Explores the diverse range of food items and dishes that are normal to Americans but may seem unusual or even unappealing to others, shedding light on cultural differences in food preferences.
Food that's normal to you might not be quite so normal to somebody else. For myself, I grew up eating jam and cheese sandwiches, grilled inside a cast-iron sandwich press over an open campfire.
As a kid, you could not tell me that was not the height of culinary delicacies. For other people, it was a bit of a harder sell. Americans certainly had a lot to say, and some of the dishes they shared had me like,"Oh yeah! Big time yum!
" and then others had me questioning what the actual hell my compatriots were talking about. Here's what people had to share:"When I lived in Ireland, the first question people would ask me, upon hearing I was American, was, 'Do you actually eat pumpkin pie?
' They thought it sounded awful, but it's my favorite dessert, by far. ""I had to explain to my friend in England that the pumpkins we use for jack-o'-lanterns are not the same kind you use in pies. "and being blown away by how many varieties of Spam there were. I mean, there was an entire aisle of Spam products.
" "Squirrel. Lots of people think it's strange, but I've had it several times, and I love it. Lightly breaded, pan-fried, and smothered in mushroom gravy is the way to go with squirrel meat.
""Squirrel is great because you don’t really have to season it. The flavor is naturally strong in a decent way. Just fry it in some oil and put it in whatever you please. I always made spaghetti sauce with it.
""I soak squirrel in buttermilk before cooking it, and it's always good. I'm not entirely sure why I'm supposed to do that, but on my great grandma's recipe cards, that's what it says to do.
""It's so unfair because just about every country in Europe has some dish that's balls of ground or finely chopped meat covered in sauce. All we do is make the ball bigger and loaf-shaped, and suddenly it's strange.
""Definitely one of my favorite road trip traditions when heading south is to stop at a gas station and pick up some boiled peanuts. I get a kick at the range of pronunciation, from 'bald' to 'bowled,' I never quite know which I should be asking for, lol.
" "People in the UK find it strange and think it's probably disgusting, even though it's phenomenal. The classic PB&J. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich, typically made with jam or preserves rather than jelly, is a 10/10.
" "Rocky Mountain oysters . My mom had a deep fryer she’d pull out whenever we were castrating calves. She’d wash them, roll them in egg, throw them in a flour mixture with seasoning, and then toss them straight into the deep fryer. So good.
" "In PA, we have what we call scrapple, which is pork trimmings mixed with a binder like flour or cornmeal and some spices, then formed into a loaf. Good for frying up and eating with some eggs and toast.
" "I grew up on banana and mayonnaise sandwiches. I haven't had one in years, but that might just be lunch tomorrow.
""In Central Kentucky, we have banana croquettes. Chunks of banana rolled in mayo, then in crushed or chopped peanuts. Everyone thinks they sound horrible, but I’ve never met anyone who has tried them and doesn’t find them delicious.
""American, Betty Crocker-style casseroles in general sound disgusting, but often they turn out to be really tasty, in my experience. " "Alligator tail isn't hard to find at restaurants here in Florida, especially at seafood places that cater to tourists. It's often served fried with some kind of dipping sauce. While it's not something I'd have every day, it's not bad.
It's flaky like fish but tastes a lot like chicken.
""Why ruin perfectly good turtle meat by putting it into soup? Roast that up with salt and pepper, and you’ve got Sunday dinner!
" "Garbage plate in Rochester, NY. Maceroni salad, home fries, two cheeseburger patties, meat sauce, ketchup, mustard, onions — delish.
""I grew up in MN, and 'garbage plate' always referred to a platter with all of the fried foods at a dive bar! Interesting how the same term is applied differently depending on where you are in the country!
" "Chicken and waffles is weird in the sense that you'd never think to combine those foods, but chicken and waffles are damn good when they're done right, especially with maple syrup. " "So while tostilocos were technically created just across the border in Tijuana, Mexico, it's a staple in Chicano culture, especially in Southern California. It's generally considered pretty gross-sounding to most people when they first hear about it.
The list of the classic/typical ingredients is: a bag of chips, pickled pork rinds, jicama, cucumber, fried peanuts, candy made from tamarind covered in chili powder, and hot sauce.
""Where I'm from, we have Sh*t on a Shingle and Shoo-fly pie . ""It’s done in the Midwest, too. I grew up eating it in IA, and my husband’s family had it in IL. Sooooo good.
We have cottage cheese and peaches in the fridge right now, actually.
" "In Minnesota, we have lutefisk. It's jellified fish soaked in lye. You eat it by dipping it in copious amounts of melted butter.
" "A fluffernutter sandwich. The sandwich is simple: two slices of bread, marshmallow fluff on one side and peanut butter on the other.
""I love these things. Fluffernutters were one of the alternative sandwiches available for people who didn’t want the main school lunch in elementary school. The other alternative was ham and cheese.
" "Livermush is popular where I live. I really like liver, but I don’t like livermush. My husband doesn’t like liver, but he "We have what we call 'tiger meat,' which is minced beef eaten raw. It's popular in the upper Midwest states.
"in root beer and then drinking it is the most repulsive thing she’s ever heard of, and that you just don’t do it. "Are there any American dishes you think are delicious, but other people think are disgusting? Let me know which dishes you love and why in the comments, or use the anonymous form below. Your response might be featured in an upcoming BuzzFeed article!
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