You Eat That? (Disgust is one of our most basic emotions)

Wall Street Journal ^ | JANUARY 28, 2012 | Rachel Herz

[nickcarraway]

Disgust is one of our most basic emotions—the only one that we have to learn—and nothing triggers it more reliably than the strange food of others

Disgust is one of our most basic emotions—the only one that we have to learn—and nothing triggers it more reliably than the strange food of others

In the last several years there has been an explosion of research on disgust. Disgust is one of the six basic emotions—along with joy, surprise, anger, sadness and fear—but it is the only one that has to be learned, which suggests something about its complexity.

Most children get their first lessons in disgust around the time that they are potty trained. After that, the triggers of disgust are quickly acquired from the responses and rules of parents, peers and, most importantly, the wider culture. One of the best places to look for the vast differences in what is or is not considered disgusting in different parts of the globe is food, especially distinctive foods, like every culture's favorite fermented dish.

Take cheese, considered by Westerners to be anything from a comfort food to a luxurious delicacy. A good taleggio, Gorgonzola or Brie might be described as sweaty or slimy. Cheese also has its fair share of aromatic obstacles and, depending on the circumstances, may be confused with vomit, stinky feet or a garbage spill. Many Asians regard all cheese, from processed American slices to Stilton, as utterly disgusting—the equivalent of cow excrement.

Given that cheese can be described as the rotted bodily fluid of an ungulate, that's not far off. But controlled rot tastes good in this case—at least to us (or most of us). The key is to manage the decomposition in such a way as to get that desired flavor and to ensure that we don't get

[pepperhead]

Most of the time the mold on Spanish Chorizo will peel off. Or at least it has on the Chorizo I have bought. The mold on it is also a good thing that is put on there to prevent bad mold from growing on it and other meats. The rest of the food on that list I could do without though.

[JimSEA]

Shrimp paste by itself I can’t handle but it is used in soup and curry which I like. Pla dak I can’t eat but the dried salty fish is good with kao tum. Dried squid is ok with Chang beer but then enough beer and the salty pla dak might be approachable.