The Chunky Bar
I was completely baffled that my mom could have forgotten the crucial fact that I despise raisins. (As an adult, I'm far less shocked that my mother spent time and energy on things more important than keeping detailed mental records of every single one of her four children's various food preferences.) I wasn't sure what to do in the moment, but I was always a good child and didn't want to complain or make a scene. So instead of telling my mom, or trying to trade with one of my brothers, or just simply not eating the candy bar, I held my breath (literally) and scarfed it down. I essentially swallowed each bite whole, with as little chewing as possible, so that I couldn't taste the raisins, which also meant that I didn't really taste the chocolate or peanuts either. I enjoyed that candy bar less than any candy bar I've ever enjoyed in my entire life.
Food Aversion
A lot of my childhood dislikes have disappeared now that I'm an adult, but my dislike of raisins has persisted. I'm not sure why. I never had a bad experience with raisins. But even at 33 years old, just the thought of eating a raisin makes me gag. That holding-my-breath-and-swallowing-the-raisin-whole trick I used with the Chunky Bar is a trick I've used as an adult, too, on the rare occasion that I've found myself with a raisin in my mouth. I can't really eat raisins plain, and I also can't eat anything with raisins in it. When I turn down a raisin-filled snack, I'm often told to just pick the raisins out. But picking the raisins out of a cinnamon roll, a muffin, a piece of carrot cake, or an oatmeal cookie is not really an option because a) it's way more work than it's worth, b) the raisin taste often still lingers, and c) there's too much risk that I might accidentally miss a raisin and end up eating it. I know. But you have your own food aversions too, don't you?
Because I have not purposefully chewed a raisin in approximately 30 years, I've often wondered if they're not as bad as I think they are. Like, maybe if I actually let myself taste a raisin I'd realize that even though they're gross, they're not quite as gross as I've built them up to be. But then I imagine what raisins taste like and I can't bring myself to try.
Do you have food aversions? Do you know where yours come from? Have you ever overcome one?
2 comments:
In my defense, I had NO idea (then and until this very moment) that chunky bars had raisins. I've always thought it was a big piece of chocolate (which is why I've never had one--I don't like solid chocolate). So a long overdue apology.
;-)
I hate mayo and Miracle Whip. HATE Miracle Whip. Loathe and detest. So in college, I went to Disneyland with two of my best friends, and one of them, Michael, was dear enough to make sandwiches for all of us to take to Disneyland for the day. He, of course, didn't know about my disgust for all things mayo-ish, and my sandwich was slathered with MW. If I remember correctly, I actually went hungry (despite being ravenous) because the sandwich was making me gag, and much like your reaction to the Chunky Bar, I didn't want to be rude or hurt his feelings. To this day, the memory makes me shudder. And like you, I can't remember why or how this hatred developed - it's just always been there!
The one food aversion that does have some logic is milk. I had a milk allergy as a child, and I just never got in the habit of drinking milk. Chocolate milk is delicious and wonderful, but all other milks - including the weird ones like strawberry flavor - make me gag. As a result, I've never had a bowl of cereal in my entire life (well, not with milk in it like most people, at least). Milk - and, as a result, cereal - doesn't even cross my mind as a possible food option.
While it makes me sad to hear you hate shrimp, fish, and steak, I'll just revel in how that means there's all the more for me to eat in the world! ;)
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