Isn’t it so interesting how our childhoods shape our taste in food for the rest of our life?

We’ve been boondocking at a few different Cracker Barrel restaurants as we have traveled across the country. We always buy something as a “tip” for letting us stay in the parking lot overnight.

I’ve tried a few different things from Cracker Barrel- and while there are a couple menu items that are pretty tasty, I have to say it’s mostly nothing that I would write home about. However my father-in-law and husband find the food super tasty! I grew up with a mother that was constantly cooking and baking, and is very skilled. She was constantly adjusting recipes and tweaking them to make them even better, and she is known in her neighborhood for a few of her recipes.

Basically, I grew up with a not-professional-chef-but-should-be mother, and so I was spoiled with all sorts of homemade deliciousness; everything was bursting with flavor! So it takes a lot to impress me- and unfortunately Cracker Barrel is just a little too bland for me.

My father-in-law’s mother passed away when he was eight, and as a full-blown German, they don’t have the same flavor/spice varieties as some households. My husband’s mother was sick for much of his childhood, and experimented with different health diets (like vegan). So for both of these men, I can see how a huge meal from Cracker Barrel would be enticing and comforting and delicious. Not saying they had horrible childhoods or anything like that! But they definitely didn't have the same culinary experience growing up that I did ;).

Another thing I find interesting is how often my husband wants to order dessert when we go out. We NEVER ordered dessert growing up- because my mom’s stuff was so much better! Why would we spend money on a dessert that was only half as good as Mom’s??? The idea of ordering dessert is foreign to me, but for my husband, it’s almost always part of the meal when we go out. And I still think most of mom’s stuff is better ;).

My dad and grandpa come to mind also. My grandpa was quite particular and picky with his food- but he loved roast and mashed potatoes. Every Sunday while growing up, my dad’s family would have roast and mashed potatoes for dinner. Because of the frequency, my dad grew to find roast and mashed potatoes as super boring. We had roast and mashed potatoes for dinner a few times when I was growing up, and I always saw it as a special dinner, a delicacy! But for my dad, it was just a boring meal! (Not that he would criticize my mom’s cooking- he’s never said anything bad about her cooking!)

Another example. My husband hates soup, and as we were talking the other day I came to find out he had soup A TON as a child, and even worse in his mind, because his mom was a vegan, they would have things like “chicken gumbo soup”, but without the chicken. He got so frustrated with that misconception! And they would always make huge pots and have the same thing over and over. So to him, soup is just super boring and bland. To this day, soup is one of his least favorite things.

I wonder what food aversions and memories my kids will have. Will they find certain foods boring because they had too much of it? Will they have any memories of particularly tasty recipes I made? Will they develop certain habits (like ordering or not ordering dessert) because of their bringing up? It’s so interesting how much of our food tastes are shaped in our childhood!

What food aversions or preferences do you have because of your childhood? I’d love to hear in the comments below!

    Camille Hoffmann
    Weekly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! camille@dvo.com