The holding the nose experiment isn't surprising at all. It's a common children's technique for eating 'gross' healthy things and not tasting them.

This led to my 4th grade science fair project which was blind taste testing of Jelly Bellies (Coffee, Strawberry, Licorice, and Buttery Popcorn). I can't remember the results perfectly, but in general, people were pretty worthless at telling them apart without their nose.