Have you ever wondered?

Food - Have you ever wondered how our taste preferences for certain foods are formed? Are they due to a hereditary element, environmental, geographical, social or are they economically based? Let's not forget about how the texture, color, or the smell of foods can form our likes and dislikes. Some people love spicy food, others can't stand the heat. Some people like seafood, others cannot even stomach the smell of it. Some people are sweet lovers, others love salty foods.

We all know that where we grow up (i.e. Bahamas, Mexico, Louisiana, Minnesota, Africa, Norway, etc.) has a big influence. But I think we all know a few families where they grew up in a region where seafood was not abundant, but they end up being huge seafood lovers. Or cases where we grow up eating hotdogs, bologna, bransweiger, etc., which would lead us to believe we will spend the rest of our lives loving those foods, but we cannot think of eating them ever again? I am sure there are hundreds of studies out there that would give us some insight into all of this, but that I fear that could be a big pot of seafood gumbo, which would stink up the house, so we will just continue to wonder.

One thing is for sure, I have met MANY people who will not eat food prepared at church bazars or craft sales. I hear ya there! I have a funny story - I was at a craft fair in a small town up north and I bought some bars that looked really good. Yes, I debated buying them, but surely they would be good or so I thought, or maybe I was just hungry. Anyhow, I took one bite and just about threw up, but spit it out instead....it tasted just like Dawn dish soap. How do I know what Dawn dish soap tastes like? Well, lets just say I had a potty mouth that needed cleaning up when I was young. In this particular case, it is easy to see how food prefernces are formed - I will not eat food at a craft fair, in a small town, made by old people! No further research or studies need to be done on that.

Dish - One size fits all?
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/hwood_party_girl/b63269_fashion_face-off_suri_vs_kate_jen.html

Embellish - Smile at someone today, they may really need it.