Bruno:

> Therefore one must always be very cautious when tasting anything new in
> nature or on one's table and eat ONLY A LITTLE BIT the first time and
> ONLY IF IT TASTES POSITIVE (spit out if no taste).
>

That's half true. Rats are known to live in community, and whenever an
individual recognizes a poisonous substance, he defecates on it, to
signal that it is a toxic food. The very fact that such a behaviour
exists proves that rats are occasionally poisoned, and that instinct
alone is not enough to protect us.

Another aspect of "neophobia" is that a new food often *tastes* better
the second time than the first time, and that mechanism exists for raw
and for cooked foods as well. Examples:
 *the first time I ate a raw coconut, it tasted very bad, I could only
eat a small part of it. Nevertheless, I had a severe diarrhea. 48
hours later, I tried it again: it was delicious, and well-digested.
 *when I discovered Brazil nuts (which were slightly heat-denatured),
I found them acrid and I couldn't eat more than one. But now, it would
be difficult to resist eating 1/2 pound (thus, I avoid buying them, as
I know they are denatured).
 *last week, I found a fruit called "thanh long" in a vietnamese
store. I didn't like it, but nevertheless ate half of it, and kept the
rest in the refrigerator. The following day, I found the taste rather
fine.

etc...


Best wishes,

Jean-Louis.