Beetroot has always been one of those foods I found particularly offensive. I’d see my parents eating it when I was little and the smell was repulsive. It smelt incredibly strong, and the thought of all that juice touching my other food filled me with dread. It was one of my mums go-to vegetables when she wanted to have salad for dinner. It was one of many things that disgusted me when presented with your classic 80’s style salad. For an outsider looking in, they’d probably wonder what on earth the fuss was about? The living room table would be filled with everything you’d expect for the time: Cheddar cheese, ham, lettuce, beetroot, cucumber, raw celery, tomatoes, beetroot, picallili and a jar of helmands mayonnaise. On some occasions there was also a quiche, pork pies, boiled eggs, coleslaw and pickled onions, but that was a treat and certainly not every time.

As a child this was an incredibly challenging dinner, and i would often end up feeling like i hadn’t really had my evening meal. Out of that first list without the extra bits, i would happily eat ham, cucumber was OK in small amounts or in a cheese sandwich, and cheddar cheese (but not if it was a strong cheddar). So my plate looked very empty. I would also eat quiche, pork pies and boiled eggs, but they weren’t always an option on those nights. So as you can probably tell, there wasn’t much salad on my plate for a meal that was supposed to be salad! I was always told to try a bit of everything and mix it all together, but i don’t think you’ll find a child on this planet who would willingly try a whole plate full of foods that you think you hate, all mixed up together!

On Tuesday (15th July), I chose beetroot. I realised that despite my disgust at it over the years, it was one of the foods that i had never tried and genuinely had no idea what it was supposed to taste like. When I was shopping for it I made sure to check that I’d bought a packet that was just cooked beetroot, not pickled or cooked with any extra ingredients, just plain beetroot. As I was cooking dinner I could feel myself getting very anxious about trying it, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to. I decided the best thing to do was to cook a meal I know I liked, and just place the beetroot on the table as an option, no pressure and no chance of it contaminating the rest of my food. I sat down at the table with that classic pairing of chicken nuggets and chips to go with my new food, and after a few bites of nuggets and chips, I decided I should at least give it a go. I carefully pushed my food to the other side of the plate leaving a large space for a single, tiny, beetroot (I took the smallest one in the packet). I cut of a small piece and took a bite.

I don’t know what I thought it would taste like but I thought it would be incredibly strong, whatever that flavour was supposed to be. I was pleasantly surprised but the mild flavour, a stark contrast to my expectations. The texture was like nothing I’d experienced, I think the best way I can describe it is like a cold, juicy and soft potato, but firm enough to hold itself together. Slightly sweet, but not as sweet as carrots. I realised pretty quickly that a little bit of salt goes a long way, so I added a little and tried again. For the first time I finally understand what people mean when they describe a flavour as “earthy”. I definitely feel like a child who’s trying solid food for the first time. Instead of my instant reaction of “no that’s wrong and I don’t like it”, I made myself sit with it and really think about it. What did I think about it? What am I tasting? Do I actually dislike it or is it just new? And before I knew it id finished the whole beetroot! I carried on with my nuggets and chips, contemplating what I’d just experienced. I’ve read enough about picky eating at this point that I know I cant just try it once, so I went in for round two and picked the next smallest beetroot in the packet. This time I tried it with a bit of nugget too, and it was OK! I surprised myself by managing to finish both small beetroots and feeling pretty good about it, even if I wasn’t sure yet if I actually liked it.