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Comment by toyg | Hacker News Reader

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toyg·

I had plenty of vegetables as a kid. Still hate (most of) them.

Not everything is learnt.

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Do you hate them objectively speaking or in comparison with other food?

I'm also interested in this as "hate" is such a strong word for food. Say, brussels sprouts aren't my favourites but I'll empty my plate of them, while celery stalks have such a strong, unpleasant taste that I'll remove them from my plate. It's hard to imagine people having this celery-level of distaste to majority of vegetables, as they are generally very mild-tasting.

There are reports that there is a genetic component to taste - especially for brussels sprouts. Oregano (cilantro) tasting like soap is another reported genetic link.

I'm the other way round from you: sprouts taste bitter, but celery is crunchy nothingness.

oregano and cilantro are completely unrelated

I believe he meant coriander (although coriander is usually the seeds of the plant)

I'm also opposite from you. I quite like celery but even the smell of brussels sprout makes me ill.

I attribute my dislike of many vegetables (b. sprout, okra, asparagus, broccoli) to how my middle- and high-school cafeterias always overcooked them into a wretched goo. I've developed a taste for some of these later in life when properly cooked but sprouts and okra are still inedible.

Yes, vegetables are always going to be among the lowest calorie dense foods, and therefore not going to taste that appealing in the face of other options. It’s no surprise then that the ones kids tend to like the most are those vegetables that are highest in density ie corn, carrot, potato, peas. So while you’re not going to teach them to like vegetables, still good to teach them their importance and that they should eat some things even though they don’t taste good

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