Actually, I think rooster's link there has led me to a newfound understanding. Since the time I first heard that the Scottish made a dessert of deep-fried Mars bars, I frankly wondered how in the hell anyone could find that any good to eat. I can clearly see now that American and British Mars bars are, at the very least, constructed differently and I can assume also taste differently. Perhaps this peculiar notion of frying a candy bar has some merit if the candy bar isn't complete crap...
The British Mars bar tastes great! I just assumed the American one was the same ... evidently it's not.
That said, I've never had a deep-fried one (yet) ... maybe that'll be something to do before I leave.
I've finally been sucked into this as much as I don't want to be. As an american married to a brit, and having had a LOAD of British and US candy bars/chocolates/etc. And having NUMEROUS 'spats' with said British spouse over Hershey's, Cadburys, Mars, etc etc etc ad nauseum, here's what I've come up with...
No American I have ever known really believes that Hershey bars are in any way superior to what I'll call 'real' chocolate. Be it lindt, ghirardeli, cadbury, godiva, general european, whatever. But! Most of us have a soft-spot for the unique taste of hershey's chocolate. Not because it's great, not because it's good, just because it's what we grew up with and is very familiar. For me, it is a totally good memory thing of camping trips as a brownie, then as a girl scout then as a young adult, sitting around a fire making s'mores out of those yummy 'jet puffed' marshmallows (no other brand compares, imo!(again, cause it's what I grew up with!)), a hershey bar, and the classic graham crackers.
This whole anti-hershey thing is like...saying americans think McD's serves real burgers. 'those burgers suck! They're not even real burgers, ew ew ew...real burgers contain 71% beef, 19% animal fat, and 10% seasonings!!! What's this 10% beef, 30% soy product, and 60% seasoning crap?! THAT'S NO REAL BURGER!'. I LOOOOOVE burgers. Love love love a properly made really tasty super fresh REAL burger, either made at home on the bbq, or at a decent burger place. And yeah, we do have a lot of good burger joints here. But we have way more McD's..And occasionally, I just want a cheeseburger from McD's...not a real burger. Not a 1/2 pound lovely fresh made squishy puffy bun real cheesey nice nice yummy REAL burger, but a chemical-tasting ketchupmustardyonionbitsyfakecheesefakemeatSQUISHEDbun McD's cheeseburger.
I'd hazard to say every country, and every REGION has it's own 'not really real' version of something that anyone who grew up there LOVES and has a special place for, even if they really prefer the real thing 98% of the time.
/E oh, and I LOOOVE chocolate sauce of almost any sort. And caramel and butterscotch. Preferably warm and thick on ice cream with warm yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting underneath it.
i eat homemade burgers that are 99%mince beef and 1% seasonings. THAT'S a burger...
i heard from a guy i know that american choclate contains a lot of wax and that put me off even wanting to try a hershey bar or a twinkie or anything...
But there isn't any chocolate in Twinkies! Not that I'm suggesting anyone eat them, mind you. There's no wax in Hershey's chocolate, either, as it's actually against the law to use paraffin wax as a food additive. It just *tastes* like it's made with wax.
Anyways, speaking of twinkies, my brother-in-law was here for the wedding, and during his stay he decided to try twinkies cause he'd seen them in movies, and people going 'mmm, twinkie!' etc etc...hated em. Said they were sooo gross and hideous. What do you expect from mass-produced sponge cake filled with essentially flavoured shortening? Same concept as the hershey bar, or the McDs..
After a few weeks overseas, I would seriously almost kill for a twinkie. Not cause I love em, cause I cannot remember the last time I had one, but because they're familiar. A few trips ago I started bringing american snacks in my suitcase with me for emergency purposes. I love a load of british food, but because I'm not there all the time I never feel like I can truly relax while eating.
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what's a twinkie then? i thought they were some kinda choccy bar...
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Man, haven't you ever seen Ghostbusters? Anyway, I really can't say what a Twinkie is, as it's largely built from things that don't actually occur in nature. But they look like this:
In related news, in my effort to bridge the divide and reach across the aisle in this international cacao jihad, I am about to bite into a bar of Lindt's swiss chocolate, purchased mere moments ago at an American grocery store. I'm a uniter, not a divider (though, like most Americans, my preference is definitely for milk chocolate).
vermy - you can order a LOT of the UK candy bars online. ukgoods.com has some, and there's a bunch of other sites as well. I highly recommend NOT doing this in the summer.
[ QUOTE ]
After a few weeks overseas, I would seriously almost kill for a twinkie. Not cause I love em, cause I cannot remember the last time I had one, but because they're familiar. A few trips ago I started bringing american snacks in my suitcase with me for emergency purposes. I love a load of british food, but because I'm not there all the time I never feel like I can truly relax while eating.
[/ QUOTE ]
It shames me to admit this, but the second best meal I had whilst touring the nation of France was from McDonalds. The absolute best meal was some strange, pseudo-corndog with spicy mustard bought as a concession from the gardens at Versailles. I'm such a hick
I don't remember eating any British food that really stood out. A lot pot roast and potatoes kinds of meals, things of that nature. Deep-fried food makes me a bit 'seasick', though, so I largely had to forego the tourist food du jour while over there...
Honestly, what I do is the first day we're there (not counting the day of jetlag removal in bed at a hotel close to the airport) and we end up at a pub for lunch or dinner, I get the fish & chips, eat it all with tons of lemon and tartar and vinegar, then after that I eat it, but only after peeling off the breading. I can't do more than 1 day of fried food.
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vermy - you can order a LOT of the UK candy bars online. ukgoods.com has some, and there's a bunch of other sites as well. I highly recommend NOT doing this in the summer.
[/ QUOTE ]
Cool, thanks, I'll check it out (and subsequently spare Paul what is apparently a soul-scarring Hershey experience).
[ QUOTE ]
Honestly, what I do is the first day we're there (not counting the day of jetlag removal in bed at a hotel close to the airport) and we end up at a pub for lunch or dinner, I get the fish & chips, eat it all with tons of lemon and tartar and vinegar, then after that I eat it, but only after peeling off the breading. I can't do more than 1 day of fried food.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, that's more or less how I am with fried foods. I tried a bite, and wow - that stuff will lube up your intestines in short order. I have to tread carefully around tempura as well, or I'll be regretting it the next morning. It might have been a few bad expriences, but it seems to me that American fried foods aren't as greasy as what I've eaten from foreign countries.
I was rather surprised to learn recently that Skittles (the little multicoloured candies) are different in the UK and the USA too - the American versions are made with beef gelatine, making them unsuitable for vegetarians. Skittles here in the UK are vegetarian-friendly. Weird, eh?
And yeah, Tins, there's only so much deep-fried batter a human being can stomach...
(Ooh, I just noticed this'll be the first 1337 post that the new Polycount boards have ever experienced! )
last night i had a friend come over and i cooked dinner for her, and for dessert i took a ghram pie crust, covered the bottom in a thin coat of hersheys syrup, then sprinkled in some coco flakes, then dipped a lot of tangerine slices in melted milk chocolate, and made a smooth layer of them on the bottom of the crust, then dipped a lot od strawberries in melted dark chocolate and put them in the pie crust on top of the tangerines, then poured the remaining chocolate on top.. sprinkled a little more coco nut, put it in the fridge to cool.. it was the best freakin dessert ever made... EVER
[ QUOTE ]
also on the subject of regional variations, it recently came to my attention how American coke has quite a different taste/aftertaste than Mexican coke, because Mexican coca cola is still made with real sugar, and American coke production plants were switched over to corn syrup a while ago. i loooooove vanilla coke, but i've always thought that coke starts to taste a little nasty after a while. and the corn syrup is what's responsible!
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Holy cow - I was going to mention exactly the same thing. We've got a pretty cool imported foods store here in Cincinnati and I go there every now and again to pay nearly $2 for a glass bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola. Maybe you have to be a cola connoisseur (if there is such a thing) to appreciate it, but real sugar kicks corn syrup's ass around the block. Getting it in glass bottles trumps those sometimes foul-tasting plastic ones as well. I hate that part of American life seems to mean getting cheapass ingredient substitutions in our foods. Wealthiest nation on the planet, but I have to go to elsewhere to get sugar in my cola or cocoa butter in my chocolate
*wonders if he would be called a freak if he admitted he likes dipping his mcdonalds fries in vanilla milkshake or having ketchup and mayo with his chips.....*
I love fried foods. I was watching "Cooks Tour" on the food network and Tony was in Scotland and he went to a place that would deep fry anything. He had a deep fried hard boiled egg (sounds very good) and a deep fried twinkie (I don't like twinkies) and also a deep fried snikers bar!
I like chocolate and stuff, but I'm more into deep fried animals or vegetables. I love fried fish! That deep fried hard boiled egg keeps calling my name! I love eggs! I like scrambled and hard boiled, but fried eggs are it! I wonder if I could get a deep fried, battered, fried egg?
[ QUOTE ]
I wonder if I could get a deep fried, battered, fried egg?
[/ QUOTE ]
I shall say a silent prayer for your arteries, in the hopes that you live very close to a good hospital
Incidentally, what is it with Scots and fried food? I've seen lists of things that can actually be ordered there, and it's almost like they're trying to kill themselves. Deep-fried pizza is borderline insanity! I don't care if it's somehow still edible afterwards, that's just not right. I actually read about some place that takes a slice of pizza, throws some chips in the middle, rolls it up, coats it in batter and then fries it - a so-called 'pizza crunch'. Is there simply not enough to do around there to keep cooks away from the beer batter and cooking fat?
My flatmate deep fried an entire meal last year. It worked. Bacon, egg and chips (fries) all in the deep-fryer at the same time. The egg came out perfectly soft-boiled. He hasn't been able to equal that achievement ever again.
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There's always hope though, I am still infatuated with your native states bourbon whiskey!
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As all the world knows, a little bourbon after dinner aids the digestion. Why, I think I've even got a little Maker's Mark on the dessert menu for tonight!
I've actually had the deep fried Twinkie and deep fried Oreo cookies.....at the orange county fair. I am ashamed (not really) to say that I enjoyed them both.
I want the oreo! That sounds fabu...I tried a deep fried snickers a few years ago at the MN state fair, and I could only handle one bite as it was waaaaay too sweet/rich.
Replies
Prefers chocolate enemas.
this pretty much quashes any doubt in my mind where to go for good sweeties.
That said, I've never had a deep-fried one (yet) ... maybe that'll be something to do before I leave.
No American I have ever known really believes that Hershey bars are in any way superior to what I'll call 'real' chocolate. Be it lindt, ghirardeli, cadbury, godiva, general european, whatever. But! Most of us have a soft-spot for the unique taste of hershey's chocolate. Not because it's great, not because it's good, just because it's what we grew up with and is very familiar. For me, it is a totally good memory thing of camping trips as a brownie, then as a girl scout then as a young adult, sitting around a fire making s'mores out of those yummy 'jet puffed' marshmallows (no other brand compares, imo!(again, cause it's what I grew up with!)), a hershey bar, and the classic graham crackers.
This whole anti-hershey thing is like...saying americans think McD's serves real burgers. 'those burgers suck! They're not even real burgers, ew ew ew...real burgers contain 71% beef, 19% animal fat, and 10% seasonings!!! What's this 10% beef, 30% soy product, and 60% seasoning crap?! THAT'S NO REAL BURGER!'. I LOOOOOVE burgers. Love love love a properly made really tasty super fresh REAL burger, either made at home on the bbq, or at a decent burger place. And yeah, we do have a lot of good burger joints here. But we have way more McD's..And occasionally, I just want a cheeseburger from McD's...not a real burger. Not a 1/2 pound lovely fresh made squishy puffy bun real cheesey nice nice yummy REAL burger, but a chemical-tasting ketchupmustardyonionbitsyfakecheesefakemeatSQUISHEDbun McD's cheeseburger.
/E oh, and I LOOOVE chocolate sauce of almost any sort. And caramel and butterscotch. Preferably warm and thick on ice cream with warm yellow cake with milk chocolate frosting underneath it.
i heard from a guy i know that american choclate contains a lot of wax and that put me off even wanting to try a hershey bar or a twinkie or anything...
Anyways, speaking of twinkies, my brother-in-law was here for the wedding, and during his stay he decided to try twinkies cause he'd seen them in movies, and people going 'mmm, twinkie!' etc etc...hated em. Said they were sooo gross and hideous. What do you expect from mass-produced sponge cake filled with essentially flavoured shortening? Same concept as the hershey bar, or the McDs..
After a few weeks overseas, I would seriously almost kill for a twinkie. Not cause I love em, cause I cannot remember the last time I had one, but because they're familiar. A few trips ago I started bringing american snacks in my suitcase with me for emergency purposes. I love a load of british food, but because I'm not there all the time I never feel like I can truly relax while eating.
what's a twinkie then? i thought they were some kinda choccy bar...
[/ QUOTE ]
Man, haven't you ever seen Ghostbusters?
In related news, in my effort to bridge the divide and reach across the aisle in this international cacao jihad, I am about to bite into a bar of Lindt's swiss chocolate, purchased mere moments ago at an American grocery store. I'm a uniter, not a divider (though, like most Americans, my preference is definitely for milk chocolate).
...
Mmmm, chocolatey...
After a few weeks overseas, I would seriously almost kill for a twinkie. Not cause I love em, cause I cannot remember the last time I had one, but because they're familiar. A few trips ago I started bringing american snacks in my suitcase with me for emergency purposes. I love a load of british food, but because I'm not there all the time I never feel like I can truly relax while eating.
[/ QUOTE ]
It shames me to admit this, but the second best meal I had whilst touring the nation of France was from McDonalds. The absolute best meal was some strange, pseudo-corndog with spicy mustard bought as a concession from the gardens at Versailles. I'm such a hick
I don't remember eating any British food that really stood out. A lot pot roast and potatoes kinds of meals, things of that nature. Deep-fried food makes me a bit 'seasick', though, so I largely had to forego the tourist food du jour while over there...
vermy - you can order a LOT of the UK candy bars online. ukgoods.com has some, and there's a bunch of other sites as well. I highly recommend NOT doing this in the summer.
[/ QUOTE ]
Cool, thanks, I'll check it out (and subsequently spare Paul what is apparently a soul-scarring Hershey experience).
Cause twinkies are chocolate, you know.
[/ QUOTE ]
holy shit there's an idea. chocolate twinkies.
Honestly, what I do is the first day we're there (not counting the day of jetlag removal in bed at a hotel close to the airport) and we end up at a pub for lunch or dinner, I get the fish & chips, eat it all with tons of lemon and tartar and vinegar, then after that I eat it, but only after peeling off the breading. I can't do more than 1 day of fried food.
[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, that's more or less how I am with fried foods. I tried a bite, and wow - that stuff will lube up your intestines in short order. I have to tread carefully around tempura as well, or I'll be regretting it the next morning. It might have been a few bad expriences, but it seems to me that American fried foods aren't as greasy as what I've eaten from foreign countries.
I was rather surprised to learn recently that Skittles (the little multicoloured candies) are different in the UK and the USA too - the American versions are made with beef gelatine, making them unsuitable for vegetarians. Skittles here in the UK are vegetarian-friendly. Weird, eh?
And yeah, Tins, there's only so much deep-fried batter a human being can stomach...
(Ooh, I just noticed this'll be the first 1337 post that the new Polycount boards have ever experienced!
also on the subject of regional variations, it recently came to my attention how American coke has quite a different taste/aftertaste than Mexican coke, because Mexican coca cola is still made with real sugar, and American coke production plants were switched over to corn syrup a while ago. i loooooove vanilla coke, but i've always thought that coke starts to taste a little nasty after a while. and the corn syrup is what's responsible!
[/ QUOTE ]
Holy cow - I was going to mention exactly the same thing. We've got a pretty cool imported foods store here in Cincinnati and I go there every now and again to pay nearly $2 for a glass bottle of Mexican Coca-Cola. Maybe you have to be a cola connoisseur (if there is such a thing) to appreciate it, but real sugar kicks corn syrup's ass around the block. Getting it in glass bottles trumps those sometimes foul-tasting plastic ones as well. I hate that part of American life seems to mean getting cheapass ingredient substitutions in our foods. Wealthiest nation on the planet, but I have to go to elsewhere to get sugar in my cola or cocoa butter in my chocolate
corn syrup, sugar, dextrose, high fructose corn syrup
modified wheat starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil
canola oil, salt, soy lecithin, yellow #6, BHT (preservative)
what am I?
I love fried foods. I was watching "Cooks Tour" on the food network and Tony was in Scotland and he went to a place that would deep fry anything. He had a deep fried hard boiled egg (sounds very good) and a deep fried twinkie (I don't like twinkies) and also a deep fried snikers bar!
I like chocolate and stuff, but I'm more into deep fried animals or vegetables. I love fried fish! That deep fried hard boiled egg keeps calling my name! I love eggs! I like scrambled and hard boiled, but fried eggs are it! I wonder if I could get a deep fried, battered, fried egg?
I wonder if I could get a deep fried, battered, fried egg?
[/ QUOTE ]
I shall say a silent prayer for your arteries, in the hopes that you live very close to a good hospital
Incidentally, what is it with Scots and fried food? I've seen lists of things that can actually be ordered there, and it's almost like they're trying to kill themselves. Deep-fried pizza is borderline insanity! I don't care if it's somehow still edible afterwards, that's just not right. I actually read about some place that takes a slice of pizza, throws some chips in the middle, rolls it up, coats it in batter and then fries it - a so-called 'pizza crunch'. Is there simply not enough to do around there to keep cooks away from the beer batter and cooking fat?
I shall say a silent prayer for your arteries, in the hopes that you live very close to a good hospital
[/ QUOTE ]
hee hee, do not misconstrue wanting with ever getting
while I do not get sick eating the deep fried stuff, I don't ever seem to be getting it!
There's always hope though, I am still infatuated with your native states bourbon whiskey!
See?! It's a national obsession!
There's always hope though, I am still infatuated with your native states bourbon whiskey!
[/ QUOTE ]
As all the world knows, a little bourbon after dinner aids the digestion. Why, I think I've even got a little Maker's Mark on the dessert menu for tonight!