I've thought a lot about the subjectivity of taste, and I've come to the conclusion that it's one of those things like the Blue/Gold Dress Illusion that is perc

I've thought a lot about the subjectivity of taste, and I've come to the conclusion that it's one of those things like the Blue/Gold Dress Illusion that is perceived fundamentally differently by different people, and each group lives their lives in complete ignorance of the others. I'm also convinced that taste is a spectrum: a series of distributions which overlap between the different tasting groups. When I met my now-fiancee, she was certainly what you would call a picky eater (not "only grilled cheese for dinner" picky, but in the general vicinity). As a self-styled "adventurous eater", I figured I'd try to get her to like more foods. It's worked, kind of. I think she's moved higher on her taste spectrum (towards more flavors) but still tastes things distinctly differently than me. She loves kale now, but most bitter greens and some veg are disgustingly bitter (as are tonic drinks). Puzzlingly to me, she's also become a cheese fanatic, devouring even the most aggressive raw-milk washed-rind cheese and hot blue cheeses that I personally find a bit much. And, to draw it back to the article, she's learned to enjoy wine. Whites are preferred over reds, but even then she has liked reds with softer tannins and bigger fruit tastes. I also think a big part of the taste spectrum is that of texture. In my fiancee's experience many foods like steak or poached fish or soup in general may taste delicious, but the texture itself is off-putting enough to make the food unpalatable. Wine of course doesn't have this problem (except in a limited way of mouthfeel, body, tannin structure). All in all, taste seems to be immensely personal and complicated with a lot of different factors besides "brussels sprouts are too bitter". It makes me wonder if there could be some analytical way to determine the salt/sugar/acid needed to add to a dish to make it taste comparatively similar between people from different parts of the tasting spectrum. Like color gamut calibration, but for food!