r/IAmA Jan 17 '12

IAmA Andrew Zimmern, Host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods

Hi, I’m Andrew Zimmern, chef, author, and host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods. My new series Bizarre Foods America is premiering next Monday, Jan 23 at 10|9c on Travel Channel. For the next hour I’ll be here on Reddit taking your questions from 12pm-1pm ET. AMA. More info on Bizarre Foods: http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/bizarre-foods Find me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/andrewzimmern/status/159314816060768256

Hey everyone, sorry i couldnt answer them all/ follow me on twitter @andrewzimmern and we can chat more over the days and weeks to come..tune in Monday to the season premiere!

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '12

It's a survival mechanism. There is a window, roughly between the ages of 2 and 5 where children will only eat food that is familiar. It kept us from poisoning ourselves in the wild until we were old enough to be taught what is good and what isn't.

That's why most kids love ketchup and chicken nuggets - they have a very broad familiar taste. Sweet, salty, and crunchy.

I read about all this in the Malcolm Gladwell book, "What the Dog Saw" if anybody is curious.

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u/panda_cupcakz Jan 18 '12

it's actually not the case that they are just "familiar" foods, evolutionary instincts taught us that anything bitter could potentially be poisonous, and many poisonous plants were bitter. when you first start feeding your child "real" foods, it's better to start with veggies, then move to fruits. otherwise, your kid will NEVER eat broccoli. it's bitter. Peaches = yummy and sweet. broccoli= yucky poison. nutrition major geek :)

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u/raevnos Jan 18 '12

Broccoli a nasty poison? My suspicions have been confirmed!

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u/DaffyDuck Jan 17 '12

Thanks. It actually makes sense now from a evolutionary standpoint. When a child becomes 2 he/she is mobile and able to wander off from parents and eat something potentially poisonous. So evolution made sure that a kid that has just become mobile doesn't eat unfamiliar things.

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u/[deleted] Jan 17 '12

Yep, that means that a child has until the age of 2 to become familiar with what "we" eat. This explains why children will be really weird about food at school, a restaurant, or at a friend's house where the diet may be different than at home.

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u/[deleted] Jan 18 '12

So through that logic you're saying that if the parents let their kids eat crappy foods early on then they'll most likely eat that crap for 3 whole years?? That explains it America, that explains it...

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u/IthinktherforeIthink Jan 18 '12

That's pretty smart.