"What would you like to eat?" - "I don't carrot all."

I, myself, have often wondered how and why one develops a certain aversion or liking to different kinds of food. What causes us to prefer one type of food over another? Why do we crave specific foods, and adversely, never think to give others a chance?

Our liking and preference for certain foods is a result of the combination of both our personal, and evolutionary history. Early experiences have a direct correlation with innate preference, and aversions for different substances. The class slides give a great example of these points by mentioning a mother who drinks carrot juice while pregnant or nursing. As a result of the mother's carrot juice consumption, the infant experienced the carrot flavor by swallowing the amniotic fluid and/or drinking the mother's breast milk. These experiences of having been introduced to carrot juice early-on consequently increased the infant's preference for carrot-flavored cereal. Adversely, it was shown that a mother who drank regular water (as opposed to carrot-water) while pregnant or nursing produced an infant who had less of a preference for carrot-flavored cereal.

Sources: Psych3380 class slides (Mark Berg)