When did eating become pleasurable?

Question

We ate to survive (yes I know we still do!) in ancient days ... was taste developed initially to warn us of deadly / poisonous foods. If this is true when did it all change? Do my taste buds work in the ancient ways or have I lost this touch sompletely? How come I dislike some foods then which are healthy for me?

Answer 1

The pleasure of eating has always been there, but it has only been recently that people have been able to have access to sugary, fatty foods.

Answer 2

When we discovered chocolate?!? lol! Good question though - we like sweet fatty foods n I think that this is because they contain a lot of calories, which we historically need as much as possible - so in that way we're not really that modern. As for veges - plants make tannins actually as poisons to put animals off eating them - it's these that give veges their flavour (but the tannins that flavour fruits are designed to taste nice as the plant wants that to get eaten!). Different people are more sensitive to certian tanins than others, so we like and dislike different things - so again not all that modern! Can't answer why some people have more of a sweet tooth than others or why I like chocolate more and my man prefers crisps!

Answer 3

We can safely assume that eating must have been pleasurable since humans and animals began doing so. This is amply highlighted by the fact that humans and animals were selective since times immemorial, about what they eat.

Yes, in the initial stages, it was most likely that man killed all sorts of animals for food or ate anything that grew but began to develop a taste later for some kinds of animals or plants, fruits etc.

Our tastebuds would be more accustomed to modern-day food since we tend to forget tastes and aromas of food if we are away from them for very long. I had this experience recently when I went to Thailand after nearly 4 years. Having lived there for several years, I loved Thai food and also their spice. But living in the West, I got accustomed to other cuisine and when I did return to Thailand, I found that Thai food in the same places, cooked by the same people, tasted different.

That ancient man knew what tasted good and was good for health is also highlighted by the humble boiled egg- which is consumed by ALL civilizations in the world, without exceptions...and of course, vegetarians. But who would have spread news that boiled eggs are good in ancient times to popularize it worldwide...is a mystery. Unless, each civilization experimented with the egg and found that it was good, which seems unlikely.

Answer 4

For me probably about the time I was over some teething stress and mom gave me a fried chicken drumstick.

Or maybe it was chocolate.

Answer 5

All I know on this subject is that we still harbour a large desire for sugary and fatty foods from the "ancient days" when both were difficult to find. The urge to have them made sure that we hunted them down, completing our diet.

Today, this hinders us in healthy  eating since we have an over abundance of both in American food.

Answer 6

eating has always been a pleasure for me!

Answer 7

There was this Pakistani guy who opened the first Indian Take-away ever, in the Garden Of Eden (would you Adam & Eve it!)

Evert since then, eating has been a pleasure.  Before that, people never ate anything but fruit.  Hence the saying "Be fruitful and multiply".  The when the Forbidden Fruit was eaten, and Adam and Eve were ejected, the art of curry making was lost until it was re-invented in Birmingham in the mid-1960s.  Now it is the National Dish of the UK.  Good question!  And this is the truth, don't let anyone tell you different! Trust me.

Answer 8

Judging from my dog, it became a pleasure long before we became human, then again some would say only humans can feel pleasure.  So our taste buds are tuned to get distinguish fat, sugar, salt, & sour (not ripe, here comes the explosive diahrea and the resulting dehydration and weakness).  

And the reason you dislike some healthy foods is because most foods we now consider healthy, aren't healthy in an evolutionary sense.  All that matters there is that you live long enough to father/mother a fat brat, not that you can be around in your 80s.  And for reproduction, its usually enough to just pack in the calories.

Answer 9

It all happened when the meat hit the fire. All senses of poison were lost and we discovered salt and pepper.

Answer 10

Your probably an overtaster. Foods like fruits and veggies don't tast so good.