14 American Foods Foreigners Find Gross
http://www.businessinsider.com/american-foods-foreigners-find-gross-2013-10
2, 5, 12, & 13 are my only disagreements (Hershey's, casseroles, biscuits & gravy, and American bacon).
What do our European friends say?
2, 5, 12, & 13 are my only disagreements (Hershey's, casseroles, biscuits & gravy, and American bacon).
What do our European friends say?
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Also, I recently found out that Beef Jerky is actually part of a standard Norwegian Army Field Ration. I'd understand it if they were imported from our American friends, but these are actually manufactured in Sweden. The Jerky itself is from the U.S. though.
The things on that list I will eat: Beef Jerky (Absolutely love the texture of it and if I can find a nice BBQ mix then the flavour too. Also, well Toronto Batman eats it) and maybe twizzlers if actual liquorice isn't available.
Meatloaf: Genuinely enjoy it when my mum makes it from scratch, genuine BBQ sauce, fresh ground beef. Delicious it's like a handmade burger without the bun.
The things on said list I will not eat or have yet to try: Velveeta cheese, I don't know what it is with processed cheese and the USA's love of it but it's always got a weird plastic-y...fake is the best way I can describe it, taste to it that just throws me off. Maybe I've been spoiled growing up with Ontario cheddar.
Hershey's Chocolate: That and pretty much every other kind of 'milk chocolate' tastes different, I'll eat the hell out of dark chocolate to be sure milk just tastes way too sweet.
Red Ropes: I have no idea what they are, I'm thinking an American exclusive liquorice brand. Not sure what they taste like, probably a lot like Twizzlers in which case I'll try them
Supermarket Bread: Tastes just how it's described in the comment, my family and most people I know stick to local bakeries so it's never been something I've encountered regularly. Tend to choose the preservative free bakery bread I get near home.
Casseroles: The definition must be immensely different over the border. Up here most casserole I've had or heard of is home made with real ingredients (My father makes the best red wine lasagna I've ever had) only thing I can compare anywhere near that are macaroni and cheese casseroles. (Not Kraft Dinner Mac and Cheese, so packaged. Real pasta and cheeses it's freaking delicious) The idea of throwing Campbell's soups in with a bunch of other things doesn't sound at all appealing.
Root Beer Float: I find root beer too sweet on it's own, I imagine the ice cream addition majorly crosses the line on what's tasty and what's not.
Pop Tarts: Not at all a fan, kind of gross from what I can remember of them.
Snow Cones: It's sugar and ice, doesn't sound too enjoyable tbh, reminds me of the pixie sticks classmates of mine bought in middle school.
Corn dogs: Nope don't like it, getting short on listing proper or reasonable dislikes. It's a fake hotdog (Though tbh don't know what makes up a 'real' hotdog. Probably a lack of preservatives and lower sodium count but that probably doesn't exist anymore) and cornmeal. (Awesome on it's own as corn bread, but I don't like the combination of dog and cornbread at all.)
Biscuits and Gravy: If what's in the picture there is indicative of all 'biscuits and gravy' south of the border I want nothing to do with it. Maybe I'm being a meta-english snob about it but there's a very strict definition of what constitutes a biscuit and what constitutes gravy and neither of those or what I'm reading are it.
American Bacon: Too much fat, too much grease, not enough delicious juicy porky goodness. Disregard it acquire 'fine cut' peameal bacon.
(I'm sorry if anyone takes issue with the comment, I love the USA I just don't like the food)
1. Velveeta Cheese - TheMadBotanist explains it perfectly.
2. Hershey - Bottom-tier chocolate. Avoid.
3. Red Vines - Doesn't feel like food, doesn't look like food, doesn't taste like food, but it is red.
4. Supermarket Bread - If you want fake bread for your fake cheese this does the job. Dry sadness.
5. Casseroles - There are many kinds of casseroles, and I have not tried the kind specified but it does look atrocious.
6. Root-Beer Float - It's not bad but it's only appealing if you enjoy the idea of drinking soda with your ice cream.
7. Twizzlers - Artificially flavored disappointment, tastes like the real thing.
8. Pop-tarts - Dry crumbs filled with fake jam covered in icing with nasty sprinkles. Don't do this to yourself.
9. Snow Cones - I would not consider it a food so it's disqualified, though I will say they're nice on a warm/hot day.
10. Beef Jerky - Expensive, dry, and the effort required to eat it is not rewarded well.
11. Corn Dogs - Leftover meat breaded on a stick, convenient but lacking in every other way.
12. Biscuits & Gravy - Very heavy, very filling, too much for me.
13. American bacon - One of the most overrated foods in America. Not special or interesting.
14. Meatloaf - I don't think it looks as bad as the comment says. I've enjoyed many meatloaves, they're delicious.
Also meatloaf is great, the reasoning provided as to why it's gross was way to flimsy to convince anyone.
Meatloaf is extremely hit or miss.
I have no idea what Red Vines are even after living in 2 very different states.
PEAMEAL BACON IS NOT BACON, and if real bacon is too greasy, it wasn't made right.
//edit: Redvines are like eating a cough syrup-flavored candle.
Deal with it.
American bacon is best bacon.
Ham is from the thigh and the last time I had to order Canadian bacon in the States I had to ask for back bacon.
Location, location, location. 'Murika' is wrong.
I'd argue personally that English bacon is the best, it's back bacon and it's all incredible. Not as fatty as stomach 'streaky' (American) bacon either. (Think Canadian Bacon without the brining and cornmeal)
Edit: Ugh nevermind what you Americans call 'Canadian Bacon' isn't Canadian bacon at all, it's literally pork loin bacon, actual Canadian Bacon is from the back like all proper bacon.
Red Vines: meh.
As far as I know (which is not much at all in this topic so don't trust it) any red liquorice beats black liquorice.
a lot ofeffort into alternatives to get a cheesy flavor as creamy as they provide with little to no effort. My mom used to make a tuna noodle casserole that, by these definitions, must be the grossest American thing in the world (egg noodles, tuna, cream of mushroom soup, Cheez Whiz, breadcrumb topping) that I still think is one of the most delicious things in it instead. In fact, I'm going to specifically ask for it when I come back to the States over Christmas.I also really like how people dislike Twizzlers so much they even put the generic brand on there, haha. I don't disagree with most of it, tbh, but meatloaf, casseroles, and bacon are all perfectly reasonable foods that foreigners have just never had proper versions of (for fuck's sake, what passes as a hamburger over here IS meatloaf, and it's depressing as all hell), and everything else on there is junk food that most people should recognize as at least unhealthy, if not 'gross.'
I've had fresh Hershey's, and I've had fresh Cadbury (in London) and I think that they are very similar.
In fact: several of the items on the list fall into the "Sure, it's bad if you don't know where to find the good stuff" category. Corn Dogs, Jerky, meatloaf, casserole... those could all be really good or really bad depending on the source.
The problem with American mass-produced chocolate is production cost savings. Gotta make the shareholders happy, so quietly reducing the quality of the product in ever so slight increments is the name of the game. With chocolate, that means adding paraffin and decreasing the cocoa to cocoa butter ratio, as well as other methods.
None of this means a dusty texture, however, either in mouth feel or appearance. Chocolate that has been sitting for a time will develop a dusty appearance due to some slight separation of the components (particularly the paraffin and cocoa butter), but the overall taste and texture do not change.
Personally, I find this article difficult to digest (heh).
I like Velveeta for cooking certain dishes because it eases the process that I would end up doing anyway (making a cheese sauce, etc).
A good corn dog is awesome, and doesn't necessarily need to be made with a byproduct-laden dog.
Using the term 'casserole' in a blanket statement is just dumb (as are just about any other all-encompassing term). Witness the triumph of American culinary prowess - Macaroni and Cheese (which uses Velveeta in many cases).