I think it's a cultural thing. It's like how I think of peas. Americans are so cruel to peas, and you always hear horror stories of American children hating peas, but they'd eat mushy peas the way the Brits make them and kids gobble them up, as do I!

They are the perfect side dish to fried seafood. I'm ashamed that here on Cape Cod where we serve bushel baskets of fish n chips all summer long do not include mushy peas.