some of the Filipino stuff Thomas comes home with. It’s just weird okay? But when I was a kid I hated everything. I love onions now too. I wish you could somehow develop a taste for them. Have you tried Vidalia’s? They’re a lot milder and sweeter than a regular onion.
Noah told me the other day that he figured out why your taste changes as you grow older. He said you grow bigger (or more) taste buds. Makes a whole lot of sense to me. He figured it out by himself, by the way! He’s so smart!
Wendys last blog post..In Search of Her Prince
Comment by Tara on 19 November 2008:
Hmm. I LOVE onion. Raw onion, fried onions, onion rings, the smell of onions on my fingers when I’ve chopped them up!
Sorry am I making you gag?
My mum hated yoghurt for years and years but knew it was good for her and a good thing to snack on (and she LOVES to snack!). So she made herself eat one yoghurt a day to make herself like them.
A bit bizarre but it worked!
Taras last blog post..Bum face
Comment by gary on 19 November 2008:
whew, you should have tried the FLAMING HOT burritos I just made…the wife figures (rightly) that I wasn’t thinking and I lost track of the tabasco drops…
garys last blog post..life during wintertime: movies and pics!
Comment by Brandygirl on 19 November 2008:
I HATE onions too! And garlic! cuz they give you smelly breath. When I first met babes, i told him that he’d have to sleep outside with his smelly onion breath if he doesn’t brush them at night! He just loves onions. EEKS!
Brandygirls last blog post..RIP, little angel.
Comment by patois on 19 November 2008:
There is no hope. Sorry, but that’s the short answer.
patoiss last blog post..Wordy Wednesday #37: Piercing
Comment by movin' down the road on 19 November 2008:
I never ate tomatoes until about three years ago. I hated tomatoes. HATED them. So much that my parents never made me eat them. Now I love them. Strange. (I love onions)
movin’ down the roads last blog post..Ten things I’m supposed to like, but don’t
Comment by thatcoolbroad on 19 November 2008:
Things I used to HATE, but now LOVE:
1) beer
2) spinach
3) brussel sprouts
I could almost survive on just those 3 things!!
thatcoolbroads last blog post..Note to Self: Turn brain ON before opening my pie-hole
Comment by thistle on 20 November 2008:
hmmm…personally, hate raw onions, but love them cooked….
but i do think your tastebuds ‘mature’ my Tall and Unfairly Thin Friend has even improved over the past 12 years since i first met her…and sometimes it’s just your head talking, not your tastebuds…
thistles last blog post..I Can Handle a Little Housekeeping But Not Much More…
Comment by Smart Mouth Broad on 20 November 2008:
Brussel Sprouts. I’m not crazy about raw onions either but love the cooked ones. And I find that wearing contacts solves the crying part. But I guess that wasn’t what you were talking about. I’m so easily distracted. *sigh*
Smart Mouth Broads last blog post..NOW THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKIN’ ABOUT
Comment by Tracy on 20 November 2008:
My tastebuds have stayed the same, although I find myself not wanting sweets or salty snacks as much. I have gotten much better about texture issues as I’ve gotten older. I used to not be able to eat for days if I bit down on a gristly bit but now, I can just spit it out and move on.
Tracys last blog post..What We’re Reading Today At IHMMB World Headquarters
Comment by Lisa P on 20 November 2008:
Wow. No onions, eh. I love them! And they are just about everywhere.
I’m trying to think of what tastes I grew into. Squash and sweet potatoes definitely count. I use to hate sushi and now I’m a sushi whore. Tomato soup. Mmmmmmm. As a kid I couldn’t choke it down.
Lisa Ps last blog post..Scars
Comment by MC on 25 November 2008:
Oh there are loads of foods that I used to despise and now appreciate it. I used to hate pickles and olives but now love to snack on them!
It’s hard for me to understand the aversion to onions though. My boyfriend also doesn’t like onions in his food but can tolerate if it’s there. Raw onions I can understand have a strong taste but cooked onions?! Totally delish!
MCs last blog post..Bread, I have you now