Yeah, I'm the same way. On the other hand, there are many foods I loved as a child that I can't eat now, but that's due more to medical/health issues than anything else.
^^That seems to hint back to what I mentioned in first post about bitterness. But doesn't really explain why that changes from childhood into adulthood.
I love pickled anything. You can buy huge pickled onions from big jars on the counter of most fish and chip shops here. I very fondly remember eating pickled eggs in the south in the US and pickled watermelon rind. But J. Allen, WHAT is "pickle loaf"?
As a child I could never eat -- and still can't eat -- raw celery and raw carrots. There's something about that fibrous texture. No matter how much I chew, the stuff just doesn't want to be swallowed. The taste of licorice has always grossed me out. Reminds me of Woody Allen's line about his mother running the family's food through the deflavorizing machine. I've never tasted a Swede. Do they taste anything like Norwegians?
Oh my, pickled watermelon rind? That sounds so good! This is pickle loaf: It's also called Pimento Loaf, or "P&P" loaf. It's a luncheon meat that contains pimentos, olives, pickled thingies, and I find it to be disgusting.
I'm not even clicking that link, because I just knew it was going to be head cheese, and yes, it is sickening. By the way, I just noticed your holiday name, and I find it hilarious.
Meat. My mother was going crazy trying to make me finish dinner. Potatoes and all sorts of salads gone, but meat barely touched. I liked some kinds of fried fish and fried chicken with crispy skin, but not much more. Yeah, I turned vegetarian when I was 16
Onions. Cabbage rolls. Until I was in my late teens, even biting into the tiniest piece of onion literally made me gag. I couldn't handle them at all. Now when I make chili, it's about 60% onions. We just call it onion chili.
Yes! Another one on my side! Let's see... Foods I hated then but like now: Avocado Beer (I tasted it as a child, didn't drink it!) Any dish mixing sweet and savory items together Acquired tastes are the best tastes in my opinion! Foods I liked then and hate now: Yogurt Baby corn Steak Potatoes Foods I hated then and still hate: Plain milk Carrots Sour cream
Funny thing about olives -- I've heard they're an acquired taste, and yet I've always liked them. Even as a child, I enjoyed olives in a salad or on a cold cut sandwich. And especially in my Martinis.
I hated mushrooms as a kid and I now love them. I think that's the only one that went from hate to love. Actually, another one is that as I got older is I stopped getting weirded out by meat that wasn't well-done. Things like lamb and whatnot that should be slightly pink I would have a problem with and I definitely would have had a cry over my on the rare side of medium-rare steaks that I go for these days. I hated capsicum, but I'm come to tolerate it. That means I no longer pick it out of my food, but if I can I'll go for the non-capsicum option. Things I still hate: kidney, liver, tongue...and that's about it. I can't think of a lot that I truly hate.
I love onions, too, and they're a huge part of my chili. My mother once told me "If you eat onions all the time, you'll never find a girlfriend!". I replied, "Well, then all that means is if I am walking down the street and am suddenly kissed by a random stranger, I'll know it's true love!" My omelets are always loaded with onions, too. I love Vidalias the most, but our local grocer can't seem to label them correctly, and sometimes I end up with just yellow onions, which are okay, but I love that sweet bite you get from a Vidalia.
The only thing I can think of is mushrooms which I refused to eat after a sort of traumatic event in kindergarten when I was forced to eat a big plate of mushrooms despite not being hungry. I still only kind of like mushrooms now, but I do eat them. Everything else I ate as a child, and I still eat anything.
Spicy food (like it very spicy now), raw meat (seriously, raw steak plus a bit of salt is nomnom for me now, used to want my meat cooked till death), peppers, dark bread (used to love white, now like it as dark as possible), lettuce, onion (raw).. and a million foods more. Only thing I still can't stomach are mushrooms. Yuck.
Thanks I remember the first time I went to US, the whole arugula/rocket, eggplant/aubergine, zucchini/courgette thing threw me for a while. I'm probably just pervy but I love reading/hearing about people's food fads I wish could like offal more though. When it's done well it's really nice (like chicken liver). But the basic taste is still...