How to Acquire a Taste It s an acquired taste, my friend, Ruben, insists, you may not like it now, but you may later. I had just tried kimchi (fermented vegetables in spicy sauce) for the first time, and I hated it. I scrunched up my face, now beet red from the heat, and spit the Korean delicacy out of my mouth. It was too spicy, and I thought of it as atrocious. My mouth was scorching like a furnace, and my eyes turned into waterfalls. An acquired taste? I asked angrily, What the hell does that mean? He did not have an answer, he said it s what his mother told him years ago when he didn t like it. Five years later, I enjoy ordering kimchi as an appetizer whenever I eat Korean food. I don t mind the heat as much. I enjoy the flavor, and that came to my surprise when it came to my realization. Now that I look back, I ask myself, What happened? I remember absolutely hating kimchi, and spicy food in general. Now I enjoy eating spicy food. Is it biological? Is it mental? What changes did I go through to acquire my taste for spicy food? What is an acquired taste, in relations to food, and how do I acquire one? Kimchi, the national dish of South Korea, has historically been praised for its restorative qualities and its fierce taste. While subject to myths and hyperboles, kimchi has been said to prevent AIDS. According to partisans of kimchi, it was a favorite of Confucius, and Cleopatra, despite being continents away, somehow derived her beauty from eating it. A common Japanese belief is that kimchi s nutritional power is the secret behind Korean women s long legs and smooth skin. Evidently, kimchi has a huge following, and it is a staple of Korean culture. Kimchi s dominance has not faltered, however, despite the emergence of fast food in the modern
world. According to the LA Times, kimchi has held its own and even found its way onto burgers and pizza. (Magnier) From this, it becomes apparent that kimchi will always remain a vital part of Korea. With this, I concluded that Korean people are probably exposed to kimchi at a very young age. While the heat may deter them at first, their taste buds grow accustomed to the spice, and within a few months, they ll be loving kimchi like everyone else. They essentially acquire their taste for kimchi. Of course, everyone s first time is uncomfortable (mine was especially so). However, constant exposure will teach the taste buds to enjoy or tolerate the spice, because the body will realize the benefits of enjoying the food, especially if it s as healthy as kimchi. Apparently, another food listed as an acquired taste was natto, which I eat regularly for dinner. Natto is a traditional Japanese food, soybeans fermented with a healthy bacteria known as Bacillus subtilis (Aoyagi). It is listed as an acquired taste, primarily because of its strong flavor and slimy texture (ew... I never really noticed it before). I don t remember ever disliking it, ironically, because like kimchi, it can be revolting to some. However, natto is also proven to be as healthy, if not more than, as kimchi. Natto dissolves blood clots, it s rich in vitamin K, and is high in plant protein. In order to answer the question, I turned to where it all began. My pre-k teacher, Ms. Kim, is a Korean women and like most other Koreans, she has a love for kimchi. Therefore, she would likely be able to answer my questions with more honest, heartfelt responses. Going back to my pre-school was honestly nostalgic, and so much has changed since I was there. One thing that did not change, however, was Ms. Kim. I could not notice any difference between her now and the last time I saw her. On the other hand, these children were no
longer watching the classics, like Barney and Blue s Clues. Instead, modern educational shows took over such as Cyberspace and Wordgirl, and as I toured around the school, I could hear the Hacker spouting one of his hilariously nonsensical rants about defeating Motherboard and ruling the world. First off, I was really wondering whether or not children of the respective nationality were immediately fond of the acquired taste. The children do not immediately loving the taste, Ms. Kim answered, they did, however, once they get used to it. To reaffirm this answer, I asked her how she knew that, was it a personal experience? Then I remembered that she has three children, all three must have gone through the adaption to like kimchi. Jokingly, she said that she was getting too old to remember her childhood, so she couldn t really say if she ever disliked kimchi. However, her children (Ruben, Andy, and Yuna) did take some time to adapt to the spice of kimchi. Then, I wondered how they adapted to acquire their taste for kimchi. Her children didn t take very long, she said, I would say three or four years old they took to kimchi. What I found very clever (and very obvious, yet I could not think of it) was that she didn t start them off with restaurant kimchi. That stuff is for people who eat kimchi regularly, she elaborated. I laughed, because her eldest son, Ruben, got me to eat my first serving of kimchi in a restaurant. I then told her about tearing up and getting angry. After laughing about this, she then elaborated on what she did with her children instead. You know, kimchi isn t always hot, she emphasized. There are various levels of heat, and she just started off with serving kimchi with very little sauce on it.
She then increased the amount of sauce steadily, until her children realized what she was up to. She laughed, they would be like why is there more sauce on mine than on Yuna s!? Obviously, she was younger, and she needed the same time to adapt to the heat that they had. Finally, I asked her why she used the term acquired taste for kimchi. The term sounded sophisticated, she responded, and she liked the concept of it. One does something in order to enjoy something that others may not be able to enjoy, they are acquiring their ability to enjoy something, whether it be eating kimchi, natto, or any other foods or beverages across the world that require a certain toleration. When leaving, all the teachers I knew previously wished me good luck in Stuyvesant, and insisted that I come again. I thanked all of them, and I left, with an armful of information essential to this I- Search. An acquired taste, usually used to describe the appreciation for a food that most other people (who don t have as much exposure to it) would not like, is used to describe foods that you and I may eat regularly, without noticing. It does not mean that the food tastes bad. It just means that it takes a certain tolerance and a substantial amount of exposure to enjoy. As for getting an acquired taste for something, there isn t any shortcut although for some, it may just click from the first serving. All there is to do is either ignore it, or try to remain exposed to it, like the constant servings of diluted kimchi my teacher did with her children. Even though it took a while, they eventually acquired their taste for kimchi. Subsequently, they are a few of the millions of Koreans who eat kimchi regularly. Admittedly, I am a picky eater, and it s so bad that I m starting to think it may be because of ARFID, or avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder. I fit all the criteria, and while it
doesn t dictate my life, I certainly have thrown up on the spot numerous times after eating something I deemed disgusting. I also have to take vitamin D supplements regularly. It s just annoying, and while it s definitely not as severe as anorexia as an eating disorder, it definitely takes its toll. While I may not be willing to acquire another taste for say, vegemite, I can see this being helpful for others who are able to do so. So in that case, the search was successful, as I found out what an acquired taste was, and how it would be acquired. In many cases, it would just click but on the other hand, it may not. It would then be best to just ignore the food. However, constant exposure to food has been known to help. Constant exposure may not be enough, and the only thing left to do is wait it out, and see if age brings about a change. As we mature, our tastebuds change, and usually, the sense of taste becomes slightly dulled. That would be when tastes change, and while someone might not like cheese now, they may in the future.
Works Cited Aoyagi, N/A. History of Natto Megumi Natto. N.d. Web. Giang, Vivian 16 of the Smartest Children in History Business Insider. N.d. 15 June 2011. Web. 22 May 2014. Kim, Cindy. Personal Interview. 1 June 2014 Kuitenbrouwer, Peter. A gift from Korea: A winning recipe and a fertile farm help make kimchi a local delicacy National Post. 17 April 2006. Print. Magnier, Mark. In an age of SARS, Koreans tout kimchi cure Los Angeles Times. 17 June 2003. Print. Raymond, Joan. World s Healthiest Foods: Kimchi (Korea) Health. N.d. 1 February 2008. Web. 18 May 2014.
Shin Narita My preschool teachers and me, with Ms. Kim on the far right of the picture.