A flavour remarkably pleasant

[redscharlach]

I'm not omnivoracious myself, but I know a man who is. He is anw, and here is his Omnivore's Hundred meme, brought to you by Very Good Taste:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment at

Comments

[vilakins]

Gjetost is wonderful! I discovered it when I was in Europe and until recently I could buy it here. It tastes of caramel and is a perfect meal-closer. [yearns for some]

[topaz7]

you too, eh?

It is amazing.

[vilakins]

I really should find out if someone here stocks it. The supermarket and a local deli used to. WANTS.

[livii]

Your dismissal of the trusty ol' PB&J is DISTRESSING. (Though for me the 'j' stands for 'jam' certainly not jelly, yuck).

We did eat prickly pear jam in Arizona; it's sweet and inoffensive tasting. Not that exotic, I don't think.

(Love your new icon, by the way!)

[redscharlach]

My distrust of PB&J is based entirely around the peanut butter aspect, which I believe to be the work of Lucifer and all his little wizards. I like peanuts in other contexts, I just don't understand why they need to be massacred in that way. ;-D

As far as the prickly pear jam goes, I believe Andrew tried to strike an international balance with the list, so some items will be dull and some will be exotic, but exactly which ones these are depends on geographic location and life experience!

[sydpad]

*steeples fingers* So, how about, theoretically, a cashew-butter and jelly sandwich?

PB&J is such a staple food I'm always a surprised by Brits who are surprised by it. As if I found out, I dunno, that actually they don't wear underpants and that's some weird american thing.

[alkari]

Peanut butter and jam? Ha! As a true Aussie, my boarding school experience introduced me to the delight of peanut butter, jam AND Vegemite! Apricot jam worked best, through strawberry wasn't bad.

But I was puzzled by "Hostess fruit pie". Obviously it was American, but when I Googled it, I found it was actually a US brand name - which certainly isn't available here. The list should surely not include specific brands unless they are widely available.

[wheeler]

It was the only brand I included, but it's a fairly iconic brand, so I thought it was fair enough. There are a few things in the list you can't get in the US as well, such as proper Haggis or Epoisses, so it's all about the balance.

[scifinut]

There's also poutine, which most of the people in the United States wouldn't WANT to get.

I've tried it, and it wasn't bad, though. Not that I'll go out looking for it, but if it's served, I'll eat it.

[comrade_cat]

I've never had a prickly pear here in New York state, but Goya (brand name) makes a lot of different juices & prickly pear juice tastes awesome. Mild & very tasty.

[fuchsoid]

There are a lot of specifically American things on this list - can we add Marmite/Vegemite?

[alkari]

LOL - I agree. Marmite / Vegemite is definitely a taste sensation to rival anything on that list, and if we are including Pocky, then I demand that Tim Tams be included. I mean, why would any Aussie eat Pocky as a snack when they can have a Tim Tam!

Was also puzzled by the 'clotted cream tea' item. But I correctly assumed it referred to what we know as a Devonshire tea, which is perfectly common out here. MMMM ... warm scones, strawberry jam, and luscious King Island or Gippsland cream. (I think I have just added 1000 calories just thinking about it ... )

[redscharlach]

Well, Andrew (anw, who made the list) is as English as anything, and also adores Marmite, but I believe he was trying both to strike an international mix, and to make this a popular meme, which means appealing the large US contingent of the blogosphere.

(This is a guess on my part, though. Perhaps he will turn up and comment himself?)

[wheeler]

As Jill says, I was trying to get a good mix - and one does need to make the Americans comfortable or they just won't play along!

By my count there are maybe 16 things in the list that are distinctly 'North American', if you include poutine and the Mexican/Tex-Mex entries. Several of those - PB&J, hot dogs, Big Macs, Krispy Kreme, root beer float, s'mores - can be bought or made just about anywhere, and are there to represent trash food, so naturally they slant American. :) I threw in Hostess Fruit Pies for their geek iconic value (and because Twinkies are too obvious).

Beyond that, American cuisine is quite diverse and dominant, so it was worth including dishes like gumbo, clam chowder and eggs Benedict. Balanced against that, you've got things like horse, haggis, absinthe, Epoisses and Michelin restaurants, which are all hard to find in the US (though nothing is impossible over there).

I came really, really close to including Marmite, but veered away because I thought it would cause too much griping!