Bridging the Gap - The cultural exchange thread

[PatientZero]

Our Coca-Cola beverages, because it's...cheaper I guess? use HCFS (high-fructose corn syrup. If you're a health idiot you'll know this means it's not entirely ~natural~) and [ironically] health nuts were like "WTF, if I'm gonna drink Coke I'm gonna fill my body with REAL SUGAR! and started visiting Mexican groceries and buying up their Coke products.

This is actually pretty important for people visiting America, because of some stupid agricultural subsidies (farmers are paid to grow certain things, even if nobody buys them and they literally go to compost immediately after harvesting), a lot of things in the states use alternative corn products, like cornflour and the previously mentioned syrup. There's a few reasons for this, firstly because they're readily available and they're made in such excess they cost almost nothing, and also because it comes from subsidised farming and doesn't have to be imported, they pay way less taxes. (I'm not an economics expert or up to scratch on my tax laws, so don't quote me)

The reason that's important to be aware of is that American food will play havoc with your digestion if you're not used to it, a lot of people who visit end up with terrible diarrhoea, which isn't helped by the excessive amounts of fat that already goes into American food. Both of those will basically lube up your insides.
Also, as a fun aside, some American food wouldn't be deemed fit for human consumption in various other countries, because they include ingredients that are prohibited for health reasons. Including anything with such high levels of HCFS.

American Coca-Cola can't legally be sold in EU stores, when we talk about Coke we're literally talking about two different drinks. That's a brain-bender right there.


On that note, I'm not dumping on any Americans here, but do people there know that their food is kind of a running joke in other countries? I mean that question totally up front, are Americans aware that other countries make fun of them from it? Feels like something Americans would be more defensive about.

[Kriven]

Our food is kind of a running joke among us as well.

[Goemar]

Well, you can buy American Coke here. And Nerds (a sweet with like a billion e-numbers in it) - but they have to be sold as 'imported' food. Like I really don't know how the law works... I mean a lot of food is imported but there obviously must be some weird law where if you make it obvious that it was never made for U.K. consumption or something it's ok.

[JewyB]

Nerds are the best! I remember hwen they used to be cheaper because they were allowed to be sold here, stupid law messing with my Nerds

It was Lucky Charms all over again....

[puggsoy]

Pretty sure Nerds were never specified as imported here. Or maybe I just never paid attention. In any case I don't see them very often anymore, although that might just be because I don't really buy them anymore.

[PatientZero]

Nerds are another one of those things where the ones sold here aren't the same as the American ones, I even remember when they vanished off the shelves the first time. Lucky Charms too, though I'm not sure if there's a European variation of those. I don't eat as much cereal as I used to.

Also, Skittles were a weird one, for a long time American Skittles were vegan but European ones weren't. Go figure.

I should probably have been clearer that you can get some imported American products here in specialist stores (which is how I know Mt.Dew is literally the worst drink ever like holy crap how do people drink it?), but straight up I'm not totally sure how that works. I know there are different restrictions and laws around imported goods (specifically items not intended for sale in that country), but I'll be totally honest, I don't spend as much time reading up on legislation around the sale of foreign goods in retails stores as I probably should.

[JewyB]

Specialist stores: Tesco

[PatientZero]

Specialist stores: Tesco

Yeah, I actually forgot about that, still seems weird to me. I know there were always small stores that only do imported products, but I guess something must have changed along the way when all those major stores suddenly started having specific imported food shelves and isles.

Have I mentioned yet that I'm not really an expert on this stuff?

[Kosheh]

On that note, I'm not dumping on any Americans here, but do people there know that their food is kind of a running joke in other countries? I mean that question totally up front, are Americans aware that other countries make fun of them from it? Feels like something Americans would be more defensive about.

I'm not entirely sure what this means. ):
If you're talking about in incredibly huge-sized portions that only further contribute to our "obesity epidemic", yeah, we know ;P and I have no idea why we tolerate it. Unless you're talking about the concept that our fast food is actually somewhat less expensive than grocery produce, which is...also an issue in this country we can't seem to wrap our heads around
There's also blogs like "This is Why You're Fat" highlighting truly artery-clogging combinations of food, and at times it even causes my skin to crawl seeing disgustingly huge portions.

Speaking of blogs that highlight truly American things, I kinda wonder if the UK has an equivalent of our Walmart shoppers in like...Asda. That...probably doesn't make sense, but the "People of Walmart" blog should...give you an idea.

I like looking at menus for "American diners" in other countries like England, Italy etc. though and there's bizarre takes on American dishes that for...less of a better word, just aren't a thing here and would actually be better if they were a staple here (as they're sold, they're basically an assumption of what Americans eat) i.e. "The Diner"'s hazelnut milkshakes or Waffle Jack's "Manhattan" hotdog made with grilled pork and cheese sausage which is...literally not the NYC traditional dog, that'd be Coney Island's hot dogs which are...pretty basic and usually either topped with ketchup or mustard.

[TonyAyers]

Wow, there's a lot on this topic that you guys have already been discussing. As someone interested in bridging gaps between people, I couldn't say no to this discussion! As a little backdrop, I'm from the United States of America (originally from Florida, but now in New York), I have a mixture of Hispanic and American cultures in myself, and am interested in learning about other cultures and nations. 

Before I reply to or suggest any other topics of discussion, I feel the need to address this one first:


Gors

Here's an important question that spans all countries and cultures;
What is even going on with pies?

Over here a pie is like a staple food thing, you take a pastry crust and you fill it with A Food. Fruits, meats, hot, cold, whatever, it's a handy food that's tasty and fun for all the family at every meal and for snacks.

Basically, I am confused, what are pies doing in your country?

Well, the concept of pie is a rather broad one, I'll try to be as succint as possible.

The word "pie" by itself is inexistant in any form in Brazilian Portuguese. Because of this, we use the word "torta", which is a French loanword of "tarte". This also means that in Brazil, no differenciation happens between a pie (usually covered top) and a tart (usually not covered).

Additionally, torta also can refer to a baked savory cake in rectangular moulds, with fillings mixed directly into the dough before baked. This torta is the default meaning.



In Portugal, a small sweet pie called "Pastel de Belém" (Bethlehem's pastry dish) is popular, made with lots of egg yolks and sugar, and is considered a fine delicacy. However, in Brazil, the same word "Pastel" means "Enchilada" and in Spanish, "Pastel" means "Pie." Our savory "torta" in Portugal is known as "Empanada" which means "Chicken Nuggets" in Brazil.

I think it's just better to drop this chart instead of trying to explain it myself



My inner Hispanic was just amazed, but also screaming in joy because I saw my favorite dishes/snacks being spoken about. I knew that the way we as Hispanics label certain foods is very different in other countries, but I never would have expected empanadas to be "chicken nuggets" in Brazil! That's actually really awesome to see! Though, since I come from a Puerto Rican Hispanic culture, "pastel" or "pasteles" has always meant more "cake" rather than pies. I had also learned another way to say sandwich in Spanish is "emparedado" (though I'm not sure if that usage is more universal or maybe used more in Spain or something). 

I also would like to mention that Brazilian tortas remind me of a dish I have loved since my childhood and wanted to see if anyone else around the world eats something similar to it. Cornbread is what I'm talking about and I'll put a picture of it below.



Basically, cornbread is bread mixed with cornmeal. The ones I've eaten have a hint of sweetness (probably from the cornmeal or sugar) but equally have a wonderful savoriness that can't be matched. How about you guys? Any foods or breads that are kind of like it?

[Gors]

The notion of american food in Brazil is all we see from imported TV shows, so big cereal bowls, waffles, pancakes and fried eggs and bacon are to be expected when you ask a Brazilian person what are the first things they think about when hearing "American breakfast"

Compared to everyday Brazilian breakfast of bread, butter and a cup of coffee, it does sound more glamorous and even a tad too exaggerated. Cereals are very expensive, and so are jams and spreads. We also don't have peanut butters and honey is something very uncommon for a normal Brazilian household (though I do buy honey myself)

As for hotdogs, it's popular in my state to make double hotdogs (twice the sausages), topped with corn, green peas, vinaigrette, shoestring potatoes, grated cheese and mashed potatoes. It appears to be a modern invention but it's become a staple thing here.

[TonyAyers]

Also, as a fun aside, some American food wouldn't be deemed fit for human consumption in various other countries, because they include ingredients that are prohibited for health reasons. Including anything with such high levels of HCFS.

American Coca-Cola can't legally be sold in EU stores, when we talk about Coke we're literally talking about two different drinks. That's a brain-bender right there.


On that note, I'm not dumping on any Americans here, but do people there know that their food is kind of a running joke in other countries? I mean that question totally up front, are Americans aware that other countries make fun of them from it? Feels like something Americans would be more defensive about.

You're absolutely right and it saddens me as an American. They put the most obscene things in these products they dare label as "food" and I don't understand how it even became this bad. 

As for the whole Coca-Cola ordeal, I had always assumed EU and US cokes were entirely different things. It's not a brain bender for me because of your aforementioned statement about the "ours vs theirs" food regulations. My question instead would be to confirm where people use the terms "coke", "fizzy drink", "soda", "soft drink", etc. I've heard them all where I live (not surprising, I suppose XD), but I'd love to hear where you've heard these or what you've heard these drinks being called.

There's also a similar idea running along the lines of what I call a "sub" sandwich (at least in the USA). Some call it sub, like I do, but I've heard that people may say "hoagie", "hero", "grinder", and "baguette" to mean the same thing. I've used some of those terms myself, so the only ones that are a bit alien to me are "hoagie" and "grinder".  Just in case someone doesn't know what I'm referring to, here's an image of a typical sub here:

And nah, you're all good, friend. Many of us are aware that our "food" is considered sub-par in other countries and mocked openly and a good number of us would like to fix it. But, not all of our food is actually bad, unlike the media would like to have you believe. Every country has something good or bad about their food and much the same can be said about ours. 

One last thing, people will make fun of (or hate)  Americans no matter what. I've been seeing it all my life and I doubt it's going to stop any time soon. In fact, sometimes we make fun of ourselves! Since we're such a big country with a vast variety of people, some do take these things harsher than others. Some can laugh off being made fun of whereas others sincerely take it to heart and feel heartbroken about it.

[Kosheh]

Oh shit another new yorker ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. My fiancee's Cuban/Italian and the word "empanada" is thrown around the house quite a bit around holidays (not so many savory ones though - more like ones filled with Nutella or guava and then sprinkled with powered sugar)

(also I'm gonna slide up in your DMs Tony hope that's OK. I think you live like right next to me)


Which is also the other thing? The US is characteristically known as a "melting pot" of cultures - we don't have exclusively "American" culture here. Visit a big city, like New York City and you'll find little cultural niches for a handful of cultures. I've been to Korean, Polish, Brazilian, Greek areas of NYC (and I can go on and on) but I've been to a Korean neighborhood in Boston and Philadelphia's Chinatown. It's kinda crazy, honestly (it's probably a thing in other countries too - I'm willing to bet though that we probably celebrate it the most).

The problem with that though, is that when trying to come up with "exclusively American" foods to share in this topic, it's...hard. Because we borrow from so many other cultures lol
With that said, we've got our own cultures that we don't even understand, such as what Tony pointed out:

As for the whole Coca-Cola ordeal, I had always assumed EU and US cokes were entirely different things. It's not a brain bender for me because of your aforementioned statement about the "ours vs theirs" food regulations. My question instead would be to confirm where people use the terms "coke", "fizzy drink", "soda", "soft drink", etc. I've heard them all where I live (not surprising, I suppose XD), but I'd love to hear where you've heard these or what you've heard these drinks being called.

There's also a similar idea running along the lines of what I call a "sub" sandwich (at least in the USA). Some call it sub, like I do, but I've heard that people may say "hoagie", "hero", "grinder", and "baguette" to mean the same thing. I've used some of those terms myself, so the only ones that are a bit alien to me are "hoagie" and "grinder".  Just in case someone doesn't know what I'm referring to, here's an image of a typical sub here.

We have like 6 different names for things depending where you go in the continental US. When I'm talking to you guys, I'm giving you pretty much a northeastern US take on foods and customs and whatnot, but the South, Midwest, and the West Coast are like completely different dimensions (the South, especially). There are several names for soda - and my friends out west call it "pop" which just baffles me.

I'm going to Portland, Maine for my honeymoon though and apparently they call subs up there "Italians" which
?? ?? Why. Why do you have to just make this more complicated Maine. Why.

I'd say cornbread though is a pretty American food through-and-through, with its origins deep in Native American history. It's also really incredible but there is just not enough of it in New York and this is an absolute travesty

[Gors]

We call those sandwiches "sanduíche".

We are very straight forward when coming to names.

[Kendotlibero]

we actually don't have the concept of "sandwich" here, as you inted them,

we have those things called "panino", that are used in a similar fashion, and they look like that

as for the pies I have a fun fact, while we use "torta" or "crostata" for them, older people use in my dialect "pizza" to refer to baked foods, salty or not like cakes, pies and the actual pizza.