Eating Cheap Cheeses or Satisfied with Banality
A few years ago, my dad took a trip to Wisconsin to consult with a few churches. As a sign of their gratitude, they gave him a hunk of sharp Wisconsin cheddar. Being good parents, they gladly shared some of the sharp creamy goodness with me while I visited. It was some of the tastiest cheese that I have ever eaten.
While I was in Europe earlier this year, I was also presented with some of the most obscure and unusual cheeses. They were unlike anything I had ever eaten, and to a certain extent, some were in a group of foods that I generally avoid. But all of them had more flavor and texture than most of the cheese I usually eat here. And to many of the French, such cheese consumption is a very normal activity.
But here, I eat the cheap manufactured cheddar cheese blocks from HEB, and tend to be completely happy doing so. That is what I have always eaten and my tastes have accommodated those tendencies. I am accustomed to eating cheese that has little flavor and poor texture.
In fact, I am so accustomed to that cheese that my tastes have been trained to dislike the more flavorful varieties. You see, my habits have caused me to be satisfied with cheap and inferior products.
Of course, my stories about dairy products that have little impact on my life, but I wonder how often my tastes preclude me from trying and doing the better things. Like not enjoying exotic cheeses, I think I have become complacent in other areas of life, not understanding how good change can be or not even considering the possibility of change. And either way, I don't want to allow my natural tendencies to hinder me from enjoying the best things in life.