There are lots of all-time great American dishes that have spread globally to be enjoyed by many cultures. Some of the most successful and beloved fast food chains around the world serve cheeseburgers, hot dogs, or even fortune cookies. Apple pie, choc chip cookies and banana split are ubiquitous desserts that we have the USA to thank for. Even without ever trying them, many non-Americans are familiar with appetising feasts such as a Thanksgiving dinner, s’mores on a campfire, or New England lobster rolls just by watching movies and television.
But then there are some dishes that didn’t make an impact abroad. We all have passions and biases with food that separate our differences with taste. Some countries and cultures have strong food traditions with recipes that should never be meddled with, and rules about what ingredients should never go with others. Other times, we only love a particular food because we were raised on it as kids, and sometimes it’s a question of how much industrial processing we are comfortable eating.
Let’s look at 14 beloved American dishes that ….just didn’t quite appeal to the rest of the world.
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Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich
By itself, jelly (or jam) is a popular topping on sandwiches, donuts, or cakes. Peanut butter, too, is great on sandwiches, in cookies and cakes, or combined with chocolate. But mixed together? In flavour profile and texture they’re very different, and for people who weren’t raised on them, the combination is definitely a strange incompatibility.
Sloppy Joe
A sloppy joe is a sandwich made with ground beef, onions and tomato sauce or ketchup, served on a regular hamburger bun. Often without any other ingredients, picking one up immediately reveals how it earned its name. The problem is not the taste, but the texture – the gloopy meat running down the sides makes eating one is often a messy affair. Many Americans many non-Americans alike remember the disturbing scene from Billy Madison, where a school lunch lady splatters these burgers down onto the plate of Adam Sandler’s titular character.
Meatloaf
Meatloaf is made of ground beef (mince meat) combined with spices, binding ingredients such as egg and bread crumbs, and baked in a loaf shape before slicing. There are many delicious ways to use mince meat – hamburgers, spaghetti bolognaise, lasagne, beef chow mein. But transforming it into a dense bread-sized meatball? It’s a dish with its fair share of critics.
Hawaiian Haystack
Hawaiian haystack is a home-cooked favourite dish of creamy chicken gravy, served over rice. While that sounds fine, it it’s the variations and toppings that seem unusual to the outside observer – toppings could include pineapple, cheddar, nuts, mandarins, olives, mushrooms, vegetables, or crunchy chow mein noodles.
Glorified Rice
Calling something a dessert salad is a strange fusion of two courses that belong either side of a main meal. But glorified rice shouldn’t be judged by its meal type. It is usually made with rice and crushed pineapple, topped with whipped cream, marshmallows, and maraschino cherries. It’s probably the sweetness of the topping mixed with the fluffy, starchy rice that puts off a lot of non-American people.
Velveeta
Velveeta is a commercial processed cheese owned by Kraft, sold in blocks and similar to American cheese. Technically, it’s not really cheese. Containing whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, milk, fat, and preservatives, it has to be marketed as a ‘cheese product’. Filled with fat and sodium, there’s something about the emulsified texture that for many just feels …off.
Fried Chicken and Waffles
A classic American dish of Pennsylvania Dutch origin, it is made by combining fried chicken with plain waffles, often served with gravy over the top. For non-Americans, it’s a combination of sweet and salty that doesn’t work together.
Cornbread
Cornbread is an iconic food of the South, but has limited popularity beyond the borders of the USA. For many, cornbread is a staple food served with many meals, perfect with melted butter. Others complain about the bland taste and unpleasant grainy texture – but the difference might just come down to the perfect recipe.
Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza
Chicago’s most famous and beloved pizza is the deep-dish pizza, with thick layers of cheese and sauce on a crust, baked in a deep dish. When done right, it’s a rich, magical dish. Elsewhere around the world, the most popular type of pizza is Italian-style, and critics of deep dish are quick to point out that the crust is too soggy, the dish is too messy, and the cheese should be on top.
Biscuits and Gravy
Biscuits and gravy is a breakfast dish popular in the southern states, made with soft dough biscuits, topped with a gravy of milk, flour, and pork sausage. The dish itself is widely loved, but often receives undue judgement because of its lumpy appearance, the definition of a ‘biscuit’, and the serving of gravy for breakfast.
Cheez Wiz
Cheez Wiz is a processed cheese sauce/spread sold in a jar. First sold in 1952, Cheez Wiz is often used for nachos, hot dogs, or Philly cheese steaks. While it’s certainly off-putting visually with its orange-yellow colour, the runny texture and highly processed ingredients make this a divisive food indeed.
Ambrosia Salad
Named after the food of Greek and Roman gods, this creamy dessert is made with a dairy element such as sour cream, whipped cream, yoghurt, or even mayonnaise. Into the bowl goes fruit such as mandarin, pineapple, strawberries, grapes, or coconut, all topped with mini marshmallows.
Grits
Grits is a porridge dish from the American South, made of ground cornmeal and often served for breakfast. Grits isn’t widely consumed outside the USA, and the texture and taste are unusual for those more accustomed to alternatives like oats.
Hershey’s Chocolate
Hershey’s chocolate has a reputation among its critics as having a bad taste, sometimes likened to vomit. It’s a flavour not often found outside of Hershey’s. In fact, this unusual taste can be attributed to the addition of butyric acid, a compound found in rancid butter and vomit, and is added to the chocolate to increase its shelf life. For people trying Hershey’s for the first time, it’s certainly noticeable.
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Food from the USA is a gastronomic fusion of cuisines which came about from a wide range of influences. There are many styles of American cuisine, much of it imported and borrowed, but also home-grown dishes and nostalgic treats. While some dishes might seem unusual to non-Americans, the same is true of all foods from around the world, and it just demonstrates how American cuisine has its own nuances and unique style.
StickyMangoRice 