Electrolicious

40 Responses to “Disgusting American Foods”

1. Randal
   February 16th, 2004 at 12:26 am

   

   That was really, really funny. Waiter, I’ll have a water with lemon. =]

2. Uma
   February 16th, 2004 at 12:31 am

   

   I think watered coffee and that peanut butter over use is slightly disgusting… methinks

3. josh
   February 16th, 2004 at 6:18 am

   

   I had two Japanese professors who were completely grossed out by bagels, which I would have never thought of as even possibly offensive.

4. Cristen
   February 16th, 2004 at 6:46 am

   

   The thing that troubles me more than anything about American food is the concept that ketchup is a good thing and therefore you should douse everything you eat in it. A man next to me in the diner this morning actually put ketchup in a bowl and then scooped it out to apply to his eggs/bacon/homefries/whatever. I don’t understand that overwhelming needs for condiments. I like to taste my food.

5. T
   February 16th, 2004 at 7:32 am

   

   I (an american) and some of my coworkers (europeans in this case) once had a similar conversation. The one thing they all agreed on as unspeakably nasty?

   Root beer.

   Apparently there’s some European childhood-era medicine that tastes exactly like it–they all agreed that drinking root beer made them feel 7 and feverish.

6. chase
   February 16th, 2004 at 8:56 am

   

   Southern Pear Salad. Pears + cheese + mayo = manifestation of nastiness.

7. cameron
   February 16th, 2004 at 9:17 am

   

   I’m an american so I can’t be sure, but here are my guesses:

   I suspect that biscuits and gravy is a candidate, as much as I love it, I’ve never been able to convince anyone else that it’s a good thing. Also, while not strictly “american”, eggs in general are probably a strange concept for cultures that don’t already eat them (and there are a few such cultures belive it or not). Also, don’t forget things like chitterlings, are “gross” even in the eyes of many americans.

   personally, I think that if you want to find some quintessentially american food that taste horrible, look no further than the nearest health food store. You will find such things as amaranth flour, and spelt cookies, that seem to be governed entirely by the age-old notion that if it tastes like crap, it must be good for you. Our puritan roots showing through in ever stranger ways, I guess.

8. jonmc
   February 16th, 2004 at 9:21 am

   

   I theorized that, since Amercan food is designed to appeal to the lowest common demonator of tastes (SWEET! SALTY! GREASY! YES!)

   God Bless America! I love this blessed land of twinkies, smothered pork chops, and fried cheese.

   Although, Cristen is right, ketchup does suck. I use ranch dressing on fries instead. So much so that when I used o work across from a Burger King the employess used to call me ranch man.

   **wraps self in flag, eats bacon triple cheeseburger**

9. Cinnamon
   February 16th, 2004 at 10:34 am

   

   I am at least proud to say that I am not a weak coffee drinker (and probably neither are you up there in Seattle!). I used to make the coffee at my last job cuz I hated the way everyone else made it — and then everyone else had to water it down! What good is coffee that doesn’t have the consistency of motor oil?

   Until we have something like marmite, we will never will the gross international food contest.

10. Matt
    February 16th, 2004 at 11:14 am

    

    I love this!
    Rye bread. Vile! The colour of it is frightening enough.
    American ‘beer’. I could piss a better brew (maybe I should hire my bladder out to Budweiser).
    That revolting crozzled bacon you lot eat.
    Not a disgusting food, but I was severely traumatised once when I went to a KFC in LA and there were NO CHIPS! What kind of madness is that? They gave me a scone instead! Yuck! It might have been OK with jam on, but gravy? UUGH! I ask you. How can you have Kentucky Fried Rat, or anything, without chips?

11. Jason
    February 16th, 2004 at 11:16 am

    

    Spam, jello, pork rinds, marshmallow fluff, weak-ass American coffee, and anything containing either red dye #3 or yellow dye #5.

12. puppytoes
    February 16th, 2004 at 4:58 pm

    

    my asian friends at work think that cheese is the most disgusting thing that americans eat!

13. yara
    February 16th, 2004 at 11:50 pm

    

    slim jims scare me.

    a lot of southern food seems like it just shouldn’t happen in the natural world.

    fried cheese.

14. dave
    February 17th, 2004 at 5:27 am

    

    I love the comment above about KFC and the “scone”! I’m considering emailing the guy. “We call those scones ‘biscuits’ bloke!”

    And the root beer comment above makes me think of the “Spruce Beer” that a friend brought home from Canada once. Mmmm… carbonated Pine Sol! It’s funny how if we associate a childhood smell with medicine or cleaning solvents, it’s impossible to ever turn that smell into a “food” smell. Smell is far to primal and brainstemmy to be subjected to logic.

    dr. d. (doctorsilence.blogspot.com)

15. abby
    February 17th, 2004 at 8:49 am

    

    I’ve heard that cheese is considered totally disgusting in Asian countries that don’t consider dairy a staple.
    When you think about it, it is kinda nasty…fermented milk?
    As far as uniquely American disgusting foods, look no further than the snack aisle. Guacamole flavored Doritos? Pizza combos? Pretty much anything Day-Glo orange?

16. the mighty jimbo
    February 17th, 2004 at 8:55 am

    

    i think our portions scare EVERYONE. at least they should.

17. Barista Guest
    February 17th, 2004 at 10:41 am

    

    GREAT topic- and thanks to Ariel for pointing out the hilarious FAQ.

    In regard to Chase’s listing of the Southern Pear Salad: you are 100% DEAD ON, m’man. I am usually quite adept and the “wince and swallow politely” routine when served something I detest- but this horrid concoction from the bowels of Betty Crocker nearly landed in my host’s back yard once it ejected my mouth.

    Being an East Coast Yank who has lived in and around Pennsylvania his entire life, I am obliged to offer: Scrapple.

    I’m going to clear one thing up right away: this “food” DOES IN FACT EXIST. My relatives from out-of-state actually seek out scrapple whenever they visit. My father, an otherwise upstanding and respectable chef with discriminating culinary taste, eats the hellspawned hunks of pig remnants without a second thought.

    Even if the taste of Scrapple was guaranteed to incite breathtaking orgasms and an unsurpassable orgy of the senses- I would NEVER dream of placing it in, around, or anywhere near my mouth.

    Neither should any other self-respecting human being.

    From the “Factoid” section of http://www.chickenhead.com/scrapple/ :

    “An average scrapple loaf contains the rectums of 4 swine”

    Yes- over and over I have heard this from different people living in my area of the world during the course of my life. Untrue, perhaps- I really can’t vouch for the credibility of this statement. What I do know is that I’ve never heard the same thing said so many times of any other food.

    Thank you, but NO, NEVER.

18. leblanc
    February 17th, 2004 at 11:21 am

    

    no one has mentioned Velveeta? and only one vote for SPAM??

    i have to admit i’ve been known to put ketchup on my scrambled eggs, but i eat my french fries with mayo. i think it’s a canadian thing.

    my vote, outside of Velveeta and SPAM, for grossest american food, has to be the Turducken. i mean - ew.

19. Ariel
    February 17th, 2004 at 11:26 am

    

    French fries with mayo is totally European, my dear! That’s how I like ‘em, too. (Perhaps explaining my ample assedness?)

20. Levi
    February 17th, 2004 at 11:35 am

    

    Fries and mayo rocks! The kids in the cafeteria used to give me really strange looks when I did it as they put a gallon of ketchup on theirs.

21. JC
    February 17th, 2004 at 1:04 pm

    

    guess i’m a true mutt - from the old country, raised in the new…we mix ketchup and mayo in equal parts for our french fries. some folks call it “special sauce.”

22. donut
    February 17th, 2004 at 1:21 pm

    

    To all you people eating your french fries with mayo -
    American mayonnaise is undoubtedly the most disgusting food our country produces. European mayo is a completely different animal. For my part, I always make my mayo from scratch.

23. Levi
    February 17th, 2004 at 1:40 pm

    

    Mayo from a jar at the grocery store is okay but yes, homemade is the only true way to go. I used to make it from my great-grandmother’s recipe but have since been using one from Good Eats on Food Network.

24. Matt
    February 17th, 2004 at 2:05 pm

    

    Is there a reason why Hellmann’s mayonnaise is called Best Foods in certain parts of the US?
    NB I love mayonnaise - but not on chips (fries). Ketchup is fab on scrambled eggs. And what is Turducken?!

25. Levi
    February 17th, 2004 at 3:13 pm

    

    Best Foods is the parent company that bought Hellman’s a long long time ago. They kept the name Best Foods in the Western area of the US and Hellman’s on the Eastern side where each is well known. Turducken is a turkey stuffed with chicken that is stuffed with duck…rather expensive.

26. allie
    February 18th, 2004 at 8:03 am

    

    This is a great post! I’m surprised at some of the answers, but this is very interesting. Any time I go to Canada, my relatives are SO grossed out by the fact that everyone down here eats ketchup on everything, esp fries. Vinegar & gravy are also very popular on fries up there, which you don’t find much in the States-although close to the border, gravy fries are pretty popular..

    (Turducken rules btw :)

27. allie
    February 18th, 2004 at 8:07 am

    

    Matt, turducken is a turkey stuffed with a duck stuffed with a chicken. Its from the south.. check it out:

    http://www.cajunspecialtymeats...../2,52.html

    If you don’t eat meat, this has got to be the most horrifying & disgusting creation you’ve ever seen in your existence; if you do eat meat, its probably the best tasting bird(s) you will ever eat in a lifetime!

28. philippe
    February 19th, 2004 at 6:04 am

    

    If it’s not too late :
    A lot of drinks come to mind, especialy root beer and cherry coke. Oh, and bad coffee.
    Regarding solid food : heavily cinnamon [spelling?) flavoured pies. Otherwise, nothing really disgusting, but too much ersatz (butter, cream, cheese, dairy products in general)

29. Mel
    November 15th, 2004 at 9:10 am

    

    I believe the most disgusting food is cottage cheese. How can you eat something that is all squishy and wierd. When my mom makes lasagna, she puts cottage cheese on it. How disgusting can foods get?!?

30. George Deeming
    March 11th, 2005 at 11:28 am

    

    Deep Fried Pickels — Batter dipped big dill pickels - hot and crunchy on the outside and dilly, salty on the inside. They’re a southern spaciality.

31. Megan
    March 17th, 2005 at 10:38 pm

    

    Thank you for reminding me that deep-fried pickles exist. I used to eat them during my short-lived and ill-fated stint in Tennessee. They are delicious, and cure a hangover better than anything else I’ve ever tried.

32. Terry
    June 13th, 2005 at 5:56 am

    

    If we knew how many of our favourite foods were made, we would probably stop eating them.

    For example; sausages, cheese, pies, processed chicken.
    Personally, most commercial pies, pasties, sausage rolls, and even cakes, I find so repulsive as to be inedible. Most hot chips, not home-made (which are wonderful)

    A few other disgusting products I’ve known; Blood pudding, haggis, liver, kidneys, offal (sweetmeats), sauerkraut.

    Not partial to pomegranates, pork sausages, parsley leaves, beef jerky, or generic brand coffee either. Cod liver oil, spumante, Scotch Whiskey (sorry Scots), oysters, brains, chicken nuggets (if only you knew), parmesan cheese.

    No point eating if its only coming up again!

    Dairy foods are natural and delicious for the most part. The Promised Land was “flowing with milk and honey”. Just because its processed by animals doesn’t make it disgusting.

    Just one last point. All you Yanks who hate vegemite, it’s a condiment and sandwich spread, meant to go on thinly over butter, not eaten out of the jar. However you likely get it when stale, then it’s not good. Check the use-by date if there is one.

33. Terry
    June 13th, 2005 at 6:05 am

    

    I forgot to mention croissants (no, not angry ants) I’m not going in that direction. A stale white bread roll the French eat for breakfast! Please, give me a break. Now I’m insulting the French. Sorry.

34. Aussie Tom
    July 18th, 2005 at 2:58 pm

    

    On my visits to the US I’ve noticed a few things that have turned my Aussie stomach.

    In Boston I noticed hoards of people lined up outside a Dunkin Donuts before opening time. When it opened they came out with 4 donuts and a monster coke! Breakfast? I’ll pass.

    At a breakfast buffet I saw 2 guys load their plates with bacon, eggs and other savoury foods then include apple pie on the same plate and smother the WHOLE plate with maple syrup and ice cream? I nearly blacked out!

    The prize has to go to the family I saw enjoying a picnic type lunch. Using chunks of cotton candy to sccop an onion flavoured dip out of a bowl! Couldn’t eat for 24 hours after that one!

    BUT>>>love your country and your people!!

35. sam
    November 27th, 2005 at 5:06 pm

    

    Visiting parents in florida (yes, even the english now retire to florida) i’ve actually found most food there quite disgusting, to be totally honest.

    Most food in london is relatively fresh and free of pesticides and the rest, so i am quite shocked that every grape down there is the size of an orange over here.

    And most of the restaurants appear to follow the whole stack-em-high sell-em-cheap variety, it really does appeal to the lowest common demoninator. “Cinna-bon” or whatever that godforsaken shop is called really is the bane of mankind.

    Food over there just tasted, looked and smelt so unbelievably fake in general. Almost like plastic actually. Even the same brands we get in London were clearly watered down in Florida, like (random example) Tropicana fruit juice which is almost 100% actual fruit juice in London is almost half water and the ever ubiquitous “high fructose corn syrup” which appears to be present in almost everything over there.

    Don’t get me started on the whole filtered-water thing, the idea is just disgusting. I think they tried to release Dasani over here but it was withdrawn because nobody bought it (possibly owing to the whole cancer scare thing.)

    Of course, i could just be being a complete euro-snob - we dislike the continentals for it too. After all, this was just my experience in one state - it could be different in a major city. But then again food in Los Angeles or New York City is hardly much better and i’ve lived in both for long periods of time.

    But seriuosly, cinna-bon truely is distressingly disgusting. And your idea of ketchup tastes like so much shit.

36. jaybird
    May 17th, 2007 at 2:14 am

    

    wow so many things…

    the stained water that americans drink dosent deserve to be called coffee.

    cheese is NOT meant to be orange

    Peanut butter is NOT the holy grail of foodstuffs and should NOT be smothered over food at every oppourtunity

    Twinkies are borderline gross already but deep frying them?

    same goes for Deep fried macaroni cheese.

    there are far more but im start5ing to feel sick.

    God Bless America
    xoxoxox
    your aussie mate

37. Dan
    March 12th, 2008 at 9:40 pm

    

    I live in Wisconsin, so cheese is king and over-eating is a day to day event. Beer and fish-fry Fridays are a staple of our diet. both not very good for you. It may be we need that extra layer of fat to survive the harsh climate.

38. 0t1s
    April 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 pm

    

    Word, Dan.

    The most disgusting “food” though is rye bread. Even Cheddar cheese can’t make that shit edible.

39. Beezie
    April 23rd, 2008 at 4:53 am

    

    I think the most disgusting food in america is chitterlins. How could someone actually eat the intestines of a pig? And it smells like pig dung when you cook it!! And certainly there’s no horror like a cold McDonalds cheeseburger…

40. Klondike
    May 23rd, 2008 at 8:37 pm

    

    I would have to go with two already mentioned - definitely scrapple, it looks horrid and smells worse, even cooking it in butter can’t hide the taste or smell.
    Spam was the other one, but I would add Pickled Pigs Feet to the list. I see them in the bars, and I’m guessing they are only there as a Drunkin’ dare, how else could you eat it?
    No matter what, our disgusting foods don’t come close to that of China and Asian foods.