# 15 things Americans eat that Foreigners hate **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 4, 2014, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307 "2014-12-04T12:38:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/341 "2014-12-14T17:37:12Z")
So you’re saying a regular can of chicken noodle or something, but with extra sugar in it? I never noticed they were particularly sweet, although processed foods do tend to add more sugar and salt to things. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/342 "2014-12-14T17:55:04Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So you’re saying a regular can of chicken noodle or something, but with extra sugar in it? I never noticed they were particularly sweet, although processed foods do tend to add more sugar and salt to things. There are soups that are actually sweet, like some versions of butternut squash soup or pear soup. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/343 "2014-12-14T18:14:02Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > In Moscow, there was a little kiosk I used to stop at on my way home after a night of drinking. They sold beef pelmeni deep-fried and served with Georgian barbecue sauce. It was like eating wontons. I’ve never seen them prepared in this fashion anywhere else. Oh my lord that sounds heavenly. I can find pelmeni easily enough here, but what’s this Georgian barbecue sauce like? As for the second recipe, is there a special name for it prepared in this style–the one you had at the Uzbekistan Restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/344 "2014-12-14T18:33:56Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > There are soups that are actually sweet, like some versions of butternut squash soup or pear soup. Blech. I can’t remember if I’ve ever had squash soup, but if I made it, it wouldn’t be sweet. Pear soup? Blech again. Does Campbell’s really make that? I don’t find American soups to generally be any sweeter than soups I’ve had in other countries. Not sure what Campbell’s was up to in Australia in the 70’s. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/345 "2014-12-14T18:58:33Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Blech. I can’t remember if I’ve ever had squash soup, but if I made it, it wouldn’t be sweet. Pear soup? Blech again. Does Campbell’s really make that? I’ve never seen these kinds of soups by Campbell’s. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/346 "2014-12-14T19:12:07Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > What I know of as pierogi is a dumpling made of thin-rolled dough, folded into a semicircle around a filling that consists mostly of mashed potatoes, plus cheese and onions. Each individual dumpling is perhaps a couple of inches across. They’re boiled soft, and then pan-fried with butter and onions (then sometimes served with sour cream, but my family doesn’t eat them that way). I understand this is the Polish version of the dish. I eat Southern food, so I am not arguing from a position of strength, but that just seems insanely unhealthy. (I did try some once, at a Pittsburgh Pirates game.) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/347 "2014-12-14T20:34:11Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Oh my lord that sounds heavenly. I can find pelmeni easily enough here, but what’s this Georgian barbecue sauce like? Here is a tomato-based recipe: > **[SPICY TOMATO SAUCE](https://georgianrecipes.net/2013/10/11/spicy-tomato-sauce/)** > > Georgian food is often accompanied by sauces, such as Ajika (Georgian: აჯიკა) and Tkemali (Georgian ტყემალი). In this family recipe we show how to make a spicy tomato sauce.Ingredients: 2 kilos of … I actually have bottles of this one in my pantry in Moscow. Be advised: Georgian cooking uses a lot of cilantro. You can leave it out if you don’t like it (I realize it’s an acquired taste), but the dishes just won’t taste the same: > **[GREEN TKEMALI – SOUR PLUM SAUCE](https://georgianrecipes.net/2013/06/22/green-tkemali-sour-plum-sauce/)** > > Tkemali (Georgian ტყემალი) is the Georgian name for a variety of wild, sour plum, as well as a sauce made from the plums. Tkemali sauce is used for fried or grilled meat, poultry and potato dishes,… > [@](#): > > As for the second recipe, is there a special name for it prepared in this style–the one you had at the Uzbekistan Restaurant? Googling “Uzbek giant dumplings,” I see a lot of recipes for _manti_ and _khinkali_ (which are actually Georgian); they look the same to me, but neither seem as big as the one I had, which was served swimming in a spicy red broth. I’d need to experiment to determine the exact seasoning of the sauce, but I’m sure it was heavy on the cumin and ground coriander seed (and probably cilantro as well). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/348 "2014-12-14T20:42:18Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Blech. I can’t remember if I’ve ever had squash soup, but if I made it, it wouldn’t be sweet. Pear soup? Blech again. Does Campbell’s really make that? Campbell’s, no (I’m pretty sure). But here is a site with a number of such recipes. Don’t knock 'em 'til you’ve tried 'em: 😉 [http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/all-recipes/](http://www.moosewoodcooks.com/all-recipes/) Apparently, sweet soups are popular in Scandinavia, and there’s a Russian one called _okroshka_, which is based on _kvas_ (sweet near beer made from rye bread). I gather they’re mostly eaten cold in the summertime, like gazpacho, though any soup made from autumn vegetables like pumpkin and squash I would want hot. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/349 "2014-12-14T20:53:03Z")
And of course borscht is pretty sweet, too. Or anything made from beets, for that matter. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/350 "2014-12-14T21:10:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > And of course borscht is pretty sweet, too. Or anything made from beets, for that matter. The Jewish borscht I’ve had was incredibly sweet, yes. It was served cold as well. Russian and Ukrainian borscht, more savory than sweet, and they’re served hot. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/351 "2014-12-15T01:18:59Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > So you’re saying a regular can of chicken noodle or something, but with extra sugar in it? I never noticed they were particularly sweet, although processed foods do tend to add more sugar and salt to things. A traditonal Australian canned soup did not contain ANY added sweetener, and the ingredients (peas, squash, carrots, corn etc) were less sweet than modern versions of the same vegetables. 30-40 years ago, American soups contained added cane suger. Due to fashion, marketing, vegetable breeding, and cane-suger taxation, it is now possible to get the same high level of sweetness withoug using cane suger, and I would be surprised if American soups contained cane suger: I don’t have any cans here to examine. In any case, Australian food (example: Tomato Sauce, Bread, Peanut Butter, Soup) was less sweet than American food in the '70’s, and Australians generally found it strange, and often found it unattractive. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/352 "2014-12-15T02:40:15Z")
> [@Melbourne](#): > > I would be surprised if American soups contained cane suger: I don’t have any cans here to examine. More likely, it contains **this stuff** , which just about everything seems to have these days: > **[High-fructose corn syrup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup)** > > High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also known as glucose–fructose, isoglucose and glucose–fructose syrup, is a sweetener made from corn starch. As in the production of conventional corn syrup, the starch is broken down into glucose by enzymes. To make HFCS, the corn syrup is further processed by D-xylose isomerase to convert some of its glucose into fructose. HFCS was first marketed in the early 1970s by the Clinton Corn Processing Company, together with the Japanese Agency of Industrial Sci As ... ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/353 "2014-12-15T04:43:41Z")
> [@davidm](#): > > It probably depends on the part of PA. I live in the Philly suburbs and it’s very well known here. It may not be so well known in the western part of the state. It’s a Pennsylvania Dutch thing so I think proximity to Lancaster may be the determinant. > > What brand of scrapple did you serve? Haverset is the big one around here. We used something called Milton, but Rapa was the big brand in the stores. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/354 "2014-12-15T04:49:55Z")
> [@Orpington](#): > > Biscuits and gravy - yummm. Yeah if you’re British and don’t know that we mean something totally different by both biscuits and gravy, then I guess you would be totally grossed out. But try the real thing and see if you still say you don’t like it. I miss this almost as much as corny dogs. I can do a decent gravy at home but I’m not sure if I’m capable of a gluten free biscuit, sadly. We tried a gluten-free version out of some cookbook. Probably the worst thing I’ve ever had. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/355 "2014-12-15T14:17:55Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > More likely, it contains **this stuff** , which just about everything seems to have these days: > > [High-fructose corn syrup - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_fructose_corn_syrup) I looked at all three cans of soup I have (cream of chicken, cream of mushroom, and cream of celery), and none of them have sugar in any form I see. American foods do tend to be sweet (like our bread, for example), but this not something I’ve noticed in soup. Then again, I don’t eat a lot of canned soup. Tomato soup is about the only one I’ve had that seems unusually sweet to me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/356 "2014-12-15T14:24:08Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Here is a tomato-based recipe: > > [SPICY TOMATO SAUCE | Georgian Recipes](http://georgianrecipes.net/2013/10/11/spicy-tomato-sauce/) > > I actually have bottles of this one in my pantry in Moscow. Be advised: Georgian cooking uses a lot of cilantro. You can leave it out if you don’t like it (I realize it’s an acquired taste), but the dishes just won’t taste the same: > > [GREEN TKEMALI – SOUR PLUM SAUCE | Georgian Recipes](http://georgianrecipes.net/2013/06/22/green-tkemali-sour-plum-sauce/) > > Googling “Uzbek giant dumplings,” I see a lot of recipes for _manti_ and _khinkali_ (which are actually Georgian); they look the same to me, but neither seem as big as the one I had, which was served swimming in a spicy red broth. I’d need to experiment to determine the exact seasoning of the sauce, but I’m sure it was heavy on the cumin and ground coriander seed (and probably cilantro as well). Oh, I love cilantro, so no problem there. My favorite thing about Georgian cooking is their use of herbs. I make chakhokhbili fairly regularly with tarragon, cilantro, dill, basil, sometimes a bit of mint. Great favors and a bit different. So tkemali, eh? I’ll have to look around and see if by fortune they have it at any of the ethnic shops. I don’t think I can find green plums otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/357 "2014-12-15T14:37:36Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > So tkemali, eh? I’ll have to look around and see if by fortune they have it at any of the ethnic shops. I don’t think I can find green plums otherwise. The kind I have is red, so it must be made with very ripe plums. The taste is really unique. I brought some packets of Georgian seasoning with me that my ex wanted. It’s called _khmeli-suneli_ and contains fenugreek, ground coriander seed, dill, celery seed, parsley, basil, savory, mint, bay leaf, majoram, cayenne pepper, tumeric, and blue fenugreek, in that order. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/358 "2014-12-15T14:46:55Z")
Aside, from tomato, I seriously doubt Campbell’s was adding sugar to their soup 30-40 years ago. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/359 "2014-12-15T14:50:30Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > We tried a gluten-free version out of some cookbook. Probably the worst thing I’ve ever had. I made a big batch of it last night; reading about it here made me realize I hadn’t had it in ages. Pure ambrosia! :o How on Earth can you make biscuits (quickbread) or gravy without gluten? 😕 I once worked with a guy who could be quite a dick when he wanted. One day we were talking about how much we both liked biscuits and gravy, and I went home and made a big batch that evening **100% FROM SCRATCH**. Out of the kindness of my heart, I put a generous portion into an old ice-cream carton and brought it to work the next day. When my colleague came in, I told him there was a present for him in the break room fridge. He went to take a look, and when he came back he said “What, you’ve taken to freezing your cat’s vomit?” :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Orpington](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cc9497/32.png) [@Orpington](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orpington)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307/360 "2014-12-15T14:52:54Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > We tried a gluten-free version out of some cookbook. Probably the worst thing I’ve ever had. The biscuits or the gravy? Or both? Yeah, there’s a lot of really bad gluten free food. It’s really hard to get flavor right and even harder to get bready texture. There may be good gluten free biscuits and gravy out there somewhere but I haven’t seen them. I wouldn’t be gluten free if I didn’t have to. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/15-things-americans-eat-that-foreigners-hate/706307.md?page=19)