Sometimes there’s no accounting for our tastes

Taste is a funny thing. I learned recently that it’s genetic to either love or hate cilantro or Brussels sprouts. It’s something we inherit in our genes — just like having red hair or blue eyes. That must be true for other tastes, as well, I figure.

How then do I explain why cilantro used to taste to me like soap, but now I really like it? I’ve always liked Brussels sprouts, but I like them even more when I slice them and cook them in a little olive oil with high heat in the oven.

Last year, when I had intensive radiation therapy on my throat, both my taste buds and saliva glands seemed to have gotten zapped along with the larynx cancer that was growing inside my throat. I now have a very dry mouth, and lots of things taste differently than they used to.

I drink a lot of water these days. And spicy foods, which I once adored, now are too hot for me most of the time. Chocolate and many wines don’t taste the same as they used to. But I do enjoy assertive tastes in both and favor savory flavors over sweet ones.

I’m not big a fan of ice wine or anything else that’s very sweet. That’s a good thing for me because I am a Type 2 diabetic. My body doesn’t make enough insulin to process carbohydrates or sugars, so I must limit them in my diet.

But when it comes to ice wine, I think it’s great served with foie gras — the fatty liver of ducks and geese. Every year when the annual Ice Wine Festival is announced, I hope one of the Grand River Valley wineries will devise a foie gras appetizer to serve, But everyone tends more toward sweet appetizers.

In truth, foie gras is not found very often around here, and when it is, the price is high. It’s truly an indulgence. I’ve had it at L’Albatros in University Circle and at Cru Uncorked in Moreland Hills, where the chef’s delicious appetizer creation is $26.

But that’s not the case at the Niagara Icewine Festival, across the border in Ontario. Our neighbors to the north spell it icewine as one word and had dozens of events and meals framed around icewine from Jan. 11 through 27 this year.

When I attended the Niagara Icewine Festival a few years ago, seared foie gras and caviar were lavishly available along with festive and formal food events and more casual ones. If you’d like to read the story I wrote, go to bit. ly/2TUQ jUr.

It was the first time some around me tasted foie gras. It was soft and full-flavored, and sips of icewine cut the fat and made it even more delicious.

I’ve discovered I can order it online from D’Artagnan in New York, the company that provides domestic foie gras, caviar and other luxury foods to many of this country’s best restaurants. Prices start at $40. Details: dartagnan.com; 800- 327-8246.

And I’ll likely be ordering it for my upcoming birthday if I can’t score a dinner out at one of the places that serves it.