[Slowbrew]

Flipping back to the OT, I don't have any examples of things from other countries, but I do always find myself going back to the brands and styles of things I grew up with.  Coke, not Pepsi. JIF Peanut Butter, Dukes Mayo (which I can't get in Oregon), etc etc... Our tastes change as we get older but a lot of preferences come from growing up.

I agree that how we were raised plays a bigger part in our tastes than where our ancestors came from. 

I grew up in a German community with an German-English-Irish mother.  I love good sauerkraut, sausages, beer, pickled herring, Stollen, whiskey, red beats, kohlrabies, winter onions, toffee, oyster stew (after Midnight Mass, of course), salty ham, ham loaf, lamb and many, many other assorted dishes from several different countries.  Not because my genes tell me to, but because my family ate them when we got together.  I also love good Mexican food, not TexMex, real Mexican food and I don't remember seeing Hispanics at any family gatherings until my sister married one. 

I think I said earlier that I am an opportunistic eater.  If someone made it, I'll taste it.  I raised four more just like me.  While they're friends subsisted on McNuggets and ketchup, my kids ate burritos, stuffed peppers, barbqued annything and pretty much whatever we put on the table in front of them.

I believe our families make us what we are but that isn't necessarily our genes, it's more about our neighborhoods.

Now I'm hungry.   

Paul

[Bilsch]

When I grew up my grandparents spoke German, served me weißbier and made me eat stollen at Christmas time.
I probably don't need to take a DNA test.

That is Elizabeth Warren's argument. She grew up believing that she was native American and that was her family culture. She says that there is no point to taking a DNA test but her political opponents say otherwise. I am sorry to inject politics into this discussion but I agree that if you grow up immersed in a culture then you can say that is your heritage regardless of DNA.

Gasp.. maybe dear old Grandma had a thing for the Irish milkman?
Maybe it's better I don't know. 

[ethinson]

I think I said earlier that I am an opportunistic eater.  If someone made it, I'll taste it.  I raised four more just like me.  While they're friends subsisted on McNuggets and ketchup, my kids ate burritos, stuffed peppers, barbqued annything and pretty much whatever we put on the table in front of them.

Now I'm hungry.   

Paul

My wife jokes on me all the time when I try to decide which is my favorite style of food, or when I ponder things like "I'm pretty sure I like all of the different Asian cuisines" and her response will be "You just like food". Which isn't wrong, but from growing up out in the country in North Carolina where the only ethnic food was Chinese and Mexican and then broadening my horizons to include everything under the sun it's a pretty impressive shift.

We have a friend who when we make plans with him and we start talking about plans for lunch or dinner his sorta catch phrase is "I love the part where we eat".  It's become a staple in our house now.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

Although I've never had my DNA tested, I know my paternal genes are from German ancestry.  Not to sure about my Mom;s ancestry.  Some English and perhaps Irish.

Regarding preferences, I can 't stand the smell or taste of sauerkraut.  My favorite beers  are porters and stouts.  I do like some saisons. 

Our genetics --but not our country of origin--affect out sense of taste and smell.  I suspect that our preferences are determined both by our genes and our experiences.