# Surprised by American food **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 20, 2007, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668 "2007-03-20T03:15:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Layla01](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/layla01/32/15552_2.png) [@Layla01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Layla01)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/221 "2007-03-23T00:40:07Z")
Cadbury chocolate over here is much like Dove except a little less oily - and we do get Hersheys but it’s a bit dry for me - tastes like that chocolate you get in Easter eggs. Wendy’s does a Flake cone which is soft serve in a cone with a Flake pushed in, covered in chocolate topping - messy but worth it if you like soft serve. We have that marshmallow stuff you put on bread, but I’ve never seen it advertised (thank goodness, my kids would go crazy for it if they saw it on tv!) Ice water on the tables - only a few restaurants do that here, but I wish a lot more would. Mmmm, clam chowder… ---
**Author:** ![Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/c4cdca/32.png) [@Quiddity\_Glomfuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quiddity_Glomfuster)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/222 "2007-03-23T00:52:20Z")
[QUOTE=Laughing Lagomorph] We had a friend from Canada (Calgary) visit us a couple of years ago. I was surprised to find she had never heard of Fluff and was fascinated by it (my son likes it, I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot spoon). She took some home for her nephews when she left, and we sent her more after that. [/QUOTE] She just never looked. We’ve had it for years. Mom and I used to get it and make sickly-sweet banana split-y things with it and chocolate sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/223 "2007-03-23T02:51:21Z")
I agree that the lack of vegetarian options is purely a regional thing, not an American thing. A group I belong to goes out to a restaurant every month to eat and talk. The guy who chooses the restaurant doesn’t make any attempt to pick vegetarian-friendly restaurants, although one member of the group is a vegetarian. She has no problems finding a vegetarian item on nearly every menu. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/224 "2007-03-23T03:18:47Z")
Yes, _a_ vegetarian option on (nearly) every menu. In the UK, for example, there are a _whole lot_ more. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/225 "2007-03-23T03:28:41Z")
O.K., but An Gadai seemed to be saying that there aren’t any vegetarian options on menus. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/226 "2007-03-23T04:37:20Z")
In some restaurants there aren’t. Or not any entrees. I’ve sometimes had to order an appetizer only or just eat bread or something. Some regions are better than others, but none that I’ve seen in the US is as good as in the UK. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/227 "2007-03-23T05:36:06Z")
[QUOTE=Laughing Lagomorph] We had a friend from Canada (Calgary) visit us a couple of years ago. I was surprised to find she had never heard of Fluff and was fascinated by it (my son likes it, I wouldn’t touch it with a ten foot spoon). She took some home for her nephews when she left, and we sent her more after that. [/QUOTE] The best thing to do with that Jar of Fluff is make [Marshmallow Fluff Fudge, Never Fails.](http://www.marshmallowfluff.com/pages/never_fail_fudge.html) **Never-Fail-Fudge** 2 1/2 c. sugar 3/4 tsp. salt 1/2 stick butter or margarine 1 5.33 oz. can evaporated milk (3/4 c.) 1 Jar (7 1/2oz) Marshmallow Fluff 3/4 tsp. vanilla 1 12-oz. package semisweet-chocolate pieces 1 /2 c. chopped walnuts Grease a 9-inch square baking pan; set aside. In large saucepan combine first 5 ingredients. Stir over low heat until blended. Heat to a full-rolling boil being careful not to mistake escaping air bubbles for boiling. Boil slowly, stirring constantly, 5 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in vanilla and chocolate until chocolate is melted. Add nuts. Turn into greased pan and cool. Makes 2 1/2 pounds. …it really is a decent fudge. (Try using a mix of peanut butter morsels and the chocolate morsels, and instead of walnuts use [Brach’s Maple Nut Goodies](http://www.candywarehouse.com/maplenutgoodie.html) for the **devilsknew recipe**.) ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/228 "2007-03-23T05:38:45Z")
Marshmallow Fluff makes great Rice Krispies Treats (and unlike actual marshmallows, it contains no gelatin, so it’s both kosher and vegetarian) ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/229 "2007-03-23T12:30:17Z")
Let me just say, I’m surprised I haven’t heard more about doughnuts… I’m seriously considering having my parents bring some with them when they come over. Yes, I’m serious. I know it won’t be fresh, but damn, They are okay even 24 hours later. Certainly better than what you get here. My surprise here was the inability to get a “danish” like you do in the states. There is something similar here, but it has a custard-like filling instead of the American one with a sweet-like cream cheese. I love that stuff. But doughnuts? Sigh…Just no comparison. It’s worse than eating plain white bread. Somehow it tastes more bitter! They do have something like a Berliner which can be pretty good, but they use granulated sugar on top! It’s a travesty! You try to eat it and it spills off the top! But there are some good Danish alternatives. I just don’t understand how they can make the greasiest, greatest type of one pastry, then make the doughnuts dry as a bone. Maybe they aren’t frying them. I suppose that’s it. Same with Danish hamburgers. They are generally perverted in many ways. If you go to a cafe, you’ll get something that looks more like a salad with a piece of meat underneath, and bread under that. Like Smoerrebroed, but a hamburger. But for me, I like my burgers compact. No bigger than 5 inches in diameter. If you want to go big, think vertical. But then there’s the kiosk guys. Those are some horrible burgers. However I have found one place in town that makes real burgers (aside from Burger King). But this seems to be from the Danish tendency to pile their sandwiches high with vegetables. Shredded lettuce does NOT belong on any kind of sandwich!!! I’m not too crazy about cucumbers, but it’s not that as it is the absence of pickles, of which the danish kind are kind of sweet. I generally see these oddities based on people trying to do something interesting, but not having the knowledge or ability to do it the correct way. Doughnuts are to be deep-fried in oil. Bagels are to be boiled in water. Neither is meant to be baked in an oven. But nobody else who went to the US liked doughnuts? ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/230 "2007-03-23T13:04:07Z")
I’ve never tried doughnuts in the US, but Krispy Kreme are spreading across the UK, and I don’t like their doughnuts at all. They’re too sweet, some of the flavours are hideous, and the texture is wrong - too dry or cake-like or something. I much prefer the doughnuts you get from chains here such as Sayers. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2007, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/231 "2007-03-23T13:39:14Z")
> [@](#): > > Marshmallow Fluff makes great Rice Krispies Treats (and unlike actual marshmallows, **it contains no gelatin** , so it’s both kosher and vegetarian) My understanding is that marshmallow, as we have it today, is simply gelatin whipped with sugar syrup (and maybe some sort of powder to keep the surfaces of molded marshmallows from sticking). If you take away the gelatin, all you’re left with is sugar. What does Marshmallow Fluff substitute for the gelatin? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/232 "2007-03-23T13:42:10Z")
Random thing spotted in England. “Quarterbackers. The American Snack.” Cheese puffs, ‘hamburger and pickle flavor’, in the shape of little linebackers. God, they were nasty. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/233 "2007-03-23T14:29:13Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] I’ve never tried doughnuts in the US, but Krispy Kreme are spreading across the UK, and I don’t like their doughnuts at all. They’re too sweet, some of the flavours are hideous, and the texture is wrong - too dry or cake-like or something. I much prefer the doughnuts you get from chains here such as Sayers. [/QUOTE] Krispy Kreme are not standard American doughnuts. And Dunkin Donuts have changed for the worse since they stopped making their doughnuts in house. I love the cider donuts you get in the fall here in New England, and the rest of the year settle for Honey Dew donuts, or Dunkin Donuts cake-style donuts in a pinch. ---
**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:** [March 23, 2007, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/234 "2007-03-23T14:35:37Z")
[QUOTE=CalMeacham] My understanding is that marshmallow, as we have it today, is simply gelatin whipped with sugar syrup (and maybe some sort of powder to keep the surfaces of molded marshmallows from sticking). If you take away the gelatin, all you’re left with is sugar. What does Marshmallow Fluff substitute for the gelatin? [/QUOTE] From their website, the ingredient list is “Corn syrup, sugar syrup, vanilla flavor, and egg white.” That’s not a bad list, actually. Daniel ---
**Author:** ![Merkwurdigliebe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Merkwurdigliebe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merkwurdigliebe)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/235 "2007-03-23T15:10:37Z")
Just in case there are any southern dopers reading this, my idea of a good doughnut is Shipley’s. I realize that most Europeans don’t like their pastries as sweet, but there’s no excuse for having them so dry. About Krispy Kreme. They do indeed suck. But the important point is that they be fatty as hell and cooked in oil. Yeah I know, not healthy, but it’s not like Europeans don’t like fatty pastries! There’s this Christmas pastry here that is the antithesis. It’s kind of like your typical fried dough thing, except it’s so thin that you don’t get a single part of it that’s not saturated in oil. But it’s good though! ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/236 "2007-03-23T15:31:50Z")
[QUOTE=Usram] I’ve never tried doughnuts in the US, but Krispy Kreme are spreading across the UK, and I don’t like their doughnuts at all. They’re too sweet, some of the flavours are hideous, and the texture is wrong - too dry or cake-like or something. I much prefer the doughnuts you get from chains here such as Sayers. [/QUOTE] I wwonder if you’re getting some weird, bowdlerized Krispy Kreme thing. No way in the world should a KK be dry or cakelike. Quite the opposite, actually. > [@](#): > > Bagels are to be boiled in water. Neither is meant to be baked in an oven. I thought bagels were boiled, then baked. Isn’t that right? ---
**Author:** ![Risha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5fc32e/32.png) [@Risha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Risha)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/237 "2007-03-23T15:33:56Z")
[QUOTE=Merkwurdigliebe] But the important point is that they be fatty as hell and cooked in oil. Yeah I know, not healthy, but it’s not like Europeans don’t like fatty pastries! [/QUOTE] [A doughnut by definition is fried](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/doughnut). A round pastry that’s baked may be doughnut-like but that’s it. Could explain why they’re coming out wrong. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/238 "2007-03-23T16:40:51Z")
[QUOTE=Ogre] I wwonder if you’re getting some weird, bowdlerized Krispy Kreme thing. No way in the world should a KK be dry or cakelike. Quite the opposite, actually. [/QUOTE] I’m not sure my description really nailed what is wrong with British Krispy Kremes. I may have to conduct some comparative tests this weekend. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/239 "2007-03-23T16:54:34Z")
[QUOTE=Motorgirl] Krispy Kreme are not standard American doughnuts. [/QUOTE] Who determined that? Respectfully, I think that’s a ridiculous statement. ---
**Author:** ![Caridwen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c89c15/32.png) [@Caridwen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caridwen)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2007, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668/240 "2007-03-23T17:05:50Z")
[QUOTE=Liberal] Who determined that? Respectfully, I think that’s a ridiculous statement. [/QUOTE] They really haven’t been around that long have they? I think the first time I had one was about a year ago. They don’t taste like the standard bakery doughnut that is served in any bakery in my area. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/surprised-by-american-food/396668.md?page=13)