CBS News wanted to know firsthand what drives people to like what they like. So Rita Braver conducted a little experiment to know why we prefer certain type of dishes.
According to Marcia Pelchat, a food preference expert at Monell Chemical Senses Center with a doctorate in Biological Psychology, the reason behind our food preference is mostly genes and environment. Her work at Monell Chemical Senses Center, a Philadelphia non-profit which studies taste and smell, is to provide the ultimate answer as to why we do or don't like particular food.
"I would say everything is an interaction of genes and environment," said Pelchat.
To demonstrate how genes can affect taste, Braver and Pelchat conducted a little experiment. They tried to taste clear liquid which some people may find bitter.
"This is a chemical that some people find to be bitter and others can barely taste at all," Pelchat said.
With this taste, most people associate this with broccoli or cabbage. "It's very bitter to me," said Braver.
Surprisingly, our genes are the ones to blame why the liquid tasted bitter. About 75% of Americans taste the same bitterness as Braver did. More so, our genes have another way of controlling how we perceive food; through our noses.
According to Pelchat, we have hundreds of different smell receptor genes. It is actually our sense of smell that determines the different flavours in our food. To demonstrate, she asked some third graders at Philadelphia's Frankford Friends School to try some taste test.
Everyone got a licorice, banana jellybeans and a nose clip. Then they were asked to choose a jellybean while their eyes were closed.
One little girl tried to guess what flavour of jellybean she got with her nosed clipped. She asked, "Banana?"
When her nose was unclipped, she realized it was actually licorice, much to her disgust. "Eeuw, it's licorice. Eeuw, eeuw, eeuw!"
More than genetics however, how we desire certain types of food depends on what we've been exposed to and our memories.
One of the students said she loves ribs and broccoli, "because the way my dad makes the ribs, it just tastes super, super good, and when my mom makes broccoli it tastes so good and I love it."
On the other hand, not being exposed to some culture and dishes may result to contempt. Example was Dashiel who never tried liver and never want to. Notably, this certain delicacy is part of a popular Japanese-Korean restaurant down Manhattan.
Those who seek new taste and exotic dishes may have overcome both their genetic predispositions and their limited exposure. More so, the older you get, the more willing you feel to experiment on taste.
In the end, we actually have the power to change what we like.
