Reply to S/O: What explains the Midwestern palate?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I grew up near Kansas City, and for my entire childhood, "ethnic" food meant Mexican or Italian or maybe Chinese. There just wasn't anything else available in my suburban Kansas town. Now when I go back home, the tech industry has brought a ton of immigrants, so I can get good Indian or Thai or other more exotic stuff that I eat here. But my parents still have that midwestern palate, having grown up in small midwestern towns. [/quote]

I grew up in Potomac in the 1980s-1990s and I remember well when the international aisle of Giant at cabin John and the magruders had italian seasoning and minced garlic in a jar.  You couldn't buy ginger at the grocery store- had to use powdered or go to Maxim's on University.  I think maybe magrudedr's n rockville pike had it. The papayas were tiny, bitter and barely orange let alone pink. (in my culture you use green papaya to tenderize meat).  And there were a lot of asian immigrants plus 2nd generation European Jews who all shopped at specialty stores and Rodmans but the Giant and Safeway thought international meant El Paso and Italian seasonings.  It wasn't just the midwest.  goat milk was considered so off beat that it was shown as alien food on that one show with the aliens. I remember it cilantro being this huge "new" herb and fresh herbs were not as ready available- most people who used fresh herbs grew them and there was a vigorous neighborhood trade in figs and herbs.  It wasn't even easy to get olive oil- only pompei.  [/quote]

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