"It's an Acquired Taste."

[Saetha]

So, here's an argument I hear a lot - particularly in regards to smoking and especially alcohol - that I never really understood. I get the mechanics of it - expose yourself to this unpleasant thing enough and you'll start to like it - but I don't understand why people say that like it's a legitimate argument and not a vaguely masochistic way of trying to fit in.

Maybe it's more to do with me, because I don't care for alcohol, so whenever the subject comes up I am inevitably pressured to try it on the basis of "You have to keep drinking it to like it - it's an acquired taste." But why should I acquire it? What's the reason for forcing myself to take something awful until I find it pleasant, when I could drink something I actually like and be much happier? (As well as not run the risk of getting addicted/drunk.)

I suppose in a roundabout way, I'm asking why anyone does this - I can understand the argument of peer pressure, or social status. People do it to look cool, or to fit in. But it's pretty contradictory with the constant message of "Be yourself, don't submit to peer pressure" that people like to bandy about. So, someone explain this to me. What's the point in acquiring a taste for something distasteful?

 

[Fox12]

By "acquired taste" do they mean addiction? I know people who like to smoke because it calms their nerves, which I can get. The same with alcohol, actually.

 

[happyninja42]

Well they say this because the point of drinking alcohol is to get drunk, or at least tipsy. The ends, justify the means kind of mentality. the goal, is to be in an altered mental state, the method to reach that goal, is to consume alcohol. Since this isn't always pleasant for everyone, you must acquire a taste for it.

I personally never bothered with it, and would always tell people "I'm sure drinking piss is an acquired taste too, it doesn't mean I want to do it." And I just went for other drugs when i wanted an altered mental state. No bad taste to deal with, just pills or tabs of acid, or mushrooms, or smoking a joint or two. Much easier to manage in my opinion

By "acquired taste" do they mean addiction? I know people who like to smoke because it calms their nerves, which I can get. The same with alcohol, actually.

Actually it only calms your nerves because you have developed a need for the nicotine to be calm. You develop an agitated sense of anxiety if you go too long without a smoke, and smoking just resets you back to zero state. Though I'm assuming you are talking about people you know who have a smoking habit? And not just like a cigar every few weeks when out with friends kind of smoking?

 

[Xprimentyl]

I think for the experience mainly. Of course, that's not to say one will ever acquire the taste for something they dislike, but it's far from uncommon for someone's initial and sole exposure to something new to be indicative of the general whole. I had a friend who hated coffee for most of his life (into his early 20s.) One day, he tried it and loved it immediately. Why? Because it had cream and sugar; the ONE time he'd ever tried coffee before, it was black and very bitter. My own example: when I was 20 I drank an entire bottle of Jagermeister with a friend of mine; it's worth noting, this was my first time drinking liquor. The subsequent near-alcohol poisoning, vomiting and hangover had me convinced booze was the devil and I swore off of it. I met a girl a couple years later who convinced me to try other liquors and (most importantly) in moderation, 2-3 drinks. I soon found that I loved a good buzz and I didn't need to drink half a liter to get said buzz. Just saying, with most things that people enjoy, be they good for you or not, there is usually a reason, and one of life's many joys is curiosity and finding out why; even if our initial opinion might not be the best, it's often a trial-and-error process.

 

[DrownedAmmet]

Well they say this because the point of drinking alcohol is to get drunk, or at least tipsy. The ends, justify the means kind of mentality. the goal, is to be in an altered mental state, the method to reach that goal, is to consume alcohol. Since this isn't always pleasant for everyone, you must acquire a taste for it.

I personally never bothered with it, and would always tell people "I'm sure drinking piss is an acquired taste too, it doesn't mean I want to do it." And I just went for other drugs when i wanted an altered mental state. No bad taste to deal with, just pills or tabs of acid, or mushrooms, or smoking a joint or two. Much easier to manage in my opinion

This. If you like getting tipsy or drunk, you have to find a drink you can tolerate. The more you drink it the more you are able to notice differences between brands and all the different flavors in each drink (beer especially, I never used to really taste beer, I drank a lot if Natty Ice, but now I can't drink the stuff, I need more flavorful beer) so there is some logic to the saying

But if they're saying that to pressure you into drinking when you don't want to? Fuck them righteously, and tell them to mind their God damn business

 

[Catnip1024]

Well, given you can say the same about coffee or tea, it is a legitimate argument. I used to hate drinking hot drinks, but now I have gotten into it (work does that to you) I appreciate the different flavours etc.

Beer is like coffee, in that once you acclimatise to the bitterness, there is something nice to the flavour, and you do start to appreciate different flavours over others. I'm talking about proper ales and European lagers, of course, not these god awful lagers like Fosters or Budweiser that noobs seem to go for.

What's the point of acquiring a taste for it? Besides the getting drunk part (which is a major factor, let's be honest), if you are planning to go for a night out where I grew up, you will want a nice thick beer jacket on. Diet coke doesn't give you that.

 

[Silvanus]

I don't think "acquired taste" necessarily refers to things people intentionally expose themselves to in order to start to like them; they're usually just things people come to love, but have slightly peculiar flavours. Olives and licorice are both classic acquired tastes (both of which I used to find a bit iffy, but now love, despite no conscious effort).

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

But why should I acquire it? What's the reason for forcing myself to take something awful until I find it pleasant, when I could drink something I actually like and be much happier? (As well as not run the risk of getting addicted/drunk.)

I a similar mentality, but I'm a little more flexible.

I'll try stuff more than once if it's something I wanna try, but am not convinced I like the taste of, but if it's something I clearly don't like, I'm not going to try.

Generally, if I don't like it, I'll try to think of why I don't, and I'll look for some other flavor if there's an alternative.

Like, my dad tried to get me to enjoy red wine. I can't. I hate it. But I gave white wine a shot and hey, it's great. I also can't STAND beer, it tastes like shit. But I like various mixed cocktails. I HATE HATE HATE tomatoes (it's the texture), but I love the taste, and so I love tomato juice, soup and sauce.

If I can find a similar alternative for something I want to try, it's worth a shot. But if it's something core to the product and there's no way around it, I'll pass. Like how I just can't do cake due to the spongy texture meshed with the slipper icing. *shudder*

...All that being said, some things you need to try more than once to really understand. The first time you have any kind of booze, you're likely going to be more focused on just the taste and sensation of the alcohol and you'll miss the rest of the drink, which is often delicious.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Not sure about the 'acquired taste' principle in regards to a highly addictive and easily addictive substances like smoking and alcohol , respectively, but I would just relate this to me trying and later enjoying foods that I previously didn't find appealing.

Growing up, I was a picky eater: obviously, I didn't eat just unhealthy stuff, but for the most part, I was comfortable with things that I could eat everyday and did not like there to be any form of complex seasons, sauces, etc. in my food. As I got older, and become more adventurous with exotic foods, I was more open to different cuisines and everyday foods that I avoided simply because I could. I found that there were many great dishes that I didn't immediately joy, but found them delicious. So I would moderately order those same dishes/foods and over time, I came to love them, without any other form of additives other than they were legitimately delicious.

Back to the OP, I hate smoking and would never consider it. Drinking, on the other hand, was a result of my adventurous phase with foods. I found that most alcoholic beverages taste exactly how they smell, so it was some form of pretense as to what I was to experience. Now, there some beers (mostly micro brews) that I thoroughly enjoy, simply for the taste and not really the alcohol content; I could just as easily drink a non-alcoholic version of the drink and think nothing of it.

 

[Saelune]

Acquired Taste is a stupid thinking, since it suggests defying logic to suffer until you enjoy, and makes no freaking sense!

At best people might use it to refer to something that someone doesnt like out of not understanding, but that wouldnt have anything to do with taste. If it tastes bad, it tastes bad, just stop eating/drinking it.

 

[Drathnoxis]

I think there is a lot of societal pressure involved. You see people drinking everywhere; in bars, at parties, in commercials, on billboards; so naturally kids want to get used to drinking when they grow up. It makes them feel tough and mature. Also there is an associated high, so it's kind of understandable.

But what I want to know is, why anybody bothers acquiring a taste for moldy freaking cheese?!

It tastes like mold, the smell alone is enough to make me want to throw up, why would anybody ever want to eat the stuff?

 

[Glongpre]

I think acquired taste is more like coffee. When you first taste it, it is bitter and doesn't leave a good impression on your taste buds.

But as you continue to drink it, you begin to enjoy it and it's benefits.

 

[Chanticoblues]

I don't like the saying "It's an acquired taste". It's very stand-offish, and I think shuts down curiosity or discussion on whatever the topic is. Things that would be considered an acquired taste, or difficult to enjoy usually take a process, or a kind of thinking or experiencing that isn't conventional, and I think that whoever is saying "It's an acquired taste" could probably be doing something more useful to help whoever is talking with them to understand what there is to enjoy about whatever the topic is. I think it can play a bit into cliqueism. It's possible they don't want you to enjoy what they enjoy because they want to feel good about "getting it."

I think I hear the phrase the most when it comes to art, so I guess I'd say a person's ability to 'get' an acquired taste relates directly to how literate they are in what the field is. Someone who isn't a strong reader probably isn't going to appreciate Faulkner, someone who isn't visually literate probably isn't going to appreciate Rothko, someone who isn't cine-literate probably isn't going to appreciate James Benning. Though things for the taste buds don't engage our minds the same way art does, I imagine there is a kind of fluency related to tasting things. I mean there are people whose professions come down to tasting things as accurately as possible.

Anyways, personally I like things that would be considered an acquired taste, along with the bumpy early stages. I like trying to understand where other people's enjoyment comes from.

 

[maninahat]

I think there is a lot of societal pressure involved. You see people drinking everywhere; in bars, at parties, in commercials, on billboards; so naturally kids want to get used to drinking when they grow up. It makes them feel tough and mature. Also there is an associated high, so it's kind of understandable.

But what I want to know is, why anybody bothers acquiring a taste for moldy freaking cheese?!

It tastes like mold, the smell alone is enough to make me want to throw up, why would anybody ever want to eat the stuff?

Lovely! Stilton too! Bluer the better. If you don't care for fungus in food, avoid bread and alcohol.

It didn't take me long to enjoy blue cheeses. It took much longer for me to acquire a taste for coffee, and even then, I can only really like espresso. Why go to the trouble? Because if all it takes to like more kinds of food is to expose yourself to it a few times, I think it is well worth it. With a tiniest bit of effort, there is now an entire category of cheese that has become open to me.

 

[CaitSeith]

I think there is a lot of societal pressure involved. You see people drinking everywhere; in bars, at parties, in commercials, on billboards; so naturally kids want to get used to drinking when they grow up. It makes them feel tough and mature. Also there is an associated high, so it's kind of understandable.

But what I want to know is, why anybody bothers acquiring a taste for moldy freaking cheese?!

It tastes like mold, the smell alone is enough to make me want to throw up, why would anybody ever want to eat the stuff?

I may guess, as side dish for something utterly insipid?

 

[Dizchu]

When people say that something is "an acquired taste" they usually mean that they've acclimatised to it. When it comes to strong drinks usually they started with weaker drinks and their taste buds eventually adapted to stronger tastes. It's not a matter of masochism, some things have a richer quality that require the so-called "acquired taste" to appreciate. I drink strong cider for example (around the 8% range) but I can understand how it'd taste unpleasant to most people.

I mean we happily accept this idea when it comes to music. To the uninitiated, death metal and black metal sound extremely harsh, un-musical and unpleasant. We've all heard "why does anyone listen to this? You can't understand the lyrics! It's too fast!" But obviously people like those genres (I should know, I play it). It's "an acquired taste" because nobody listens to Linkin Park one day, says "oh this is pretty cool" and then seamlessly transitions into listening to Spawn of Possession and Deathspell Omega. It doesn't happen, usually people's tastes change incrementally. It is, as they say, "acquired".

 

[visiblenoise]

There was some aspect of the thing in question that they found fascinating, despite the surrounding unpleasantness. Maybe even something like the romanticizing of the idea of partaking in the thing. Call that shallow if you like, but if ultimately the result is genuine appreciation, then what does it matter?

Haven't you ever gotten into something without really knowing why?

 

[Sniper Team 4]

My acquired taste is the cheeseburger from AM/PM gas stations. Those things are terrible. The cheese has the feeling of rubber, I'm pretty sure there's not actually meat in the "meat", and the buns drown out everything else because they're so big compared to what you're getting. By all rights, that thing should not be called food, much less a cheeseburger.

And yet I LOVE it! They are the best cheeseburgers in the world when I'm in the mood. I've had other people try them, and the look of horror that shows up on their face is hilarious. What's even better is that I managed to corrupt my friend. He took one bite, nearly choked, and then he kept eating. Now, we go together to get "the greatest cheeseburgers in the world."

What I think the o.p. is talking about is more of an excuse, a way to make the person feel better about the fact that they're probably addicted to something, not because it's a strange taste that isn't for everyone.

 

[Saetha]

...All that being said, some things you need to try more than once to really understand. The first time you have any kind of booze, you're likely going to be more focused on just the taste and sensation of the alcohol and you'll miss the rest of the drink, which is often delicious.

But then, why add alcohol to the drink at all if the drink's more delicious on it's own? If the alcohol brings it down? I can understand people wanting to add alcohol because they'd like to get drunk, but if that's not your aim and the taste of alcohol is unpleasant, than why not simply drink something non-alcoholic, or take the drink without alcohol?