Don’t knock it, dude. Koolickles are fantastic. Just the thing to go with Cajun food from a little shack or church BBQ.
I’ve seen it on this very board with scrapple, Vienna sausages, and even spam and boxed macaroni and cheese. Mostly it’s from people who grew up poor and see it as poor-people food.
I think I even saw it about (canned) green beans.
Meat loaf isn’t meat loaf unless it’s served with mashed potatoes and canned green beans! :o
I love Depression food (tuna casserole, hamburger hot dish, and the like). So much of “haute cuisine,” which is not necessarily bad, is unbelievably pretentious!
There’s no such thing as Midwest street cred. Right? That would rock my world view.
Midwesterners have 108 different terms for how the corn is growing. And snow. I read that somewhere. 
SCRAPPLE!!
Only two weeks till I can stagger to my parents’ kitchen and pan fry up some scrapple with eggs.
What killed about foreigners when I lived in Boston was how much Germans hated peanut butter. They actually loved Miller Lite, hated skippy smooth and crunchy. Though I’ve tried vegimite (worst excuse for food), I’ll never understand kidney pie.
OK, an Australian perspective:
Rootbeer Floats
Rootbeer tastes similar to Sarsaparilla to me but it’s not a drink we really have here. Putting ice cream in a glass of soft drink (what we call the fizzy coloured sugar water) used to be called a Spider and you could get them with all varieties of soft drink, just not rootbeer.
Sloppy Joes
Something sort of gross about it, but I suppose of put mince meat stew on toast before, same principle.
Velveeta
Some sort of fake cheese I take it, pass.
Hot dogs
Nothing new about this, just the sausage part here is generally always a frankfurt that is boiled and served on a long roll with tomato sauce. Snack food that you eat out, not real food.
Cheese Whiz
Cheese in a can. Ummm - No.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie
Interesting. I’ve never had Strawberry in a pie, and Rhubarb is usually mixed with Apples in a pie which is yum.
Pumpkin Pie
Pumpkin is treated as a savoury not a sweet. Roast, boiled or steamed Pumpkin with a meal is nice. Or in soup. turning it into a desert by pumping a bunch of sugar into it seems wrong. And we can’t get Pumpkin in a can, you buy fresh pumpkin at the vege shop
Frito pies
The name is horrid, but apart from making it in the bag it’s like what I’d call Nacho’s. Corn chips in a bowl, add Chilli, some grated cheese and yum.
Grits
Polenta. pass.
Corn dog
Battered Sav. Used to get them when I was a kid, on a stick. Snack food, edible but
Jello
What you call Jello, we call Jelly. Coloured sweet flavoured gelatin. Staple of kids deserts for decades
Chicken fried steak
Stupid name, it’s beef schnitzel, we just usually don’t deepfry it.
Red velvet cake
It’s cake. I’ve never tried that kind but nothing inherently creepy about that.
White sandwich bread
That’s the staple bread that you buy at the supermarket or baker shop. A white sliced load of bread
Peanut butter
Something you put on toast or in a sandwich. Pretty much a staple in every pantry, or used to be until every second kid became allergic to nuts.
Biscuits and gravy
Yeah Nah. Biscuits here basically describe cookies and crackers. I understand these are some kind of baked dumpling or scone like substance with gravy but just sounds nasty.
I understand that what Americans know as “root beer” flavor is more familiar in Commonwealth countries as “cough syrup” flavor and thus has unpleasant associations.
Cheez Whiz is not cheese in a can. It’s cheese in a glass jar —— http://www.seriouseats.com/images/2012/04/20120424-queso-cheez-whiz.jpg
Easy Cheese is cheese in a can — http://www.yummly.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Cheez-Whiz-slashfood.jpg
Both of them are substances almost entirely unlike cheese, but they have their own pleasures.
I agree with you on Velveeta, though. That stuff is nasty.
Think of it as a type of bread, which is what it is.
An American biscuit is like a scone, but savory, not sweet. And a little lighter and fluffier.
I don’t care for gravy with bread of any sort, and don’t care for biscuits with gravy. But if you like sopping up gravy with bread, you’d probably like it.
Ahhh,
We have cheese spread in a jar.
Haven’t eaten it for decades. Actually I can’t recall ever eating it.
If you like apple rhubarb pie, you’d probably like strawberry rhubarb pie.
Pumpkin pie is not all that sweet, at least, not when I make it. It’s a custard pie that’s flavored with pumpkin and warm spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove, iirc.) I feel silly standing up for it, as I don’t really like it very much. But I’d be surprised if anyone who liked other custard pies took a really strong dislike to it.
No, no NO! It is NOT “fake cheese”. It is cheese, liquid and sodium citrate, and you can use the process to turn any cheese into a smoothly melting Velveeta-like cheese spread. Velveeta just happens to be made with mild cheddar. There is even a calculator on the Modernist Cuisine web site to get the ratio correct for various cheeses.
All this is clearly explained on page 222 of Volume 4.
The traditional cheese makers (as in “blessed are the cheese-makers”) managed to bribe enough Congresscritters to force any processed cheese to be labeled “cheese food” as opposed to cheese with sodium citrate. In fact, that was the compromise. They *wanted *to be called “embalmed cheese”.
stui magpie: apparently Velveeta tastes exactly like that Kraft Cheddar Cheese that you can buy in the Vegemite aisle (not from a fridge - it’s a shelf stable cheese). The two differences are that it’s a white cheese, not orange like American cheeses, and it melts differently.
Strawberry and rhubarb are awesome together. I made strawberry and rhubarb jam last year. I’d eat that pie.
On “biscuits and gravy”.
I suppose some of the confusion is over the word “biscuit” which for our English friends is what we Americans would call a “cookie” and eaten with tea. So I can see the confusion with cookies covered with white chunky gravy.
Biscuits and gravy done right is awesome. But then I’ve had it where the biscuits were just microwaved and the gravy came from a powder out of a box and it was nasty. So often its where you eat it at.
I think though that over time as our world continues to shrink different countries food will become more common. Like my Danish relatives who just now seem to be opening up to spicy food. The last time they visited we about gave up on trying to serve American food and we took them to a European grocery and a German restaurant so they could find food they would agree with.
Yeah, but there are loads of different pierogie fillings. The traditional is mashed potatos with onions, but also saurkraut, cheese, meat, and there are even dessert varieties with fruit. Mostly they’re served with onions sauteed in butter. I don’t know too many people who deep fry them.
(My mother makes them with cheddar mashed potatos and onions. They’re fucking delicious.)
I thought a Brown Cow was a root beer float with chocolate ice cream rather than vanilla.
Dammit, this thread is making me HUNGRY. In the middle of the fucking night, too.
Vegetarian American checking in:
Rootbeer Floats–okay, but I don’t drink much soda
Sloppy Joes–make good veggie ones
Velveeta–gag city
Hot dogs–ditto, both meat & tofu
Cheese Whiz–gag city
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie–not a pie eater
Pumpkin Pie–but I loves me some pumpkin, and will eat it in any form
Frito pies–never heard of this, but I will make some with veggie chili. Sounds great!
Grits–Okay, but not really a fan
Corn dog–nope
Jello–One thing I cannot stomach. That color and texture. Is it really a food?
Chicken fried steak–I miss this.
Red velvet cake–Nope. Cream cheese frosting is ghastly.
White sandwich bread–Not a fan
Peanut butter–Gag city again. That Texture!
Biscuits and gravy–I love this. With veggie gravy.
Both the biscuits and the gravy should be solid enough that there isn’t all that much sopping or soaking in.
Sloppy Joes are easier to make than burgers. You chop and cook hamburger, drain it, and add a can of Hungry Man sauce if you’re in a hurry. Or you can add packets of dry seasoning, onion, green pepper, tomato sauce - whatever you think of as ‘Sloppy Joes’ and serve them on hamburger buns. I, myself, prefer hamburger mixed with a tasty barbeque sauce out of a bottle, there are hundreds of sauces to choose from.
Background on me - lived my whole life in Texas except one year in Germany ('86-'87). I have celiac disease, so I haven’t eaten gluten for 12 years, which rules out many of these things unless you make them at home, which although I like to cook is sometimes just not worth the effort. As pointed out by several others, lots of these are fair food, kid food or the like so if foreigners think this is what we eat all the time, no wonder why they think we’re weird.
Rootbeer Floats - mmm not my favorite, I grew up with Dr Pepper floats. But I do love root beer. I usually get the fancy specialty brands that are heavier on the herbs and not too sweet. I never met a German who actually liked root beer. The one time I witnessed one actually try it for the first time (and she was quite open minded about new foods) she was absolutely revolted. In general, ice cream + soda is awfully sweet and I can see where many would be put off by that.
Sloppy Joes - yum. Spaghetti sauce on a bun, why not. Easier than boiling noodles.
Velveeta - the only thing I like it for is queso dip, but the one time I’ve tried that since my twenties I got the cheap store brand (hey I use cheap store brands for regular cheese, why not fake velveeta for queso - big mistake)
Hot dogs - I rarely eat them because they’re a little bland compared to “real” sausages. I suspect this is why Germans love to hate them, though I agree they are probably so popular here precisely because of the German immigrants. We’ve Americanized sausages into something boring. I used to enjoy eating them at public things like fairs, ball games, etc but the gluten thing prevents that now. It’s just not the same without the bun plus you can’t be sure about fillers.
Cheese Whiz - ok I swear growing up this came in a can, like the easy cheese you get now. Easy cheese is good for distracting kittens from their shots (I used to work for a vet) but ugh I wouldn’t eat it. I guess I remember trying some weird appetizer things where you squeeze it onto a cracker and dress it up with garnishes. Never liked it but in a pinch I’d eat it for survival. Definitely better than marmite, but I might choose Vegemite instead.
Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie - definitely regional. I made it all the way to adulthood without hearing of rhubarb despite having many relatives all over the country. I think you can find it more now that people move around more and bring their cultural foods with them. I’ve still never tasted it because, well it’s usually in pie form and y’know, the gluten thing. I suspect I’d like it because I understand it’s sour and I do prefer fruits and pies on the less sweet/more tart side.
Pumpkin Pie - I think (and most of the comments seem to back this up) that most aversion to this is from people who have pumpkin but think of it as a savory food. I advise them to try it, it’s not as sweet as you fear. Actually I make it every year for family gatherings because I can make a gluten free crust (and yes even though it’s traditionally made with a real pie dough crust, it’s one of the best pies to use a cookie crust for, especially ginger snaps which are easy to find gluten free) and I have started to add garam masala spice to the seasoning. Also going to start reducing the sugar because it just doesn’t need to be sweet.
Frito pies - oh yum. If the word pie bothers you, just get over it. It’s a bad name but a good dish. I’ll sometimes make it at the end of the batch of chili and I don’t have anything else to stretch it with. I rarely have actual Fritos but they are best - sturdier than other corn chips, with their own unique flavor. If the chili makes the Fritos soggy, either your chili is too runny or you’re letting it sit too long - if you get it in public they should pour the chili on right before they serve it to you.
Grits - I’m pretty sure most grits these days are made from regular corn meal, not hominy. I love them both but most grits taste like polenta nowadays. I don’t know but I suspect they maybe used to be gritty if they were stone ground. I know I have eaten cornbread made from stoneground cornmeal that had actual sand-sized bits of stone. Not a pleasant experience.
Corn dog - well first off it’s corny dog, not corn dog. I guess if you don’t like hotdogs, or cornmeal, or fried things they would be a problem but otherwise what’s not to like? This is the fair good I miss most (because gluten - corn is safe but they’re usually in a floury base batter)
Jello - unless you put stuff in it (yes I love jello salads) it’s usually just sick people food for adults. It counts as clear liquid and if you’re fasting for surgery or because you’ve got a tummy bug, it’s more satisfying than broth.
Chicken fried steak - I suspect that foreigners who dislike it do so precisely because it reminds them of schnitzel or scallopini or whatever they have where they come from. It’s similar but not right (same as with hot dogs vs sausage). Traditionally it has been made with cheap cuts of meat so it can be gristly. On the other hand sometimes restaurants make it out of really good steak, in which case they’ve basically wasted a steak (my husband disagrees, he often gets chicken fried ribeye)
Red velvet cake - I can’t even remember the last time I had this but yummmm. Though why the food coloring? I can see why this would gross you out.
White sandwich bread - ok more than anything else here I can’t judge this, because it seems to me when I see it these days sandwich bread is much more like good bread than it was when I was growing up. The old stuff would almost turn back to dough if you smushed it up a bit. The newer stuff looks more solid but still seems to have the important trait of not crumbling up regardless of what kind of sandwich you make with it. The Germans and French that I’ve heard complain about our bread say they want something you have to chew a little. I don’t mind a little chew but a sandwich made out of firm bread either crumbles too much or scrapes off the roof of your mouth - not pleasant. Also, forty years ago you couldn’t find anything else bedsides mushy sandwich bread in a typical American supermarket, so people from cultures that don’t rely on sandwiches the way we do would think that was how we thought all bread should be. Turns out most of us can appreciate different kinds of bread but our sandwich bread still has good value for its intended purpose.
Peanut butter - when I was in Germany you could get peanut butter but it didn’t taste very good. At the time I figured it was because it was unsweetened, but in retrospect since I now prefer it unsweetened, I think it was actually just old and stale, because of low turnover. I recently bought a small jar of sweetened PB that was past the expiration date (for mouse bait) and took a small taste. Not too sweet really, but vile for the staleness. Even the mice won’t eat it. If that were my first taste of peanut butter, I would recoil from the thought forever.
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.
