When Americans look at the diets of the rest of the world, we don’t always get it. But according to a Reddit thread, non-Americans feel the same about some of the foods we eat. Here are some American eats we love that leave people from other countries scratching their heads.
Hershey's Chocolate - Believe it or not, the word most commonly used in this thread to describe America’s Hershey bar is “vomit!” It might not be our best chocolate, but it is our most famous brand, so plenty of visitors to the U.S. give it a try. But why do they think it tastes like vomit? It reportedly contains butyric acid, which is also in sour yogurt, parmesan cheese, and - you guessed it - vomit.
Canned or processed cheese - It’s not like we think it’s the best cheese, but American cheese and it’s “evil cousins” Cheez Whiz and Easy Cheese do not impress outsiders.
Fast food - Visitors to the U.S. who try our popular fast food chains tend to agree that they’re too salty, and “lack basic integrity” especially KFC. And a lot of visitors who’ve tried the Bloomin’ Onion at Outback think it’s “vastly overrated.”
Too much ice - A lot of non-Americans mention our big beverages, but they’re also surprised by how much ice we use in our cold drinks. In a lot of other countries, you have to ask for ice if you want it.
Excessively sweet baked goods - Since we eat more sugar per capita than any other country in the world, it’s not surprising that our cakes, pastries, and even breads are too sweet for foreign tastes. Grocery store sheet cakes were mentioned as over-the-top sweet, but we can’t argue with that.
Portion sizes - The Redditors not only think our food is no good, they also think there’s just way too much of it. Some complain they gained weight during a visit here just by eating like Americans. We do have big portions here, but we love our leftovers - and these global contributors mention that’s not always acceptable in other countries.
Source: Food and Wine