The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

[Hmmna]

Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

I dnt like pizza but love pasta. I have cousins who dislike pasta too, I call them craazy

[TLK]

Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

@redvelvet

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.

I have another theory if you may. If you observe kids, you will find that they like the most basic form of Pasta (my daughters love pasta and butter, no sauce, nothing else), and basic form of Pizza (cheese pizza for most of the part). In fact when I first had Pizza and Pasta in USA, I could not even taste salt in it (the dough does have salt but very minimal quantity), and it surprised me as a Pakistani that a food could taste good without salt. I think that its not the seasoning/spices, but the lack of it that makes Italian food appealing to the kids.

@Hmmna

I dnt like pizza but love pasta. I have cousins who dislike pasta too, I call them craazy

Of course my theory is not a universal theory. It was just an observation.

[redvelvet]

Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

^Yes, I have noticed that kids like simple cheese pizza and then with time they’ll graduate to more complex toppings. I’ve seen kids enjoy pasta with keema…so it’s the keema that provides the seasonings…they like the pasta for the soft texture. Another example is mac and cheese…no complex seasonings. But the tomato sauce on pizza is seasoned (oregano, basil, pepper, etc)…so perhaps there is a broad appeal for Italian seasonings. If we take seasonings out of the equation…then as I had mentioned earlier…it’s the texture that attracts people.

[redvelvet]

Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

@Hmmna…maybe you haven’t had good pizza? There are so many varieties.

[Hmmna]

Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

I have had different ones RV. I find it too dry and usually drown it in ketchup which defeats the purpose of flavour IMO

[redvelvet]

Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

@Hmmna

I have had different ones RV. I find it too dry and usually drown it in ketchup which defeats the purpose of flavour IMO

Vut? Kaachup!!! Whyyiiieeee??? Blasphemy!!! Where do you live and what kinds of bland pizzas have you been served that requiring drowning in ketchup!!! Yikes, I would use ketchup to drown out the the flavors of foods like saag and shaljam. Maybe the sauce of the pizzas are bland or maybe you should try a diff variety of cheese…something much stronger…with more other more stronger flavored toppings like …caramelized onions or something. Or perhaps a chicago style deep dish pizza. At least u like pasta…though pasta in and of itself is bland…blander than pizza.

[Hmmna]

Re: The Inheritance of Taste Buds and Culinary Skills

Hahaha sorry for the scandalous remarks. It is more the texture of pizza. Too dry for me. Pasta is delicious and creamy.

About culinary ary skills, I never cooked at home but my cooking style seems to be like my mums, so I think it may be inheritance or maybe more of an imbibition process