You have to try it again!

We all have those foods we just have never liked. For me, they are very few, but most were decided many years ago. Somewhere, I once read that you need to try a new food like 30 times (okay, I don’t really remember the exact number) before you can decide whether you like it or not. For most of us, we would never give something that many chances, and I am definitely guilty of digging in on my initial opinion. But, at almost 40 years old, I am still learning, and I encourage you to be brave and give some things another try.

For as long as I can remember, I have not liked mushrooms. I would pick them off pizza or out of stir-fry. I certainly never ordered them deliberately or bought them to cook at home. I don’t remember when I decided I didn’t like them, that’s how young the decision was made. Recently, with my vegetarian and vegan daughters, I’ve been forced to incorporate mushrooms into our menu. When the picky 9-year-old likes a food that is healthy and readily available, you figure out how to put it on the table.

To my extreme shock, I don’t hate mushrooms. In fact, I’ve found some pretty good dishes that include mushrooms, such as mushrom fettucine alfredo. I won’t be sitting down to a large bowl of mushrooms anytime soon, but I can eat them and even enjoy them at times.

My oldest, M, wouldn’t eat avocados or guacamole as a kid. She was adamant about it. Then, around age 17, suddenly, she discovered avocados. The girl has a tatoo of an avocado. I’m pretty sure she still regrets the 10-15 years she could have been enjoying that delicious fruit.

E, the youngest, would only eat eggs scrambled and cooked flat, like the outside of an omelet, but with nothing in it. We’ve tried eggs in many different styles of scrambled, and none are a big hit. She would still prefer flat eggs. She orders them this way in restaurants, which often really confuses the waitstaff.

Today, I served a galette with eggs cooked to medium. On her egg, because of uneven oven cooking temperate, one side of the yoke was cooked to a little more solid, while not hard, and one side a little more gel-like. She decided she really loves the softer cooked yolk. What an amazing taste discovery! I am exited to see what variations of egg dishes we can explore with this new found knowledge.

So no matter how old you are or how long you have “hated” a certain food, I recommend you give it another taste. This is especially true if you can’t even remember when you decided you didn’t like it. Also, try to remember that when you first had that food, it might have been the cook wrong. I mean, I feel personally responsible that my children weren’t eager to try penne in vodka sauce after a terrible dish I served them. It also might have just been the dish it was served in. Maybe (like me) you don’t like babbaganoush, but you’d love egkgplant parmesan.