# Foods Americans like that non-Americans find disgusting **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 21, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054 "2015-09-21T01:22:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 10:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/241 "2015-09-30T10:27:43Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Diet root beer is in every store in that area. Hire’s, A&W, Barq’s, store-brand…diet rb is everywhere. I beg to differ. Supermarkets around the centre of San Diego (and small shops), Santa Barbara, San Jose, San Francisco, Portland and Seattle have all lacked diet rootbeer in any form, fountain, can or bottle. Multiple versions of non diet root beer. You can get it from fountain in A&W take aways in Vancouver. But not in a form I can stick into a suitcase and take back. ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 10:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/242 "2015-09-30T10:35:18Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Full breakfasts are (from what I understand) seldom eaten nowadays in Great Britain except for, say, farmers and other people who have a full day of physical labor ahead of them. For most others, breakfast doesn’t differ much from what Americans generally eat, e.g., toast, tea, coffee, cereal, and juice. Nope. Plenty of people eat full english breakfasts. It’s a staple in pretty much all low level restaurants. It’s as rare to not have it on the menu, as to not have burgers. > [@](#): > > I seldom eat heavy breakfasts (e.g., eggs, bacon, sausage links, pancakes, hash browns) any more myself. I just don’t burn that many calories in a day. Given that most of the actual calories come from the bread and the beans if on there (or hash browns if included), its not actually that high calories wise. JD Wetherspoons has it down for 918 calories for a normal one. I’m sure packages and a bowl of cereal will be more than that. Usually consumed later in the morning. Often served at Bed & Breakfasts and hotels where breakfast is included. So typically due to novelty you’d have it first day, and maybe eat lighter later… ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/243 "2015-09-30T11:06:34Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Grill in UK or Aus is typically a heating element above a sliding tray. Ditto South Africa.[What we call a grill, Americans call a broiler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grilling#UK.2C_Commonwealth_and_Ireland). ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/244 "2015-09-30T11:18:43Z")
> [@Rob\_da\_Reese](#): > > YES. This. And one step further: cheese in a can. WHAT. IS. THAT? > > [http://www.retroland.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kraft-Easy-Cheese.jpg](http://www.retroland.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Kraft-Easy-Cheese.jpg) Again, not a common food, and it is often the butt of jokes even here. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2015, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/245 "2015-09-30T13:11:37Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Given that most of the actual calories come from the bread and the beans if on there (or hash browns if included), its not actually that high calories wise. JD Wetherspoons has it down for 918 calories for a normal one. I’m sure packages and a bowl of cereal will be more than that. “Packages”? 😕 Dunno about you, but I find a bowl of cereal a **lot** easier to digest than any fry-up. Nine hundred calories is easily half your daily requirement if you’re not physically active. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/246 "2015-09-30T15:10:19Z")
> [@Les\_Espaces\_Du\_Sommeil](#): > > . . . there’s no way I’d have drunk cola with ice cream :D. Actually Pepsi floats are a thing and I enjoyed them regularly as a young lad. Haven’t had one in years though. ---
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/247 "2015-09-30T15:14:03Z")
> [@stui\_magpie](#): > > Grill in UK or Aus is typically a heating element above a sliding tray. The hot flat metal cooking surface is generally called a hot plate, I have never heard anyone use the word “Griddle” ever. > > Having said that, I have no issue with cooking the sandwich that way, in fact I’ve started doing it at home as it’s quicker than heating the griller. I just use a frying pan. The consistency of the bread isn’t significantly different, you can get up a nice crunch on the outside while getting a good gooey melt on the inside. I’m a fan. > > I don’t get the hate for the white sliced bread, we have the same thing here, but have plenty of other options. The old white bread may have basically zero nutritional value but is mandatory for a bbq sausage with tomato sauce. “hot-plated cheese sandwich” doesn’t really roll off of the tongue. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/248 "2015-09-30T15:41:02Z")
> [@Smid](#): > > Mainly because its not what we expect. A grill in the uk refers to what I think americans call a “broiler” > [@MrDibble](#): > > Ditto South Africa.[What we call a grill, Americans call a broiler](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grilling#UK.2C_Commonwealth_and_Ireland). The big difference seems to me that in America, a broiler is underneath the oven or is part of the oven itself. It seem that in the U.K., it’s common for the broiler to be a separate unit located _above_ the stove, which seems really weird to me. In America, yes, “a grill” is a device that produces heat from below, like a charcoal or propane-fuleled outdoor grill. However, “grilling” can often refer to cooking on the surface of a stove using similar techniques, meaning minimal use of oil or grease and often on a pan that’s designed to be grill-like. You can even get a separate device or implement that works on the stove top or the counter that’s essentially a small, portable grill suitable for indoor use. > [@](#): > > The idea that you “shallow fry” the bread (like we call it, but I believe you butter/spread the outside of the bread, then “grill” it), means we end up with a sandwich with what we’d called “fried bread” and cheese in the middle which isn’t pleasant to us. Fried bread only usage appears in the UK as part of breakfast, and sitting under cooked tomatoes in which it makes a pleasant contrast. Of course the subject of british breakfasts is another thing… I think “fried bread” is not really a very good description of what you get from a stovetop grilled cheese sandwich. The amount of fat or grease or butter is quite minimal—many recipes indeed call for none at all—so you do really end up with something more like a toasted sandwich with melted cheese in the middle. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/249 "2015-09-30T16:01:48Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Your beans don’t come in some kind of tomatoey or brown sugar sauce?!? :dubious: :eek: 😕 Some do, but that’s generally annoying (I mean unless you are making baked beans). You don’t want to have to spend time to get the tomato or brown sugar sauce off so you could use the beans in something else. ---
**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:** [September 30, 2015, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/250 "2015-09-30T22:43:21Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > You don’t want to have to spend time to get the tomato or brown sugar sauce off so you could use the beans in something else. Yeah… In that case, it’s better just to buy dried beans and rehydrate them yourself. This is usually what I do when I make, e.g., chili con carne from scratch. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/251 "2015-09-30T23:58:12Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Corn dogs? They have corn dogs in Japan, only they’re called “American dogs” there. > [@McDoogins](#): > > I could never eat cold beans in a can, the water is just disgusting. Who does that? I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of an American eating cold beans from a can except in situations where they were stuck without a stove/microwave/campfire. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/252 "2015-10-01T01:36:39Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > Who does that? I don’t think I’ve ever even heard of an American eating cold beans from a can except in situations where they were stuck without a stove/microwave/campfire. I have, on occasion. I’ve also eaten delicacies like tuna and Spam straight out of the can, usually when I’m too damned tired or busy to heat up a proper meal. I often work all night long, and I keep a variety of canned goods for a quick nosh at three or four in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/253 "2015-10-01T02:46:41Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > They have corn dogs in Japan, only they’re called “American dogs” there. And we appreciate the credit. Corn dogs are damned good especially with bright yellow mustard. They certainly are not high-brow eating and they aren’t very good for you but they taste great. The best place to get them is a state fair but the frozen versions they sell in supermarkets all over the U.S. are pretty good too. They are not an indigenous food to New England but even the supermarkets here carry them so someone is buying them regularly (and that someone is me sometimes). That is trashy food that is really hard to make at home but can be produced really well on a mass scale and God bless them for it. ---
**Author:** ![Spud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spud/32/347_2.png) [@Spud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spud)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/254 "2015-10-01T03:46:17Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I have, on occasion. I’ve also eaten delicacies like tuna and Spam straight out of the can, usually when I’m too damned tired or busy to heat up a proper meal. > > I often work all night long, and I keep a variety of canned goods for a quick nosh at three or four in the morning. Does your microwave somehow stop working at that time? I’ve been a hungry teen, a poor college student and a bachelor and I’ve never eaten beans straight from the can. Dump them in a pan and heat on the stove for a few minutes, or in a bowl or plate and pop in the microwave for a minute or so. Bonus points if you have a hot dog to slice up and toss in. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/255 "2015-10-01T03:51:38Z")
> [@amanset](#): > > Diddums. > > Welcome to how it feels like to be British where most people don’t even know any British food but they are sure it is the worst in the world. Ignore the haters, my transatlantic friend. The “full English” breakfast is, along with trial-by-jury, the plays of Shakespeare, and Pippa Middleton’s ass, Britain’s noblest contribution to civilization. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/256 "2015-10-01T04:29:47Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Yeah… In that case, it’s better just to buy dried beans and rehydrate them yourself. But sometimes I’m drunk/stoned/tired, didn’t prepare for this moment, and I want borrachos and tortillas NOW! Otherwise, yeah, fresh beans are always better than canned. ---
**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:** [October 1, 2015, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/257 "2015-10-01T09:42:28Z")
> [@Spud](#): > > Does your microwave somehow stop working at that time? No, I just can’t be bothered. Probably goes back to my Army days, eating cold food out of a knapsack. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/258 "2015-10-01T12:57:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > “Packages”? 😕 Pancakes, sadly mistyped 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Smid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/838e76/32.png) [@Smid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smid)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/259 "2015-10-01T13:00:55Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I think “fried bread” is not really a very good description of what you get from a stovetop grilled cheese sandwich. The amount of fat or grease or butter is quite minimal—many recipes indeed call for none at all—so you do really end up with something more like a toasted sandwich with melted cheese in the middle. It is quite possible that we got a bad one. I was too busy munching down on my prime rib at the time, I could just hear the complaints between my constant chewing. Looked pretty greasy. Ok, so I might try one myself at some point, if there’s no prime rib. They do something similar with a Ruebens don’t they? That’s one of my favourites (apart from Brisket, Pastrami, French dip and the rest)… ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054/260 "2015-10-01T13:10:40Z")
If your friend’s grilled cheese was greasy, it was a bad grilled cheese. It’s actually not the most simple dish in the world - you have to be judicious with your fat, patient with your heat, and wise in your cheese selection. A Reuben is a hot sandwich, but isn’t necessarily grilled. If you did that, you’d probably want to call it a Reuben melt. Any sandwich prepared like a grilled cheese, but with more filling than just cheese, is a “melt.” Chicken melt, tuna melt, patty melt, etc. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/foods-americans-like-that-non-americans-find-disgusting/732054.md?page=14)