Anyone who tells you American food is bland and boring has no idea what they’re talking about.
I mean, sure, plenty of American food IS bland and boring – but check under the hood and there’s lots of weird stuff floating around. Much of which is shockingly popular in various regions of the country.
Here’s a list of the top 10 disgusting foods that people weirdly seem to love.
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Do you like meat? Sure, why not. Do you like jello? I mean, I only eat it when I’m at the hospital or at a kid’s birthday party…but also, sure, why not.
How about putting them together?
Disgusting.
And yet jello salads with hardboiled eggs, meat, even spinach are extremely common. A lot of people swear by them.
I’ll pass, thanks.
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I was recently on a roadtrip through Wisconsin and Minnesota, and I had the chance to try beer cheese soup. I’ve done this so you don’t have to – so please don’t make my mistake.
Beer cheese soup tastes like your mouth after you’ve spent the evening downing cheap beer and eating cheap nachos.
I cannot recommend it.
But people in Wisconsin LOVE it. Some will even top it with popcorn.
Never again.
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I want to be very clear here: Tuna is an amazing fish that tastes great when it’s (A) good quality, and (B) prepared well.
Tuna casserole meets none of these criteria.
It’s made with canned tuna, which is gross all on its own. Then you add in canned soup (usually “cream of” something, also blech), onions, mushrooms, cheddar cheese, and noodles. Bake it all together in the oven, and voila.
Here’s the thing. Tuna casserole smells like you heated up your fish in the office microwave, and it doesn’t taste a whole lot better.
Especially with all the heavy carbs from the noodles, cheese, etc.
But for some reason, a ton of people love it. I’ll never understand.
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If you’ve been dying to combine hardboiled eggs and beets, then I’ve got the dish for you: Pickled beet eggs. These are a big hit in Pennsylvania Amish country, and a lot of people swear by them.
They’re bright red because the eggs are boiled in the liquid from cooked beets, usually along with a combination of onions, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and vinegar.
It’s a weird combination of sweet, sour, and that weird earthy flavor you get from beets. Avoid unless you love beets, vinegar, and cinnamon – all at once.
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If you’re from the South and have grandparents, chances are good you’ve had pear mayonnaise salad at least once.
To make it, you need canned pear halves, mayonnaise, cheese, and top it all with maraschino cherries.
It’s a weird set of flavors. I don’t recommend it.
But if you get the right mayo – Duke’s, always – then it’s at least kind of an interesting combination of flavors.
Again – I don’t recommend it.
But maybe try it once, just so you know what all the drama’s about.
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I probably can’t show my face in New England after this, but I think fluffernutters are just gross.
The principle is simple enough: Take two slices of bread. Coat one in peanut butter, and the other in marshmallow fluff. (Not jelly, as God intended.) Put them together. You’ve got a fluffernutter sandwich.
Then you bite into it, and things start going sideways.
Because marshmallow fluff isn’t made with, uh, exactly all-natural ingredients, it’s got this really weird texture that gums up your mouth. And because there’s no sharp counterpoint to the peanut butter, it’s just basically a really gummy peanut butter sandwich. Which is fine if you’re really into peanut butter and having your teeth gummed up.
But lots of people swear by them!
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Have you ever stopped at a gas station for a stretch break, browsed through the snack shelves, noticed a bag of pork rinds, and wondered “huh, I wonder what those are and how they taste?”
Well, unlike you, I don’t have any self-control, so I bought them and tried them so you don’t have to.
And please don’t. They’re terrible.
They’re made from pig skin that’s been dried, then fried and puffed up with air. They don’t have a lot of taste beyond generic “fried and grungy” – and the aftertaste is even worse.
But people swear by them and guzzle them by the bag, especially in the South.
Best wishes to all.
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Ok, picture this for a moment. You’re about to eat a handful of peanuts. You’re really looking forward to that crunch when you bite down.
And instead they have the consistency of…beans. So they just fall apart into mush when you eat them.
Congratulations, my friend, you have just eaten boiled peanuts. A huge staple in the coastal southeastern US, especially South Carolina where I grew up. And to be clear, the flavors are pretty good! They’re often simmered with hot sauce, or herbs and spices, all kinds of good stuff.
But the texture? Blech.
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Rocky mountain oysters are fried bulls’ testicles.
Honestly, I’m not sure I need to say anything more than that?
But I’ve seen them described on menus unironically as a “delicacy.”
Listen – I haven’t tried them, and I’m not going to.
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Fried brain sandwiches are a staple in parts of Indiana. They usually use pigs’ brains.
I don’t need to tell you that, under the fried bit, the texture of the sandwich itself is gummy and generally disgusting.
In fact, I’m just going to leave it at that. You want to try it? Be my guest.
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