&gt; <i>In an era when (white and co) americans devour all kinds of ethnic cuisines, including raw sushi, all kinds of indian, thai, etc. I find this article bordering on the absurd.</i><p>The palate differences are real.  I (an American) eat &quot;ethnic&quot; foods regularly: Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Hispanic, etc.  I generally love ethnic foods.  The exception is sweets.  There are a few ethnic sweets I&#x27;ve had that I like, but by and large I&#x27;ve found, e.g., Indian and Chinese sweets to be unpleasant.  Some of them I find to be nearly unpalatable.  Others just taste odd.<p>I doubt I&#x27;m the only person with this experience.  Lots of &quot;ethnic&quot; foods have been modified to fit the American palate (see General Tso&#x27;s Chicken), and exposure to ethnic entrees also does not imply much exposure to ethnic sweets.