The following is a list of foods I love today, at the age of 44. I can’t imagine the 10-year-old me even trying any of these foods, much less liking them. But we grow up; our tastes change, and hardly a day goes by without me craving Marmite. I mean, come on? Isn’t that weird? Please tell me I’m not crazy!
10. Fresh spinach
I didn’t really learn to enjoy salads all that much until I discovered that fresh spinach is infinitely tastier than lettuce. As a kid, I think I tried spinach, in a can, like Popeye; the problem is, canned spinach is barely edible. When you eat a fresh spinach salad, maybe with apples and a splash of bacon vinaigrette, you can only wonder: is this really the same plant as found in canned spinach? Hard to believe.
9. Snails
I’ll be honest; I’ve only had snails (at most) 10 times in my life, and always in a fancy restaurant. But they’re tasty. They taste even better when you call them snails, since calling them escargot leaves a bit of a snooty aftertaste.
8.Soft-shelled crab
I first tried this in a Thai curry dish. I still find the texture a bit strange, but overall I find the taste delectable.
7. Mushrooms
I’ve liked mushrooms for a long time, but can’t recall whether I tried them as a kid or not. I think most Americans are first exposed to mushrooms as a topping on pizza, but I don’t really like mushrooms that way. They invariably go straight from a can to the pizza. Fresh mushrooms are better, and stuffed mushrooms may be the best of all. As a bonus, there are many, many varieties, and they all taste different.
6. Mortadella
To my mind, mortadella is the king of sandwich meats. It’s a bit like deli bologna, but more flavorful: it is marbled with pork fat, and often has pistachios and olives mixed in. I might have liked this as a kid, but I never tried it. I had never even heard of it. I’d have to drive over a hour from where I live to find this today.
5. Runny eggs
Yolk freaks kids out. But not me. Over-easy is the way to go. And when the Hollandaise in an Eggs Benedict runs together with the yolks…
4. Coffee
I guess I haven’t grown up entirely. I don’t drink coffee, unless it’s cold with plenty of milk and sugar. Sort of like a melted coffee ice cream. My favorite way to have coffee is the way they serve it in the Vietnamese restaurants: over ice, with sweetened condensed milk.
3. Pomegranate juice
So bitter. Yet so good somehow. I don’t really know why I like it.
2. Stilton
The king of cheeses. Radically strong flavor; almost hallucinogenic. Not just for Wallace and Gromit anymore.
1. Marmite
What can I say? Marmite, objectively, doesn’t taste all that great: it’s almost pure umami, like chewing on a bouillon cube. And yet it is alluring for some unfathomable reason. On bread, with butter, it is divine; mixed with honey and corn syrup, it is the ideal pizza sauce. I can get Marmite (or its complex conjugate, Vegemite) where I live, but I don’t eat it all that often. I may go 6 months without having any. Then, on a random day…the 19th of February, say…I will start to crave it, and even start to blog about it.
Many Worlds Theory 
All very good choices. I regularly enjoy each one of the selections you mention. Hard to rank order them. I do have coffee every single morning, but soft shelled crabs are a delicacy to enjoy as often as possible! Have some in the freezer right now, though they are best if fresh….
I might add a few hauntingly great tastes that are definitely acquired as an adult, but are now an indispensible culinary experience. Here are a dozen in no particular order:
1) Single malt scotch, especially a very peaty one like Laphraoig
2) Fish sauce, not just for asian cooking, but a must add to many, many dishes for even umamierness (sp) (I have not tried mixing with Marmite but may go there someday after too much choice #1…..)
3) Gochujang sauce, also a must add to many cuisines besides the obvious Korean
4) Wasabi enough said……
5) Truffle, white or black the earthy flavor is incredibly addictive……. and seductive. My wife and I had some truffle butter on very, very rare ribeyes last evening with a nice Barolo. True this is a ‘mushroom’ but I think deserves a class by itself
6) Broccoli Rabe/Rapini Bitter made beautiful
7) Beets One of the few foods I chose not to like as a child, being only familar to those in a can. Roasted fresh yellow or red or candy cane striped….divine
8) Brussel Sprouts If you claim to not like these, I defy you to say the same after trying my brussel sprout beignets, brussel sprout fennel hash, or simply olive oil and seasoned roasted and quartered
9) Sashimi—Fresh tuna is my favorite, but eel,mackerel,etc are all a treat
10) Caviar Salty taste is amazing, on cream cheese and blini of course, but try on top of a home made foccaccia smeared with creme fraiche, smoked salmon, capers, and red onions. Over the top!
11) Sardines/Anchovies Different yes, but I put them in same category. I’ll take my pizza WITH them please
12) Stinky cheese–Stilton is the king, but need to both add other quality blues and not forget many other buffalo, goat, cow smelly products including the Queen of stinky, Limburger.
Have to go home soon…..this blog is making me hungry.
Still no turkey, Matt? I like drakdoc’s choice of wasabi for sure. I always hated beets as a kid but I should give them a chance. Matt, you should also do a list of 10 things you used to eat but don’t anymore. Double chip? cafeteria pizza?
David, interesting thing you ask about foods no longer eaten. I do not think I have lost the taste for anything I used to like, but there are things I do not eat anymore……mostly because the foods are so bad for me now (too much sugar or salt on an aging frame) or because there is not time to waste on foods of lesser quality when so many good choices abound.
Some examples I rarely if ever consume:
Sugary breakfast cereals
Sugary sodas
White store bought sandwich bread
White rice
Donuts, Ho-Hos, Ring Dings, Hostess Pies, Twinkies, SnoBalls, etc…
Canned vegetables
Juice
Margarine (or anything with Trans Fat)
iceberg lettuce
canned cranberry sauce
canned fruit
TV Dinners
Frozen Pizza
Chicken McNuggets
Biscuits
I like just about everything on your list, drakdoc, except SnoBalls. Not a big lettuce fan, but what’s wrong with it? I always assumed it had no value one way or another. Twinkies are gong to be hard to come by now, but there are knock-offs. I would like to convert to brown rice but I’ve had trouble making it at home.
Fish sauce is great. I recommend making a sauce by taking dried “Chinese” red peppers, roasting them (to bring out some smokiness) then soaking them in fish sauce.
Wasabi: I concur.
Truffles: Never had them, but I love truffle oil. The best “French fries” I ever had were cooked in truffle oil.
Broccoli: Nope. The only food I still abhor. I am convinced I can taste a chemical in broccoli that many others cannot. That said, I tried broccolini over Xmas and found the taste less objectionable. Maybe the mystery chemical is missing in broccolini.
Beets: meh. Although, I love borscht.
Brussel Sprouts: hit and miss. I have made them (wrong, apparently) and they were almost inedible; yet, when I tried them cooked in coconut oil I loved them.
My favorite type of sushi is eel. Eel with BBQ sauce.
I like caviar. One taste combination to try is black caviar on white chocolate.
@David–nothing wrong with plain iceberg lettuce, but so many better options such as arugla, spinach, mache and radicchio that I never opt for iceberg. It may have some value as fiber/bulk but you are right that for humans it has almost no calories.
@Matt–I love broccoli. Especially roasted spears. Will try the red peppers in fish sauce and caviar on chocolate….both sound good!