- today
From spray cheese to corn dogs, American cuisine can be puzzling to international palates! Join us as we explore the unique food combinations and culinary creations that leave non-Americans scratching their heads. These beloved stateside favorites might be comfort food in the USA, but they're considered downright bizarre across borders!
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00:00And my favorite way to have biscuits in the States is with gravy.
00:06What?
00:07Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for American foods that folks outside the United States find strange.
00:13What is this masterpiece? Is it dessert? Is it a side? Do you eat it with turkey?
00:22Number 10. Corn dogs.
00:24What's a state fair favorite for many Americans is also an odd concept for people from other countries.
00:28The State Fair of Texas is so famous because it debuted one of the most important fair foods of all time, the corn dog.
00:36The corn dog contains an unfamiliar flavor combination for many cultures, and its lack of nutritional value doesn't help its image.
00:42But dare we say, a lot of Americans like it better than a regular hot dog.
00:46They're actually hand-dipped in cornbread batter. And I know, it's a southern thing. It's delicious. There's none other that tastes like this.
00:54That crispy factor is huge. The invention of a hot dog on a stick coated in cornmeal batter and deep-fried dates back to the 1920s or 1930s.
01:02Nowadays, corn dogs are a popular street food in South Korea as well.
01:06Like, it was crunchy. It was delicious. Like, the flavor was amazing. Like, the sauces, too. I just really liked it.
01:13But to much of the globe, the American classic is an unorthodox food.
01:16Number 9. Sloppy Joe's.
01:18The name is enough to make these sandwiches bizarre.
01:20Have some more Sloppy Joes.
01:25I made them extra sloppy for you.
01:31I know how you kids like them sloppy.
01:36Lady, you're scaring us.
01:37We think even many Americans would agree that Sloppy Joe isn't the most appealing name. Not by any means.
01:42And if you mention it to someone from outside the U.S. who's never heard of a Sloppy Joe, what, or huh, would be a totally reasonable response.
01:49Delicious. I love the Sloppy Joe sauce.
01:52I love the multiple textures from the ground beef to the bacon to the shredded beef.
01:56And the beer cheese is beer cheese, beer cheese.
01:59Yes.
01:59It's not joking around, beer cheese.
02:00But if they have heard of it, or better yet, seen it, they're still likely to think it's weird.
02:05And honestly, understandably so.
02:06It's seasoned ground beef with a tomato-based sauce, often with onions mixed in, slapped on a hamburger bun.
02:11It's still in the bun.
02:13It's still in the bun.
02:14Sweet and spicy.
02:16It might taste good to many Americans, but let's be honest, it doesn't exactly look appetizing.
02:20Number 8. S'mores.
02:21These iconic campfire snacks have warmed countless American hearts for over a century.
02:25Hey, you want a s'more?
02:27S'more what?
02:29No, no, you want a s'more.
02:32I haven't had anything yet.
02:34So how can I have some more of nothing?
02:37You're killing me, s'mores.
02:38Camping culture in the United States has been an integral part of s'more's legacy.
02:42But they're also fun treats to have at backyard barbecues, or really any outdoor gathering, particularly at homes with a fire pit.
02:48When Americans think of the quintessential outdoorsy snacks, s'mores are right up there at the top of the list.
02:53It just all comes together in an irresistible, squishy, marshmallow-y, delightful sandwich that you can make in five minutes flat.
03:01But it's a foreign concept to the majority of the world.
03:03Graham crackers themselves are very American.
03:05The combination of toasted marshmallows and chocolate in between those two graham crackers is a distinct flavor profile.
03:11Which may explain why s'mores come across as weird to many.
03:14But all we can say is, don't knock it till you try it.
03:16I don't think there's a better five-minute dessert out there.
03:18The marshmallow is melty.
03:20The chocolate is melty.
03:22The cookie is still nice and crisp.
03:23And you have the char on top of the marshmallow, which you can really taste.
03:27That is delicious.
03:28Number 7. Grits.
03:29This kind of porridge made from coarsely ground dried corn tends to be savory, but can also be sweet.
03:35What's this over here?
03:37You never heard of grits?
03:39Sure, sure, I heard of grits.
03:41I just actually never seen a grit before.
03:44Grits are a breakfast staple in the southern United States.
03:47They're place of origin.
03:48In fact, it's the official state-prepared food of Georgia.
03:50While similar porridges exist in other parts of the world, grits may be unfamiliar,
03:54especially given that Americans often add butter, cheese, salt, or pepper to them.
03:58When the grits are tender, stir in butter and salt and serve immediately.
04:02Even with their popularity in the U.S., we'd go so far as to say that many citizens in non-southern
04:07states might not be able to explain what grits are.
04:10So it's no surprise that the rest of the world might be perplexed by them as well.
04:13It's an interesting name, too.
04:15Grits.
04:15Sounds like something you clear off the road.
04:17Number 6. Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches.
04:20Ah, the PB&J.
04:21This sandwich has made its name as an iconic American school lunch, a convenient at-home lunch,
04:26and a great on-the-go food to take on an outdoor adventure.
04:28Of course, we have our childhood nostalgia.
04:30Especially if you're from America, you're going to know the peanut butter and jelly very,
04:34very well.
04:34First of all, American-style peanut butter, with all its creamy goodness, is unfamiliar
04:38to most of the world.
04:39So when you add jelly to that and bread, the whole combo becomes flat-out strange to many
04:43people.
04:43But the cool thing about this, Mark, is it exposes us to a lot of different people from
04:47all over the world.
04:48So there's a lot of international tourists that come in here, and some of them have never even
04:51heard of a PB&J, and so it's their first experience with a PB&J.
04:55Then you have the Fluffernutter, a peanut butter and marshmallow cream sandwich, which
04:59has both a funny name and an odd flavor combo for a sandwich.
05:02But we're giving the nod to the peanut butter and jelly Sammy here, due to its much greater
05:06popularity in the States.
05:07Crust or no crust on your PB&J?
05:09No crust.
05:10Number 5. Sweet Potato Casserole.
05:13There's already sweetness that comes with sweet potatoes.
05:15It's in the name.
05:15So why add marshmallows on top?
05:17That's what one of the main iterations of a sweet potato casserole does.
05:21Screw it.
05:21Bring on the yams.
05:23Will, but you've worked so hard.
05:25Yams!
05:26Okay.
05:26And we understand if people question it.
05:28Is it a side?
05:29Is it a dessert?
05:29After all, marshmallows are known as treats, and an ingredient associated with junk food
05:33and dessert.
05:34A super simple, unbelievably delicious sweet potato casserole.
05:38In the U.S., sweet potato casserole is a classic Thanksgiving side dish, and something
05:42many Americans look forward to as the November holiday approaches.
05:44Some recipes skip the marshmallows and use pecans or brown sugar instead.
05:49But even then, sweet potato casserole is generally unusual to people outside the States.
05:53This is an A-plus sweet potato casserole, in my opinion.
05:57Number 4. Chicken and Waffles.
05:59While this might seem like a newer delicacy to a lot of Americans, the roots of chicken
06:03and waffles can be traced back to the 1600s in Pennsylvania Dutch country, where waffles
06:07were topped with stewed chicken and gravy.
06:09We're going to make some buttermilk fried chicken tenders with some buttermilk waffles.
06:14The modern version, fried chicken with waffles, often topped with some butter or syrup, came
06:19along about three centuries later.
06:20These days, it's mostly seen as a southern thing, but you can find it all over the U.S.
06:24Okay, so now grab a piece of chicken, put syrup on both the chicken and the waffle
06:28and everything.
06:30All right.
06:31Yeah.
06:31Cheers, guys.
06:32The combination of a traditional dinner food with a traditional breakfast food is peculiar
06:45to people in other parts of the world, and honestly, we get why.
06:48You might think these two foods would not go well together, but they absolutely do.
06:52This is great.
06:53Like, I want, I just want it.
06:55Number three, root beer floats.
06:56Originally made from the sassafras tree, root beers nowadays typically contain artificial
07:01sassafras flavoring.
07:02You'll love an A&W root beer float.
07:05Made fresh root beer with real cane sugar meets a perfect swirl of creamy vanilla soft
07:10serve.
07:11The taste can often be associated with medicine, and many people outside the U.S. don't understand
07:15the appeal of a fizzy herbal botanical drink.
07:17When they try root beer, it can be off-putting.
07:19As Brits, root beer is where we draw the line, and that's a bit much for me.
07:23Many Americans don't get that medicinal vibe at all and instead view root beer as a delicious
07:27soft drink.
07:28Even aside from all that, for people from outside the U.S. who actually do like root beer,
07:32the idea of combining it with vanilla ice cream to form what we call a root beer float may
07:36seem unusual.
07:37Why combine these two sweets?
07:39Well, we don't know, but we like it.
07:41And what a sweet thing it is, too.
07:42Number two, biscuits and gravy.
07:44This southern breakfast dish combines textures of fluffiness from the biscuit with creaminess from
07:49the gravy.
07:49The gravy's creamy, and it's not dry and gritty.
07:52It's thick and pretty.
07:53But one reason someone outside the U.S. might think it's weird starts with the definition
07:57of a biscuit.
07:58In the U.K. and many other places, a biscuit means something more like a cookie.
08:01Flat, firm, and crumbly.
08:02This is quite weird for me because this is very similar to the gravy my granny makes on
08:07a Sunday roast.
08:09Having it with a biscuit, it does work, but it's also kind of odd.
08:12So when they hear biscuits and gravy, they might imagine shortbread cookies topped with
08:16gravy, which, yeah, does sound gross.
08:18Even if people outside the U.S. do picture the right kind of biscuit, you know, the fluffy,
08:22soft, bready kind, the idea of pouring white sausage gravy on it is still pretty unfamiliar
08:27and likely unappetizing.
08:29To that end, let's dig in.
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08:46Number one, spray cheese, cheese in a can.
08:49Even a lot of Americans would probably admit that cheese in a can, aka spray cheese, is
08:53pretty dang weird.
08:55Cheese in a can, okay.
08:56People from other countries have every right to ask what the heck we're doing.
09:00We took a perfectly good natural dairy product that's been around for ages and turned it
09:04into a processed artificial substance that sprays out of a metal can.
09:08Yeezy Cheese is the most well-known spray cheese brand.
09:11I made a very big mistake.
09:12Americans put it on things like crackers, pretzels, and chips.
09:15The processed nature of American cheese is already enough to weird some people out.
09:19Cheese Whiz, the jarred processed cheese sauce, might make them grimace too.
09:23Cheese Whiz changes everything.
09:24But cheese that you spray out of a can?
09:26That's a whole different level of strange.
09:28Is there a popular food you think is totally strange?
09:31Let us know in the comments.
09:32I can definitely see why people would wait hours for this corn dog.
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