My mom – originally from Shreveport, LA – insisted that I eat spicy/garlicy food from a relatively early age. Filee Gumbo was a regular in our house.
I wasn’t allowed to go “but….I don’t LIKE it!” until I’d actually eaten some. Then, a few months later, she’d try again, and soon enough there was literally nothing I wouldn’t try at least once.
Consequently, I’ve eaten everything from Sea Urchin to Reindeer, and can say that the only thing I don’t like are raw onions. I put it firmly down to being given small portions of ‘adult’ food as a kid rather than cheeseburgers, macaroni and cheese, etc..
I don’t think its so bad over here, but I remember growing up in the UK and seeing many of my peers being given ‘nursery food’ for most of thier childhood. But then, garlic was a rarity in the UK until the 80’s….
And, as corroboration, almost all my food was home-cooked, and we never ever had coke/pepsi/soft drinks in the house.