Kevin's Watch

Ananda wrote:Wow, candy has so much sugar! I had forgotten some ingredient for tonight's dinner and asked my husband to stop at the shop on his way home. That was a mistake. He came home with the ingredient and a bag of assorted candies and chocolates. He was so proud of himself... Candy is not something I ever really buy and I do all the shopping. Best thing to sweet snacks I shop are honey sesame thingies. I bake often, but I don't add much sugar. When I tried one of the punch taste chocolates the husband brought home, I felt like someone just lit a fuse inside my head or injected me with something. Wow, waaaaay too much sugar!

One thing that I really noticed when I moved from the UK to the US is how much more sugar there is in everything here. The most obvious thing is the bread - most bread (particularly white bread and rolls for hot dogs or hamburgers) is loaded with sugar and just tastes far too sweet for bread. I've kind of got used to it now, but would far rather eat a wholegrain bread than something that is so overloaded with sugar.

The funny thing is that a lot of people I know who have traveled to Europe say that European food is bland - I often wonder if that's because they miss the additional sugar in so many things?

michaelm wrote:

Ananda wrote:Wow, candy has so much sugar! I had forgotten some ingredient for tonight's dinner and asked my husband to stop at the shop on his way home. That was a mistake. He came home with the ingredient and a bag of assorted candies and chocolates. He was so proud of himself... Candy is not something I ever really buy and I do all the shopping. Best thing to sweet snacks I shop are honey sesame thingies. I bake often, but I don't add much sugar. When I tried one of the punch taste chocolates the husband brought home, I felt like someone just lit a fuse inside my head or injected me with something. Wow, waaaaay too much sugar!

One thing that I really noticed when I moved from the UK to the US is how much more sugar there is in everything here. The most obvious thing is the bread - most bread (particularly white bread and rolls for hot dogs or hamburgers) is loaded with sugar and just tastes far too sweet for bread. I've kind of got used to it now, but would far rather eat a wholegrain bread than something that is so overloaded with sugar.

The funny thing is that a lot of people I know who have traveled to Europe say that European food is bland - I often wonder if that's because they miss the additional sugar in so many things?

I'm from sweden, but you are right about american food and sugar. Things here tend to not have so much sugar, I guess, but this bulk candy my husband bought... Wow. Eating one was exactly the same feeling I got when I used to do drugs. It felt exactly like that, but just toned down a little.

Well, in the US we also use something called "High Fructose Corn syrup", which is sweeter than your typical table sugar.

That, and our favorite seasonings are salt, fat, and sugar.

Orlion wrote:Well, in the US we also use something called "High Fructose Corn syrup", which is sweeter than your typical table sugar.

I think it's a myth that high fructose corn syrup is sweeter than regular sugar, and ironically it doesn't contain any more fructose than regular sugar you buy from the supermarket - it just has it's fructose levels increased as it is processed, hence the name.

High fructose corn syrup is used pretty much worldwide though, but I think it's more likely to be the percentage of sugar of any form in food in the US that is very high, or at least I assume that is the case because everything tastes so sweet here.

Even chocolate here is really sweet and has a lower percentage of cocoa solids. You can't legally sell it as chocolate in Europe, which is why you occasionally see "chocolate flavored" on packaging there.

michaelm wrote:

Orlion wrote:Well, in the US we also use something called "High Fructose Corn syrup", which is sweeter than your typical table sugar.

I think it's a myth that high fructose corn syrup is sweeter than regular sugar, and ironically it doesn't contain any more fructose than regular sugar you buy from the supermarket - it just has it's fructose levels increased as it is processed, hence the name.

That's what makes it sweeter, is the higher percentage of fructose. It's also cheaper to make, combine the two and you have what becomes a perfectly good idea in the US.

Not saying we do not have higher levels of sugar either. A lot of times, you have to watch what you get... a lot of organics will have a crap load of sugar added (I'm thinking specifically organic peanut butter... a lot of brands have 30+ grams of sugar per serving).

Orlion wrote:Not saying we do not have higher levels of sugar either. A lot of times, you have to watch what you get... a lot of organics will have a crap load of sugar added (I'm thinking specifically organic peanut butter... a lot of brands have 30+ grams of sugar per serving).

I don't buy peanut butter very often. Maybe once a year, sometimes twice. I use it to make spicy peanut sauce. I usually get a swedish brand, but the last time I bought it, they only had an american brand. It was so, so, so sweet. Just found what it was by doing an image search for 'american peanut butter'- it was a brand called Skippy. I do not recommend it unless you want peanut candy. Was like Nutella, but without the chocolate.

Skippy is *huge* in America. And just think, Ananda, the typical American uses it to make a peanut butter & jelly sandwich! On white bread! Talk about a sugar rush! I've been buying "natural" peanut butter and almond butter -- no salt, no sugar, and you have to stir the stuff when you open the jar to re-incorporate the oil that has risen to the top.

Orlion wrote:That, and our favorite seasonings are salt, fat, and sugar.

They're not seasonings, dude. They're food groups.

Gosh, been busy and missed some interesting discussion. No notifications arriving again!!

Pantyhose = tights. I started out with stockings (when I was 13 my mum took me to buy my first suspender belt at the Ladybird shop) but very soon tights arrived which were so much easier. I have a habit of carrying around in my handbag a pop sock. This was my mother's habit also "in case you want to buy a pair of shoes and are wearing socks". I don't think I've ever used it and it must be at least 40 years old now.

Was going to comment on "now now" but TheFallen got there first. There is a Lincolnshire (and perhaps other places) expression "I can't do it while tomorrow" meaning "until tomorrow". Does anyone still use "in case" instead of "if" or "in the room of" rather than "instead of"? Perhaps these expressions are now archaic.

Speaking of HFCS, over here in the UK we get to have real sugar in our Coke. I occasionally see Americans talk about Mexican Coca Cola being better than their version - I'm given to understand that's why.

I'm Murrin wrote:I'm used to hearing "just now" used to refer to both something that's about to happen or (probably more often) something that has just happened, as part of a sentence. I'm guessing what you're referring to is a different sense, though.

Hahaha, my first experience of the confusion this usage engendered was in the UK. It used to frustrate my boss no end, because he also seemed to think it meant something "about to happen" rather than something that would happen at some point.

--A

Having also lived in the US for varying (relatively short) periods of time, I can confirm the following from a European perspective.

1. American processed foods are indeed far sweeter than their Euro equivalents – including the bread that michaelm mentions.

2. The best "standard" peanut butter brand is Sun-Pat (always go for the crunchy variety and never the smooth). Stuff like Skippy, Goobers or Jif is an abuse in the sight of God and man... what do you expect from a nation that's happy to market marshmallow Fluff of various colours (note, colours, not flavours) in a jar?

3. There's not a good cup of coffee to be had anywhere in the US – well, not anywhere I've been, which includes amongst many other places allegedly authentic Italian restaurants in NYC and Starbucks flagship store in Seattle (from which I got barred, but that's another story). The problem seems to be that, when you ask for the darkest, richest roast, you get grounds that have been flash cremated far too fast and at far too high a temperature. What you need are beans that have been roasted slowly for a long long time, so that the flavour is allowed to develop. Hence why US coffee is invariably so insipid, thin and burnt-tasting – some things you should not and indeed cannot rush, regardless of the speed of life.

4. American chocolate is not chocolate, hence why you can't call it chocolate in Europe. It's more like candlewax, which is why, if you eat any, you'll feel like your entire mouth has been coated with a thin veneer of lard. Have you guys across the pond tried any European chocolate, especially Swiss, Belgian or French? I think your brains might explode at the unknown delight.

5. Americans don't understand cheese – again I suspect because proper cheese requires long and slow maturing times, entirely out of kilter with the "convenience-inspired" fast pace of US life. Native US cheese seems to come in two varieties, namely sickly white and vibrant yellow-orange. Both are flavourless, both would bounce if you dropped them and I suspect you could use a slice of either to effect a good temporary repair on a cycle tyre puncture.

6. Why don't you have kettles in the US??? How can you be expected to make a pot of tea without this kitchen essential? And don't go giving me that "Aaah but some houses have a boiling water tap in their kitchens" nonsense. How long has that water been heated? FFS

7. On the (single) flip side, your meat – and especially your beef – is normally of a very high and flavoursome standard.

PS Io, yes I absolutely use "in case" as well as "if" – there are nuances of difference between the two.

A. I won't visit tomorrow if you're ill.

That's a straight conditional – if you're sick, you won't see me, but if you're well, I'll be there. It's very definitely implied that I'll check first to see which of these either/or scenarios apply.

B. I won't visit tomorrow, in case you're ill.

I'm not coming round, regardless of your health. I've already decided this and am giving you the reasons for my forthcoming no-show. There's a doubt over your state of health, but my action is pre-defined regardless.

Amen on the chocolate, the cheese and the kettles. LuciMay sent me some damn good coffee once though.

--A

TheFallen wrote:
6. Why don't you have kettles in the US??? How can you be expected to make a pot of tea without this kitchen essential? And don't go giving me that "Aaah but some houses have a boiling water tap in their kitchens" nonsense. How long has that water been heated? FFS

Yes, yes, yes!!! I had to heat water in the microwave and then put a teabag in it. I took teabags with me. I was looking out for a small cheap kettle to buy and carry round with me but couldn't see one.

TheFallen wrote: 1. American processed foods are indeed far sweeter than their Euro equivalents

3. There's not a good cup of coffee to be had anywhere in the US

4. American chocolate is not chocolate, hence why you can't call it chocolate in Europe. It's more like candlewax.

Exact same observations made during the e-fest. I tasted one chocolate bar and left three quarters of it uneaten. Luckily I had a stash of Finnish chocolate and rye näkkileipä in my luggage. People laughed at my coffee drinking habits and complaints about the dishwater quality--perfectly normal to quaff five to six drinking horns...mugs of tar per day in addition to a few doses of tea before going to bed! When I finally had managed to locate a place that served regular porridge for breakfast in Santa Fe, and ordered "natural yogurt" as a side dish, they brought me this vanilla-flavored, oversweet whatsits with the consistency of glue.

Danlo and Tam's cookings were beyond awesome, though!

I used to have to add a good heaped teaspoon of something called Folgers (which was a US attempt to make instant coffee) to anything that I ever got out of a percolator. It was still vile, but at least it no longer tasted like cremated cat's piss.

TheFallen and I have all ready discussed the dreadful condition of American cheeses elsewhere. It in part has to do with sanitary laws, but also that the majority of the population adores and considers Velveeta a cheese

I don't know about coffee, but I imagine a lot of it has to do with us keeping the pot on...forever...

An interesting thing, during my college years I had tried a "Cadbury's" Chocolate bar and didn't much care for it. I related this to a friend before lab, and she informed me it was because I had an American version... she later brought me a Cadbury's from Australia which was soooo different and better. I do not know what they do to most of the chocolate in the US, but it's usually a wax (the milk chocolate) or chalky (the "fancy" dark chocolate).

I'm Murrin wrote:Speaking of HFCS, over here in the UK we get to have real sugar in our Coke. I occasionally see Americans talk about Mexican Coca Cola being better than their version - I'm given to understand that's why.

You are absolutely correct.

Hold the next 'Fest in SF, and I will show you real chocolate. We have See's and Ghirardelli.

Velveeta is not cheese. Folgers is not coffee. Instant coffee is an abomination.

Sorus wrote:Hold the next 'Fest in SF, and I will show you real chocolate. We have See's and Ghirardelli.

Velveeta is not cheese. Folgers is not coffee. Instant coffee is an abomination.

and Skippy is not peanut butter. All crap junk food that is less expensive and marketed for people on a budget. My clients used to love that stuff. Cheap and filling.

Got to get through a wedding today I'm part of the wedding party, but you would never know that based on the information they give me (i.e. none)... and I'll be stuck with whatever book I can fit in my coat jacket pocket... I have to make it count.