Thread: taste preferences

do people develop tastes for certain types of food based on what they're brought up on, or could food preferences depend (at least somewhat) on the genetics of a particular culture?

I do know that taste buds work by having receptors for certain proteins and portions of molecules (AKA, even though PTC is artificial, it has the correct bits to make it taste bitter)...

and all proteins are determined by genetics...

I'm not sure how much variation there is in the genes which determine taste receptors...or if much is even known about which genes do specifically code for taste receptors.

As for acquired tastes, my best guess is that the brain learns to love it, and not the taste bud cells.

-Ajain

For the gene of taste I don't know. But what thing is proven, is that the more your learn differents tastes, the more prone to love them you will.

Some questions :
- did you love your first beer ?
- did you love your fist glass of red wine ? ...

how about the opposite, when you get sick of a specific taste?
i've actually eaten some foods until i've grown tired of that specific food type and never eaten it again.