To Americans of Lemmy: What food item(s) from Europe can you not live without?
To Americans of Lemmy: What food item(s) from Europe can you not live without?
85 comments
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Salmiak licorice. It’s not a treat for everyday, but sometimes that weird bitter salty combo slaps.
Belgian ales, and German beers that follow the purity laws.
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German chocolate is like a whole other food than the wax that Hershey's pretends is the real thing.
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As a swiss person “Hershey” is not choclate — it is a candy.
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Soapy-tasting wax, at that.
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Try Belgian chocolate next
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Good old Austrian Vegemite.
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I don't think there's any food product from Europe that I regularly consume.
Now, Mexico and South America, on the other hand...
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Same. But I did enjoy some of it. There was some local spring water in Bosnia that was awesome, cevapcici is cool, and I enjoyed the Georgian wine I had in Ukraine. Also the Netherlands' food surprised me. I loved everything I tried, especially bitterballen and mustard soup.
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Every time I go to Mexico, one of the first things I do is get tacos! I NEEEED EM!!!
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony%27s_Chocolonely
Dutch chocolate which is very good, and uses a slavery-free supply chain.
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But not a lead free chain
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-safety/lead-and-cadmium-in-dark-chocolate-a8480295550/
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CR uses shit science, doesn't open source their papers, isn't peer-reviewed and goes against WHO and FOA recommendations. source
CR's latest article on heavy metals in chocolates advised readers that "kids and pregnant people should consume dark chocolate sparingly, if at all, because heavy metals pose the highest risk to young children and developing babies."
But medical toxicologists who spoke with Ars disagreed with the "sparingly, if at all" suggestion.
"I don't see evidence that pregnant people or children will be harmed from eating food from time to time with concentrations at the levels described in the article," Stolbach told Ars.
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Welp. That's depressing
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Preparing EU exit tariffs for the upcoming trade war with the US?
In that case, fancy wines that rich people buy.
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Most of it... Last trip I took to Europe, I was staying in an airB&B in Iceland with a few friends, and it had a kitchen. I went to the Bonus (local grocer) and got bread, cheese, eggs, and butter and made a simple fried egg sandwich for breakfast every day. Best damn food ive ever made for myself.
We dont have good cheap bread state side, cheese product is most of whats on the shelves and Euro eggs were just better. It took about a week after coming home for random food items to stop tasting like plastic...
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As a french reading the replies in this thread: Ew
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Fine. I’m putting my Campari in Champagne now 🙃
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European sardines are VASTLY superior to most of the stuff you get in the US
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Prosecco…
…and Campari.
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Cheese, cured and uncured dried meats, dairy...actual food standards that protect consumers and aren't pumped full of antibiotics, they just taste so much better.
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we use antibiotics in the EU as well. it also doesn't affect meat taste, the reason why it's regulated is to prevent antibiotic resistance
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Croissants (made here but I think of them as so French)
Good cheese (there is some great cheese being made here but in Europe they make different ones and they are so, so delicious)
Cava wine, the Raventos Blanco Blanco de Blancos Vino Cava holy crap that stuff is so good it convinced me wine can be simply delicious on its own.
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Chianti Classico from Italy. It’s just soooooo smooth.
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Danish butter cookies are pretty awesome
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Those tins never contain cookies when I see them.
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They are sewing tins, the butter cookies are stowaways.
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I can find alternatives with enough effort, but I love me some heavy peated Scotch. The smokier the flavor the better
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Twinings (UK version) Extra Strong Breakfast Tea with Digestives dark chocolate biscuits.
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Probably just the swiss chocolate in the Holls chocolates I get for some holidays. The bonbons/truffles themselves are made in Vienna....West Virginia.
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I'm trying to think of the last food item I've eaten that was made in Europe, without success.
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I'm Canadian, but... Fruit, I guess. Some fruit we get from places like Greece, Spain or Italy, both canned and fresh. We could live without them, but surely there'd be moments in the year when we couldn't get fresh peaches, for example, at the supermarket, without European imports.
But it's not a majority. We get quite a bit from South America, North Africa, and, astonishingly, as far as South Africa, too.
Though there isn't much else. It's rarely worth it to import food from another rich country, all the way across the ocean, in today's world.
Though interestingly, I bought "canned" soup (actually packaged in a plastic bag) that came from Lithuania, of all places.
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I'm good as long as Scotland and Lagavulin isn't back in EU.
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I love that Smarties (the chocolate) are naturally colored. All our candy is basically carcinogenic
Also, our Smarties are basically chalk. Delicious chalk
Edit: clarity
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what's the source for your candy being carcinogenic?
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Smarties are two different things in the US and Europe so you have to specify.
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Which ones, the chalky fruity ones or the candy coated chocolates?
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It's not from Europe but I wouldn't feel the same if I couldn't get Pocky anymore.
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W SAUCE
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Barry's tea
cheese, all of them
wine and scotch
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I've infiltrated the European place of purveyance to negotiate the vending of some cheesey comestibles!
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Proper pickled onions and Branston pickle.
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Mayonnaise, as explained here:
https://theonion.com/new-high-viscosity-mayonnaise-to-aid-in-american-swallo-1819564964/
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Banoffee pie.
Can't find bakeries nearby that make it. Silly.
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McCann Oatmeal
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Bob's Red Mill makes an adequate substitute. It's not as uniform as McCann, but it is good.
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Monster munch! Currently my fav snack.
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Seitenbacher Museli is delicious too.
But you can make a kick ass veg broth with scraps, dried shitake, and a piece of kombu.
And the Museli I can also make at home.
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Off the top of my head the only European food product I consistently buy is Kerrygold butter. But I could use a domestic version. Other than that I'll on rare occasion buy a wine that'll be from Italy or France rather than a domestic.
The only international foods that really make up any significant part of my grocery list are fruits from the tropics.
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The domestic versions of kerrygold are getting better! Not quite as good but very good!
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I'm not American ... but I carry an emergency ration of Aromat at all times when ever I leave Switzerland.
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That’s the most Swiss german thing ever. MSG galore.
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Aromat is just MSG (mono-sodium-glutamate). If you need this stuff to "spice up" food, I feel sorry for you.
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We have those in Belgium too! I always thought it was just MSG and bouillon combined.
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It is
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I've moved and become Canadian... but I was born American and raised in it.
I love the shit out of quality marzipan.
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Marmite. I enjoy it on toast, but I use it more often as a vegan beef bullion replacement and umami booster, of which I think it's unparalleled.
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Can you give me some examples of dishes you'd add it to? I'm intrigued. Like a pho, ramen or soup?
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I always add it to a pot of chili before simmering it for an hour (usually about a teaspoon per 3lbs of meat, I just eyeball it).
If I'm making tacos, I'll add it to already cooked meat in the pan along with the spices and water (to be boiled off), which will make it extra beefy.
Also works great in a beef or veggie stew, beef stroganoff, or vegan beef macaroni soup.
I haven't tried it in ramen, but that's a great idea!
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Jelly Babies.
Blackcurrant Jam.
I dunno if they count, but Swedish Fish.
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The red Swedish fish are not from Sweden
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Apparently they were originally, just not in my lifetime. :)
https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/23125/brief-history-swedish-fish
And now I know more about Swedish Fish than I ever, really, necessarily needed to know!
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I don't think I've ever seen Swedish fish outside of America
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Malaco Pastellfiskar is the parallel product. They're made by different companies now, the recipes have diverged over the past 70ish years, and the US version does not meet EU food safety standards. I can find Pastellfiskar in almost any grocery store.
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Yeah, I know they originated in Sweden, but I don't know how long that was maintained.
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Quinces. I live on quince cider as my go-to non-water drink.
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I've seen quince cider made in the U.S., but I'm guessing it's all hard cider?
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There's other versions of it, but it's rare. Quince cider allegedly had to be revived from ancient Akkadian recipes (very recently too) after being lost and undrank for a few thousand years. Supposedly people back then had alcoholic and non-alcoholic versions of it. We are slowly re-perfecting it again.
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85 comments