Tangentially-related, but children are more easily able to taste bitterness and other unpalatable flavors, which may be why some children loath (poorly-prepared) vegetables and other foods that adults don't mind. When I was young, about 4 or 5, I developed a fondness for dark chocolate, in spite of its obvious bitterness. Mainly because nobody else would eat it, and I could have about all I wanted every Halloween.