Fairy Bread from Australia. Sprinkles on bread.

Very common as kids party food.

Molé. Chocolate with savory and spicy? Weird.

But damn, does it work.

Every country has some sort of "out there" food that others are repulsed by.

I've had natto (fermented soybeans) from Japan which weren't terrible but had a texture I couldn't get behind, and I've had surstromming (fermented fish) from Sweden that is probably the most horrific substance known to mankind.

the concept of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches disgusts me to this day.

I do this Jamaican-style peanut butter stew, which sounds mad but is delicious.

Okroshka. It’s a Russian summer soup served cold and slightly effervescent made with ham, boiled potatoes, raw cucumbers and radishes, served in a “broth” made of kvass (children’s beer made from fermented black rye bread) with a little smetana or buttermilk and oh my god so much dill. It’s still a pretty strange dish to me after having eaten it many times.

Russian immigrant to the U.S. here. When I was a teenager and heard about peanut butter, I thought it was the weirdest and grossest thing.

When I first tried it I did think it was a bit gross, just… too much.

Now I eat it with enjoyment.

Sushi was rrrreal weird when we heard of it for the first time as kids. Now, I love it - the actual rice that's technically sushi and almost anything you can put on, in, over or around it

I was a child when I learnt of toast + sour cream and honey. From Germany. Before that I thought it only works with salt. Honey was not even on my radar I didn't even know of a radar existing.
Ohh being pre-teen was the time to learn new stuff!

Not a recipe, but durian. I tried it for the first time a few weeks ago fresh in Malaysia, and though the smell was enticing, the taste was not.

Haggis. Really wasn't keen on it when I first heard about it. Went to Scotland and tried it, and enjoyed it. Would not eat more than one portion, it is incredibly rich.

Balut. Haven't not gone to the Philippines yet, but this is something I'm not sure I'm game to try.

Sauerkraut. I never liked anything pickled when I was younger, and when I tried it, I didn't like it. I think it was probably because it was from a jar. I really like it now.

Edit: How could I forget this one. So I worked in the West Wimmera region for a while, and then I was told about this: The florrie. It is uniquely Horsham, Victoria. My colleague is not good as describing things so it sounded worse than it is.

Don't know where it comes from - probably England, but: cottage cheese mixed with applesauce.

Cola or sprite chicken in Asia.

Not that I've had this, but going through an old cookbook of my mom's, I came across a recipe for Mock Turtle soup, which called for calf brains.

Blood pudding

Sour cherry soup from Hungary, served with sour cream. It's delicious!

I know many recipes from MY country that would sound disgusting...

I learned about Korean kimchi in my teens. It was one of those things that white American people would talk about while eating mashed potatoes.

Apparently Korean people would bury cabbage in their backyard and then leave it there for a month and then dig it up and eat it!

Now I have kimchi 2-3 times a week. My favorite weekend breakfast is over-easy eggs with jasmine rice and kimchi, with a little soy sauce, sesame oil, and sriracha.

Brains. Anything to do with brains. Never had them but I once saw Graham Kerr, TV chef of the 70s and 80s, make sheep's brains on his show. I remember him saying they were very high in cholesterol. Of course we all know monkey's brains, though popular in Cantonese cuisine, are not often to be found in Washington DC, for what that's worth.

Main dish as breakfast.

A lot of English food. Doesn't even taste good, too.

Sorry mates. (🫶 UK)

I would not have considered pork and tofu to have an affinity. Tofu here was mostly for vegetarian food. But kimchi jigae and ma po tofu are from different places and both combine pork and tofu, so delicious that now if I get ramen I also get pork belly and tofu. I'm completely converted. Pork and tofu are delicious together.