Abstract
The similarity of taste preferences among family members was investigated by a sensory test of four different seasoned hijikini (a hot dish with seaweed) and a questionnaire survey of their diet. The results of having examined 69 families (277 people) showed, the concordance rate of favourite hijikini between parent and child was higher than that of two people without a family relationship. However, about half of all parent and child relations chose different hijikini from each other, suggesting that the transmission of taste preferences does not occur within the family. The concordance of the taste preference between mother and child was stronger than that between father and child, while the concordance rate for extended families was lower than that for nuclear families. The families without taste-concordance evaluated take-away dishes as better than handmade dishes. The taste-concordant families showed completely the reverse result, suggesting the possibility of a negative influence of familiarity with the commercialized taste on the family transmission of taste preferences. There was no difference between the taste-concordant families and taste-non-concordant families about the self-evaluation of taste preferences and favourite foods.
