Thank you for your answers. I could not decide how to express what I meant, so used the word "average" & just posted.
By "average", I meant a non-macro person, who might eat brown rice, knows what it tastes like, but eats everything else, too. Versus a macro person, who, besides the taste, would be able to sense a difference in the "energy" of the food. I wondered if you could taste any difference in the freshness.
The first brown rice I tried to cook, years ago, was *blech*. Just a dull, unappealing taste. It was your generic, inexpensive grocery store stuff. Maybe even had a "musty" old taste to it. Now I get the Lundberg organic, usually short-grain, brown rice. I joined a food co-op, hoping to get it at a better price in bulk, & discovered a Southern rice business that is organic. After reading once that Kushi sells rice that is dehulled right before they ship it to you, I had wondered what it tasted like, in comparison to what is on the shelves at my local grocery. Who knows how long it could have been sitting there? I called this place (it is closer, so the shipping won't be as $$), & asked when they harvested; they said toward the end of September. So I am planning on trying it. I also like the idea that it is coming straight from the grower to me, instead of laying in warehouses & being shifted from one tractor trailer to another. I know part of the bad first experiences of brown rice was due to quality issues, but know that some of it was also a combination of taste buds changing, & becoming better at understanding how to prepare it!
I am not macrobiotic, but have read about it, & think it is a beautiful way of life, & makes so much sense. I am on the go all the time, not much time to experiment or even plan trying new dishes, so I tend to be in a rut on the macro foods I do eat: simple miso soup, brown rice & steamed or sauteed veggies. I have made homemade gomashio, & have a Japanese co-worker who it just tickles to see me eat these things, & probably the only person we work with, besides her, that knows what they are.
I would love to be able to consult with a counselor, because I would like to start off on the right track, & to take cooking classes. The only one in my area is two hours away, they start very early in the morning, & I work nights
. The main hinderance, though, has been the cost. But I have not given up, I hope one day to take classes. My DD loves to eat these foods, too, except she is all grown up now, and moved away...and everyone else makes faces at the wakame I dip out of my miso, and think it is one more reason that I am weird.
Sorry for such a long answer!
Dreamlily