5 American Foods the Rest of the World Finds Disgusting, According to Reddit
During a recent adventure on Reddit, we came across a thread for non-Americans addressing this question: What American food do you find most disgusting? Here are five foods that the rest of the world just doesn't understand.
Hershey's Chocolate
In this thread, the most common word used to describe the taste of Hershey's chocolate is "vomit." While Hershey's is never described as being the best American chocolate, it is the most famous and is therefore the most widely consumed by visitors to the United States. Why do some people detect a hint of vomit in the ubiquitous bar? Hershey's chocolate reportedly contains butyric acid, which can also be found in parmesan cheese, sour yogurt and, yes, vomit. The chemical in return gives the chocolate a distinct tanginess rarely encountered in any other brand of chocolate.
Canned or Processed Cheese
American Cheese, along with its evil cousins Cheez Whiz and Easy Cheese, appears to many outsiders as a science experiment gone horribly wrong. While most Americans respect american cheese for its ability to melt and meld so deliciously with beef fat on a burger, we can all safely agree with the rest of the world's opinions regarding other "cheese products."
Fast Food
While most countries have their own beloved fast-food options, American chains are the most popular on Earth. Granted, when someone visits the U.S. for the first time, they might be curious to try out fast food in its natural habitat. The consensus, though, is that fast food in America, especially KFC, is way too salty and lacks basic integrity. Also, while Outback Steakhouse isn't really a fast food restaurant, their infamous Bloomin' Onion has received a great deal of attention on the Reddit thread and is considered to be "vastly overrated."
Too Much Ice
While lots of non-Americans mention U.S. beverage sizes, there was another aspect of drink consumption that even more commenters touched on: America's love of ice. Every cold beverage in the United States seems to be composed of mostly ice, according to these commenters. In many other countries, if you want ice in your drink you'll have to ask for it.
Excessively Sweet Baked Goods
Apparently American cakes, pastries and even breads are too sweet for foreign palates. Americans do consume more sugar per capita than any other country in the world and that sweet, sweet goodness can be tasted in just about anything you can imagine. Processed bread contains a surprising amount of sugar and most of the cakes Redditors mention appear to have been grocery store sheet cakes, which are sweet enough to make your teeth vibrate.
Portion Sizes
Not only is America's food terrible, there's way too much of it according to these Redditors. Many complain of gaining weight during their visits to the U.S. simply by eating what coworkers and colleagues ate. While this sounds a bit fishy, it is true that American portion sizes are larger than just about anywhere else. The obvious solution is to take home leftovers, but contributors from around the world mention that that practice isn't always accpetable in other countries. At least we Americans have that going for us.