Can You Train Your Taste Buds to Like Something?

October 19, 2025 •

4 min read

According to nutritionists, it can take up to 15 exposures for a person, especially a child, to accept a new food. The good news is that you can indeed train your taste buds to like something by understanding how food preferences are formed and using strategic, consistent exposure.

Quick Summary

This article explores the scientific basis for how food preferences are developed and demonstrates actionable strategies for retraining your palate. It covers the role of genetics, environment, and repeated exposure in influencing our likes and dislikes.

Key Points

Repeated Exposure is Key: Experts state it can take 10-15 or more attempts to develop a liking for a new food.
Genetics and Environment Influence Taste: Factors like genes (super-tasters) and early life exposure affect initial preferences, but they are not fixed.
Taste Buds Regenerate Regularly: With taste bud cells regenerating approximately every two weeks, there is a biological opportunity for change.
Use Flavor Pairing and Variation: Combining new foods with familiar ones and altering cooking methods can ease the transition to acceptance.
Reduce Processed Foods to Reset Palate: Decreasing high sugar and salt intake increases sensitivity to the natural flavors in whole foods.
Mindful Eating Enhances Flavor Perception: Paying attention to the sensory experience of eating can help you appreciate subtle flavors.
Patience is a Virtue: Training your taste buds is a gradual process that requires persistence and a positive mindset.

The Science of Taste and Flavor Perception

Our sense of taste is a complex interplay between our taste buds, our sense of smell, and our brains. Taste buds, which house taste receptors, are microscopic structures on our tongues that detect the five basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. However, what we perceive as 'flavor' is a fusion of these tastes with the vast array of aromas detected by our olfactory receptors in the nose. When you're sick and your nose is congested, food often tastes bland precisely because the aroma component is missing.

Several factors contribute to our individual taste preferences. Genetics, for instance, play a role in determining if you are a 'super-taster,' 'medium-taster,' or 'non-taster'. Super-tasters have more taste buds and are more sensitive to certain bitter compounds, which might explain an aversion to foods like broccoli or coffee. Environmental and cultural factors are also profoundly influential, with studies showing that food preferences are shaped by early life exposure, with pregnant mothers influencing their baby's preferences through amniotic fluid. As adults, our preferences can still change, as our taste buds regenerate approximately every two weeks, presenting a constant opportunity for a palate reset.

How to Successfully Retrain Your Taste Buds

Retraining your palate requires patience, consistency, and a multi-pronged approach. The goal is to move from tolerating a disliked food to enjoying it. This process can be broken down into several actionable steps, focusing on gradual adaptation rather than a cold-turkey approach. For example, if you aim to reduce your sodium intake, slowly tapering down the salt you add to food over a few weeks will allow your taste buds to acclimate without the shock of bland flavor.

Gradual Exposure: The most important rule for retraining your taste buds is repeated, consistent exposure. Experts suggest it can take over 10-15 attempts to truly accept a food, sometimes far more.

Start Small: Introduce a very small amount of the disliked food alongside a favorite dish. For example, add a few shredded carrots to a sauce you love.
Vary Preparation: A disliked food's texture or cooking method could be the issue. If you hate mushy boiled vegetables, try them roasted, stir-fried, or raw. The taste of coriander, for example, can vary dramatically depending on whether it's raw or cooked.
Mix with Other Flavors: Combine the new food with ingredients that can mask or complement its dominant taste profile. Pair a bitter leafy green with a sweet dressing, or use flavorful herbs and spices to enhance a dish.
Positive Association: Create positive memories around the food. Eat it with people you enjoy, or in a pleasant, low-stress environment.

A Comparison of Taste Retraining Methods


Method	Principle	Example	Effectiveness	Timeframe (Approximate)
Repeated Exposure	Consistent reintroduction of the disliked food in different contexts.	Trying a new vegetable cooked in a different way each week.	High, builds familiarity.	1-3 months (10-15+ exposures)
Flavor Pairing	Combining the disliked food with a liked one to mask its flavor initially.	Adding cheese sauce to broccoli and gradually reducing the sauce.	Moderate, can create positive associations.	Varies by individual and food type.
Flavor Gradualism	Slowly reducing the intensity of an unhealthy flavor (e.g., salt, sugar) over time.	Tapering down added sugar in your tea or coffee over several weeks.	High, effectively recalibrates sensitivity.	1-2 months for significant change.
Sensory Variation	Changing the food's texture, appearance, or serving temperature.	If a soft texture is disliked, serve the food raw and crunchy instead.	Moderate, addresses specific sensory aversions.	Quick initial results, but needs repetition.

Mindful Eating and Environmental Influence

Paying close attention while eating is a practice that can significantly aid in the process of training your taste buds. Eating without distractions, savoring the flavors, and focusing on the experience can help you appreciate the more subtle nuances of healthy, whole foods that might otherwise be overlooked in a modern diet full of strong, processed flavors. When you reduce your intake of highly processed, sugary, and salty foods, your taste buds can become more sensitive to natural flavors. This recalibration makes naturally sweet foods, like fruit or carrots, seem much sweeter over time. The environment also plays a role; eating in a peaceful atmosphere can make food more appealing than eating in a chaotic, stressful setting.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the question, "can you train your taste buds to like something?" is answered with a definitive yes. The science is clear: taste preferences are not fixed and can be reshaped through repeated, intentional exposure and a variety of clever cooking techniques. By being patient and persistent, you can overcome dislikes and broaden your palate, leading to a healthier, more adventurous relationship with food. It’s a rewarding journey of sensory exploration that can positively impact your diet and overall well-being.

Here is a guide on how to increase your spice tolerance.

Frequently Asked Questions

It varies by individual and the specific food, but some experts suggest it can take 10-15 exposures or more to accept a new flavor. Significant recalibration away from sugar and salt can be felt in as little as a few weeks.

Yes, for some foods. Super-tasters have more taste buds and are more sensitive to bitter compounds, which can make certain bitter foods particularly off-putting. However, repeated exposure and culinary techniques can still help.

Yes. Your tolerance for spicy foods can be increased through gradual and repeated exposure to capsaicin, the compound responsible for heat. Start with milder spices and slowly work your way up.

Repeated exposure is crucial for children, sometimes requiring many attempts before acceptance. Involving them in food preparation and offering new foods in a positive context also helps.

Yes. By consistently reducing intake of highly processed foods high in sugar, salt, and fat, your palate will reset. Over time, you'll become more sensitive to and satisfied by the natural sweetness and flavor of whole foods.

Yes, they do. Our sensitivity to different flavors generally decreases with age as the number of taste buds diminishes. This is why some adults come to enjoy stronger flavors they disliked in their youth.

Smell is a vital component of flavor perception. By creating positive sensory experiences, such as focusing on a food's aroma and preparing it in a way that minimizes unappealing smells, you can improve your overall liking for it.