How do I educate my palate?

[Mang]

I'm up for trying most things and of course most folk who are into bushcraft love to forage and so on, but I feel that I'm hampered somewhat with my palate.

I'm happy to try foods of plant origin, I'll eat most sea and shellfood (although the appeal of Oysters is beyond me) but I come up against a brick wall with most 'countryside' meats, and by that I'm talking just about everything with a hoof and a feather. I recently tried some Fallow venison and didn't think it was too bad, but that said I needed a shot of cranberry sauce to finish it, and I've tried pheasant and found the hen breast just about OK but the cock breast a bit too much.

Is there any way that I can train my palate (and brain!) to like this sort of stuff?

 

[forestwalker]

Eat it more than once. it really is that simple. If you eat a food say 20 times you will get used to the flavours, and find them much more agreeable. And make sure that you approach them as "this is good stuff" rather than "I wonder if this will turn out ok?".

 

[Kerne]

Remember when you first tried beer? Horrible stuff! But now...

 

[bushwacker bob]

with kids, if you can get them to try a food that they dislike 10 times,it becomes acceptable as part of their diet. I'm sure it will work for adults too.

 

[Melonfish]

Do you smoke? are you a fan of coca-cola or other soft drinks drink tonnes of tea?
all of which annihilate the palette.
i found after being ill for a while that when i was back to plane foods and water things tasted way, way better.
bread was actually tasty not just filling cotton wool, wild foods? YUM!
give it a try

 

[ged]

You're just not hungry. Go without for long enough, and any food will taste good.

 

[Bushwhacker]

What state was the food in, was it a well hung pheasant? Not something I like either, I prefer it to be fresh.
It could be down to the way it was cooked, I've seen people ruin perfectly good meat by cooking it wrong.

 

[Satyr]

Try cooking them in different ways, you can change the flavour of any meat through marinades or sauces.

The more you eat it the more you develope a taste for it. I now find pidgeon or venison preferable to steak. Slowly cooked in red wine with cinnamon sticks or juniper berries can make any game meat taste nice.

 

[yomperalex]

Keep trying it from time to time.

Experiment with cooking. I find that game can work really well cooked in alcohol and fruit.

Try anything from bitter to cider to wine. Redcurrant and blackberry jams work well.

Cook the meat properly - I usually err of the medium rare and always allow it to stand. some benefit from long slow cooking times (such as haunch of venison), some require really high, but short, roastings (such as mallard and teal).

Don't forget that fatty bacon is your friend as game is typically very lean.

just keep trying it from time to time, experiment, and hopefully you palate will learn to appreciate.

Alex

 

[Mang]

Thank you for your replies. I've saved, seasoned and sliced some of the Fallow Venison to make into jerky at Gilwell 24 and I'm rather looking forward to it. I'll adapt Kerne's post into a mantra when I try it 'You now like beer, you now like beer...'.