# Do other countries label any products "American"? (Think "French" fries.) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2002, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308 "2002-08-17T05:44:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/21 "2002-08-17T14:57:58Z")
We have American (or Americana) pizzas here. I’ve been trying to work out what’s on them, and the only thing I can find is [this menu](http://www.warrnambool.nu/laporchetta/menu.htm#Pizza) from La Porchetta, which says the toppings are tomato, cheese and hot salami. Just for the sake of adding it, most pizza parlours offer an “Aussie” too, and it is simply cheese, tomato, ham and an egg. ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/22 "2002-08-17T15:14:17Z")
Just to hijack the thread a little: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by C K Dexter Haven \* > \*\*And, incidentally, what Americans call “french fries” and what Brits call “chips” are often called “American fries” around the world, because they were popularized by the American fast-food chains. \*\* Here in the UK we have both “chips” and “french fries”. French fries are the skinny ones you get at Mc Donald’s and Burger King, anything thicker than that is a chip. ---
**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/23 "2002-08-17T15:48:39Z")
There’s a French baguette chain called American Sandwich. And most baguette places have an American, although I can’t for the life of me remember what was in them. (I think ham and salami, but I’m not sure.) ---
**Author:** ![Beruang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/77aa72/32.png) [@Beruang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beruang)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/24 "2002-08-17T17:21:00Z")
At Toronga Park Zoo in Sydney, they sell (or sold – haven’t been there since '95) Aussie Hot Dogs (with cheese and tomato sausce); Mexican Hot Dogs (with bacon chips and chilli sauce); and American Hot Dogs (with American mustard and onions). (The sign amused me, so I took a picture. The above is verbatim.) I had the American – fairly bland, as I recall. – Beruang ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/25 "2002-08-17T17:32:54Z")
I found some “American Style Peanut Ketchup” at a street market in England. Had it for the Fourth of July. (I have never seen any sort of peanut ketchup in the U.S., and I must say we’re not missing much.) Sainsbury’s also sells “American Style Cookies,” which are sort of Mrs. Fields-like. ---
**Author:** ![dqa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dqa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dqa)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/26 "2002-08-17T20:27:35Z")
In Spain, the skateboard-savvy kids refer to duct tape as _cinta americana_, although there is a perfectly proper Spanish word for it. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/27 "2002-08-17T20:48:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fretful Porpentine \* > \*\*I found some “American Style Peanut Ketchup” at a street market in England. Had it for the Fourth of July. (I have never seen any sort of peanut ketchup in the U.S., and I must say we’re not missing much.) > \*\* I have to agree with you (even having never seen/tasted the stuff) - that’s one of the weirdest food products I’ve ever heard of. > [@](#): > > As I remember, Fortune Cookies were unknown in China until relatively recently, and when a company in Hong Kong started producing them for the local market, they were touted as “Genuine American Fortune Cookies.” Now _that’s_ humor. 😃 Awesome example, guys (used in an all-gender embracing kind of way)! I always thought America would inspire things of this sort - I just never realized it would be quite so…diverse. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/28 "2002-08-17T22:13:32Z")
American cheese, anyone? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2002, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/29 "2002-08-17T23:06:13Z")
> [@](#): > > I’m wondering if American cheese retains its American identity as well Noted Canadian sociologists, Bob and Doug MacKenzie, once commented on this. B: Know what they call back bacon down in the States? D: What? B: Canadian bacon. D: Take off. B: No, it’s true. D: So maybe they call American cheese back cheese, eh. B: Could be, eh. ---
**Author:** ![TVGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/82dd89/32.png) [@TVGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/30 "2002-08-18T00:47:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DMC \* > \*\*In Germany, they have a pastry known as an “Amerikaner”, which has one side covered in icing, just the way the Germans think we like our pastries… \*\* See, I KNEW there was a reason why JFK called himself a “Berliner” in that speech! ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/31 "2002-08-18T01:25:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by sailor \* > \*\*Then there is “American Champagne” AKA Coke \*\* Actually, in France, _americain_ is sometimes used informally to refer to sweeter dessert Champagnes (formally referred to as _doux_), probably because of the perception that we like our wine that way. Oddly enough, it’s nearly impossible to get doux Champagnes in the U. S. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/32 "2002-08-18T03:26:48Z")
In Israel, soft ice cream - the kind you get from a machine - is known as “American ice cream”. Outside of the commercial sphere, in schools, colleges and whatever, any multiple choice exam is known as an “American test”. ---
**Author:** ![annaone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/48db29/32.png) [@annaone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/annaone)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/33 "2002-08-18T11:19:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Raygun99 \* > \*\*[nitpick] > > ‘French’ Fries refers to the manner of preparation of the fries, not the country of origin. > > [/nitpick] \*\* French fries was, in origine, spelled “Frenched fries”, with an “ed” at the end of French. And as Raygun99 said, it refers to the manner the fries were cut (frenched), not to their country of origin. ---
**Author:** ![MC\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c77e96/32.png) [@MC\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MC_E)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/34 "2002-08-18T12:58:42Z")
Hmmm, in my days of travelling to Taiwan, Japan, and Thailand, I remember being offered (repeatedly) “American Coffee in a can” served at room temperature. I guess they all had some cultural (mis)conception that Americans liked it that way. I never had the stomach to try it though. MC$E ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/35 "2002-08-18T15:09:51Z")
I did often see “American style” ginger ale while shopping in England, but was never able to determine how it differed from the ordinary (“British style”?) ginger ale sitting on the shelf next to it. ---
**Author:** ![ratatoskK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ratatoskk/32/2987_2.png) [@ratatoskK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ratatoskK)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/36 "2002-08-18T16:47:24Z")
**Eva Luna** said: > [@](#): > > Oddly enough, when my Salvadoran college roomie referred to citizens of the U.S., she called them North Americans, rather than Americans, whether she was speaking Spanish or English, reasoning that “hey, I’m waaaaay more American than you are (Central American), because I have Mayan blood, and your family has only been in the U.S. for a couple of generations anyway.” That wasn’t just a peculiarity of your friend, that’s the normal word that Spanish-speakers use to refer to people from the U.S. and Canada… Norteamericano. (I’m not sure whether it also applies to Mexico.) (I am an English-speaker from the U.S. but have studied Spanish.) The logic is that the entire hemisphere is “America”, and it’s divided into north and south. I remember my Spanish teacher in high school explaining to us that it was considered arrogant for people from the U.S. to call themselves “Americans,” because people from the entire hemisphere are also Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Sofa\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/58956e/32.png) [@Sofa\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sofa_King)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/37 "2002-08-18T17:38:44Z")
Hey, **Ice Wolf** , you might be amused by this. When I was down your way, we spent a lot of time around barbecue grills, and ate a whole lot of dog-like sausages which I think you call “snarlers.” Coincidentally, for many a year here in Washington, DC there was a radio personality who made a living telling extremely prurient jokes by using his own [special vocabulary of innuendo](http://humor.catweasel.org/Site1/Digests/H9310060.php#Joke13). One of his more common catch-words was “snarlin’,” which probably doesn’t require much explanation. This similarity of terms provided us with hours of juvenile mirth. And it was only natural that when I and my pals returned to the States and were asked by our friends what we did, all of us probably said at one point or another something along the lines of, “dude, I got more snarlins in one day than most (American) guys get in a year!” Heeheehee. Yes, it is the small-minded things in life that truly amuse me. I’ll go away now. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/38 "2002-08-18T19:18:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ratatoskK \* > \*\ ***Eva Luna** said: > > That wasn’t just a peculiarity of your friend, that’s the normal word that Spanish-speakers use to refer to people from the U.S. and Canada… Norteamericano. (I’m not sure whether it also applies to Mexico.) (I am an English-speaker from the U.S. but have studied Spanish.) The logic is that the entire hemisphere is “America”, and it’s divided into north and south. I remember my Spanish teacher in high school explaining to us that it was considered arrogant for people from the U.S. to call themselves “Americans,” because people from the entire hemisphere are also Americans. \*\* Sometimes, but not always, true. My roomie was more particular about it than most. I have a degree in Spanish and am a former Immigration Court interpreter, so I’m familiar with a pretty wide variety of regional variations on vocabulary and usage. While my roomie would never say “estadounidense,” the Spaniards all looked at me like I was a little peculiar when I referred to myself that way. The Spaniards used “americano/a” almost exclusively, and would use whatever other applicable adjective to refer to other inhabitants of the Amercas (canadiense, salvardoreno, or whatever). ---
**Author:** ![Sivalensis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Sivalensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sivalensis)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2002, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308/39 "2002-08-18T20:19:14Z")
Here is America we have American Chop Suey too, so it’s not just something from abroad. As far as I can remember it has elbow pasta, tomato sauce, some veggies, and some kind of meat, but I haven’t eaten it in a while, so I’m not sure. In France I came across a jar of sauce called “américaine.” I don’t really remember what was in it, and I didn’t try it, but it looked kind of like russian dressing and I think it was kind of a tomato fish base or something. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-other-countries-label-any-products-american-think-french-fries/124308.md?page=1)