Most American 'recipes' aren't really recipes, are they? They're assembly instructions.

[MaMight]

I've just found a recipe for Pineapple Upsidedown Cake; ingredients list - 1X plain cake donuts, 1X can pineapple slices.

I suspect there must be a massive swathe of American cooking that I have yet to discover.

(And 'pie filling' is not an ingredient.)

(And neither is 'pizza sauce'. WTF?)

[[http://www.plaidponyvintage.com/recipes/recipe-pages/recipe-borden.html This] is my worst food nightmare.

geez i did point out that i was wrong, is everyone going to point out that i made a mistake tonight??

Link didn't work - but here's a different one to prove that some people still think that might be an acceptable combo...

My NI MIL makes jelly salads for buffet meals - carrots in orange jelly, beetroot in blackcurrant jelly and one too revolting to comptehend involving celery, cottage cheeses and lime jelly. Seems to be v much the done thing over there.

Cool Whip is a 'non dairy whipped topping'.
The confusion is with Miracle Whip -- which is a sweet mayo, v much like salad cream.

Fluff is marshmallow cream. Comes in flavours too.

I will not defend American 'cooking' ... though I sense a bit of 'displacement activity' here. Those who live in glass houses

Try looking at Martha Stewart. Just like in this country, there are hicks as well as metropolitan sophisticates.

Did I not read that Richard Madeley woo'd fair Judy Finnegan with tuna casserole with crisps on top?

Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise, sorry -- can't find any audio. The lyrics, whose inspiration is described here are funny because they are so very true.

My DW used to have some close connections with the US food industry and she said that the standard rule that they worked to was that regardless of the food product they manufactured it had to be capable of being served in under 8 minutes from packet plate including preparation and cooking time.

They said their research showed many consumers would not buy a food product if it took longer to prepare than 8 minutes.

I knew someone would mention black pudding. Not that I eat it, but it is an entirely different phenomenon- that's the result of a peasant with a pig who needs to eat everything except the squeak to survive the winter (haggis same but with sheep/baa).

Not ways to concoct synthetic convenience foods into something worse - its beyond explanation why people in a land of plenty would do this

Doesn't matter what the origin is. Some people here eat minging stuff like black pudding. Some people in N. America eat jello.

Does it go to follow all N. American recipes are shite, anymore than British ones?

Black pudding is deeeellleeecious.. white pudding on the other hand I can do without.

And as for tasteless, I think that you must be doing it wrong - mind you, it's a common misconception - I remember trying to explain roast chicken to an indian lady and she couldn't get the idea that you just put it in the oven with some seasoning and left it. She kept asking what kind of sauce - sweet and sour, chilli, etc. she should use!

I'm not in the UK at the moment, and I recently had some American 'horseradish sauce' I don't know what they did, but it really isn't horseradish - no kick at all! If that's what they use when eating roast beef no wonder they think British food is tasteless.

Don't get me started on how everything seems to be sweetened - no matter how inappropriate (sweetened, meat-filled pasty anyone?)

We might at some point end up in US and the only thing that is worrying me is the food.

Although, I am sure that there is normal food there too. Right?

'Although, I am sure that there is normal food there too. Right?'

Food from any sort of nationality you can imagine, pretty readily available in any city.

Wonderful regional foods - Cajun food, Tex-Mex, BBQ, tropical/semi-tropical, etc.

All on tap.

I find the food here, by contrast, terrible except if you cook it yourself unless you're in a larger city or it's Indian or Chinese.

That is what I keep telling myself, Expat. They must have so much variety.

I do find American recipes confusing and difficult. They use ingredients that are not so readily available here and the measurements are all in cups.

And quite a bit of Campbells Mushroom Soup for some reason.

Leonie
what are biscuits? I have always wondered. And do you have a recipe for meatloaf?

MmeLindt, if you do move there, get a copy of the Joy of Cooking (the newest version is good, I think - better than the one before it) and you'll be set. It's my cooking bible and I use it more than any other cookbook, even here!

'I guess American cooking can be very sweet.'

Have you ever followed a British recipe for icing?

Gag! Halve the sugar!

My guess is that most are getting recipes off the net and not real cookbooks or magazines, that's why there's supposedly all these soup mixes and/or mixes.

Biscuits are scones without the sugar.

And all a meatloaf is is the same way you'd make meatballs but you form just one meatball instead.

Moosewood Inn cookbooks if you're veggie.

Damn, the right link would help -
newest Joy of Cooking

For online recipes, I use Epicurious - it's the website for Bon Appetit and Gourmet (RIP).