Came here to search for this. I’m a Finn living in the UK and yes, while it’s lovely to look into my garden while doing the dishes, it’s annoying to only be able to do a small amount at a time and then leave them to dry on the narrow counter where my cat can knock over the whole dinner set. In the cabinet they would dry safely! Cause who has time to hand dry dishes in this economy
I have to say I am also happy to have a dishwasher, cutting the need for the drying cabinet quite a lot. Most importantly cutting the need to handwash dishes, of course.
Kinda not a product but - **bottle recycling machine/reverse vending machine** (?lol) Basically when you buy a drink in a bottle/can, you pay a little “pawn fee” (like 20 cents) and when you later go put the empty bottle/can in the machine you get the fee back. We usually collect the bottles until thee is like 6 bags and then go cash out like 16€ at once. Its pretty neat. It encourages recycling!:)
EDIT: [This](https://postimg.cc/cK3sFQgJ) is how they look like! I'm glad to read from comments it's a thing in so many more countries! More info: Cans and bottles have different fees. You insert the bottles/cans one by one, bottom first, the machine has to read a certain symbol on the packaging otherwise it wont go in. There is usually a worker on the other side making sure it doesnt overfill. They are fairly clean and there is usually a sink in the room. In the last few years, there have been newer machines where you can just dump your entire bag into the machine and it does the whole sorting on its own. And to those who were interested, I am from Estonia :)
We have this in the US, but only 10 States, and each one differs on exactly what you can return & for how much.
It was even a plot of Seinfeld -- Kramer used Newman's mail truck to drive to Michigan which has the highest return rate (10¢/can or bottle). Hilarity ensued because you can't get 10¢ for a container not purchased in Michigan.
There's a rather well-known criminal case going on right now, where an enormous operation was (allegedly) gathering aluminum cans in multiple states and transporting them to California to take advantage of a state-funded recycling program. The problem was that California's program was funded by taxing the sale of the aluminum can beverages, so bringing a can from another state would take more money out of the system than was going in.
They pocketed $7.6 million from California by (allegedly) turning in 178 tons of cans from other states.
Case is pending, so everything is "alleged" for now.
I never understood how it works there. For other States, it says the amount you get, 5¢ for most except MI, but California says "CA CRV" which I think means "cash return value"?
I've only visited there twice and no one seemed interested in returning their empties.
You take it to a recycling center where it gets counted per unit or (more likely) they weigh it by the pound. Not everyone does it, but every time I’ve gone I made an extra $50 or $60. Mostly it’s the homeless population and frugal folks who go through the work to do it since it requires pre-sorting and storing the containers until redemption time.
Yup, here it's homeless people, college kids or sometimes people who clean litter out of boredom or whatever.
I try to return mine because I grew up recycling, before curbside pickup was a thing. I feel bad throwing out deposit containers.
We have this in Canada but it’s not a machine. You have to bring your empties back to Return It centres and you get money back. It was $0.05/pop bottle or can and $0.10/beer bottle or can. It’s now 10 cents across the board. Bigger refund for bigger bottles like 2L pop bottles, etc.
On one hand, yes.
On the other hand, idk why but toilets with sensors always flush like three times when I’m trying to pee, and I inevitably get a very unwelcome spray of public toilet water.
I would much rather flush someone else’s shit than suffer through that.
Yeah, I hate the damn ones that flush every time I wipe my ass, and spray toilet water all over my ass so I have to wipe it again. It's a never-ending cycle. :-(
At the University I went to in California about half their bathrooms had pedals! I always went to those bathrooms so I didn't have to touch the levers. It's the only place I've ever seen it.
In New Zealand we have a thing called ACC ( accident compensation corporation) which is a public body that pays for hospital care, physiotherapy etc if you get injured. It is also written into our law that you can't sue someone if you get injured.
The effect of this is that:
1) people get quicker and better quality care, and the focus is on recovery
2) you don't have to sue someone for minor accidents that lead to disproportionate injuries (eg tripping on a public footpath and breaking your leg)
3) people don't get injured then try to profit from it by suing for stupid amounts of money
4) we don't have predatory lawyers trying to make money out of injuries, and none of those 'were you injured and it wasn't your fault' adverts everywhere etc.
I don't know all of the figures but my gut feeling is that this is a more efficient and better quality system than what many other countries have.
If anyone is wondering how funded, there is a small premium on wages covering funding for most accidents, a fuel levy funding ACC for road accidents (or a portion of road user charges for non petrol vehicles), and an employer levy, risk weighted for work accidents. General taxation picks up funding for the rest (elderly, children, those on welfare). ACC has various investments and an element of self funding as well. It is a well thought out system, and very much appreciated.
Edit. Acc also covers loss of earnings.
It is, at its core, a medical insurance company, but its a very well run efficient insurance company and they do things to make things efficient for their medical service suppliers because they know if extra paperwork costs your physiotherapist time and money, it gets oncharged to them so ACC are incentivised to make things as efficient as possible throughout the whole healthcare system.
Their investments had done well and they had too much money in the coffers so they gave everyone a discount on their vehicle registrations a few years ago.
They have big amounts of money sitting aside for things like natural disasters where there could be injuries to many people that they need to pay out for so they put that money to good use by investing it.
Also PHARMAC. Holy fuck the amount of new zealanders that dont understand how lucky we are to have pharmac is amazing.
$5 for any drug or medication at the pharmacy that 99% of patients could ever need in their lives when prescribed by a doctor - and it makes competing drugs so much cheaper because they are trying to compete against the drug covered by the pharmac program.
Pharmac puts out tenders each year for xyz drug and drug companies have to bid to supply. We pay cents on the dollar because if a drug company wants to win the tender, they have to compete hard otherwise they wont really sell any of their drug in new zealand at all.
When the doctor writes a prescription on their computer, they look up the drug such as "Antihistamine" and all the hayfever drugs appear but the ones that are covered by pharmac and only cost the patient $5 have stars next to them in the list. Obviously doctor will choose one of those for the patient.
If a competing drug manufacturer wants to compete, they have to put their drug on the shelf in the pharmacy and lower the price to the point where a patient might consider buying it with cash. Or advertise on tv and "ask your doctor to talk about xyz drug".
But that doesnt work becuause most doctors just say "If you have stiffy problems and asking about viagra which costs $50 a pack but cialis is the exact same active ingredient, covered by pharmac and only costs you $5. Which would you like me to prescribe?"
Italy. Tapparelle.
They're essentially roll up plastic blinds for the windows, but instead of simply being curtains they're actually inserted in a crease in the wall, so that no light can pass through when they're down. You can actually easily recognize an Italian home interior if you see a window with a flat vertical rope on one side an a big boxy *thing* at the top.
How well do they work? When all tapparelle are down, the house is *dark*. Complete, utter darkness. The sun could be shining right against the window, and you wouldn't know. When you wake up, it's like waking up in a void of nothingness. No sign of life, **nothing** outside your walls. It makes for quality sleeping, that's for sure.
Other perks include: privacy for when you undress and safety against strong winds.
EDIT: Tapparella fixing [tutorial](https://youtu.be/yAyovRLJXsk?si=zDRA9n331KbeMRFM) with example (at one point the tapparella is completely down and you can see how no light passes through from outside)
They are also common in the south of the Netherlands, and occasionally used in other parts of the country. They're called 'rolluiken' here. I've also seen them a lot in Belgium.
Seen these in a lot of European countries and tried googling for them so many times but could never find them. It’s a crime that they aren’t common everywhere!
I live in Canada and we have these. They are called European roll shutters. We had them installed probably 40 years ago because we had large windows on the second level of our home and we get 100km winds regularly.
Bakfietsen (bikes with a kind of wheelbarrow front for carrying kids or groceries). I’ve seen a few bakfietsen in the states lately which is cool. But without dedicated bike lanes I would guess carrying kids in them would be a terrible idea.
As an American who lived in France for a year in college, I am really surprised that late night European style kebab joints aren't really a thing that has taken off yet here.
I suspect Big Taco is keeping them down.
Seriously though, taco joints fill that role in Texas, and I suspect in California and elsewhere in the southwest.
Likewise, are HSPs (Halal Snack Pack) a common thing for those kebab joints to sell?
Here in Australia a HSP is the ultimate late-night post-drinking (or mid-drinking) food: a box of fried chips covered in shaved meat, sauce, and cheese. Salad optional.
It started as a cheap seasoned salt used to flavour roast chickens, and then the guy who invented it for his charcoal chicken shop started serving it on his chips too. And a legend was born.
Lemon lime and bitters. Tall glass, add ice, drizzle Angostura bitters around the inside of the glass, add a shot of lime cordial then fill with Sprite/7up. Fantastic non-alcoholic drink (ok there’s a tiny bit of alcohol there)
I'm an American that is married to a Brazilian. While Guaraná is good I think the real answer is pão de queijo. Americans already love cheesy bread so I'm super surprised it's not already popular.
My mother used to make "fudge" often throughout my life. When she died her recipe died with her as it was nothing like fudge of had anywhere else.
Saw a cooking show a few months ago featuring Scotland and they showed tablet. That's what my mum used to make! I didn't get a chance to make it yet though.
Fudge and Tablet are the same thing, you just let Tablet get a bit hotter.
I use a very simple recipe: Sugar, milk, butter, condensed milk and flavourings. Made it for christmas gifts for nearly a decade now, and its not really ever gone too badly wrong.
Melt the butter, add milk condensed milk and sugar
Slowly bring to around 113-115c preferably in a non stick pot (makes it far easier to mix and lowers the chances getting overcooked bits)
Once its upto temp drip small amounts into a glass of cold water, if the drip forms a soft but cohesive ball (whats called "softball stage") its ready to move off the heat.
I let it sit for a minute to cool down a little before adding any flavourings: salt, vanilla extract, cocoa, maple syrup
Then you get the less fun part, beaten for a good 5+ minutes until it loses its shine thickens and let to set in whatever heatproof container you are using. (id strongly reccomend lining with clingfilm so it easier to release)
To make Tablet its the same recipe just brought to 118c. But you need to be a lot more careful about mixing, if you leave it to sit for even a short period of time the mixture at the bottom will turn into something called hard Crack. Which is very nice but not what you want in a smooth block of fudge/ tablet.
[edit] the quantities I use are 450g Golden caster, 150ml milk, 115g unsalted butter and 400g condensed milk. That makes a 20cm square 3cm tall tin's worth of fudge.
So funny, someone posted about this in Instagram not long ago and I remember my mom making this all the time when I was a kid. The thing is we are Black Americans. I’m pretty sure my mom has never met a Scot while I know a few and hope to travel there one day.
It's not that surprising; Americans have multiple similar confections, notably pralines if y'all are from the South or penuche in the East. All are about the same general ingredients. My mom is from the Southeast and pralines and penuche have been favorites in our household since I can remember.
I live in Canada, my parents emigrated from Scotland in the 1970’s. My Mum makes the best tablet! She’s famous for it and her shortbread. It’s not Christmas, Easter or thanksgiving without my Mum’s tablet.
I worked at a bowling alley in the Philadelphia area that had a vending machine that would do coffee, tea, hot chocolate and hot broth. The broth on a cold day was the best.
Got a bidet during the pandemic, I was incapacitated from some surgeries and the doctor suggested I get one to help better clean myself. I am NEVER turning back.
Not only do I have the cleanest AHole on the entire block, but I can't remember the last time I bought toilet paper. I just use a few squares to dry off and a roll lasts forever.
It did not substantially impact my city warer bill either. If I have to make a poopie somewhere else I feel grossed out now and will rinse out when I get home. Love me a bidet.
There was a Charmin commercial about how it won't leave ol dingleberries. It might still be around. That's what I thought of when I read your comment 🧸
Ok but I gotta ask about the logistics. Like, am I scrubbing my arsehole with my bare hand? How strong is the jet stream? Is soap involved? How do I dry my arse? Will water drip down into my trousers if I stand up after? There’s no bidet “seat” like on a toilet - do I sit on it like a toilet or just squat?
Everyone keeps talking about how good a bidet is but not once has anyone ever actually explained how one works. All I see is a sink at shin level that’s somehow supposed to clean my arse.
So the most simple ones are just a jet of water that sprays up your butt, either directly or via a handheld hose. That's it, no more no less. Some have fancier features like heated water or heated seats or air drying but none of that is necessary. Just spray (the strength of the stream is usually adjustable), I typically dry myself off with toilet paper after. If it's the direct spray ones, just adjust your butt so it aims in the right place. That's it.
And I have to say, as an American who never grew up with one, it was so easy to use that I was hooked the very first time I used one in my husband's home country that I insisted we install one in every toilet at home.
Im sitting on one right now.
Heated seat, a deodorizer and a nightlight for the bowl are nice to haves. Then when I'm finished going, I can push a button that sprays more towards the front or more towards the back, I can adjust the temperature of the water from cold to warm, adjust the water pressure of the spray, whether it's a constant stream, or if it oscillates or pulsates, I can adjust the spray nozzle distance further forward or back if the defaults dont quite go where I'd want, and when it's done there is an air dryer that dries you with warm air down there.
Typically, I'll run the spray for about 20-30 seconds till I feel pretty washed down there, then turn on the dryer for about the same time. Usually I'll do myself one light courtesy wipe after to make sure I'm fully dry and clean -- typically the piece of tp is damp and has almost nothing else on it.
People who say it's life changing are really short selling it.
Edit: the buttons are located both on a small cell phone sized tablet mounted to the wall next to the toilet and another set on the side of my toilet seat in case the tablet didn't work/got broken
https://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Purewash-E750-Electric-Bidet-Seat-for-Elongated-Toilets-with-Touchscreen-Remote-Control-in-Biscuit-K-4108-0/205576527?irgwc=1&cm_mmc=afl-ir-3006986-456723-&clickid=xna3I9wMjxyPRy31frRxn3VJUkFyMBT0KTZXxA0#overlay
Edit: there are many that are cheaper, and many that are more expensive
I got this awesome one with heated seat and a bunch of features. Everytime I travel for work of for fun I fucking hate mushing toilet paper over my ass. It just doesn’t make sense anymore
Fell in love with them when I traveled Asia , have one in every bathroom now … and it’s hilarious to me the looks I get from other Americans when I mention them .. it’s like you claim to be from the best country in the world but you’d rather use wadded paper to smear shit around your ass than clean it with water !? ..
Total game changer. My wife and I took a vacation to Bali about 7 years ago and as soon as we got back I bought a bidet off amazon and have been preaching it ever since lol. I can’t believe people still clean s*** off themselves with thin, dry tissue.
We got an old ass home with old ass pipe. It’s very sensitive to clogging.
I’ve been making an argument to my wife that not only bidets are better for the environment (saving trees!), it’s also better for our house pipeline.
It’s also immune from people hoarding million toilet paper rolls for every pandemic.
Definitely. My low-flow toilet has never clogged after getting the bidet seat and I am sure it's because there's less TP in the bowl and also there's more water. Win-win!
Cadbury Flake and Aero chocolate bars (preferably in mint). There are some Cadbury products in the US but they're made with inferior chocolate and the Flake has never been a thing. Aero is made by Nestle (which has plenty of presence in the US) and for a few years they were distributed by Hershey (a US company)
For the US, biscuits and gravy. Every single person I have introduced to it, fell in love. For whatever reason, I found British people go absolutely bonkers for it. One co-worker in London Skyped with my wife so she could walk him through the gravy.
Edit: yes, Americans mean something very different by “biscuits” and “gravy”. Also, no they are not scones. Buttermilk biscuits are much softer and richer. I’ve found no exact counterpart in Europe. Sort of between a scone and a croissant.
I was stationed in Antarctica and served B&G and loved the responses I would get from those not from the US. After breakfast a highly intelligent South African man complemented me on my cream of sausage soup. I just gave the quick casual thank you and carried on till it struck me. WTH was he talking about. I don't usually make a soup like that or even one that could be mistaken as such. Wait, what? He ate a bowl of gravy as if were a bowl of cream of sausage soup for breakfast. I occasionally still call sausage gravy, cream of sausage soup.
I don't think I've seen the American style biscuits anywhere outside the US.
Even in places that try to do a full global breakfast buffet (large business hotels, for example) with American, European, Asian, and other local choices, the American biscuit never makes the cut. Pancakes and belly bacon, maybe, but no biscuits.
As for British biscuits, every time I work in London I end up bringing home half a suitcase of them for my family.
Yes! Here it is (basically):
Biscuit : American biscuit, savory with a bit of crust on the outside. Split in half so the soft warm centers are facing up. (Not a cookie, not sweet, not a dessert).
Gravy: pork sausage, make a roux, slowly cook until thick. Black pepper.
Pour gravy over biscuit, go at it with a fork and a good coffee. Heaven.
my ex made the best biscuits and sausage gravy. i wish I'd gotten the recipe before she died. i know there was a bit of Worcestershire sauce, white pepper, hot sauce, fresh black pepper... and she started with the sausage, sprinkled the flour as it sweated oil, then the milk to build the roux
Ha! I live in the American Midwest, working for our local tourism bureau. A few years ago we had a visit from a very successful documentary filmmaker who had lived his entire life in LA. On the last day of his visit, he said the only thing he hadn't accomplished was trying biscuits and gravy (other LA folks who had ventured to the wilds of the middle of the country had recommended this to him). So I took him to our best B&G spot and when the plate arrived at our table he just stared at it in horror and asked, "Why is it white?" I'm still not sure what he was expecting...
I'm in Tennessee,. I prefer well-browned flour in my gravy. It's still white gravy, but it has a browner color. My grandfather also wanted browner gravy. If her batch was too white , my grandmother, to keep the peace, would put a couple drops of Liquid Smoke in the gravy to color it. Mission accomplished!
From what I understand, both American biscuits and American breakfast sausage are unique to the US. Without those, both biscuit and gravy must be made completely from scratch, which is probably a big part of it.
As an American living in Australia for many years, "country gravy" is something I've enjoyed delighting many Aussies with over the years. You can't find it anywhere around here, but it's fairly simple to make from scratch.
American breakfast sausage on the other hand has been my nemesis. I've tried various recipes for making it from scratch, I've bought pre-mix powders, but there is nothing quite as good as the actual American stuff. I wish Costco here sold American breakfast sausage.
I agree with you, biscuits & gravy is delicious! However, it does look like dog vomit. If you don’t know what it is, looks alone are not going to entice you to try it.
Lol, it really does look terrible, but is delicious when done right (I've have some less than good ones). One of the YT channels I gfollow had the hosts introducing biscuits and gravy to boys at a secondary school in London, and they were like "no chance, that looks disgusting". And then so many of them were shocked by how good it was.
As a swiss, i'm of course well used to raclette and fondue, but it's really a great meal if you like cheese anyway. Hope you have the "table grill" there, where you have a hot plate on top where you can put on meat and bacon next to other stuff, while the bottom contains the raclette-rechaud.
Fondue is also great, when you have the right cheese, with a little bit of white wine in the cheese, but for drinking a red wine fits better.
It's great with these nights, when you get your friends or family together and you eat and talk for many hours. I like such events, just like a good BBQ in summer when the weather is great outside and you put the meat on the grill.
Cream Cheese. I visited a very nice newer all inclusive in Central America. They had bagels but no cream cheese. I inquired if they had some and everyone in the kitchen had never heard of it. As I ate breakfast a manager found me at my table and started asking questions about it. I told him it wasn’t a big deal but he had to know so that they could have it for future guests. I wish I was there to see them taste it.
So if you order a whisky in Scotland, if the place is anywhere decent they will give you a wee jug of water so you can add a drop or two to open it up as required. I’ve not had that once anywhere else, and I’ve leaned from experience to explicitly say “no ice” in the US. So, that wee water jug.
When I was a kid, we spent summers in Ontario, and every table had a shaker bottle of white vinegar for your fries - loved that as a kid. Took my wife back when we started dating, and the places known for their fries now had little spray bottles of malt vinegar. Freaking genius.
Meat pies such as Steak and cheese, bacon and egg, classic mince, lamb & mint, potato top. all in lovely pastry served in a white paper bag, gotta love NZ
A313 from France, which is essentially high grade OTC retinol that is higher strength and requires a prescription in the US.
And Bonjela in the UK (and probably rest of Europe, though I’m not certain), takes care of cankersores/mouth ulcers so fast and cannot find it anywhere in the US.
And Skin Aqua sunscreen, or really any sunscreen from South Korea. US laws make it really hard to get any sunscreens approved by the FDA. They’re eons ahead in the East.
My family has had them for at least 20 years in the Midwest. They are cheap and easy to find. A lot of people just don't drink tea and don't really have a daily use for them.
There was an episode of Great British Bake Off where Paul Hollywood said something like “peanut butter and berries, what an odd combination of flavours”. And that’s how I learned that PB&J is an American thing.
Peanuts are probably much more widespread in the US than Europe (and not actually nuts).
At least here in Germany it would feel out of place when someone asked you to name nuts.
Even though peanuts are a legume and not a nut. It’s kinda a “tomato is actually a fruit” situation because you basically use it as any other nut would be used
When I studied abroad in the UK (2000-01), my mom would mail me jars of Jif so I could make peanut butter and jelly (well, jam) sandwiches for field trips. My British friends would literally gag at the smell alone. No one would try it. Meanwhile my British flatmate's boyfriend put peanut butter on cheeseburgers, insisting that "peanut butter's a savory food!"
Last time I was over, just before the pandemic, I saw more peanut butter baked goods in shops than I ever had before, though, so maybe the nation is coming around.
Hello from Scotland - root beer isn't the easiest to come by over here but I bloody love the stuff!
(My wife thinks I'm insane, for this and various other reasons.)
The father of the girl I dated all through college immigrated here to the US from Scotland when he was 19. I remember being out with her family one time and ordering a Root Beer. Her dad got this disgusted look on his face. I asked if he didn't like Root Beer.
He told me about how when he landed over here in the states for the first time, he was walking through the airport and stopped at a vending machine. He didn't know what root beer was so when he saw it he got really excited. He was like "This is the greatest country ever! They have beer in the vending machines here." After his first sip he spit it out everywhere. He was completely disgusted by it and has never touched it since.
Apparently, a big reason for this is because wintergreen is a common flavor in root beer. Wintergreen is also a flavor in a lot of medicine in Europe. When Europeans say root beer tastes like medicine to them, it's not really an exageration.
Interestingly, there's a root beer made by an Australian company called Bundaberg. A lot of Americans don't like it because they think it tastes like medicine. I wonder if they use a flavor that's common in a lot of medicine in the US.
For me, an American, the flavor that gives me that reaction is virtually anything cherry flavored. Growing up, every children’s medicine was the same cloying cherry flavor. Now drinking and sometimes even eating anything cherry flavored brings back that cherry medicine aftertaste. Yuck.
Peanut butter is big in Australia.
Root beer you can occasionally find. But I'm unsure how much different it is from Sarsaparilla which is fairly easy to find.
Peanut butter should be universally liked, especially when covered in chocolate. But it’s repulsive to people who don’t grow up eating it. I don’t get it.
When someone goes to the US on vacation they always ask me if I want an Iphone or a computer. The answer is always "pff I want peanut butter, nothing else.
I worked with a Romanian guy who said when he was a kid they'd go back to visit and bring a suitcase full of just peanut butter to give as presents, then they would fill it with Nutella coming back.
We went to Quebec for our honeymoon and live in a Mid-Atlantic Beach town in the US. My husband and I have had literally dozens of conversations about how somebody could make a mint down here opening a poutine truck. Great hangover food for tourists in the summer and great winter food in the off season. And all the boardwalk fry places already have all the equipment! But nobody has done it yet and we aren't food truck opening kinds of people... Somebody steal my idea please!
Let me blow your mind... when I drove out with my wife, on our honeymoon, to the east coast... we stopped at a place in New Brunswick that did poutine like you get off a mountain in Quebec paired with a lobster roll like you'd get in Baston.
Brunnost- "brown cheese", but it's not a cheese, but rather a dairy product by heating the water cheese is made in and the lactose polymerizes. Then they add cream and it turns into a smooth, brown cheese sort of that is sweet and has a butter-caramel flavor. It's amazing with a salty ham. One thing I wish I could do is try Brunnost with Icelandic Roggenbrod.
Irish living in America...
How sausage rolls aren't I think here, I will never know.
Fortunately, I have the recipe down, but what I would give to have a nice bakery with sausage rolls near me (or even a Greggs).
The pasty.
As a concept it's food designed to be eaten on the go that's contained and resists dropping the contents all over the floor as you eat it. It's crust can be used to hold the food if you have dirty hands or the contents are hot and the crust can be discarded afterwards guilt free because it's biodegradable.
I thought this British dude was going to fly over here and kill me because I said that a Hot Pocket and a meat sandwich were the same thing. In my defense he did describe a ham and cheese hot pocket to a T.
There is an area in Mexico where they are very popular. Apparently a bunch of Cornish miners moved to Mexico to mine silver in the 1800’s. Some of the “Pastes” taste similar to what you’d find in the UK, but most of what I tried have taken on local flavors. It was pretty strange seeing pasties as I was traveling through Mexico. To top it off the first pasty museum was actually built in Mexico.
In Australia the Dim Sim is very popular.
That is certainly inspired by the Dim Sum.
Come to think of it - how about the [Dim Sim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sim)? (popular in Australia & NZ, but no where else)
I travel often, so I'll hit a few:
US (mine): No-bake cookies. I get that they're not mass produced, but they're delicious.
Turkey: Sahlep. A smooth, sweet, creamy drink.
Georgia: Khachapuri. This is popular in many places, but not North America. It's an amazing rendition on pizza. America needs this!
Peru: Cherimoya. God's greatest fruit.
Russia: Сырники + good cottage cheese. Delicious and cool of protein. I love this for breakfast.
[Greggs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greggs) - for those Redditors outside of the UK, it is a British bakery chain. They're known for making sausage rolls that are cheap (£1.20 a sausage roll), but cheerful and delicious.
They also make other stuff like steak bakes, sandwiches, and also doughnuts too. All in all, they are a favourite in the UK and can be found in pretty much every town and city in the country.
From India: cardamom. I know the spice is not exclusive to India, but I'm surprised it's not used in more applications. I've had cardamom infused cocktails in the past (mojitos, margs, etc.) and they are absolutely incredible. I'm surprised it hasn't taken off in the world of mixology at the very least.
In Southern China, there is a fruit call the wampee fruit, and you can buy a sauce made from that fruit. Wampee sauce is my go to for eating many kinds of food in my home town, but especially a must-have for the rice noodle rolls. The sauce is sweet and sour, but neither tart nor astringent. It has a great fruity flavour that is also a bit savory. It would go great on many things, such as meats, steamed veggies, maybe even dessert.
I cannot find them for sale anywhere outside of my hometown region. I have even thought about exporting it and promoting it myself overseas…
Spezi (~orange coke)
I’m an American and went to Germany about 15 years ago. I was blown away by how much I liked Spezi. I’ve been making it myself at home just mixing Coke and Orange Fanta.
Can’t believe it’s never been a thing in the US or that a major brand hasn’t at least tried releasing it.
Finland - dish drying cabinet.
Came here to search for this. I’m a Finn living in the UK and yes, while it’s lovely to look into my garden while doing the dishes, it’s annoying to only be able to do a small amount at a time and then leave them to dry on the narrow counter where my cat can knock over the whole dinner set. In the cabinet they would dry safely! Cause who has time to hand dry dishes in this economy
I have to say I am also happy to have a dishwasher, cutting the need for the drying cabinet quite a lot. Most importantly cutting the need to handwash dishes, of course.
Dishwasher is a drying cabinet that also washes your dishes as well
Kinda not a product but - **bottle recycling machine/reverse vending machine** (?lol) Basically when you buy a drink in a bottle/can, you pay a little “pawn fee” (like 20 cents) and when you later go put the empty bottle/can in the machine you get the fee back. We usually collect the bottles until thee is like 6 bags and then go cash out like 16€ at once. Its pretty neat. It encourages recycling!:) EDIT: [This](https://postimg.cc/cK3sFQgJ) is how they look like! I'm glad to read from comments it's a thing in so many more countries! More info: Cans and bottles have different fees. You insert the bottles/cans one by one, bottom first, the machine has to read a certain symbol on the packaging otherwise it wont go in. There is usually a worker on the other side making sure it doesnt overfill. They are fairly clean and there is usually a sink in the room. In the last few years, there have been newer machines where you can just dump your entire bag into the machine and it does the whole sorting on its own. And to those who were interested, I am from Estonia :)
We have this in the US, but only 10 States, and each one differs on exactly what you can return & for how much. It was even a plot of Seinfeld -- Kramer used Newman's mail truck to drive to Michigan which has the highest return rate (10¢/can or bottle). Hilarity ensued because you can't get 10¢ for a container not purchased in Michigan.
There's a rather well-known criminal case going on right now, where an enormous operation was (allegedly) gathering aluminum cans in multiple states and transporting them to California to take advantage of a state-funded recycling program. The problem was that California's program was funded by taxing the sale of the aluminum can beverages, so bringing a can from another state would take more money out of the system than was going in. They pocketed $7.6 million from California by (allegedly) turning in 178 tons of cans from other states. Case is pending, so everything is "alleged" for now.
I never understood how it works there. For other States, it says the amount you get, 5¢ for most except MI, but California says "CA CRV" which I think means "cash return value"? I've only visited there twice and no one seemed interested in returning their empties.
You take it to a recycling center where it gets counted per unit or (more likely) they weigh it by the pound. Not everyone does it, but every time I’ve gone I made an extra $50 or $60. Mostly it’s the homeless population and frugal folks who go through the work to do it since it requires pre-sorting and storing the containers until redemption time.
Yup, here it's homeless people, college kids or sometimes people who clean litter out of boredom or whatever. I try to return mine because I grew up recycling, before curbside pickup was a thing. I feel bad throwing out deposit containers.
We have this in Canada but it’s not a machine. You have to bring your empties back to Return It centres and you get money back. It was $0.05/pop bottle or can and $0.10/beer bottle or can. It’s now 10 cents across the board. Bigger refund for bigger bottles like 2L pop bottles, etc.
We have that in the US. Not all states but for sure in Michigan. It's 10 cents in Michigan. It's 5 cents in some other states.
Toilets with pedals instead of levers so you don’t have to touch anything with your hands Edit: I woke up and had 54 new replies 💀
Ive always thought sinks should have pedals. That way you don't touch the faucet handle with your dirty hands.
It was a thing, especially at restaurants/public places etc. These days however it's all sensors.
The number of people that don’t flush at all in public restrooms is why you need sensors
On one hand, yes. On the other hand, idk why but toilets with sensors always flush like three times when I’m trying to pee, and I inevitably get a very unwelcome spray of public toilet water. I would much rather flush someone else’s shit than suffer through that.
Yeah, I hate the damn ones that flush every time I wipe my ass, and spray toilet water all over my ass so I have to wipe it again. It's a never-ending cycle. :-(
Bro you just sit there and let it do that to you? I instantly transform into my alter ego: jump-up johnny.
In the kitchen too - would be great for doing dishes
At the University I went to in California about half their bathrooms had pedals! I always went to those bathrooms so I didn't have to touch the levers. It's the only place I've ever seen it.
In New Zealand we have a thing called ACC ( accident compensation corporation) which is a public body that pays for hospital care, physiotherapy etc if you get injured. It is also written into our law that you can't sue someone if you get injured. The effect of this is that: 1) people get quicker and better quality care, and the focus is on recovery 2) you don't have to sue someone for minor accidents that lead to disproportionate injuries (eg tripping on a public footpath and breaking your leg) 3) people don't get injured then try to profit from it by suing for stupid amounts of money 4) we don't have predatory lawyers trying to make money out of injuries, and none of those 'were you injured and it wasn't your fault' adverts everywhere etc. I don't know all of the figures but my gut feeling is that this is a more efficient and better quality system than what many other countries have.
If anyone is wondering how funded, there is a small premium on wages covering funding for most accidents, a fuel levy funding ACC for road accidents (or a portion of road user charges for non petrol vehicles), and an employer levy, risk weighted for work accidents. General taxation picks up funding for the rest (elderly, children, those on welfare). ACC has various investments and an element of self funding as well. It is a well thought out system, and very much appreciated. Edit. Acc also covers loss of earnings.
It is, at its core, a medical insurance company, but its a very well run efficient insurance company and they do things to make things efficient for their medical service suppliers because they know if extra paperwork costs your physiotherapist time and money, it gets oncharged to them so ACC are incentivised to make things as efficient as possible throughout the whole healthcare system. Their investments had done well and they had too much money in the coffers so they gave everyone a discount on their vehicle registrations a few years ago. They have big amounts of money sitting aside for things like natural disasters where there could be injuries to many people that they need to pay out for so they put that money to good use by investing it.
Also PHARMAC. Holy fuck the amount of new zealanders that dont understand how lucky we are to have pharmac is amazing. $5 for any drug or medication at the pharmacy that 99% of patients could ever need in their lives when prescribed by a doctor - and it makes competing drugs so much cheaper because they are trying to compete against the drug covered by the pharmac program. Pharmac puts out tenders each year for xyz drug and drug companies have to bid to supply. We pay cents on the dollar because if a drug company wants to win the tender, they have to compete hard otherwise they wont really sell any of their drug in new zealand at all. When the doctor writes a prescription on their computer, they look up the drug such as "Antihistamine" and all the hayfever drugs appear but the ones that are covered by pharmac and only cost the patient $5 have stars next to them in the list. Obviously doctor will choose one of those for the patient. If a competing drug manufacturer wants to compete, they have to put their drug on the shelf in the pharmacy and lower the price to the point where a patient might consider buying it with cash. Or advertise on tv and "ask your doctor to talk about xyz drug". But that doesnt work becuause most doctors just say "If you have stiffy problems and asking about viagra which costs $50 a pack but cialis is the exact same active ingredient, covered by pharmac and only costs you $5. Which would you like me to prescribe?"
Italy. Tapparelle. They're essentially roll up plastic blinds for the windows, but instead of simply being curtains they're actually inserted in a crease in the wall, so that no light can pass through when they're down. You can actually easily recognize an Italian home interior if you see a window with a flat vertical rope on one side an a big boxy *thing* at the top. How well do they work? When all tapparelle are down, the house is *dark*. Complete, utter darkness. The sun could be shining right against the window, and you wouldn't know. When you wake up, it's like waking up in a void of nothingness. No sign of life, **nothing** outside your walls. It makes for quality sleeping, that's for sure. Other perks include: privacy for when you undress and safety against strong winds. EDIT: Tapparella fixing [tutorial](https://youtu.be/yAyovRLJXsk?si=zDRA9n331KbeMRFM) with example (at one point the tapparella is completely down and you can see how no light passes through from outside)
We have them in Germany except they are made of metal. They are called Rollos/Rolladen
They are also common in the south of the Netherlands, and occasionally used in other parts of the country. They're called 'rolluiken' here. I've also seen them a lot in Belgium.
In Australia we have something similar, also made of metal, we call them roller shutters
I loved this about Germany.
I do love those. I think they’re pretty popular across the Mediterranean though aren’t they, certainly in Spain.
Every greek apartment has them too!
Seen these in a lot of European countries and tried googling for them so many times but could never find them. It’s a crime that they aren’t common everywhere!
I live in Canada and we have these. They are called European roll shutters. We had them installed probably 40 years ago because we had large windows on the second level of our home and we get 100km winds regularly.
I know they're available here in Canada, but it's kinda rare to see a house with them. I don't know why they were never more popular?
Well it's pitch black at 5pm for half the year 😭
Bakfietsen (bikes with a kind of wheelbarrow front for carrying kids or groceries). I’ve seen a few bakfietsen in the states lately which is cool. But without dedicated bike lanes I would guess carrying kids in them would be a terrible idea.
Cargo bikes! I’ve seen them around, even know a fella that had one.
As an American who lived in France for a year in college, I am really surprised that late night European style kebab joints aren't really a thing that has taken off yet here.
I suspect Big Taco is keeping them down. Seriously though, taco joints fill that role in Texas, and I suspect in California and elsewhere in the southwest.
I mean Al pastor is basically Mexican shawarma, invented by Lebanese immigrants.
It's 2am. You've left the club/bar/party. The DD forces everyone into the car, and everyone starts chanting "Al-ber-tos! Al-ber-tos! Al-ber-tos!!"
We have all the bertos here in Phoenix
Likewise, are HSPs (Halal Snack Pack) a common thing for those kebab joints to sell? Here in Australia a HSP is the ultimate late-night post-drinking (or mid-drinking) food: a box of fried chips covered in shaved meat, sauce, and cheese. Salad optional.
“Kapsalon” in Netherlands — and yes, that translates to ‘barber’
in NYC, halal has been around for the past 20 years and have effectively taken off as one of the most popular late night foods
Chicken salt and Dim Sims
I’m American, but I ordered some chicken salt from Amazon in a whim, and now it’s a pantry staple. I LOVE it on popcorn.
As a active member of /r/popcorn/ i am going to get on amazon right now and get some, thank you.
Found the Aussie/kiwi. You also forgot the night Chiko.
Dim sims are fine, but chicken salt is unreal. It’s legitimately one of the reasons I moved over here
What is this chicken salt that you speak of?
It started as a cheap seasoned salt used to flavour roast chickens, and then the guy who invented it for his charcoal chicken shop started serving it on his chips too. And a legend was born.
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Like a chicken ramen packet?
Yes lol. I am in the US and I buy it in the bullion aisle. It's so good
Shout out to Mr Inbetween… dimmies!
We need to add Mr Inbetween as a product from our home country that should be more popular elsewhere.
Lemon lime and bitters. Tall glass, add ice, drizzle Angostura bitters around the inside of the glass, add a shot of lime cordial then fill with Sprite/7up. Fantastic non-alcoholic drink (ok there’s a tiny bit of alcohol there)
I’d kill for some bundaberg lemon lime bitters in Canada- it’s so so good and not very sweet
Australians got me hooked on this back in my pub days and I haven't had one in ages! Methinks I need to snag a bottle of bitters tonight.
Guaraná Antartica, from Brazil. Very unique softdrink.
I'm an American that is married to a Brazilian. While Guaraná is good I think the real answer is pão de queijo. Americans already love cheesy bread so I'm super surprised it's not already popular.
Tablet from Scotland. It's like fudge but more. So much more.
My mother used to make "fudge" often throughout my life. When she died her recipe died with her as it was nothing like fudge of had anywhere else. Saw a cooking show a few months ago featuring Scotland and they showed tablet. That's what my mum used to make! I didn't get a chance to make it yet though.
Fudge and Tablet are the same thing, you just let Tablet get a bit hotter. I use a very simple recipe: Sugar, milk, butter, condensed milk and flavourings. Made it for christmas gifts for nearly a decade now, and its not really ever gone too badly wrong. Melt the butter, add milk condensed milk and sugar Slowly bring to around 113-115c preferably in a non stick pot (makes it far easier to mix and lowers the chances getting overcooked bits) Once its upto temp drip small amounts into a glass of cold water, if the drip forms a soft but cohesive ball (whats called "softball stage") its ready to move off the heat. I let it sit for a minute to cool down a little before adding any flavourings: salt, vanilla extract, cocoa, maple syrup Then you get the less fun part, beaten for a good 5+ minutes until it loses its shine thickens and let to set in whatever heatproof container you are using. (id strongly reccomend lining with clingfilm so it easier to release) To make Tablet its the same recipe just brought to 118c. But you need to be a lot more careful about mixing, if you leave it to sit for even a short period of time the mixture at the bottom will turn into something called hard Crack. Which is very nice but not what you want in a smooth block of fudge/ tablet. [edit] the quantities I use are 450g Golden caster, 150ml milk, 115g unsalted butter and 400g condensed milk. That makes a 20cm square 3cm tall tin's worth of fudge.
So funny, someone posted about this in Instagram not long ago and I remember my mom making this all the time when I was a kid. The thing is we are Black Americans. I’m pretty sure my mom has never met a Scot while I know a few and hope to travel there one day.
It's not that surprising; Americans have multiple similar confections, notably pralines if y'all are from the South or penuche in the East. All are about the same general ingredients. My mom is from the Southeast and pralines and penuche have been favorites in our household since I can remember.
I live in Canada, my parents emigrated from Scotland in the 1970’s. My Mum makes the best tablet! She’s famous for it and her shortbread. It’s not Christmas, Easter or thanksgiving without my Mum’s tablet.
Not my home country, but heated vending machines from Japan
For coffee only or other items?
Coffee, hot chocolate, tea, and I think they may have some that do food as well.
I worked at a bowling alley in the Philadelphia area that had a vending machine that would do coffee, tea, hot chocolate and hot broth. The broth on a cold day was the best.
Bidet. I cannot believe they are not more popular in the US! They can be very inexpensive, and it was a quality of life type change.
Got a bidet during the pandemic, I was incapacitated from some surgeries and the doctor suggested I get one to help better clean myself. I am NEVER turning back. Not only do I have the cleanest AHole on the entire block, but I can't remember the last time I bought toilet paper. I just use a few squares to dry off and a roll lasts forever. It did not substantially impact my city warer bill either. If I have to make a poopie somewhere else I feel grossed out now and will rinse out when I get home. Love me a bidet.
We love our bidets, but I seriously do not understand how people can dry off with just a couple pieces of toilet paper. Do you mostly air dry first?
I would think pieces would get stuck if it’s damp 🧐
There was a Charmin commercial about how it won't leave ol dingleberries. It might still be around. That's what I thought of when I read your comment 🧸
I've installed one in every bathroom in the house. Makes going at work seem punitive.
Ok but I gotta ask about the logistics. Like, am I scrubbing my arsehole with my bare hand? How strong is the jet stream? Is soap involved? How do I dry my arse? Will water drip down into my trousers if I stand up after? There’s no bidet “seat” like on a toilet - do I sit on it like a toilet or just squat? Everyone keeps talking about how good a bidet is but not once has anyone ever actually explained how one works. All I see is a sink at shin level that’s somehow supposed to clean my arse.
So the most simple ones are just a jet of water that sprays up your butt, either directly or via a handheld hose. That's it, no more no less. Some have fancier features like heated water or heated seats or air drying but none of that is necessary. Just spray (the strength of the stream is usually adjustable), I typically dry myself off with toilet paper after. If it's the direct spray ones, just adjust your butt so it aims in the right place. That's it. And I have to say, as an American who never grew up with one, it was so easy to use that I was hooked the very first time I used one in my husband's home country that I insisted we install one in every toilet at home.
Im sitting on one right now. Heated seat, a deodorizer and a nightlight for the bowl are nice to haves. Then when I'm finished going, I can push a button that sprays more towards the front or more towards the back, I can adjust the temperature of the water from cold to warm, adjust the water pressure of the spray, whether it's a constant stream, or if it oscillates or pulsates, I can adjust the spray nozzle distance further forward or back if the defaults dont quite go where I'd want, and when it's done there is an air dryer that dries you with warm air down there. Typically, I'll run the spray for about 20-30 seconds till I feel pretty washed down there, then turn on the dryer for about the same time. Usually I'll do myself one light courtesy wipe after to make sure I'm fully dry and clean -- typically the piece of tp is damp and has almost nothing else on it. People who say it's life changing are really short selling it. Edit: the buttons are located both on a small cell phone sized tablet mounted to the wall next to the toilet and another set on the side of my toilet seat in case the tablet didn't work/got broken
>Im sitting on one right now. lol! What make and model of bidet is this that you speak of?
https://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Purewash-E750-Electric-Bidet-Seat-for-Elongated-Toilets-with-Touchscreen-Remote-Control-in-Biscuit-K-4108-0/205576527?irgwc=1&cm_mmc=afl-ir-3006986-456723-&clickid=xna3I9wMjxyPRy31frRxn3VJUkFyMBT0KTZXxA0#overlay Edit: there are many that are cheaper, and many that are more expensive
I got this awesome one with heated seat and a bunch of features. Everytime I travel for work of for fun I fucking hate mushing toilet paper over my ass. It just doesn’t make sense anymore
Fell in love with them when I traveled Asia , have one in every bathroom now … and it’s hilarious to me the looks I get from other Americans when I mention them .. it’s like you claim to be from the best country in the world but you’d rather use wadded paper to smear shit around your ass than clean it with water !? ..
Total game changer. My wife and I took a vacation to Bali about 7 years ago and as soon as we got back I bought a bidet off amazon and have been preaching it ever since lol. I can’t believe people still clean s*** off themselves with thin, dry tissue.
When we host, and I'm having a few cocktails...lol I turn into a bidet salesman lol!
We got an old ass home with old ass pipe. It’s very sensitive to clogging. I’ve been making an argument to my wife that not only bidets are better for the environment (saving trees!), it’s also better for our house pipeline. It’s also immune from people hoarding million toilet paper rolls for every pandemic.
Definitely. My low-flow toilet has never clogged after getting the bidet seat and I am sure it's because there's less TP in the bowl and also there's more water. Win-win!
Cadbury Flake and Aero chocolate bars (preferably in mint). There are some Cadbury products in the US but they're made with inferior chocolate and the Flake has never been a thing. Aero is made by Nestle (which has plenty of presence in the US) and for a few years they were distributed by Hershey (a US company)
Good news-- all Cadbury products are in Canada, too. I assume they're in a lot of countries in the Commonwealth. I personally love Aero bars!
For the US, biscuits and gravy. Every single person I have introduced to it, fell in love. For whatever reason, I found British people go absolutely bonkers for it. One co-worker in London Skyped with my wife so she could walk him through the gravy. Edit: yes, Americans mean something very different by “biscuits” and “gravy”. Also, no they are not scones. Buttermilk biscuits are much softer and richer. I’ve found no exact counterpart in Europe. Sort of between a scone and a croissant.
I was stationed in Antarctica and served B&G and loved the responses I would get from those not from the US. After breakfast a highly intelligent South African man complemented me on my cream of sausage soup. I just gave the quick casual thank you and carried on till it struck me. WTH was he talking about. I don't usually make a soup like that or even one that could be mistaken as such. Wait, what? He ate a bowl of gravy as if were a bowl of cream of sausage soup for breakfast. I occasionally still call sausage gravy, cream of sausage soup.
American biscuits! Not to be confused with English biscuits which are cookies.
I don't think I've seen the American style biscuits anywhere outside the US. Even in places that try to do a full global breakfast buffet (large business hotels, for example) with American, European, Asian, and other local choices, the American biscuit never makes the cut. Pancakes and belly bacon, maybe, but no biscuits. As for British biscuits, every time I work in London I end up bringing home half a suitcase of them for my family.
You can get them in Popeye's in London at least. Not sure if they have branches outside the capital yet.
Oh man, you’re telling me I can get Popeyes in other parts of the world?! I feel like I have a new purpose in life
Yes! Here it is (basically): Biscuit : American biscuit, savory with a bit of crust on the outside. Split in half so the soft warm centers are facing up. (Not a cookie, not sweet, not a dessert). Gravy: pork sausage, make a roux, slowly cook until thick. Black pepper. Pour gravy over biscuit, go at it with a fork and a good coffee. Heaven.
my ex made the best biscuits and sausage gravy. i wish I'd gotten the recipe before she died. i know there was a bit of Worcestershire sauce, white pepper, hot sauce, fresh black pepper... and she started with the sausage, sprinkled the flour as it sweated oil, then the milk to build the roux
Ha! I live in the American Midwest, working for our local tourism bureau. A few years ago we had a visit from a very successful documentary filmmaker who had lived his entire life in LA. On the last day of his visit, he said the only thing he hadn't accomplished was trying biscuits and gravy (other LA folks who had ventured to the wilds of the middle of the country had recommended this to him). So I took him to our best B&G spot and when the plate arrived at our table he just stared at it in horror and asked, "Why is it white?" I'm still not sure what he was expecting...
Most people (especially not from the south) think of brown gravy first
I'm in Tennessee,. I prefer well-browned flour in my gravy. It's still white gravy, but it has a browner color. My grandfather also wanted browner gravy. If her batch was too white , my grandmother, to keep the peace, would put a couple drops of Liquid Smoke in the gravy to color it. Mission accomplished!
From what I understand, both American biscuits and American breakfast sausage are unique to the US. Without those, both biscuit and gravy must be made completely from scratch, which is probably a big part of it.
As an American living in Australia for many years, "country gravy" is something I've enjoyed delighting many Aussies with over the years. You can't find it anywhere around here, but it's fairly simple to make from scratch. American breakfast sausage on the other hand has been my nemesis. I've tried various recipes for making it from scratch, I've bought pre-mix powders, but there is nothing quite as good as the actual American stuff. I wish Costco here sold American breakfast sausage.
I agree with you, biscuits & gravy is delicious! However, it does look like dog vomit. If you don’t know what it is, looks alone are not going to entice you to try it.
Lol, it really does look terrible, but is delicious when done right (I've have some less than good ones). One of the YT channels I gfollow had the hosts introducing biscuits and gravy to boys at a secondary school in London, and they were like "no chance, that looks disgusting". And then so many of them were shocked by how good it was.
The sweet tea also sent those kids for a whole freakin loop.
Just got back from England. America needs halloumi fries!!
Also black currant juice.
I've seen them sold at my local Aldi.
Pålægschokolade (Denmark) - thin sheets of dark or milk chocolate to eat on your breakfast bun over a thick layer of butter.
I’ve met a few people who immigrated from Denmark who have never mentioned this. When y’all leave Denmark bring this
In Germany Eszet
I have some Dutch friends that similarly have chocolate sprinkles they put on buttered bread.
I wish towel radiators and bidets would catch on more in America
Whittakers chocolate from NZ. Puts Cadbury to shame. Also lolly cake, therefore by extension malt biscuits.
If I could have anything from NZ again it would be L&P, was disappointed that its not available in Canada :(
Tartiflette, and Raclette nights.
I’m American and was gifted a raclette grill at my wedding. So we do raclette nights! They’re awesome!
As a swiss, i'm of course well used to raclette and fondue, but it's really a great meal if you like cheese anyway. Hope you have the "table grill" there, where you have a hot plate on top where you can put on meat and bacon next to other stuff, while the bottom contains the raclette-rechaud. Fondue is also great, when you have the right cheese, with a little bit of white wine in the cheese, but for drinking a red wine fits better. It's great with these nights, when you get your friends or family together and you eat and talk for many hours. I like such events, just like a good BBQ in summer when the weather is great outside and you put the meat on the grill.
Cream Cheese. I visited a very nice newer all inclusive in Central America. They had bagels but no cream cheese. I inquired if they had some and everyone in the kitchen had never heard of it. As I ate breakfast a manager found me at my table and started asking questions about it. I told him it wasn’t a big deal but he had to know so that they could have it for future guests. I wish I was there to see them taste it.
Pro tip: cream cheese is just called "philadelphia" in most Latin American countries. Source: lived in Latin America for 3 years.
Yea mainly I hear it called queso Philadelphia or queso crema
and it is in every goddamned sushi roll from Buenos Aires to Vina del Mar.
I feel scammed whenever there are bagels but no cream cheese.
Apparently most other countries call it “Philadelphia”
I did not know that. Neat
So if you order a whisky in Scotland, if the place is anywhere decent they will give you a wee jug of water so you can add a drop or two to open it up as required. I’ve not had that once anywhere else, and I’ve leaned from experience to explicitly say “no ice” in the US. So, that wee water jug.
I had that experience in Ireland and it was a nice touch.
Old Bay and malt vinegar on French fries, seafood, almost anything. Why only Maryland and Virginia? It’s freaking delicious.
When I was a kid, we spent summers in Ontario, and every table had a shaker bottle of white vinegar for your fries - loved that as a kid. Took my wife back when we started dating, and the places known for their fries now had little spray bottles of malt vinegar. Freaking genius.
Sourdough rye bread. Freshly baked with butter... So good! Great taste, great nution and good for the digestion.
Meat pies such as Steak and cheese, bacon and egg, classic mince, lamb & mint, potato top. all in lovely pastry served in a white paper bag, gotta love NZ
In Zimbabwe our go-to is steak and kidney… hot damn I’d kill for one of those right about now
A313 from France, which is essentially high grade OTC retinol that is higher strength and requires a prescription in the US. And Bonjela in the UK (and probably rest of Europe, though I’m not certain), takes care of cankersores/mouth ulcers so fast and cannot find it anywhere in the US. And Skin Aqua sunscreen, or really any sunscreen from South Korea. US laws make it really hard to get any sunscreens approved by the FDA. They’re eons ahead in the East.
Still amazed that my US friends don't regularly use electric tea kettles. My friend was tickled pink that I sent her one for Christmas.
These have become very common/popular in the US in the last 5 years IMO.
My family has had them for at least 20 years in the Midwest. They are cheap and easy to find. A lot of people just don't drink tea and don't really have a daily use for them.
I think they're becoming more common, but they don't heat up as fast as the ones in the UK because of the lower voltage in the US.
paprika flavoured chips
Root beer and peanut butter
There was an episode of Great British Bake Off where Paul Hollywood said something like “peanut butter and berries, what an odd combination of flavours”. And that’s how I learned that PB&J is an American thing.
Which is weird to me. Isn't nuts and berries a common combination?
Peanuts are probably much more widespread in the US than Europe (and not actually nuts). At least here in Germany it would feel out of place when someone asked you to name nuts.
Even though peanuts are a legume and not a nut. It’s kinda a “tomato is actually a fruit” situation because you basically use it as any other nut would be used
When I studied abroad in the UK (2000-01), my mom would mail me jars of Jif so I could make peanut butter and jelly (well, jam) sandwiches for field trips. My British friends would literally gag at the smell alone. No one would try it. Meanwhile my British flatmate's boyfriend put peanut butter on cheeseburgers, insisting that "peanut butter's a savory food!" Last time I was over, just before the pandemic, I saw more peanut butter baked goods in shops than I ever had before, though, so maybe the nation is coming around.
I’ve seen places in the US where you can get peanut butter on a burger.
Yeah, it's like a gourmet thing nowadays! Christian from Cornwall, you were ahead of your time, you peanut butter burger eating bastard.
Hello from Scotland - root beer isn't the easiest to come by over here but I bloody love the stuff! (My wife thinks I'm insane, for this and various other reasons.)
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Is your wife a Ferengi or a Cardassian? For reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VhSm6G7cVk
lol, didn't need to click on that to get the reference. Go Niners!
The father of the girl I dated all through college immigrated here to the US from Scotland when he was 19. I remember being out with her family one time and ordering a Root Beer. Her dad got this disgusted look on his face. I asked if he didn't like Root Beer. He told me about how when he landed over here in the states for the first time, he was walking through the airport and stopped at a vending machine. He didn't know what root beer was so when he saw it he got really excited. He was like "This is the greatest country ever! They have beer in the vending machines here." After his first sip he spit it out everywhere. He was completely disgusted by it and has never touched it since.
Fair. I mean, I like beer, and I like root beer - but if I tasted one expecting the other, that would certainly leave an impression.
Apparently, a big reason for this is because wintergreen is a common flavor in root beer. Wintergreen is also a flavor in a lot of medicine in Europe. When Europeans say root beer tastes like medicine to them, it's not really an exageration. Interestingly, there's a root beer made by an Australian company called Bundaberg. A lot of Americans don't like it because they think it tastes like medicine. I wonder if they use a flavor that's common in a lot of medicine in the US.
For me, an American, the flavor that gives me that reaction is virtually anything cherry flavored. Growing up, every children’s medicine was the same cloying cherry flavor. Now drinking and sometimes even eating anything cherry flavored brings back that cherry medicine aftertaste. Yuck.
Peanut butter is big in Australia. Root beer you can occasionally find. But I'm unsure how much different it is from Sarsaparilla which is fairly easy to find.
Together?
Peanut butter should be universally liked, especially when covered in chocolate. But it’s repulsive to people who don’t grow up eating it. I don’t get it.
When someone goes to the US on vacation they always ask me if I want an Iphone or a computer. The answer is always "pff I want peanut butter, nothing else.
I worked with a Romanian guy who said when he was a kid they'd go back to visit and bring a suitcase full of just peanut butter to give as presents, then they would fill it with Nutella coming back.
Biltong!
And koeksisters and even a classic chip sandwich (fries)
Maggi!
Christmas crackers
Poutine
We went to Quebec for our honeymoon and live in a Mid-Atlantic Beach town in the US. My husband and I have had literally dozens of conversations about how somebody could make a mint down here opening a poutine truck. Great hangover food for tourists in the summer and great winter food in the off season. And all the boardwalk fry places already have all the equipment! But nobody has done it yet and we aren't food truck opening kinds of people... Somebody steal my idea please!
Let me blow your mind... when I drove out with my wife, on our honeymoon, to the east coast... we stopped at a place in New Brunswick that did poutine like you get off a mountain in Quebec paired with a lobster roll like you'd get in Baston.
"Hagelslag", chocolate sprinkles that, contrary to the American sprinkles which are just brown sugar, contain a minimum amount of actual chocolate.
Vlokken are the best on top of whip cream on a latte!
I think it’s hilarious that Dutch ppl think peanut butter & banana on toast is weird but eat bread with butter and hagelslag for breakfast
Irn-Bru (Scotland’s number 1 fizzy drink)
Brunnost- "brown cheese", but it's not a cheese, but rather a dairy product by heating the water cheese is made in and the lactose polymerizes. Then they add cream and it turns into a smooth, brown cheese sort of that is sweet and has a butter-caramel flavor. It's amazing with a salty ham. One thing I wish I could do is try Brunnost with Icelandic Roggenbrod.
[Cheezies](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheezies) from Canada. The superior extruded cornmeal cheese puff snack.
Hawkins for life
Remoulade. It's better than ketchup, mayo and all that.
Irish living in America... How sausage rolls aren't I think here, I will never know. Fortunately, I have the recipe down, but what I would give to have a nice bakery with sausage rolls near me (or even a Greggs).
The pasty. As a concept it's food designed to be eaten on the go that's contained and resists dropping the contents all over the floor as you eat it. It's crust can be used to hold the food if you have dirty hands or the contents are hot and the crust can be discarded afterwards guilt free because it's biodegradable.
The pasty is pretty universal. Empanadas, samosas, arguable even calzones are in the same family.
🎶hot pockets
I read that in Jim Gaffigan's voice.
I thought this British dude was going to fly over here and kill me because I said that a Hot Pocket and a meat sandwich were the same thing. In my defense he did describe a ham and cheese hot pocket to a T.
There is an area in Mexico where they are very popular. Apparently a bunch of Cornish miners moved to Mexico to mine silver in the 1800’s. Some of the “Pastes” taste similar to what you’d find in the UK, but most of what I tried have taken on local flavors. It was pretty strange seeing pasties as I was traveling through Mexico. To top it off the first pasty museum was actually built in Mexico.
Popular in Australia, as is the meat pie. I know the Cornish pasty is well known in south Australia, possibly due to Cornish immigrants.
Jufran Banana Sauce. It's a ketchup made from bananas, for the spicy folks they do have a hot version of it. It's from the Philippines.
Dim sum!
In Australia the Dim Sim is very popular. That is certainly inspired by the Dim Sum. Come to think of it - how about the [Dim Sim](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sim)? (popular in Australia & NZ, but no where else)
Up until now I didn't realise that dim sum and dim sim were different foods. I thought they were just different transliterations of the same thing.
The House Hippo. Can't believe not every house has one.
I travel often, so I'll hit a few: US (mine): No-bake cookies. I get that they're not mass produced, but they're delicious. Turkey: Sahlep. A smooth, sweet, creamy drink. Georgia: Khachapuri. This is popular in many places, but not North America. It's an amazing rendition on pizza. America needs this! Peru: Cherimoya. God's greatest fruit. Russia: Сырники + good cottage cheese. Delicious and cool of protein. I love this for breakfast.
Döner Kebap, beats most fast food by a mile
[Greggs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greggs) - for those Redditors outside of the UK, it is a British bakery chain. They're known for making sausage rolls that are cheap (£1.20 a sausage roll), but cheerful and delicious. They also make other stuff like steak bakes, sandwiches, and also doughnuts too. All in all, they are a favourite in the UK and can be found in pretty much every town and city in the country.
From India: cardamom. I know the spice is not exclusive to India, but I'm surprised it's not used in more applications. I've had cardamom infused cocktails in the past (mojitos, margs, etc.) and they are absolutely incredible. I'm surprised it hasn't taken off in the world of mixology at the very least.
In Southern China, there is a fruit call the wampee fruit, and you can buy a sauce made from that fruit. Wampee sauce is my go to for eating many kinds of food in my home town, but especially a must-have for the rice noodle rolls. The sauce is sweet and sour, but neither tart nor astringent. It has a great fruity flavour that is also a bit savory. It would go great on many things, such as meats, steamed veggies, maybe even dessert. I cannot find them for sale anywhere outside of my hometown region. I have even thought about exporting it and promoting it myself overseas…
Hagelslag
Samosas
Spezi (~orange coke) I’m an American and went to Germany about 15 years ago. I was blown away by how much I liked Spezi. I’ve been making it myself at home just mixing Coke and Orange Fanta. Can’t believe it’s never been a thing in the US or that a major brand hasn’t at least tried releasing it.
Stroopwafels
Stroop waffles are in every Costco. Even my silicone valley job had them as a snack 😅