Adventurous eaters, when is the last time you tried a new food?

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/1ij4uc7/adventurous_eaters_when_is_the_last_time_you/

created by madamchrist on 06/02/2025 at 15:15 UTC

14 upvotes, 36 top-level comments (showing 25)

I'm only 39 but I was thinking this last night. I stopped dining out, gradually, and I realized it's because I mostly did so to try new things. I don't come across foods or cuisines I haven't tried anymore. I really miss that.

Comments

Comment by AutoModerator at 06/02/2025 at 15:15 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Please do not comment directly to this post unless you are Gen X or older (born 1980 or before). See this post[1], the rules, and the sidebar for details. Thank you for your submission, madamchrist.

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskOldPeople/comments/inci5u/reminder_please_do_not_answer_questions_unless/

2: /message/compose/?to=/r/AskOldPeople

Comment by Ezekiel-Hersey at 06/02/2025 at 15:24 UTC

7 upvotes, 2 direct replies

Ten years ago, in Paris, I tried snails, escargot. I'm a pescatarian and I convinced myself it was seafood. Haven't had it since, even tho it tasted OK.

Comment by tawandagames2 at 06/02/2025 at 15:25 UTC

7 upvotes, 1 direct replies

As I get older it gets harder to find a food I haven't tried before. Every few years I do find something and it's always fun

Comment by melina26 at 06/02/2025 at 15:31 UTC

4 upvotes, 3 direct replies

I’m so old, I remember when shrimp was exotic and came in little glass cups. Since, I’ve at least tried many foods, I think most recently jackfruit and dragon fruit which were for sure not around when I was a kid. You shouldn’t feel sad, expand on your favorites and try some fusion stuff. There is comfort in the meals of your childhood though, I turn to them when I am ill.

Comment by My_Sex_Hobby at 06/02/2025 at 15:34 UTC

3 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Two weeks ago. Southern fried cabbage and west Pennsylvania gobs.

Comment by hammock62 at 06/02/2025 at 15:34 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I tried ostrich just last week

Comment by NotMyCircuits at 06/02/2025 at 16:06 UTC

3 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Recently, I started visiting the H-mart, a huge Asian grocery one town over, and making a point to buy a vegetable I don't recognize and then figure how to cook it.

Pleasantly surprised with some! Others, still good, I think. "Oh, this reminds me of ..." some common fruit or veggie. But still feeling adventurous.

Comment by billthedog0082 at 06/02/2025 at 15:25 UTC

2 upvotes, 2 direct replies

I'm going to a Wild Game Dinner on Friday night. The menu is a secret until you get there. Last year's was tame, the wildest was elk, and probably farmed elk.

It's always a fun night.

Comment by OrablueM at 06/02/2025 at 15:35 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I have found an easy way to try something new is when picking my HelloFresh meals. Spouse and I have HF about once a month. Choosing a different type of cuisine for one of the three meals allows us to try something new without spending on spices or veggies we may never eat again. Some Korean or Indian cuisine with a spice not readily available or on our shelf comes to mind. And we do travel a bit so when in Europe (River cruise) where a meal is included we try a new cuisine. We are F57 and M73.

Comment by DoTheRightThing1953 at 06/02/2025 at 15:41 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I live in a small town so I really can't depend on restaurants for new foods. Something that I do fairly regularly is to explore the local supermarkets for things I haven't tried.

Of course a lot of the things I find are just ingredients so I then have to learn how to use it.

The latest thing I picked up was Korean chili paste. The best thing I've found this way was chili crisp.

Comment by NortonBurns at 06/02/2025 at 15:45 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I like new. I like varied. It's hard to try strictly new, because we're running out of countries to try new things from.

We tend to always cook at home, but we have a kind of joke between us that we never eat food from the same continent twice in a week. Obviously that can't be done, but to give an example, this week we're having…

Bibimbap - Korean

Chorizo, shrooms in a cream sauce on tagliatelle - Italian-ish

Burgers - let's call it American

Roast beef dinner - British

Keema curry with dahl & rice - Indian-ish

Chicken kebabs & feta salad - Greek

Paprika chicken with nokedli - Hungarian

Nothing African of from southern America this week - I'll have to make good on that next week.

Comment by TruckCaptainStumpy at 06/02/2025 at 15:48 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I'm with you on that. I've stopped dining out because I've tried everything available locally. I do sometimes go out and get new recipes to try now but I'm diabetic so it's hard to find anything decent (though I've found a few). I'm also not gonna eat most of the sugar replacements and I'm sticking with Sucralose but we're not big "sweets" eaters anymore.

Comment by Same-Music4087 at 06/02/2025 at 15:49 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I am not shy about food. I will try anything that people eat as normal food. I had seahorse soup, which is not often seen on the menu these days.

Comment by mippitypippity at 06/02/2025 at 15:51 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Have relied totally on regurgitation since birth

Comment by MrKahnberg at 06/02/2025 at 16:00 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Last year I ordered beef bone marrow. Wow, delicious.

Comment by Total-Guava9720 at 06/02/2025 at 16:02 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

I just tried chicken gizzards and chicken feet

Comment by Ouakha at 06/02/2025 at 16:10 UTC

2 upvotes, 2 direct replies

The other day my wife added pomegranate molasses to some black olives blitzed to make tapenade. She meant to use balsamic vinegar. I did try it. It was OK but the rest is still in the fridge waiting to go off before being binned.

Classic first world problem!

Comment by stumo at 06/02/2025 at 16:15 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Last weird thing was balut (developed duck fetus in the shell), I think. But I eat a lot of odd things, and I cook a lot, so mostly try stuff that I cook myself. The balut, for example, I bought at a local Asian store and cooked it at home. And they came in a six pack, so I got to try it several times.

Comment by ScammerC at 06/02/2025 at 16:21 UTC

2 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Last night. Went to a friend's house for dinner and they made fasolada (or something resembling it, there was anargument about the recipe). Just hadn't even gotten around to it, because usually a Greek restaurant will have avgolemono, and I could eat that every day.

Comment by MadameFlora at 06/02/2025 at 16:30 UTC

2 upvotes, 0 direct replies

At 69, I had haggis in Scotland last year in September and liked it! It's just sausage. Also clotted cream - sooo good.

Comment by silvermanedwino at 06/02/2025 at 15:23 UTC

1 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Go back to the ones you enjoyed. Try new restaurants.

Comment by Rlyoldman at 06/02/2025 at 15:26 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I love food. Live for it! But I only eat when I’m hungry so experimenting is a no go. I know what I like and stick with it. If I’m spending money I go for what I know.

Comment by my_clever-name at 06/02/2025 at 16:35 UTC

1 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Yesterday. For the first time I put a can of tuna in some leftover pasta sauce. Mixed the tuna and pasta with some parmesan cheese then mixed with the sauce.

I had no idea how it would taste but it turned out fine.

The cuisine type is "american middle-class use what's on hand"

Comment by Botryoid2000 at 06/02/2025 at 16:57 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

I try new stuff all the time.

The other day, I was at the Indian grocery, which is the closest store to my house. In the freezer, they had "Bombay Club" sandwiches and the pic on the box looked like a regular club sandwich with different fillings.

I bought it and it was 3 pieces of crisp toast cut in 4 triangles. The fillings were, I think, a layer of mashed spiced lentils, and a layer of minced onions and sweet and hot peppers with herbs. It was spicy and very, very odd. I probably wouldn't get it again, but it was fun to try.

Comment by RemonterLeTemps at 06/02/2025 at 17:09 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Not long ago I had brandade, a French appetizer of whipped salt cod, potatoes, garlic and olive oil.

Excellent spread on crostini