Love 'em or hate 'em......

It appears some ingredients and dishes are an acquired taste - taste often steeped in cultural upbringing. No amount of family meetups over yumcha will ever be enough to convince my 'Aussie' dad that gelatinous chicken feet might be worth trying.

Oysters with Tetsuya's Rice Wine Vinaigrette

There seems to be no middle ground on some foods, no take it or leave philosphy, when mentioned they illicit one of two simple responses, love it  - hate it! Here's a few of the love/hates I've found over the years and my own personnal feelings towards these polarising products:

• chicken feet - eat them but just don't think about them
• 'stinky bean curd' - the adjective says it all!
• pumperknickel - dry cardboard!
• eel - the Shira Nui way everytime!
• donuts- doughy for some but heaven for me
• brussel sprouts - really does depend on how they're cooked
• kidneys - mmm, an organ that filters urine - what more can I say
• vegemite - Aussie or not, its usually that simple, hot buttery vegemite toast - yes please
• blue and washed rind cheeses - unlike stinky bean curd, stinky but good
• anchovies - gorgeous hairy little salt punches
• chocolate - well I suppose I don't actually hate it but I'm not a chocolate lover 
• oysters - a taste of the sea

Tomatoes used to be on my list of hates now I love them. There was certainly the seasonal 'over' abundance issue which applied to the diet of my childhood - is it possible to overdose on tomatoes or pumpkin or field mushrooms? Followed by the sinful breading of vegetables and fruit that were great to transport but lacked flavour, dad still refers to most strawberries as 'appleberries' because of there firm texture and insipid taste. So it would seem there's always the possibility to shift from one camp to another.