Polarizing Foods

No matter how you slice it, the wiggly cylinder of cranberry sauce à la can tends to get a reaction on Thanksgiving. For some, this ridged wonder summons nostalgia for Thanksgivings past or glee for its Jell-O-like slurpability. Others can’t get past the jiggle or the idea that this is even food.

As they say, there’s no accounting for taste.

Or is there?

You might not get worked up about cranberry sauce, but chances are you or someone at your table feels strongly about other foods, some of which may well be on your Thanksgiving menu. Take, for example, stuffing. A stew of goopy breadcrumbs may send your soul soaring or seem like a lukewarm, mushy mess. And if (like me) you consider sweet potato soufflé something close to heaven, you’d be surprised how many pass up the dish defiantly—condemning it as a “baby food” they’d reject even if they didn’t have their teeth. This Thanksgiving, my husband and a friend will face off over the privilege of eating the turkey neck. I, on the other hand, will probably leave the room rather than get queasy at the spectacle of either of them gorging on a turkey neck. And this is precisely the point: Whether you swear by turkey or Tofurky at Thanksgiving (or pine for pineapple on your pizza), it’s a safe bet that someone out there boasts an equal and opposite reaction to your particular food passion.