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I tell them to stop being a baby and just eat it.
:)

My husband and I were wondering the same thing! We are pretty adventurous, but we became vegetarians about a year ago. We love love love to cook, so we've made some pretty fabulous dishes with meat substitutes. When most people hear its not real meat they get a little freaky and won't eat it. We are hosting a dinner party this weekend and my husband is using a fake meat in one of his dishes... I was thinking that we just don't tell anyone and no one will know the difference! Cause we can barely tell!!

obviously this isn't something you can make someone do on the spot, but the best time to try new foods is when you're really hungry. because you're hungry, you generally don't reject it after the first bite unless it's outright repugnant--you eat enough for the novelty to wear off and by then you "understand" it better.

I'll try anything--if it's vegetarian. I've been lied to plenty, and then I'm utterly grossed out and won't eat that person's cooking again, thanks. Because I've been veg for 30 years, an accidental dose of meat ingredients tends to cause gastric distress in a couple of hours. I get my revenge on those who've misled me deliberately by whispering to other guests about "food poisoning" and "not sure she ever washes her hands!"

So don't lie to your friends! Veg or non veg! An interesting story about the origin of the dish or ingredient tends to draw people in, but if somebody's food phobic, it's not going to be fun to push them.

Serve it at a party and get someone else to gush about it. Not only will they be encouraged to try it, but most people don't want to look squeamish in public.

Lying about food is horrid. What if someone has a major allergy? Lying could kill them. (As I write this, I find it's interesting that almost everyone finds the allergy argument compelling, but somehow a personal preference is subject to being ignored. What does that say about our culture?)

I'm the kind of person that will watch travel shows and salivate at whatever completely out there food is put infront of the host. My friends... Not so much.

Our Wednesday dinners have been great for opening them up to new things though. Every week a different person cooks whatever they feel like. Since the ingredients come out of the cook's pocket, everyone feels obligated to at least try whatever is served. We managed to get even the pickiest of eaters to eat cow tongue and heart (and like it!) a few weeks ago.

I got my friend who doesn't like coleslaw or pulled pork to stick around for dinner because there was peach cobbler for dessert.

I think it's easier if you compare it to something they're already familiar with.

When I first tried Pho I was told that it's a version of noodle soup. Except that there was beef broth and you could add sprouts and lime juice. I slowly added extras until I found the combo I liked.

I always say I'll try anything once.

i hate it when people won't try new things.

We were at our favourite Japanese restaurant with a group of friends. One of the group had never had sushi in his life. I was amazed as I've had it about once a week for over 10 years. He also didn't like fish but we forced him to try a piece as it really was divine. He struggled. He almost vomited all over the table and after he finally managed to swallow it, dinner had been ruined for it. We felt so bad and it really put a dampener on the evening.

So that time, it really backfired.

Wow, I can't believe there are those who serve vegetarians a meat dish and lie about it. What a terrible thing to do. Anyways...

All palates are different so if the person is willing, I usually start with a milder version so as to not scare them right off the bat. When my husband and I were dating he had never tried sushi and was justifiably nervous. I started off with small rolls of cucumber so he could get used to the texture and taste of seaweed. Another visit we'd graduate to egg and California roll. Then lastly tuna. Now he eats more daring sushi than I do!

@Nikita: Ha! I was about to say the same thing.

I don't think that people should pressure each other to try things they don't want to. If I enjoy something, I'll tell someone that I like it and why. If they're curious, they can try it. If not, I don't care. Seriously, what's it to me whether they eat what I eat? It really has nothing to do with my enjoyment of something.

And, yes, I do try new things. I have a Japanese food review blog and I've tried some truly vile things, but that doesn't mean I think anyone else should do the same.

Re. the personal preference vs. allergies double standard: If someone told me that they had an allergy to a certain food, or if I am serving food for a group where I am uncertain about possible allergies or dietary preferences, I would never lie about the contents of the food, and I generally ask about preferences and allergies before I decide what I'm serving.

That said, in a situation where I know the person well and know that it's a matter of preference - for example, my partner's hatred for olives - I will gently try to introduce the hated food (small quantities mixed into something else, for example, so the flavour is present but not dominating). ;) I've also been known to try gambits such as "if you try a bite of my tapenade, I'll do the dishes tonight", which sometimes works. (Having graduated from total disgust at olives to utter love myself, I know that this is a perfectly possible journey to make, but again, I try it only with people whom I know very well.)

Yep, when were talking about close friends and family, people whom you know (and know allergies well) i will sneak a bit.
I know full well what meat can do to a veg's digestion and allergies of course, but i don't have a great deal of patience for picky for picky's sake.
I'll often simply tell the truth and encourage them with "if you try a bite you don't have to even swallow it, you can spit it out and i won't care but i will be offended if you refuse it outright". This is how my step dad came to learn he loves fried plantains, and sushi nigri.
This is also how my husband discovered his DEEP love for sugar snap peas and asparagus.
Sometimes its good to challenge people.

I've found a lot of my friends were victimized by horrid cooking. I've converted a friend to eggplant, another to carrots and yet another to lasagna. I was victimized by mother boiling zucchini to a slimy pile. Once I had properly steamed zucchini, I was a convert.

Orchid64, i'm with you - it's their choice and to call someone out or goad them into something they don't want to do is just rude.

i like to try new things; sometimes it works (wild boar!) and sometime it doesn't (sweetbreads - ew!)

i try to stay true to textures i like so i keep that in mind when ordering. also i'll be more adventurous with an appetizer than an entree so if the worst case scenario happens i don't end up wasting food.

My husband and I are very adventurous. As food lovers it just started with trying the first dish and from then on we try to try as many different foods we can. Our first was rattle snake bites. We've had alligator, octopus, squid, bison, ostrich, deer. We've tried all kinds of meats land and sea. We try to go to different restaurants. We consider ourselves quite adventurous by using our cars navigation system which list an array of types of foods from African to Indian to Polish. We just pick one and go. I think it just matters what you've been exposed to. I have a friend who didn't know what quiche was and I had to convince her to try it and explain that it like breakfast in a pie. Here have a "no thank you portion".

I lose my patience with a couple of my newly-acquired in-laws. They eat strictly from the brown-and-white spectrum, to the point where, if I want to make a dinner involving vegetables, I have to make them a separate dish. They're not rude about it, they just won't eat. They've been known to stop at McDonald's on the way to a family birthday party 'just in case.' The last time they visited I made what I thought was a fairly innocuous penne with sweet Italian sausage and roasted peppers. When my husband got home and saw it he got back in the car and drove to Safeway to buy a package of spaghetti and a jar of Ragu because he knew they wouldn't touch what I had made. I said, "we HAVE spaghetti sauce in the cupboard." He said, "but it's chunky style. They won't eat chunky."

The gracious thing to do, I guess, would be to go OUT for dinner when they visit, but I like to welcome people into our home. I am coming to accept that they are who they are, and it's their loss.

But I'm nervous about my children inheriting those genes!

Speaking of genes, I understand that picky isn't always about being difficult or childish as I long assumed.

For instance, there's some gene where, if you have it, the broccoli family tastes AWFUL. A friend works at a company that does DNA testing and at an expo they had a substance containing whatever the reactive thing in broccoli is. One friend put a drop on his tongue and didn't taste a thing; another put a drop on his tongue and was trying to wash it out of his mouth for hours.

Then again, I just got my DNA done, and learned that I have the 'bitter' tasting gene (whether it's different from the broccoli one I don't know). Although it's true I find beer and escarole too bitter to consume, I like the bitterness of tonic water and grapefruit and olives. But I think those preferences was acquired very slowly over time.