Non-Americans Reveal Which American Foods They Find Gross

8. The Sweet And Savory Combo Is Unappealing To Many Non-Americans Boredgirl98 wrote, “I just find chicken with waffles a weird combo, and some people put syrup… Trista - December 1, 2021

8. The Sweet And Savory Combo Is Unappealing To Many Non-Americans

Boredgirl98 wrote, “I just find chicken with waffles a weird combo, and some people put syrup on it too.” Shakeweight_Allstar responded by saying, “If there’s one thing Americans love, it’s a sweet/salty combo.” While that combo may seem normal to many Americans, non-Americans can get pretty confused about what makes it appealing. But sometimes, they just need to try it, like blipsman, who said, “I went to college in Atlanta, and Gladys Knight (the singer) has a Chicken N Waffles restaurant or at least did when I went to school there 20 years ago.

We would make fun of it when we’d pass it on the way elsewhere… this was before it became such a well-known dish. One weekend, we decided to go as a sort of dare thing. IT WAS AN EPIPHANY! Absolutely amazing combination and I was hooked! The trick is to have some sort of hot and sweet sauce like habanero infused syrup or mixing hot sauce and honey.”

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7. More About Chicken And Waffles

There is a lot to be said about how extreme American chicken and waffles are. There’s an inordinate amount of bread in the waffles. The dish is sweetened with syrup, and of course, there is a fried element because the chicken is fried. Many people add a square of butter to their waffles. Some people will love the combination, and others will find it repulsive and squarely… American. An anonymous user wrote, “I’m not a fan of mixing sweet and savory. Love fried chicken. Love waffles. Put them together? No thanks.”

Another anonymous user took a different beef with chicken and waffles by saying, “Southerner here. Chicken and Waffles has always seemed a bit made up to me. Let me explain. Chicken is easily fried on a large scale. You can cook up a lot of chicken for the family, and you don’t need much money to do it. Waffles, on the other hand, take a lot of time. You need a special machine, and you can usually only cook one at a time. Think about the problems that arise if you have a large family. Then think about how easy it is to make pancakes. Chicken and Waffles always seem like such a gimmick.”

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6. The Things Americans Do With Cake Can Seem Strange

Americans often have coffee with something sweet, like cake or, you know, coffee cake. But not only is our cake excessively sweet but so is our bread. Harmony55 recalled, “After arriving in America, my German mother invited her new neighbors over for coffee. They sat, drank their coffee, and tried their best to have a conversation. My mother spoke very little English. As is customary, she presented them with cake to go along with their coffee. The cake she served was Wonder Bread. She thought because it was so soft and sweet, it had to be some kind of cake.”

An anonymous user replied to this story by saying, “Haha. You can make the argument that Wonder Bread is cake despite the name. Bread is made from dough. The cake is made from batter. Wonder Bread is made from batter.” No wonder so many kids like to eat sandwiches made from Wonder Bread. They’re basically eating cake!

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5. More About American Coffee

An anonymous user replied with a different story about coffee: “My mum did the same kinda thing when we first moved to America, SoCal to be exact. We’re Australian, and also, at the exact same time we moved into our new home, we had neighbors that also moved into their new home. They were from Texas. Mum got all excited because it was so good to have a family in the same spot as us: brand new to a different country/state. So she invited our new Texan neighbor around for a brew for breakfast.

Now, in Australia (and I also think England is the same), a “brew” is slang for a cup of coffee or tea because you brew the beans/leaves. Not so in America, it seems. Our Texan neighbors honestly thought that my mother was inviting them round for beers at 9 am in the morning.”

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4. Chili Dogs Look Weird, But Taste Okay

CM-IBZ wrote, “My husband is American, and I’m English. He makes some foods that look quite weird/disgusting. Chili dogs with cheese (looks like something the dog would bring up), Hamburger Helper, syrup over breakfast, and Icing sugar on toast? I did try my first PBJ sandwich last year, and it was quite nice.” An anonymous user said, “Chili dogs with cheese are absolutely excellent. The local dive bar only makes two foods: burgers and chili dogs, and for a super trashy leaky grungy bar, they’re out of this world and only like $4 for a full meal.”

CS-Klepto had some other thoughts about British food compared to American food. “My mother’s British: You guys have pancake day and bread pudding whenever. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Yorkshire, but the ‘save the ends’ sweet pudding? No, thank you.

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3. More Thoughts About Chili Dogs

Therorex wrote, “Try peanut butter and honey sandwiches. Chili dogs are really good, too. In fact, most American foods really don’t look that appetizing, but the flavor is mind-blowing. Just make sure to douse it in either Louisiana/Frank’s Hot Sauce or mustard. Or you know what, just take everything in the cupboard/fridge and throw it in a pot. I swear that’s how we came up with everything.” M8asonmiller concurred that a lot of American foods look gross but taste great.

He said, “Chili looks gross, but if it’s made well, it’s quite divine. Part of its appeal is that you can make it from a wide variety of ingredients, most of which are relatively cheap to buy and easy to prepare. Anyone who makes it regularly has their own recipe. Try it with sour cream and cheddar cheese. It’ll change your life.”

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2. Outback Steakhouse Doesn’t Really Have Food Items From The Outback

Some Aussies had concerns about the origins of Outback Steakhouse’s famous Bloomin’ Onion. Lettucewrangler wrote, “As an Australian, I would like to know what in the flying firetruck a “Bloomin’ Onion” has to do with anything, let alone the rest of Outback Steakhouse’s menu.” Because the “Outback” of Outback Steakhouse seems to be a pretty clear nod to the Australian outback, right? Yet, the menu hardly resonates with those who are familiar with Australian cuisine.

JohnnyBrillCream responded by saying, “Outback rode the coattails of the movie Crocodile Dundee. Outback really has nothing to do with Australia other than a brilliant marketing plan that capitalized off a popular film of that time.” Sveenee said of the whole Outback-Australia catastrophe, “Other franchised steakhouses make a dish that was basically a deep-fried onion. It sold well. Outback Steakhouse just copied the idea and gave it a stupid name. Personally, they all taste like grease and onion.”

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1. Have You Ever Heard Of 7-Up Cake?

Curmevexas had one that was pretty weird. “A long-standing holiday dessert tradition in my family is a 7-Up salad. It is lemon jello, crushed pineapple, and 7-Up and is topped with marshmallows and a whipped topping concoction. My mom was explaining how to make the topping and started the description with “you start by making a pineapple gravy.” I’m not even sure what pineapple gravy is supposed to be or how 7-Up could possibly ever be considered part of a salad.”

DoctorFlimFlam said in response, “We had something similar in my family. My mom just called it Green Goop. One can crushed pineapple plus juice, one package of pistachio instant pudding. Mix together pineapple, juice, and pudding until it congeals, then fold in a ton of cool whip. It looks like a mixture of antifreeze and shaving cream but tastes like pineapple.” Green Goop sounds more appropriate than 7-Up salad or, shudder, pineapple gravy!

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