Why do some grown-ups refuse to indiscriminately stuff their face with food?

Children generally have weaker palates, which are sensitive to what grown-ups might consider a mild flavor.  Kids are more likely to be put off by strong flavors and smells. I hated onions when I was a kid, but now I love them. Last week, a group of ridiculously cute preschool children came to the farm on a field trip. I noticed several of the kids holding their nose and complaining about the smell (which isn't even that strong in the front room). When the cheese store at the farm is open on the weekends, parents often come to buy cheese with their kids in tow. I'm told that a majority of the children who see the cheese or smell the cheese have the same disgusted reaction. I guess that's where Kraft Singles make a killing; they taste and smell like nothing. Even a few of the adolescents I've observed have scowled at artisanal blocks like they are looking at a horrific science project.


It never occurred to me that most people, especially at a young age, aren't exposed to rinds and unprocessed blocks in all their glory. The packages in the grocery store are neat, waxed cheddars or rindless goudas and parmesans. Even blue cheeses are cleanly pre-crumbled for you. Of course, the processed cheeses are completely deconstructed into mini blocks or into shredded cheese.

Even by adulthood, many people are curious about how or why some cheeses are different colors. Sidenote: blue cheese gets its blue specks from the work of penicillium mold on the cheese. It's not uniformly blue throughout the cheese because the penicillium needs oxygen to survive, so it only lives where the cheesemaker has poked holes through the block. Cheese is naturally a white or yellow color, depending on the milking season and what the animals are eating. The cheddar cheese you see in the store, even the artisanal waxed blocks, are only orange because they dye it with annatto.

I'm not sure the first time I saw a full-fledged block of aged cheese. Thankfully I don't remember ever being traumatized by it. It did take me a while to warm up to blue cheese, but now I eat the crap out of blues. 

Some foods take a while to ease into, and age can be a contributing factor. If they prefer cheese at all, children will like milder cheeses and develop a taste for stronger cheeses as they grow older. It's natural for children to be picky at first.

Of course, factors from the environment in which they are raised can affect what children like to eat. Mark's children are growing up around the cheeses he makes and don't think twice about the smell of the cheese house. I do believe that it's worthwhile to expose children to all sorts of food, even if they scream and spit it up. At the very least, it will teach them to respect food in the same way children are encouraged to respect diversity. I'm not trying to be politically correct, I just like to eat. Maybe an element of raising your kids right should be teaching them to appreciate food no matter what form by exposing them to a variety of fresh, hand-made cuisines in addition to the kid's menu standards. 

Food education, if you will, can be fun and beneficial. Those visiting preschoolers who weren't focused on the cheese house smell had a great time watching Mark demonstrate how to make homemade ricotta. As far as cheese education goes, I'm sure the Provolone Ranger would be willing to help you or your kids learn about cheese. I'll check with him and get back to you.

It's worth questioning whether and how the exposure a child receives to different foods affects how they feel about food as they grow older. I know people who are self-professed cheese wimps, and even people who don't like cheese at all.  I know everyone has their own food aversions. I don't push my cheese lust on them, but I'm curious: Is there a point at which the development of the palate halts completely? Can it be saved? Do you want it to be saved? Is it psychological or physical? I grew up in a house where my mother cooked Indian food one day and lasagna the next. Is that why I like culinary variety and trying new things?

It's not unnatural to hold onto a child-like hesitancy about cheese. Of course, I'd hope I can help you change your mind, encourage you to try new things and learn about new dairy delights. But some of us never develop the taste for certain foods. I just wonder why. If you're a picky eater, do you remember the foods to which you were exposed as a child? Do you own your pickiness or do you wish you could try new things?  I feel these are all important questions to determine the root cause of our food aversions. At the very least, no parent wants their picky child to grow up to be a picky grown-up who annoys all their friends. You know, the one who says "I eat anything, I'm not picky" when you are trying to decide on a restaurant, and then turns out to be both very picky and a liar. Nobody wants to be friends with that guy.