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Introducing New Flavors to Family

jglass

jglass

New member
Do you guys find it hard to get your family to try new types of food?

When I make Sunday supper to have with my father in law I am pretty limited to what I can try on him. He likes your basic country cooking. I have gotten him to try some Italian with good results on more of then then not. He loves baked pasta but hated risotto. Disliking risotto was a shock since he loved the mozzerella stuffed fried risotto balls I made a few weeks ago. He said he liked all of the flavors in the risotto .. just not together :confused: On the other hand he loved every Italian soup/stew I have ever taken him. I had made a yummy risotto with white wine and parm cheese last week I later found out he fed to the dog. That was a very expensive waste of ingredients going into the dogs dish. I had only made it because he saw them making it on the FN and said he wanted to try it.

When I first married Jon he wouldnt try many new foods either and I felt guilty if I tried to sneek anything in on him without telling him. I had this whole your taking advantage of the fact he cant see thing going on. Then I got over it lol. He eats a lot of things now simply because I slipped them in on him and told him after the fact.
For example he would never eat anything with cream cheese in it or touch spinach just to name a few. Both of which he eats now. He is much more open to trying new flavors if he doesnt actually know he is eating them ;)
That boy was missing the heaven that is cheesecake because of some hatred of cream cheese I don't think he had ever even tasted. Now he loves cheesecake.

My brothers idea of heaven is a pot of pinto beans with smoked ham hocks cooked in them with fried potatoes, green onions, cornbread and greens.

This is a very rural area where people are very used to old fashioned country fare. I have been able to get them into some new tastes but it is a challenge every time. Some days I want to make something new but am lost as to where to start. I hate to try something and find out the dog has ended up with wasted expensive ingredients. It doesnt happen often but it still annoying when it does.
 
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Jeanie, I have almost the same thing in our house. I do most of the cooking. Wife does cook most week end and is a good cook.
My wifes Mother has been living with us for almost 2 years now. She is 93 years old. My wife and her both being Syrian. So Syrian food is what my wife's Mother has eaten most of her life. Her food choices have been limited to what she new how to cook. Me being a Southern fellow we just don't cook the same things. Although I do cook some Syrian dishes. I catch hell sometime, like what is all this mixed up stuff. It really used to bother me but not much anymore. She is learning that there is lots of great food out there. CF:)
 
Most of the new foods are introduced by me. However, my daughter can be somewhat more adventuresome then my wife. My daughter and I have always wanted to try a new Indian restuarant near her house but the wife says "No way". Some just have their basic fare and will not change. Your brothers Pinto beans with ham hocks sound pretty good to me though.
 
there are some cuisines I won't try anymore of or won't try at all - then there are some that I will try some of their recipes - I think I am getting too fussy in my old age - I love my comfort foods -
 
Comfort is always good. I go there often. I really enjoy the food that I grew up with. But not afraid to try something new. I enjoy the old memories of food and family. Cooking the foods brings those memories back. CF:)
 
I have 100 + cookbooks in my collection. Some times I want to try something new on them but on a limited budget I hate to see ingredients wasted if they don't like it. It is crazy with them. I don't like these flavors together ... I don't like that texture :rolleyes: The only time my fil will eat white meat is if it is roasted on a whole bird. He won't touch an individual piece of white meat. He may eat mac and cheese wonderfully one week and later when you make it again he won't touch it. Once again a pan of expensive ingredients will end up in the dogs pan. Some days I would amost take a $5 pizza and call it dinner they have me so annoyed.

Food prices just continue to get worse.
Our local market always puts chuck roast on sale the first week of the month for $2.99 a pound. Got the flyer the other day and they had gone up to $3.49 a pound sale price. Huge jump in price! Cooking oil had gone up when I got some yesterday. The cheap brand was even up .50 a bottle.

I loath hot weather but I will be glad to see the Farmers Market open back up. Fresh produce to stretch out the food budget.
 
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I don't want to break your bubble Janie - regarding fresh produce - our lettuce is at $2.99 a head already - and it's getting worse - the farmers are also cashing in on this gas crisis - and I blame our president - him and OPEC we don't need. I am paying almost $4.00 gallon for gas - the cheap food stores are charging the prices of regular supermarkets and our supermarkets are going to price themselves right out of business. No one can afford these prices - I know I can't. I'm just glad I can cook - it helps being able to make your own foods cheaper - maybe not that much cheaper with the ways things are today - but I think you know what I mean. Meats have jumped almost $1 pound here.
 
Mama, I don't know about cashing in on the gas prices. We do farm small scale, about 25 acres. The fuel prices are killing me. Along with the price of most products we use. Seed, fertilizer, are all out of site. And talking with our buyers they never want to pay any more than they did in 1950. The only way I can come out with any profit is to sell to the consumer. And I have way more product than our small town could use. And most people have gardens anyway. I think this will be my last year, I am getting tired anyway. CF:)
 
That's a shame - many smaller farmers are going to quit because of all this. If something doesn't change soon there is going to be a lot of rioting, robbing, looting, etc. Where I live we have a few small farms and a few big ones - I can't wait to see what happens to them.
 
Mama my father in law, mother in law and stepfather in law plus a couple of Jon's friends all raise gardens and offer me anything I want. Jon doesnt touch many veg so it doesnt take much to keep me very garden happy. I stop by the farmers market occasionally to flesh out a little more of this or that or see if they have something the others didnt grow.

Our farmers market is 95% local people who live within five miles of town. Jon's brother participates in it every year. Last year they all kept their prices very acceptable. A few of them were more expensive than the local stores but they were people who had gone out of town and bought stuff in bulk to bring here and resale. Our farmers market basically consists of half a dozen local farmers selling their produce out of the back of their trucks in a parking lot in town.

Gas here is $3.59 right now. It was $3.69

I expect with gas prices the farmers market will indeed be through the roof this summer.
 
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Jon was just telling me that they had already told his brother to raise as much corn as they can because they expect it to sell for $8 a dozen this summer. Jeez!
 
jglass said:
Jon was just telling me that they had already told his brother to raise as much corn as they can because they expect it to sell for $8 a dozen this summer. Jeez!
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That's a shame. Fresh sweet corn in the Spring and Summer is a favorite of mine. I've paid as little as .25 cents an ear for it last year. Problem is I've found corn cheaper at our Walmart then at the Farmers Market plus the worm problem, usually effecting the tip of the ear, is worse in the local markets then at Walmart. All other produce is better at the local Farmers Market though.
 
Same thing here. Corn was $4 a dozen and up at the farmers market last year and .25 an ear or even 5/$1 at the grocery store. Jon's brother raises tons of it to sell and so does his Mom so getting myself a little here or there isnt to hard. If I had to buy it at $8 a dozen I would do without. Jon won't touch corn on the cob. Last year I did get some nice prices on peppers and different types of taters at the market. Tomatoes were crazy high at the market. I like to get red bell peppers at the market and put them in the freezer. They are way to high from the grocery store.

Last year in the fall they had tons of wonderful apples for a great price. I suppose those will be terrible this year.
 
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I was telling Jon from now on no more trying new things for Sunday dinners. From now on I will stick with the tried and true.
 
Good thread, Janie.

I can identify w/ the troubles some have.

My family, in addition to having very narrow, basic palettes- also are quite finicky.

So much they don't like and won't even try. Really frustrating for someone who loves to cook and who loves to bring new things to the table.

It's gotten so bad that I don't go to much trouble at all anymore- they simply don't always appreciate it. In fact- more often than not I take store-bought stuff over to their places when asked to bring something- or we go out to eat so all the finicky sorts can pick and choose off a menu.

I've simply had my feelings smacked around too many times- or gone to great time and expense, just to have them wrinkle up their noses and shove a dish away.

I have many freinds who are enthusiastic, adventurous gung-ho eaters who appreciate anything and know how to show it. We cooks love lavishing our dear ones w/ homemade morsels filled w/ love. But dangit! Why do so many folks have to be so finicky? :(
 
Most finiky eaters are that way because it's just in their head. There mind is made up before they taste it. Neither one of my kids will touch watermelon solely based on the texture of the thing. I always thought the best cure for the super picky eater is a tour in the military. About two weeks into basic and everyone will just scarf it down and ask what is was later.
 
Kevin I am totally going to adapt the same approach as you.
Gas prices jumped here yesterday. They went from around $3.51 to $3.79 a gallon. I just about fainted when I saw that.
 
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