Exploring the diverse culinary offerings of the United States reveals a range of unique dishes that, while celebrated domestically, often perplex and even repulse non-Americans. From overly sweet confections to deep-fried oddities, this article sheds light on why certain American staples provoke such strong international reactions.
Canned Foods (e.g., Canned Cheese, Canned Meat)
Canned foods, especially unconventional ones like canned cheese or canned meat, often elicit strong reactions from non-Americans. The idea of cheese or meat being preserved in a can is alien to many cultures that prioritize fresh, artisanal, or at least refrigerated versions of these products. The texture, taste, and even the concept of canned cheese or meat can be off-putting, as they are associated with a lack of quality or freshness.
Various Forms of Cheese (e.g., Spray Cheese)
American innovations in cheese, such as spray cheese, are baffling to many outside the U.S. The concept of cheese that can be sprayed out of a can is seen as a departure from traditional cheese-making practices. This processed product lacks the natural texture and complex flavors that cheese aficionados appreciate, making it seem more like a novelty or a chemical concoction than a food product.
Sugar Content in Everyday Foods
The high sugar content in American foods, even those not traditionally considered sweets or desserts, is often shocking to non-Americans. This includes bread, cereals, and yogurts, which can have significantly more sugar than their counterparts abroad. The health implications and the overpowering sweetness make this characteristic of American food quite unappealing to many.
Candy Corn
Candy corn is a divisive treat even within the United States, and it tends to confound non-Americans even more. Its waxy texture and overly sweet flavor, combined with a lack of any natural corn taste, make it a peculiar choice for a candy. It’s often associated with Halloween but lacks universal appeal due to its artificial flavoring and texture.
Twizzlers
Twizzlers are another uniquely American candy that doesn’t always translate well internationally. The chewy texture and artificial taste, particularly the strawberry and cherry flavors, are often cited as reasons for their unpopularity. They lack the natural fruit flavors that many non-Americans expect from their sweets, making Twizzlers an acquired taste.
Blooming Onions
The blooming onion, a deep-fried appetizer that is essentially a whole onion cut to resemble a flower and then battered and fried, is seen as emblematic of American excess in terms of size, caloric content, and deep-frying culture. While it can be a novelty for visitors, the greasiness and heavy feeling after eating are frequently mentioned as reasons for its inclusion on this list.
Sweet Potato Casserole with Marshmallows
Sweet potato casserole, especially when topped with marshmallows, is a quintessentially American dish that puzzles many from other cultures. The combination of sweet potatoes (a vegetable) with a topping of marshmallows (a sweet candy) blurs the line between dessert and side dish, creating a sweetness overload that many find excessive.
Hershey’s chocolate often comes under criticism from non-Americans for its slightly sour or tangy aftertaste, which is attributed to the butyric acid used in its production. Those accustomed to the smoother, creamier chocolates found in Europe and elsewhere may find Hershey’s flavor profile to be lacking or even unpleasant.
Donuts
While donuts are beloved in many parts of the world, the American versions, which are often very sweet and come in a bewildering array of flavors and toppings, can be seen as too much of a good thing. The sheer variety and the emphasis on quantity over quality are aspects that some non-Americans find excessive or unappealing.
Ambrosia Salad
Ambrosia salad, a fruit salad mixed with mini marshmallows, coconut, and sometimes yogurt or whipped cream, embodies a type of American culinary creativity that not everyone appreciates. Its combination of textures and flavors, along with the inclusion of marshmallows as a salad ingredient, makes it a peculiar dish for those from cultures with more traditional salad concepts.
Grits
Grits, a staple in the Southern United States, often leave non-Americans perplexed. Made from ground corn and usually served with butter or cheese, their texture and relatively bland flavor unless heavily seasoned or accompanied by flavorful sides, can be difficult for those unfamiliar with the dish to appreciate.
Scrapple
Scrapple, a traditional Pennsylvanian dish made from pork scraps and cornmeal formed into a loaf and sliced and fried, is often cited for its use of leftovers and parts of the pig that are typically discarded in other cultures. The concept of eating what is essentially a meatloaf made from scraps is something that many non-Americans find unappetizing.
Deep-Fried Butter
Deep-fried butter is as extravagant as it sounds, embodying the pinnacle of American fairground food innovation. Balls of butter are coated in a doughy batter, then deep-fried until golden. The result is a hot, oozing center of melted butter encased in a crispy shell. To non-Americans, the concept of deep-frying pure fat is bewildering and often seen as an unhealthy excess. It’s a dish that raises eyebrows not just for its caloric content but also for the sheer boldness of frying butter, a staple typically used sparingly in cooking elsewhere.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
The peanut butter and jelly (PB&J) sandwich is a staple in American households, particularly as a favorite among children. However, the combination of sticky, sweet fruit jelly with the salty, creamy texture of peanut butter on soft bread puzzles many from other cultures. In countries where peanut butter is less common or used differently, the idea of pairing it with sweet jelly in a sandwich is unusual. The contrast between sweet and savory, although not unique to American cuisine, is epitomized in this simple sandwich, making it a confusing concoction for those unacquainted with the taste.
Root Beer
Root beer, with its distinctive, sassafras-root flavor, is a beloved soft drink in the United States but often encounters skepticism elsewhere. Non-Americans sometimes describe its taste as reminiscent of medicinal or dental products, attributing this to the unique flavor profile of sassafras or wintergreen. This beverage, which American children grow up drinking at social gatherings and restaurants, can be an acquired taste for those without nostalgic associations or those expecting a taste similar to more universally popular sodas.
Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza
Chicago-style deep dish pizza turns the concept of traditional pizza on its head with its high edges and deep layering of cheese, sauce, and toppings. Originating from Chicago, this pizza variety is characterized by its thick, pie-like crust that holds layers of cheese and fillings, topped with a generous amount of tomato sauce. For pizza purists, especially those from countries with a strong pizza tradition like Italy, the deep dish pizza’s deviation from the thin, crispy crust and balanced topping approach is hard to digest, both literally and figuratively. The dense, hearty nature of this pizza makes it a meal that challenges the conventional pizza paradigm.
Corn Dogs
The corn dog is a classic American fair food that consists of a hot dog sausage coated in a thick layer of cornmeal batter and deep-fried. It’s served on a stick for easy eating while walking around. While sausages and fried foods are common worldwide, the combination of a hot dog enveloped in a sweet, corn-based batter and fried is unusual in many culinary traditions. The corn dog’s novelty lies in its convenience and the fusion of sweet and savory flavors, but for those unaccustomed to such combinations or the concept of fair foods as a culinary category, corn dogs can seem like an oddity.
This article originally appeared on UnifyCosmos.
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