- 3 months ago
From spray cheese to corn dogs, American cuisine can be puzzling to international palates! Join us as we explore the unique food combinations and culinary creations that leave non-Americans scratching their heads. These beloved stateside favorites might be comfort food in the USA, but they're considered downright bizarre across borders!
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00:00And my favorite way to have biscuits in the States is with gravy.
00:06What?
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for American foods that folks outside the United States find strange.
00:13What is this masterpiece? Is it dessert? Is it a side? Do you eat it with turkey?
00:22Number 10. Corn dogs.
00:24What's a state fair favorite for many Americans is also an odd concept for people from other countries.
00:28The State Fair of Texas is so famous because it debuted one of the most important fair foods of all time, the corn dog.
00:36The corn dog contains an unfamiliar flavor combination for many cultures, and its lack of nutritional value doesn't help its image.
00:42But dare we say, a lot of Americans like it better than a regular hot dog.
00:46They're actually hand-dipped in cornbread batter. And I know, it's a southern thing. It's delicious. There's none other that tastes like this.
00:54That crispy factor is huge. The invention of a hot dog on a stick coated in cornmeal batter and deep-fried dates back to the 1920s or 1930s.
01:02Nowadays, corn dogs are a popular street food in South Korea as well.
01:06Like, it was crunchy. It was delicious. Like, the flavor was amazing. Like, the sauces, too. I just really liked it.
01:13But to much of the globe, the American classic is an unorthodox food.
01:16Number 9. Sloppy Joe's.
01:18The name is enough to make these sandwiches bizarre.
01:20Have some more Sloppy Joes.
01:25I made them extra sloppy for you.
01:31I know how you kids like them sloppy.
01:36Lady, you're scaring us.
01:37We think even many Americans would agree that Sloppy Joe isn't the most appealing name. Not by any means.
01:42And if you mention it to someone from outside the U.S. who's never heard of a Sloppy Joe, what, or huh, would be a totally reasonable response.
01:49Delicious. I love the Sloppy Joe sauce.
01:52I love the multiple textures from the ground beef to the bacon to the shredded beef.
01:56And the beer cheese is beer cheese, beer cheese.
01:59Yes.
01:59It's not joking around, beer cheese.
02:00But if they have heard of it, or better yet, seen it, they're still likely to think it's weird.
02:05And honestly, understandably so.
02:06It's seasoned ground beef with a tomato-based sauce, often with onions mixed in, slapped on a hamburger bun.
02:11It's still in the bun.
02:13It's still in the bun.
02:14Sweet and spicy.
02:16It might taste good to many Americans, but let's be honest, it doesn't exactly look appetizing.
02:20Number 8. S'mores.
02:21These iconic campfire snacks have warmed countless American hearts for over a century.
02:25Hey, you want a s'more?
02:27S'more what?
02:29No, no, you want a s'more.
02:32I haven't had anything yet.
02:34So how can I have some more of nothing?
02:37You're killing me, s'mores.
02:38Camping culture in the United States has been an integral part of s'more's legacy.
02:42But they're also fun treats to have at backyard barbecues, or really any outdoor gathering, particularly at homes with a fire pit.
02:48When Americans think of the quintessential outdoorsy snacks, s'mores are right up there at the top of the list.
02:53It just all comes together in an irresistible, squishy, marshmallow-y, delightful sandwich that you can make in five minutes flat.
03:01But it's a foreign concept to the majority of the world.
03:03Graham crackers themselves are very American.
03:05The combination of toasted marshmallows and chocolate in between those two graham crackers is a distinct flavor profile.
03:11Which may explain why s'mores come across as weird to many.
03:14But all we can say is, don't knock it till you try it.
03:16I don't think there's a better five-minute dessert out there.
03:18The marshmallow is melty.
03:20The chocolate is melty.
03:22The cookie is still nice and crisp.
03:23And you have the char on top of the marshmallow, which you can really taste.
03:27That is delicious.
03:28Number 7. Grits.
03:29This kind of porridge made from coarsely ground dried corn tends to be savory, but can also be sweet.
03:35What's this over here?
03:37You never heard of grits?
03:39Sure, sure, I heard of grits.
03:41I just actually never seen a grit before.
03:44Grits are a breakfast staple in the southern United States.
03:47They're place of origin.
03:48In fact, it's the official state-prepared food of Georgia.
03:50While similar porridges exist in other parts of the world, grits may be unfamiliar,
03:54especially given that Americans often add butter, cheese, salt, or pepper to them.
03:58When the grits are tender, stir in butter and salt and serve immediately.
04:02Even with their popularity in the U.S., we'd go so far as to say that many citizens in non-southern
04:07states might not be able to explain what grits are.
04:10So it's no surprise that the rest of the world might be perplexed by them as well.
04:13It's an interesting name, too.
04:15Grits.
04:15Sounds like something you clear off the road.
04:17Number 6. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.
04:20Ah, the PB&J.
04:21This sandwich has made its name as an iconic American school lunch, a convenient at-home lunch,
04:26and a great on-the-go food to take on an outdoor adventure.
04:28Of course, we have our childhood nostalgia.
04:30Especially if you're from America, you're going to know the peanut butter and jelly very,
04:34very well.
04:34First of all, American-style peanut butter, with all its creamy goodness, is unfamiliar
04:38to most of the world.
04:39So when you add jelly to that and bread, the whole combo becomes flat-out strange to many
04:43people.
04:43But the cool thing about this, Mark, is it exposes us to a lot of different people from
04:47all over the world.
04:48So there's a lot of international tourists that come in here, and some of them have never even
04:51heard of a PB&J, and so it's their first experience with a PB&J.
04:55Then you have the Fluffernutter, a peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwich, which
04:59has both a funny name and an odd flavor combo for a sandwich.
05:02But we're giving the nod to the peanut butter and jelly Sammy here, due to its much greater
05:06popularity in the States.
05:07Crust or no crust on your PB&J?
05:09No crust.
05:10Number 5. Sweet Potato Casserole.
05:13There's already sweetness that comes with sweet potatoes.
05:15It's in the name.
05:15So why add marshmallows on top?
05:17That's what one of the main iterations of a sweet potato casserole does.
05:21Screw it.
05:21Bring on the yams.
05:23Will, but you've worked so hard.
05:25Yams!
05:26Okay.
05:26And we understand if people question it.
05:28Is it a side?
05:29Is it a dessert?
05:29After all, marshmallows are known as treats, and an ingredient associated with junk food
05:33and dessert.
05:34A super simple, unbelievably delicious sweet potato casserole.
05:38In the U.S., sweet potato casserole is a classic Thanksgiving side dish, and something
05:42many Americans look forward to as the November holiday approaches.
05:44Some recipes skip the marshmallows and use pecans or brown sugar instead.
05:49But even then, sweet potato casserole is generally unusual to people outside the States.
05:53This is an A-plus sweet potato casserole, in my opinion.
05:57Number 4. Chicken and Waffles.
05:59While this might seem like a newer delicacy to a lot of Americans, the roots of chicken
06:03and waffles can be traced back to the 1600s in Pennsylvania Dutch country, where waffles
06:07were topped with stewed chicken and gravy.
06:09We're going to make some buttermilk fried chicken tenders with some buttermilk waffles.
06:14The modern version, fried chicken with waffles, often topped with some butter or syrup, came
06:19along about three centuries later.
06:20These days, it's mostly seen as a southern thing, but you can find it all over the U.S.
06:24Okay, so now grab a piece of chicken, put syrup on both the chicken and the waffle
06:28and everything.
06:30All right.
06:31Yeah.
06:31Cheers, guys.
06:32The combination of a traditional dinner food with a traditional breakfast food is peculiar
06:45to people in other parts of the world, and honestly, we get why.
06:48You might think these two foods would not go well together, but they absolutely do.
06:52This is great.
06:53Like, I want, I just want it.
06:55Number three, root beer floats.
06:56Originally made from the sassafras tree, root beers nowadays typically contain artificial
07:01sassafras flavoring.
07:02You'll love an A&W root beer float.
07:05Made fresh root beer with real cane sugar meets a perfect swirl of creamy vanilla soft
07:10serve.
07:11The taste can often be associated with medicine, and many people outside the U.S. don't understand
07:15the appeal of a fizzy herbal botanical drink.
07:17When they try root beer, it can be off-putting.
07:19As Brits, root beer is where we draw the line, and that's a bit much for me.
07:23Many Americans don't get that medicinal vibe at all and instead view root beer as a delicious
07:27soft drink.
07:28Even aside from all that, for people from outside the U.S. who actually do like root beer,
07:32the idea of combining it with vanilla ice cream to form what we call a root beer float may
07:36seem unusual.
07:37Why combine these two sweets?
07:39Well, we don't know, but we like it.
07:41And what a sweet thing it is, too.
07:42Number two, biscuits and gravy.
07:44This southern breakfast dish combines textures of fluffiness from the biscuit with creaminess from
07:49the gravy.
07:49The gravy's creamy, and it's not dry and gritty.
07:52It's thick and pretty.
07:53But one reason someone outside the U.S. might think it's weird starts with the definition
07:57of a biscuit.
07:58In the U.K. and many other places, a biscuit means something more like a cookie.
08:01Flat, firm, and crumbly.
08:02This is quite weird for me because this is very similar to the gravy my granny makes on
08:07a Sunday roast.
08:09Having it with a biscuit, it does work, but it's also kind of odd.
08:12So when they hear biscuits and gravy, they might imagine shortbread cookies topped with
08:16gravy, which, yeah, does sound gross.
08:18Even if people outside the U.S. do picture the right kind of biscuit, you know, the fluffy,
08:22soft, bready kind, the idea of pouring white sausage gravy on it is still pretty unfamiliar
08:27and likely unappetizing.
08:29To that end, let's dig in.
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08:46Number one, spray cheese, cheese in a can.
08:49Even a lot of Americans would probably admit that cheese in a can, aka spray cheese, is
08:53pretty dang weird.
08:55Cheese in a can, okay.
08:56People from other countries have every right to ask what the heck we're doing.
09:00We took a perfectly good natural dairy product that's been around for ages and turned it
09:04into a processed artificial substance that sprays out of a metal can.
09:08Yeezy Cheese is the most well-known spray cheese brand.
09:11I made a very big mistake.
09:12Americans put it on things like crackers, pretzels, and chips.
09:15The processed nature of American cheese is already enough to weird some people out.
09:19Cheese Whiz, the jarred processed cheese sauce, might make them grimace too.
09:23Cheese Whiz changes everything.
09:24But cheese that you spray out of a can?
09:26That's a whole different level of strange.
09:28Is there a popular food you think is totally strange?
09:31Let us know in the comments.
09:32I can definitely see why people would wait hours for this corn dog.
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