So here’s an interesting though that occurred to me recently, but I don’t know if it would generate many replies. But here goes:
Do you think that your tastebuds…or the foods you gravitate toward are genetic? And do you think you take after one parent more than the other? Or those of you who have kids, do you think your kids take more after you or your spouse?
Do you think that you take after one of your parents in terms of how you cook?
My dad and I are both addicted to nuts. We also like fruits (esp watermelon), spicy foods, olives, chutneys and sauces and experimenting with them. I feel like I inherited my taste inclinations from him.
My mom says that she can taste her own “haath ka khaana” in my sister’s cooking, but not so much with me. My sister is more like my mom where they both don’t experiment much and stick to the book. I’m more like my dad…I like trying out new ingredients and recipes and switching things up. My mom says I even stand like my dad when (leaning on one foot) when cooking.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
I think, yes , we do get it in our genes ..
Not all the time, but there are so many elements , we may not get all of them to complete a skill similar to our parents but some aspects of that . For example, my mother is the best cook , she is extremely creative with food. I am not touching the same level of perfection taste wise , as yet, but everyone in my family says , I have taken after my mother in terms of creativity.
My sister showed zero interest in any household matters, but after marriage when she started learning stuff, she is starting to show the same capabilities as our mother !
So I am positive its very much related to the genetics.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
But culinary skills can be learned from parents. What’s more fascinating is the foods we like and dislike. I feel like my palate is very similar to my dad’s.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
I love rice just like my dad. we both can eat rice 24/7. thats probably the only thing we have in common.
cooking wise.. my family says I have the same taste in my haath ka khaana which my moms food has. shes a goddess when it comes to desi cooking. but I cook all types of foods. and yes I do feel the desi khanay I cook taste the same as hers.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
I think there must be some genetic link, the man and both of the kids are crazy about bananas. The amount of bananas I buy on a weekly basis
I’m not sure about the haath ka khana taste, I will have to ask my mom next time, but I guess it’s likely to happen. Like every family has developed a specific taste bud acc to spices etc.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
^Both my parents enjoy rice, but me and my siblings don’t. The three of prefer roti. So that’s one trait we all have in common where both my parents differ from us. @Aaze…my dad has to restock on bananas weekly.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
LOL .. It’s the same here .. actually I buy them every few days, they go bad so easily. It happened a few times I forgot them because I was in a hurry, the faces they all made
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
Hmm interesting, RV dnt you think that palates can be conditioned? The sort of food you are exposed to since babyhood. My dad is a longtime hypertensive and takes zero salt in his roti and very little in Salan. I can’t stand food with salt. When my in laws eat my cooking they are all armed with salt shakers even though for them I put in what I think wayy beyond normal salt.
i always thought that a family’s taste take after the dad since moms cook food to their taste. I love sweets but my husband dsnt so I rarely make meetha.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
^You make a good point and yes there is conditioning. But what’s interesting is that my parents exposed my siblings and I to the same foods, but we don’t necessarily like all of them. My brother and don’t care for nuts or fruits or imli and plum chutneys…my dad and I love them. I noticed patterns which is why I wondered if it was maybe genetic and if anybody else had the same observation; don’t know if there is a genetic connection.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
I love spicy food. My mouth will be on fire, my nose will leak, I may be a long while in the bathroom…but I still never learn…I will do it all over again. I’ll go right for green and red mirchain in salans.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
Ooooo that’s an interesting topic!!!
My cousin says that I’m my mother’s daughter so of course I cook well like her…she says it’s in the genes. Funny thing is though, my mom never taught me how to cook. and we also have wildly different cooking styles.She has a few amazing signature dishes, so the food is always great but consistent…whereas mine, while good, it’s always different. I’m more daring and creative I guess, which I get from my dad.
As far as tastes go, I have no idea who I take after. They both like the green chillis and spicy stuff, and the only spicy I can handle is a few splashes of hot sauce…not even green chilli pepper.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
^ My mom and all her sisters are awesome cooks, MashaAllah. But interestingly, they don’t cook alike. I guess some of the influence came from in-laws or just experimenting. My dad only has two brothers and no sisters and it amazes me that he is the only one a,ong them who has a flair for cooking and is MashaAllah so good at it. From what I’ve had of my dadi’s cooking…my dad is much better.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
regarding conditioned tastes, i spent the first thirteen years of my life eating my Nani’s cooking, which, while exceptionally tasteful, always tended towards the underseasoned owing to her and my Nana both being gastric ulcer patients.
thereafter, i switched to my Dadi’s spicier, more robustly flavoured entrees and that’s the desi khana i’ve been in love with to this day. her and my Phupho are both fantastic cooks – interestingly, Dadi’s entire huge family eats bland, un-bhuna-huwa, lamba shorba style food and there is not a trace of any of that in our house. genetic tastes took a long hike when she got married and my Dada made it emphatically clear that he wasn’t having any of those tragedies on the table and thus saved his coming generations from a culinary legacy to be ashamed of.
i grew up to love some things which echoed my parents’ tastes, but then i’m the only one in my immediate family that cares for, for instance, Thai and Chinese at all, the eating and cooking both. i’m also much more experimental with the food i cook than my Phupho, from whom i learned the basics, will ever be. the similarities lie in the love of improvisation and spice and certain dishes frequenting the weekly menu without conscious thought or planning to get them on the rota.
I believe that Italian cuisine must be the most neutral (yet tasty) kind of food out there. I have yet to find a kid who has been exposed to, but does not love pizza and/or pasta. That shows me that tastebuds likings are habitual. We all start on neutral grounds, and then move towards nihari, or idli, or kimchi … based on what is parents eat
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
One thing I also noticed is that I am much more adventurous and daring with my choices in food. I’ll try the weird stuff but my sisters and mom won’t. My dad used to but he’s picky now because of his special diet.
Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills
Ok that is interesting. I’ve never thought of that until u mentioned it. I’ve come across people who don’t like Chinese food and Mexican food. I love the former, not a fan of the latter. But I’ve also never come across anyone who does not like some type of pizza or pasta.
Not sure why that is. Pizza is made with a bread base. Bread is a comfort food that features in practically every cuisine. We’d be hard pressed to find a soul that doesn’t like some type of bread or the other unless they’re allergic. Tomatoes are another ingredient that are found in every cuisine. In our own Desi one, they go into almost every salan. Cheese…various types…found in every cuisine. Pasta, too, has its variants across the board. So, if we look at the ingredients…they are common…so maybe that’s partly a reason?
In terms of textures, I feel that most people gravitate toward the soft textures of bread, pasta and melted cheese. They’re very comforting. That could be another reason.
Then you have the seasonings…oregano, basil..rosemary…thyme…I know we use basil in Desi cuisine…but jot so much the others. So, that leads back to your question …are Italian seasonings universally acceptable to our tastebuds? Cuz I have come across folks who do not like Desi spices or Chinese seasonings. I wonder if there’s any research in that. Never seen it on the Food Network.
