# Definitely inferior foods Americans love... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 5, 2020, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990 "2020-01-05T21:10:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/61 "2020-01-07T19:10:11Z")
> [@Green\_Bean](#): > > Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. > > Somehow it manages to be flabby, slimy, gritty, and floppy all at once. It’s hideous. It tastes like chemicals. It has no redeeming qualities. > > But every now and then…it’s just so damn good. It is the most Proustian food I know. and sure, I loves me some nice baked mac & Chee, but the kraft stuff is easy & fast. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/62 "2020-01-07T19:32:34Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > For me, it’s not only the taste, but the mouth feel/how it melts. Premium chocolate melts almost immediately, with the the waxy coating/aftertaste of Herseys. Regular Japanese chocolate has that feel because they tend to have more milk in them. One of my favorite Japanese chocolate is Choco Babies (yeah, I know, possibly non-PC). Little pellets of chocolate that have a waxy coat, which I’m sure really is paraffin, but once that melts away, the chocolate is divine. 😃 I’ll agree with those who like Hershey’s chocolate, and I disagree with the criticisms leveled at it. It’s NOT waxy, or sour. Certainly it tastes different from most European chocolates, but that’s because it’s not a bad copy of a European recipe, but Hershey’s own development, dating from the 19th century. At that time there wasn’t a standard recipe for milk chocolate, and everyone was coming up with their own. I suspect that I prefer Hershey’s because I was raised on it (with occasional Nestle’s, and others at holiday times). If you were raised on European chocolate, then I can understand your preferring what you grew up with, but that doesn’t mean mine is wrong or inferior. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/63 "2020-01-07T19:46:03Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > Doritos gotta be near the top of the list. How about a Taco Bell taco with a Dorito-flavored shell? For me it’s pork skins. I know they’re awful, I know they’re no good for me, but I buy an occasional bag anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/64 "2020-01-07T19:47:36Z")
Slice and bake sugar cookies. I went to a potluck some years ago and somebody apologized for bringing them. I think I ate them all. Homemade is just not the same. Cheetos. Any kind, but especially white cheddar and any of the crunchy type. Pre-popped, cheese-covered popcorn. Like Smartfood. Lucky Charms cereal. When I was in college the dining room always had milk and cereal in case the main menu wasn’t interesting. Root beer, especially draft [it tastes like cough medicine to most people in France, Switzerland and Germany] ---
**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:** [January 7, 2020, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/65 "2020-01-07T19:48:06Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I’ll agree with those who like Hershey’s chocolate, and I disagree with the criticisms leveled at it. It’s NOT waxy, or sour. It absolutely does have a sour tang to it. They even point it out at the Hershey factory store if you take their little tour or whatever it is. I like Hershey, and I’m used to the flavor, but when I went years without having Hershey (while having other chocolates), it was oddly noticeable. So noticeable that I had to Google it, wondering whether others noticed it or my chocolate was spoiled or something. ---
**Author:** ![harmonicamoon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/65b543/32.png) [@harmonicamoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/harmonicamoon)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/66 "2020-01-07T20:02:15Z")
Pork skins rock! And they are good for you. No carbs! ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/67 "2020-01-07T20:18:23Z")
> [@](#): > > Pre-popped, cheese-covered popcorn. Like Smartfood. Been a long time since I had Smartfood cheddar popcorn. I recall preferring Lance. Which not as many places carry around here. ---
**Author:** ![Fiddle\_Peghead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddle_peghead/32/3506_2.png) [@Fiddle\_Peghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiddle_Peghead)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/68 "2020-01-07T20:27:52Z")
Kraft American “cheese” is not really cheese. But it is absolutely perfect on a sausage, egg, and “cheese” biscuit, or a bacon “cheese” burger. The key to liking it is to not compare it to something that is only nominally the same as. Eat it and accept it for what it is. If after that, you cheese snobs still don’t like it, then I can’t help ya! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![TimfromNapa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d26b3c/32.png) [@TimfromNapa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TimfromNapa)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/69 "2020-01-07T20:32:48Z")
> [@lingyi](#): > > I realize price is a major factor, but I still won’t chose quality over quantity on some things. > > I’m eating some Hersey’s Kisses and it dawned on how inferior (though still addicting) it to most other chocolates. Same with See’s chocolates. It’s better than Hersey’s, but really not worth the price, but I still buy it because it’s cheaper than Ethel M’s. > > My beloved Spam. Spiced Ham my butt! Even canned ham tastes closer to the real thing, but yet Spam I love! > > American processed cheese. Just bought a prewrapped pack of goodness? today. I also have some less processed (hesitate to say real) cheddar and mixed shredded cheese in the freezer, but grilled cheese sandwiches must be made with the prewrapped stuff. > > Taco Bell. Mexic…nope can’t say it’s Mexic…food. Mexican food inspired yes, but Mexic…nope. Still, crave it from time to time. > > Same goes for Pizza Hut, Papa Johns and Dominos. My vote is for Chef Boyardee Beefaroni and Ravioli (meat or cheese). Low brow, but excellent comfort food. Highly recommended for the munchies. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/70 "2020-01-07T20:40:06Z")
The word I use for this is “nāsty,” rhymes with “tasty.” World’s full of nāsty foods: cheap pizza, McDonald’s sundaes, Oreos, those little cheese-whiz-and-cracker sets that kids eat for snacks, Smartfoods cheese popcorn, and on and on. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/71 "2020-01-07T20:56:39Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It absolutely does have a sour tang to it. They even point it out at the Hershey factory store if you take their little tour or whatever it is. I like Hershey, and I’m used to the flavor, but when I went years without having Hershey (while having other chocolates), it was oddly noticeable. So noticeable that I had to Google it, wondering whether others noticed it or my chocolate was spoiled or something. Dunno. It doesn’t taste sour to me. (And when I took the tour – and the tasting session - nobody mentioned anything about a sour note). But tastes vary, and I might be so familiar with it that I don’t notice it. I do notice that European chocolates seem to be sweeter, though. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/72 "2020-01-07T22:30:19Z")
[Why Hershey’s chocolate tastes different from European chocolate](https://chocolateclass.wordpress.com/2016/05/04/american-chocolate-tastes-like-vomit/) (Chocolate Class): > [@](#): > > While Allen quickly dismisses the first two, he acknowledges that the milk may be the key factor. Interestingly, both companies highly value the milk that goes into their chocolate. Hershey’s proudly used to claim that all milk used was from their own dairy farm (Coe & Coe, 1996; 251); Cadbury still advertises that a glass and a half of milk are in every pound of their milk chocolate (Cadbury Milk Ads, see below). However, Hershey’s milk undergoes a secret process, largely speculated to be lipolysis, a process by which the fatty acids in the milk begin to break down (Moskin, New York Times; 12 February 2008). This process allows for a longer shelf life, but also **creates butyric acid – a compound that is found in vomit and parmesan cheese**. In other words, this process is likely what gives Hershey’s chocolate that “tangy” taste the British hate but Americans are accustomed to. In partially souring the milk, Hershey’s gained a greater shelf life but created a fairly distinct taste. It’s an interesting article. * * * Re the OP, I confess to an occasional Cheetos jones. Regular crunchy sort, not the Flaming Hots. I’d probably become addicted to those, so I avoid them. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/73 "2020-01-07T23:01:48Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > How about a Taco Bell taco with a Dorito-flavored shell? > > For me it’s pork skins. I know they’re awful, I know they’re no good for me, but I buy an occasional bag anyway. Along these lines, I love me some cracklins. Super hard and crunchy to the point you think you may have chipped a tooth; fried up pig fat with the skin attached. I tried to get my son to try them and he was going to until he saw it still had a hair in it. That’s not normal at all and when I see those I throw them out, but it was funny as hell to watch his reaction. ---
**Author:** ![Mike\_Mabes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mike_mabes/32/1782_2.png) [@Mike\_Mabes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mike_Mabes)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2020, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/74 "2020-01-07T23:11:31Z")
> [@harmonicamoon](#): > > Pork skins rock! And they are good for you. No carbs! I was about to ask why you have been able to get pork skins for a long time but not chicken skins. The skin is the best part of fried chicken. Now I see that you can get them. Is this something fairly new? There are a lot of brands I see online, but never seen them in a store I was about to ask why you have been able to get pork skins for a long time but not chicken skins. The skin is the best part of fried chicken. Now I see that you can get them. Is this something fairly new? There are a lot of brands I see online, but never seen them in a store [https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=chicken+skins](https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=chicken+skins) ---
**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:** [January 7, 2020, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/75 "2020-01-07T23:18:38Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Dunno. It doesn’t taste sour to me. (And when I took the tour – and the tasting session - nobody mentioned anything about a sour note). But tastes vary, and I might be so familiar with it that I don’t notice it. > > I do notice that European chocolates seem to be sweeter, though. When I went, they definitely pointed it out as a flavor that separated them from other chocolatiers–only in the milk chocolate, though. I’m trying to remember what word they used – I think it was “tang.” But, yes, it’s a well-known characteristic of the chocolate. When I mention me noticing the flavor after years of not eating American milk chocolates, I’m leaving out a little part. The flavor I tasted was not the flavor of simply sour, but a faint vomit aftertaste. That’s what I Googled and found out this a lot of people notice this vomit-y flavor, and it’s caused by butyric acid from some proprietary acidification technique Hershey’s uses for part of the milk in their milk chocolate. Oddly, I don’t notice that taste anymore, but it was there, clear as day, when I was off American chocolate for years, so I now understand what Europeans and others are saying when they say that chocolate is sour or has an otherwise funky flavor to it. But I still do notice it being “sharp” in a tangy sense. (And I do happen to like that flavor.) ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/76 "2020-01-08T00:26:49Z")
From [On Food and Cooking](https://www.amazon.com/Food-Cooking-Science-Lore-Kitchen/dp/0684800012/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1KZV49IDORPWU&keywords=on+food+and+cooking+harold+mcgee&qid=1578441982&s=books&sprefix=on+food+and+%2Caps%2C208&sr=1-1) by Harold McGee: > [@](#): > > . . . in the United States, large manufacturers have long encouraged their milk fat to undergo some breakdown by fat-digesting enzymes. This breakdown develops a slight note of rancidity, whose cheesy, animal overtones blend well in their own way with chocolate flavor and make a positive contribution to the complexity of flavor. That’s the classic Hershey taste that a lot of people dislike. It comes from rancid milk fat. As for sweetness, I looked up the amount of sugar in a Hershey Milk Chocolate bar vs. a Lindt Classic Recipe milk chocolate bar. Hershey is 56% sugar, while Lindt is 57%. That’s so close we can treat them as the same. There may other factors that make one seem sweeter than the other, but they have the same amount of sugar. Lindt makes a different milk chocolate bar they call “Extra Creamy Excellence.” It has only 47.5% sugar, which is considerably less than a Hershey bar. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/77 "2020-01-08T05:22:38Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Spam is rather similar to other nations canned meat products . No, no, no, no and no! Spam is divinity in a can, deli luncheon meat is passable, but canned luncheon meat is pure evil! Treet is in no way even close to Spam! 😃 Ahhh, the cruelty of youth: “Ha ha, you must be really poor, you’re eating Treet and not Spam!”. 😉 The ‘deli’ (the kind that comes in a loaf, there were no delis or deli sections in Hawaii back in the 60’s and 70’s) luncheon meat kids at least got a kind, “Here, I’ll trade you half my Spam sandwich for half of yours.” Truthfully, Spam is too salty sometimes even for me, but the low sodium version is edible only if you nearly burn them to a crisp, firming up the texture and increasing the saltiness or quick frying it for fried rice or uncooked in saimin (ramen, though not quite to the rest of the world). BTW. Restaurants, don’t advertise Spam and substitute for Treet, we KNOW! :mad: Edit: We now have Tulip brand. Tried it once. Nope, not Spam goodness! ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/78 "2020-01-08T05:30:59Z")
Dairy Queen and McDonalds soft ice cream as mentioned. Nowhere near a good. much less great vanilla ice cream (for which I’m still searching for), but sometimes just gotta have it even though it sometimes give me hives. ---
**Author:** ![lingyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@lingyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lingyi)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/79 "2020-01-08T07:40:13Z")
Just remembered ice milk. Is it served anywhere? I thought I remembered Dairy Queen (and I think McDonalds when it’s “ice cream” was first introduced) was classified as ice milk. "Why isn’t Dairy Queen soft serve ice cream? To earn an “ice cream” categorization, a product must have a minimum milkfat (or butterfat, as DQ calls it) content of 10%. DQ’s soft serve, meanwhile, has just five percent milkfat. “Technically, our soft serve does not qualify to be called ice cream,” the Dairy Queen site fesses up. The company also explains that its famous soft serve once fell into the FDA’s category of “ice milk.” But the FDA scrapped that category of product to allow companies to market their frozen dairy products with lower milkfat content using terms like “low-fat” and “reduced fat.” Dairy Queen’s soft serve does fit into the FDA’s “reduced-fat” category, and its shake mix would count as “low-fat,” the company website explains, but the company has never marked it that way." [https://www.eatthis.com/dairy-queen-ice-cream/](https://www.eatthis.com/dairy-queen-ice-cream/) ---
**Author:** ![Trisha\_Gaurav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Trisha\_Gaurav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trisha_Gaurav)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2020, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990/80 "2020-01-08T08:05:54Z")
Iams kibbles. I’ve tried it and I can’t fathom why my dog likes it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/definitely-inferior-foods-americans-love/845990.md?page=5)