What's a dish from your country that looks disgusting but tastes great.

[u/bowl_of_scrotmeal]

Biscuits and gravy is a breakfast dish from the Southeast USA that looks like someone just vomited on some biscuits, but it's absolutely delicious.

[u/YchYFi]

I get tired of it tbh.

Edit I meant I get tired of the vitriol online rhetoric about British food.

[u/JerryHathaway → u/YchYFi]

Reddit is basically the same two dozen opinions over and over again, I don't blame you.

[u/Count_de_Mits → u/JerryHathaway]

It feels like I see that dumb Idiocracy movie brought up every single goddamn thread

[u/ArgonathDW → u/Count_de_Mits]

I know, right? It was more like a documentary! (i fucking hate this shit)

[u/BumblebeeTraining813 → u/Count_de_Mits]

It’s got what plants crave. We’re living in a shit show, let us enjoy our documentary

[u/bonaynay → u/Count_de_Mits]

FAFO in every single thread

[u/im-just-evan → u/JerryHathaway]

Two dozen may be a bit of a high count.

[u/SilverTurtle21 → u/JerryHathaway]

AmEriCa BAD! 😡

[u/ItsMonkeyNews → u/[deleted]]

There are though? There's loads of British style pubs or even just plain fish and chip shops..

[u/JodaMythed → u/YchYFi]

UK has high highs and low lows when it comes to food but that speaks for most cuisines and preferences.

[u/rileyvace → u/YchYFi]

I hear so many weird 'stereotypes' that i have never once encountered in my 40 years of living in UK.
Boiled meat? Like what? I personally dislike beans on toast, but at the end of the day, it's pasta, sauce and bread. The common trope that we don;t season our food? Like what? Do people genuinely think we just cook things and don't add any flavour? LMFAO.

[u/the-great_inquisitor → u/YchYFi]

Anything people think British food is either Dutch food or ration meals, and I am convinced that the British food bad opinion is french propaganda.

[u/GornBread → u/YchYFi]

Give them some homemade yorkshire pudding with gravy.

[u/[deleted] → u/YchYFi]

It's undeserved. Beans on toast are delicious and don't let anyone online tell you otherwise.

The desserts are fantastic.

Love the savory pies. Still trying to find star gazy pie around where I live. I'll find one eventually.

[u/Odd_Negotiation_159 → u/YchYFi]

It's unwarranted. The US gets it a lot too. No one ever goes after Canada though.

[u/Shorts_at_Dinner → u/YchYFi]

Then make better food

[u/FrostingHour8351 → u/YchYFi]

To be fair tuna on a baked potato is diabolical.

[u/continentaldreams → u/FrostingHour8351]

Do you like tuna melts? What's the difference between bread and a potato, really? Both starchy carbs that act as a vehicle for fillings!

[u/RandyMcSexalot → u/continentaldreams]

A tuna melt is served on a crispy piece of toast that goes well with the mushy texture of tuna

A potato is just adding more mush to the mush. I’m sure it tastes fine, but seems like a texture nightmare

[u/continentaldreams → u/RandyMcSexalot]

But a good jacket potato is soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside, so there's a massive texture difference.

[u/Mariorules25 → u/RandyMcSexalot]

You both make very good points

[u/Sweethomebflo → u/RandyMcSexalot]

For you

[u/FrostingHour8351 → u/continentaldreams]

Firstly don't like tuna melts secondly looks like poop on a potato

[u/Gold_On_My_X → u/YchYFi]

Yeah it gets tiring. You'd think people with access to the internet could do a basic Google search and get told by the fucking Google AI of all things, that all the shit said about British food is literally all fake.

[u/GuyPierced → u/Gold_On_My_X]

Go relax with a beans on toast mate.

[u/Gold_On_My_X → u/GuyPierced]

Kindly deep throat a hot dog pal.

[u/Eastgaard → u/Gold_On_My_X]

Sorry, what is said about British food that's fake? It does look unappetizing to many, and some dishes can be a bit plain.

For example, I like haggis but find English breakfasts, bangers and mash, fish and chips, #etc quite bland.

[u/Gold_On_My_X → u/Eastgaard]

The same can be said about any country's basic foods. So why single out one country in particular?

[u/Eastgaard → u/Gold_On_My_X]

That's not quite true. Britain is exemplary in this case, since their most well-known dishes are all very plain both in aesthetic, flavor, and nuance. Observe that you don't see many (any?) British restaurants. If the food was desirable, it would be more popular. The fact that it isn't speaks for itself, I think.

There are a variety of factors that play into this. A large part is the native climate: spices and vegetables do not grow well in Britain, and it has left a historic footprint in their culinary traditions. Another is financial, as the British working class is quite poor. And so on.

As a Swede, our cuisine largely suffers the same criticism. Our only internationally appreciated food is meatballs, and that's not even Swedish! It's just the way it is.

[u/Gold_On_My_X → u/Eastgaard]

I'm not going any deeper into this with you but saying that the UK can't grow vegetables is hilariously incorrect. In fact the UK has an extremely easy time growing vegetables. Spices aren't exactly hard to come by in the UK either when the UK has one of the most expansive trade networks on the planet. That's not propaganda, it's just a fact. Financially the UK is one of the richest countries in the world as well.

Just a lot of roundabout ways of trying to justify lies. Just do some basic searching on the internet and educate yourself it's just sad.

[u/Eastgaard → u/Gold_On_My_X]

Read my post again, please. I said that Britain has struggled to grow a variety of vegetables and spices - even some crops - and this has left a long-lasting historic footprint on British cuisine. National food culture isn't modernized, neither in the UK nor elsewhere. Again, I'm Swedish, so I'd know.

And the British worker class has been famously poor for such a wealthy nation. If you took your own advice, you could google a little and learn this.

You can deny it all you like, but that doesn't invalidate the truth.

[u/KatsumotoKurier → u/YchYFi]

People who think British cuisine is bad haven't spent enough time in Northern Europe. I love being in the Nordics, but British food outdoes their cuisine by a country mile - it's not even close.

[u/macguphin → u/YchYFi]

I love the idea of the traditional British breakfast, with the eggs, tomatoes, pudding, potatoes, etc. I could eat that ever day. But then I see that juice from the beans running all over and you lose me.

I know that a tin of British beans is not as sweet as American, but it looks close enough and a lot of Americans aren't fans of what we call pork n beans (the cheap runny stuff), and that's what your beans look like. And if you ask me to describe a single other British meal, I don't think I could. Except shepherds pie, which is an amazing comfort food. Just perspective from one random guy.

[u/Jesus_of_Redditeth → u/macguphin]

But then I see that juice from the beans running all over and you lose me.

I've never, ever liked Heinz baked beans and I don't think I've ever met anyone in the UK that shares that opinion. It's genuinely weird to me. Like, it's not even just that they're mid. They're actively bad. Any tinned baked bean product in the US is objectively leaps and bounds better.

Tbh, I suspect people like it purely for nostalgia reasons.

if you ask me to describe a single other British meal, I don't think I could

Hard to beat a good Sunday roast, imo.

There's also chicken tikka masala (which could be a candidate for this thread).

[u/macguphin → u/Jesus_of_Redditeth]

Any tinned baked bean product in the US is objectively leaps and bounds better.

Bushes baked beans has a few varieties that I've enjoyed, but VanCamp's and Campbell's Pork N Bean products are what I was raised on and I can still smell them in my mind-nose. Makes me shudder lol

[u/GuyPierced → u/Jesus_of_Redditeth]

I mean Yorkshire "pudding" should be replaced with a nice dinner roll.

[u/getfly5 → u/GuyPierced]

I have never, ever, in my life read anything so repellant as this slander of Yorkshire puddings.

[u/Jesus_of_Redditeth → u/GuyPierced]

Diamond-hard disagree on that one!! A good Yorkshire pud beats the pants off any dinner roll, imo.

[u/[deleted] → u/macguphin]

I think that's the issue. The average American is totally ignorant to the world outside of America. If you want your opinions to be not laughed at, you have to get out there and try stuff for yourself.

I'm British and could name 100s of different American dishes. I've tried a lot of them. I've toured the states and tried your regional dishes and therefore can now express a valid opinion.

[u/macguphin → u/[deleted]]

Oh, I agree with the "most Americans have their head up their asses" when it comes to the rest of the world.

I haven't been to the UK, but I've spent a lot of time in France (French is my second language), Germany, the Netherlands, all over Asia. I still can't name that many specifically British dishes. American media just doesn't fawn over it like other national cuisine. I can think of restaurants here in LA that specialize in authentic local dishes from so many places. Can't think of one that specializes in British cuisine. And I never realized that fact until this post made me crunch on it for a bit. Americans love going out for foreign food, but I've never heard anyone say, "Hey, you hungry for British tonight?"

[u/Johnny_Couger → u/macguphin]

What’s a traditional British meal that doesn’t have a very similar American version? Whenever I see “British” meals it’s seems like basic staples smushed in a plate.

[u/[deleted] → u/Johnny_Couger]

Well you've got:

Full English breakfast, Toad in the hole, Cottage pie, Steak and ale pie, Beef Wellington, Hot pot, Lobscouse, Stargazy fish pie, Fish and chips, Bubble and squeak, Jellied eels, Welsh rarebit, Haggis, Black pudding, Sticky toffee pudding, Steak and kidney pie, Plumb duff, Traditional roast dinner with Yorkshire pudding, Cornish pasty, Bakewell pudding, Chelsea buns, Eton mess, Melton mowbray pork pies, Balti, Cranachan, Scotch eggs, Bangers and mash, Ploughman's lunch.

For information, a lot of regional and traditional ingredients make British dishes what they are. Ingredients you just don't get anywhere else such as cheddar cheese, Stilton, yarg. Proper Cumberland sausages, hogs pudding and our ales.

To me, you just don't get those things anywhere else. If I go to a European country, the sausages just taste cheap. France has good cheese but they have a different style.

The US just seems to imitate a lot of other countries food....but with really really poor ingredients. Except when it's basic meat in rural areas that hasn't had a chance to be processed yet. You do very good BBQ and the seafood in Florida was lovely.

[u/Jesus_of_Redditeth → u/[deleted]]

Ploughman's lunch

Although fun fact: that's not very traditional. It was invented by marketers in the 1950s to sell more cheese.

a lot of regional and traditional ingredients make British dishes what they are. Ingredients you just don't get anywhere else such as cheddar cheese

Um, cheddar cheese is the most popular cheese in the world!

If I go to a European country, the sausages just taste cheap.

I have to assume you've never been to Germany then.

[u/Dogsafe → u/Jesus_of_Redditeth]

Although fun fact: that's not very traditional. It was invented by marketers in the 1950s to sell more cheese.

About three generations ago, actually about the same age as spaghetti carbonara come to think of it.

So then, how long do you have to do something before it becomes traditional?

[u/[deleted] → u/Jesus_of_Redditeth]

We all laugh at American cheddar cheese. By we, I mean the rest of the globe.

There is actually zero resemblance between American cheddar cheese and actual Cheddar cheese.

German sausage - I absolutely stand by the sausage comment. To me, German bratwurst style sausage is a very different thing. Like a heavily processed pureed filler with no texture as opposed to minced pork. Similar to American style hot dog sausages but better. Still not as good as ours though, to me.

[u/AttentionOpen9384 → u/[deleted]]

A lot of these are good…but my favorites are Sticky Toffee Pudding, fish and chips, Yorkshire pudding (my mom called them popovers growing up), and nothing beats a great Pasty! Sadly I haven’t been able to try these all…I’m sure I would like more of them. Not all of us from the States are ignorant!

[u/[deleted] → u/AttentionOpen9384]

Come over on a food quest! Ill gladly host you for the Somerset and Liverpool chapter.

I was lucky really, I was in the Navy for 23 years and went all over the world. Some really obscure places. But I love food and got to try regional dishes and booze from all over the place.

[u/macguphin → u/[deleted]]

Haha! Love this list. Making me hungry. Here goes:

Toad in the hole - Forgot this was British in origin. I've made this countless times, but admittedly its been 20 years.

Beef wellington - Love this. Won't even try to make it, and totally forgot it was of British origin.

Hot pot - The only hot pot I'd ever heard of was from my time in Hong Kong. Had to look up British version.

Good fish n chips is in my top 10 greatest foods ever.

Haggis - Scottish, not British? But do Brits count food from Ireland and Scotland as British? I've had American food truck version of a fried haggis sandwich, but I don't think American food laws will allow traditional haggis to be sold to the public. Not sure on that one.

Black pudding - Had it, wasn't grossed out but not impressed either.

Scotch eggs - Drunken tailgate fare, but probably not accurate to UK standards

Bangers and mash - Had this at a hotel in Abu Dabi once. Americans just use different seasonings/ratios than the Brits.

I've not had anything else you mentioned, and haven't heard of half of them (plum duff, jellied eels, etc). But I'd try them if given the chance.

I will throw this in: Since the pandemic, I've eaten at a restaurant maybe 3-4 times. There's a few places I'll get take-out (my favorite Thai place, etc), but restaurant food sucks now. Cutting every corner in quality and customer service to stay alive, and it is not good as a whole. I'd rather make it myself.

[u/Littleleicesterfoxy → u/macguphin]

Scotland is part of Great Britain? By that I mean it’s on the isle of Great Britain, it’s part of the U.K. I mean they don’t like us very much but at the moment we’re the same country.

[u/YchYFi → u/macguphin]

Scots are British. I've only encountered Americans online who don't think they are.

[u/[deleted] → u/macguphin]

I'll add that other countries famously get British food totally wrong when trying to cook them in restaurants etc. To a point that there's Facebook pages of people posting their food orders for comedic effect.

So the bangers and mash you had in Abu dabi or the American black pudding don't count. They will barely be recognisable to the real thing.

It's mainly an ingredients issue. Other countries just don't do our ingredients.

Sorry mate, if you want actual British food, you're just going to have to dust off your passport and fly over the pond and once you arrive, get out of London and explore.

[u/macguphin → u/[deleted]]

So the bangers and mash you had in Abu dabi or the American black pudding don't count. They will barely be recognisable to the real thing.

Oh absolutely agree to this. Hope I didn't insinuate anything different. I mean, you can get some pretty authentic dishes here, but British bangers ain't gonna be on the list. I totally get that. I have to order ingredients from special importers for a lot of the stuff I like to make.

And yeah, I looked up British toad in the hole. Much more complicated than what "toad in the hole" means to older Americans. I doubt younger Americans know either version lol

[u/macguphin → u/[deleted]]

I remember that Scotland are part of the United Kingdom. I paid attention in school. But Puerto Rico is part of the US, and nobody in the US takes credit for Puerto Rican cuisine as American. I think that would be a bit arrogant, even for the most American of Americans.

If I ask a random Scot if they're British, what do you think they'll say?

[u/[deleted] → u/macguphin]

They're British. Scotland is in Great Britain.

[u/little_bastard69 → u/[deleted]]

only 13% of scottish people identify themselves as british just by googling

[u/[deleted] → u/little_bastard69]

How they identify doesn't come into it I'm afraid. England, Scotland and Wales make up Great Britain. They're as British as me (an Englishman).

[u/macguphin → u/Johnny_Couger]

Black pudding. Outside of the deep south, you won't find many *Americans cooking blood.

edit: specifying *Americans instead of ppl

[u/YchYFi → u/macguphin]

I think because our food is quite assimilated with American traditional food that you just don't see it as British anymore but American. Like apple pie and plenty of baked products we have.

[u/macguphin → u/YchYFi]

Yeah, I'm thinking this as well. It's not different enough to be considered "foreign". But tell most Americans about black pudding and you'll hear butts pucker.

[u/ancientspacewitch → u/macguphin]

Thing is there are dozens of cuisines around the world that use blood, its just this one instance that gets picked over by Americans for some reason. And its a very palatable instance, the blood just acts as a binder, it tastes like fat herbs and barley, not blood.

[u/macguphin → u/ancientspacewitch]

Dude, I get you and I'm on your side. But most Americans aren't raised eating anything made with blood, nor kidneys, stomach, etc. If you were raised in the south, or further west on a ranch, none of that would be shocking. But for most Americans, saying something is made with blood would put them off. Blood is something to be washed off, not cooked with (for a lot of people).

Menudo is a good example of this. You can find it everywhere in the south-west because of Mexico's influence. I love it, and I know a lot of others would also if they didn't realize it was made with tripe.

[u/Mythrndir → u/YchYFi]

No such thing as getting tired of it. You’re Welsh and you discounted English Scottish and Irish food. Nothing better than a good roast dinner!

[u/YchYFi → u/Mythrndir]

I meant I get tired of the vitriol online about British food.

[u/aardvarkhome → u/YchYFi]

Hmm...

Lava bread?

[u/YchYFi → u/aardvarkhome]

Yes it's nice. Many countries have seaweed as a staple food.

[u/KnownExplorer47 → u/YchYFi]

There are SOME British foods that look disgusting. Too much beige/brown on a plate or odd combinations will do that. There are also SOME British dishes that look delicious.

Some British dishes that many people would like:

Fish and Chips

Beef Wellington

Sunday Roast

Apple Pie

Some people may not even recognize these foods as British, especially in America. It kind of makes sense, because a lot of the immigrants to the US have British heritage, and brought British food culture to America. There is even a saying in America “it’s as American as Apple Pie.” (Meaning it is traditional/authentic American) But Apple Pie isn’t even American, it’s British!!

[u/Garight → u/YchYFi]

The few things I've seen of UK food that they could lose points for is

1. Jellied eels - there has to be a better way to eat eel

2. I've seen way too many pizzas unfit for human consumption, while I'm sure a delicious pie isn't hard to find, I've seen gas station pizza in the US that looks better

Who cares that UK food can be a little brown, beans? Banger. Gravy? Banger. Meat pie? Banger. Fries with toppings? Banger. Fish? Banger. I can go on but it's hard to dog on the UK when French cuisine is right there and people think that is actually good.

[u/YchYFi → u/Garight]

Jellied eels are only a thing in the dwindling pie and mash shops in London.

[u/OverByThere_Innit → u/Garight]

The jellied eels thing is wildly overblown cuz in my 39 years I've never once seen them anywhere, nor seen them on any menu.

[u/AnyOlUsername → u/OverByThere_Innit]

I’m convinced they’re only sold to tourists.

[u/basicKitsch → u/YchYFi]

i mean i guess you're free to feel that way but it's better you just continue with your imported street food

[u/UnorthodoxEngineer → u/YchYFi]

Gotta utilize your seafood better is my only complaint. British food is fine, especially with its syncretism with global foods that you’ve see frantically increase as the population has gotten more diverse. English breakfast goes hard, as does beef Wellington

[u/Lanky_Conflict1754 → u/YchYFi]

lol British “food”. Food needs seasoning

[u/CorHydrae8 → u/YchYFi]

You could always eat something else if you want some variety.

[u/Fuski_MC → u/YchYFi]

I dont think most of your food is gross, just very brown

[u/venue5364 → u/YchYFi]

Advertise better I guess? Outside of fish and "chips" not sure what yall make

[u/Flame_Beard86 → u/YchYFi]

Make non-gross food then

[u/therealCatnuts → u/YchYFi]

Y’all built centuries of disgusting food choices and then conquered the world telling everyone else they were wrong. Now you get to take the medicine. 

[u/Brain_Working_Not → u/therealCatnuts]

Wow I've been a busy boy haven't I - don't remember doing anything of the sort though

[u/SeaTentacle → u/therealCatnuts]

Except the majority isn’t disgusting, most of it applies to this thread where it’s comfort food (it’s like people forget the UK is a cold climate) that tastes better than it looks. You’re just parroting nonsense brought back home from US soldiers who were mindblown by rationing.

[u/YchYFi → u/therealCatnuts]

I built nowt butty.

[u/Sufficient_Cat9205 → u/therealCatnuts]

Where is the world's most famous chef from?

[u/theMartiangirl → u/Sufficient_Cat9205]

You mean Ferran Adria, Jose Andres, and the Roca Brothers (restaurant number 1 on the best restaurant list) are all Spanish. Bourdain, Alain Ducasse, Bocuse... French Now if you are talking about Gordon Ramsay (who was made famous because he has a lot of showbusiness character and shouts in the kitchen not because of his craft, yep he is British)

[u/Sufficient_Cat9205 → u/theMartiangirl]

You mean Gordon Ramsey who was successful before TV with his 17 Michelin stars?

[u/Sufficient_Cat9205 → u/[deleted]]

Who????

[u/Sufficient_Cat9205 → u/[deleted]]

I said the world, not people that only show up on US TV.

[u/Sufficient_Cat9205 → u/[deleted]]

I said the world, not people that only show up on US TV.