Strange Food - United States

America is the melting pot of cultures. Most of the world today, as pointed out by our Lithuanian friend, you may find a global selection of foods. The food item itself is not so strange but the occasions to eat them or how they are consumed can be pretty strange.

The one thing that jumps out in America is our love of all things fried. My good friend Debbi likes to say, "You had me at fried..." when I am describing something I am going to cook or something I have just eaten. I like lists so here is a list of fried foods that you can find in America. Usually at a local State Fair or carnival. Sometimes restaurants will offer these dishes as well. Most are kid-type foods but are geared to the "kid in all of us" type of deal.

1. Deep fried Twinkies
2. Deep fried candy bars like Snickers, Milky Ways and Almond Joy
3. Deep friend balls of macaroni and Cheese
4. Deep fried sticks of mozzarella Cheese
5. Fried Squash Blossoms filled with cheese
6. Fried Chocolate Bananas
7. Deep fried Oreos
8. Funnel Cakes
9. Fried Dough/flippers
10. Deep fried and breaded Mushroom, zucchini, Squash, Onions, Green Beans and of course Potatoes

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11. Fried Pickels
12 Corndogs (cornbread around a hotdog then deep fried....my personal favorite!)
13. Fried Ice Cream (although here it is a mexican dessert served at crappy chain restaurants, but no doubt popular...thanks Irene for the reminder!)
14. Fried Plantains ( although not American, you will find them at street fairs and such)
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Rituals surrounding certain holiday meals are also very unique in America. I think Thanksgiving is a pretty great one. It is the only holiday where eating a gut-busting amount of food is considered obligatory. A typical meal would include a roast turkey with gravy made from the giblets/livers of the bird, a bread stuffing of some kind--sometimes embellished with Oysters or giblets, cranberry in some form, green bean casserole with French's Friend onions on top, sweet potatoes candied with sugar and marshmallows, creamed onions, mashed potatoes and mounds and mounds of desserts. Pie is the typical fare and pumpkin, sweet potato, zucchini and apple are probably the most typical. Bread is also served in the form of corn bread, rolls or crusty French or Italian bread. NOW, if you are from some other kind of background but your family has lived here for years you would also incorporate some foods from your relatives native country. For example if you are Italian American you would also in addition to the turkey and trimmings serve baked zitti, manocotti, lasagne, meatballs and some kind of shrimp dish. If you were from a German background you might also serve Jello and sweet pasta and rice dishes made with mandarin oranges and whipped cream called Ambrosia Salad. There is nothing salady about Ambrosia though. The eating ritual usually ends with watching either a lot of American Football or going out to a movie. Usually some sort of family dispute or fight will erupt during the holiday and someone is likely to storm out before the pie and coffee are served. If you are the host of this giant meal you will have leftovers for days. Maybe a week. You will make turkey noodle soup from the carcass of the bird, make casseroles using cranberries, stuffing, left over veggies and turkey, turkey tetrazinni and eat pie for breakfast. This celebration is supposed to symbolize the sacrifice the Purtains made when they came to the New Land and settled into a land already populated by vast numbers of native people. Many of whom we killed systematically through disease and outright war.

Fried Twinkies and a gluttonous meal of turkey and pie while watching football kinda of sums up many forms of American life.