Glad I got to enjoy them before they went to shit, cuz otherwise kid-me would’ve have the impression that “all western foods suck”.
… This is like someone saying “Guys I thought American chocolate was awful, but have you tried this Hershey’s stuff?!? It’s so good!” Like I’m glad you had a good experience but… but I’m sorry that was your good experience.
Oh, yeah. “American Cheese” (and other processed cheese) does technically have to be made from primarily cheese, which is a concerningly low bar for “cheese based consumable products” to fail to meet.
I mean, for context, I was like 8 years old when I first got here. I didn’t really know the difference between fastfood vs “real” restaurants so I just categorically grouped them all together.
Honestly, I still don’t really know what “real” western food is.
I remember going along with family to a cousin’s sweet 16 birthday party and I think its was western cuisine or something… like I heard they spend a lot of money on it (the cousin’s parents were kinda middle class rich) and I disliked most of the food they served, didn’t eat much, don’t even remember what they served. Ended up going home kinda hungry lol.
I think I just go so used to Chinese food, I didn’t feel confident exploring other types of “western” food… other than like burgers, pizzas, cheesesteaks, subway sandwiches / hoagies. Which I know, living here for like over a decade, I still don’t feel quite “American” because of my picky eating habits.
Honestly, I still don’t really know what “real” western food is.
French cuisine is the most classically famous example, but pretty much every western country has hundreds of years of it’s own extremely distinct culinary identity (ex: Germany, Spain, Italy, even the UK (despite the jokes)).
If you just mean the US though, it doesn’t exactly have it’s own unified thing going on beyond what you’ve listed (burgers, pizzas, etc) but there are plenty of foods, and even a few entire genres of food, that are very closely tied to the american identity (Texmex is the best one I can think of). The most “american” american food I can think of is probably hotdish which… I don’t actually recommend seeking out (please don’t hurt me, I just don’t think the majority of casseroles are all that great)
Isn’t that primarily a spanish invention? US has a culture built around it absolutely, but most places also incorporate it somehow, especially oceania and any former spanish colonies. It’s not really an “american” food per se as far as I’m aware.
Ah, I was indeed specifically talking about the meats - I did forget there were all the other traditional accouterments that go along with American barbecue.
Well the West is know for their baked goods and pastries. Like croissants, donuts, churros, etc. Like in East Asia and South East Asia a lot of the pastry that is for sale is based on Western recipes and they are different from the local pastry recipes.
its mostly meat, and maybe some kind of bread, very high incidence of type 2 amongst western countries, after asians started incorporating alot of sugar in thier diet, type 2 was in the rise in them too. vegatables are lacking in thier cousins, much like with European ones.
… This is like someone saying “Guys I thought American chocolate was awful, but have you tried this Hershey’s stuff?!? It’s so good!” Like I’m glad you had a good experience but… but I’m sorry that was your good experience.
For real. It’s like when people think Kraft Singles are representative of American cheese
We did slip up a tiny bit by literally calling it “American cheese”. Slight strategic error on that one.
They can’t call it that anymore
Not sure I understand, I’m sorry.
Kraft is literally not legally allowed to call Singles “American cheese”
Oh, yeah. “American Cheese” (and other processed cheese) does technically have to be made from primarily cheese, which is a concerningly low bar for “cheese based consumable products” to fail to meet.
I mean, for context, I was like 8 years old when I first got here. I didn’t really know the difference between fastfood vs “real” restaurants so I just categorically grouped them all together.
Honestly, I still don’t really know what “real” western food is.
I remember going along with family to a cousin’s sweet 16 birthday party and I think its was western cuisine or something… like I heard they spend a lot of money on it (the cousin’s parents were kinda middle class rich) and I disliked most of the food they served, didn’t eat much, don’t even remember what they served. Ended up going home kinda hungry lol.
I think I just go so used to Chinese food, I didn’t feel confident exploring other types of “western” food… other than like burgers, pizzas, cheesesteaks, subway sandwiches / hoagies. Which I know, living here for like over a decade, I still don’t feel quite “American” because of my picky eating habits.
French cuisine is the most classically famous example, but pretty much every western country has hundreds of years of it’s own extremely distinct culinary identity (ex: Germany, Spain, Italy, even the UK (despite the jokes)).
If you just mean the US though, it doesn’t exactly have it’s own unified thing going on beyond what you’ve listed (burgers, pizzas, etc) but there are plenty of foods, and even a few entire genres of food, that are very closely tied to the american identity (Texmex is the best one I can think of). The most “american” american food I can think of is probably hotdish which… I don’t actually recommend seeking out (please don’t hurt me, I just don’t think the majority of casseroles are all that great)
Don’t forget barbecue
Isn’t that primarily a spanish invention? US has a culture built around it absolutely, but most places also incorporate it somehow, especially oceania and any former spanish colonies. It’s not really an “american” food per se as far as I’m aware.
I’m specifically referring to American barbecue, which is absolutely it’s own unique thing (or several things since it varies by region)
Ah, I was indeed specifically talking about the meats - I did forget there were all the other traditional accouterments that go along with American barbecue.
Well the West is know for their baked goods and pastries. Like croissants, donuts, churros, etc. Like in East Asia and South East Asia a lot of the pastry that is for sale is based on Western recipes and they are different from the local pastry recipes.
its mostly meat, and maybe some kind of bread, very high incidence of type 2 amongst western countries, after asians started incorporating alot of sugar in thier diet, type 2 was in the rise in them too. vegatables are lacking in thier cousins, much like with European ones.