A Picky Eater

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One of my Mother's favorite stories to tell people is that when I was little I was such a picky eater that I went through a phase that I would only eat white food. It's true, there was about a month of my life that I would refuse to eat anything that wasn't basically white in color. Why? I have no idea. Yet, I also have no idea how or when or why I got past it either. One of the great mysteries is why our tastes change as we grow older and develop into fully functioning adults. I am so glad I have been able to grow as a person and explore new flavors and foods because I would have missed out on so much in life if I hadn't.
When we try a new food, that memory of whether the experience was pleasant or not stays with us for years. It will be the deciding factor in whether we eat it again or not. For example, when I tried peanut butter the last time, it made it difficult to breath and I broke out in hives. So I don't plan to eat it again anytime soon. On the other hand, the first time I tried gelato it was so beautiful to the eye and the tongue that I crave it every once in a while because my experience with it was so good.
This connection between taste and experience gets a bit hazy when it comes to my past with fermented foods. In this past year alone I have had more encounters with fermented foods than I ever had before. JBK was the one who really brought to the forefront of my experience in our FYS: Rituals of Dinner. Making Kimchi was so much fun and a great experience all around. I loved getting to really get my hands involved in the cooking and create something so different from my norm. However, when I tasted it afterwards, it was not my favorite by any means. Simply not my cup of tea. This struck me as odd because in my previous experience the enjoyment I had from making the food would usually result in me enjoying the food itself. Yet, this time was different. I was determined to figure out what my problem was. 
I looked into more about fermented foods and learned that there is such a wider variety of them that I was bound to find something in that food group I enjoyed. I did, I love cheese! 
I went on to take his Smells and Bells class and went deeper into this subject when I read his and Betsy Dexter Dyers work on Cultures and Cultures: Fermented Foods as Culinary "Shibboleths". At the very beginning of this piece the term "Shibboleth" is used to distinguish one ethnic group from another. In this particular case they talk about that being the difference between those who belong and those who are just visiting. To be honest, when it went on to say those who couldn't find the joy in the traditional comfort foods such as kimchi I was afraid it may mean I'm doing something wrong. I didn't want to just visiting, I want to belong in this community. I was then comforted in my remembering that my being a part of so many events in this community and finding much comfort if the other traditional fermented foods that are mentioned (cheese and the fermented drinks that I certainly don't find comfort in yet as I am not of age) *wink wink*. In continuing my reading of this piece I enjoyed that my wanting to like the taste of fermented foods and taking part in the experiences that surround them are enough to consider myself a part of the community of people I would like to associate myself with. Who knows, maybe I'll learn to love Kimchi as time goes on. Anything is possible!


Comments

  1. Jonathan Brumberg-KrausMay 11, 2018 at 6:45 AM

    Nice. Of course, you can't cross boundaries unless you have them. That might be my mantra. It's interesting that you observed that the boundaries of taste might be both "vertical" -they exist and are crossed with age over time, and "horizontal" - group boundaries that can be crossed by acquiring tastes, especially of fermented foods. Culinary shibboleths can dissolve and change. Or maybe they just stop being gate-keepers.

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