Where's everyone from? (And food too!)

Menecairiel
Menecairiel Posts: 164 Member
So...where's everyone from? And...what food native to your country is your downfall?

...yes, I am asking the question! Country, town, doesn't matter! More about where on the planet and the age old question: what is your favourite native food? Having watched too many cooking shows when on holiday, I watched Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern (and if you can eat and watch that, you're pretty much immune to weird stuff!)

I'll start!

I am originally Norwegian, but with a Dutch background as well and currently living in England! As such, I have had to list 3 things I loooove that are native to where I feel most comfortable...

Norway: Brunost! That's a brown cheese traditionally made with goat/cow milk. It tastes like caramel with an aftertaste of mild goat's cheese. It's very Norwegian and I love it. It's also 46 calories per slice...and when I have it on bread, I have butter and about four slices of it. Ergo...I try and cut down. Massively!

The Netherlands: Broodje Kroket. Kroket is basically this lovely croquette filled with a white ragu and then deep fried...yep, deep fried. Best served with mustard on white bread...

England: Steak and Ale Pie. Yes, we are saying pastry, ale, fatty stewing meat that fall apart...and one pie from the shop I love is...my entire day allowance of calories! And then some!

Now, I do have brunost in the fridge but I will limit myself to having it on toast with two thin slices. As for the rest? Well, hardly going to Holland anytime soon, and I am avoiding the dutch pub in Soho/Chinatown (London) like the devil because one sniff and I will buy and eat it.

As for the pie? I will just avoid going into that shop until I have reached my target, and even then I have a mantra...."do not eat the whole pie!!!!!"
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Replies

  • Jimmy_Jojo
    Jimmy_Jojo Posts: 27 Member
    Oh wow, Brunost sounds amazing!

    I'm from Australia.....I have so many favourite foods, most of them aren't native, but I have to say I really love Kangaroo. It's really lean meat, tastes a bit more tough in texture. Really great with cranberry sauce. My dad always cooks it on the BBQ, I haven't found a way to cook it quite as well myself yet, but someday :P

    Haha most Aussies I've met don't really like it......something about not wanting to eat an animal on our coat of arms :P
  • What a coinsidence!

    I'm a dutchy living in Norway :P

    I really miss the Frikandel... *drools* And will never pass by the chance to have one whenever i'm back in NL.
    As for Norwegian food.. tho they may not be traditional norwegian foods I've fallen for kebabs (which you find on every corner anywhere :P) and don't mind "taco fredag" either ;)
  • MonkRocker
    MonkRocker Posts: 198
    Atlanta, GA in the US.

    the Southern US (Southeastern, really) is notorious for frying EVERYTHING. We are the same part of the country that created Fried Oreos, Fried Snickers Bars and Fried ________.
  • JmeJinxx
    JmeJinxx Posts: 210 Member
    I like in Maryland, USA. There isn't much as far as weird foods. Summer here is all about blue crabs, tomatoes, corn on the cob, and beer.
    We have scrapple though which is pretty heart clogging as far as breakfast meats go. And we eat soft crab sandwiches.. mmm.
    051104016-01-soft-shell-crab-sandwich.jpg
  • DoomCakes
    DoomCakes Posts: 806 Member
    I'm from Delaware, USA. I think we're just famous for scrapple... which is basically all the left overs from pigs, scrapped up and cooked into some disgusting, slimy, packaged up gray blob. People love it, I won't touch it. But if you wanna go off what the USA is famous for, Big Macs, Whoppers, and Fries! Again... stuff I don't really like.
  • binglebandit
    binglebandit Posts: 531 Member
    I'm Mennonite background, my ancestry is German, but they lived in Russia for a while. My downfall would be zwibach. It's a bread roll that kind of looks like a snowman, only with two balls. The secret to making them is knowing how to get them to rise just right, it has to rise twice before being baked. Whenever my family was together my grandma would have to make at least 3 batches because we ate so much. There is a running joke in the family that if you eat too many you start to look like a zwibach, hence why I'm here. :laugh:

    Another would be borscht. My family makes a chicken borscht, beets optional. I always beg my mom to make this for me when I visit, only she always forgets the beets. :sad: Now I kind of wish it was soup weather.
  • jenlarz
    jenlarz Posts: 813 Member
    Small town Iowa here. (USA, midwest)
    So many things that are so good but not exaclty native. My favorite meal would be mid summer.Grilled steaks, perferably from a local cow (like your own or in our case a neighbor raised them), and fresh sweet corn. Never better than going to the field and picking it an hour before you cook it and eat it!
  • LosinItAll2012
    LosinItAll2012 Posts: 238 Member
    I am from Newfoundland, Canada....

    My husband and I discussed this topic this past weekend... Fish-n-Brewis is a traditional Newfie meal that I LOVE.... but will not be eating it anytime soon in the traditional way... It's salted cod fish, potatoes, hard bread, onions smothered in molasses and pork fat scrunchions!!! So YUMMY but sooo high in calories and sodium!!!!
  • MissMormie
    MissMormie Posts: 359 Member
    Oh yes, the lovely frikandel! How much I treasure you ;)

    But I also love apenkoppen drop (monkeyheads liquorice). There's absolutely no nutritional value in there, only chemicals, but gooood tasting chemicals.

    --
    Lots of dutchies
  • LosinItAll2012
    LosinItAll2012 Posts: 238 Member
    Small town Iowa here. (USA, midwest)
    So many things that are so good but not exaclty native. My favorite meal would be mid summer.Grilled steaks, perferably from a local cow (like your own or in our case a neighbor raised them), and fresh sweet corn. Never better than going to the field and picking it an hour before you cook it and eat it!

    MMMM..... Love fresh sweet corn!!!
  • Sister_Someone
    Sister_Someone Posts: 567 Member
    I'm from Paris, France. As a vegetarian, I find a good portion of foods my country is famous for to be outright repulsive.

    Case in point - foie gras. Whenever I see that stuff, I want to cry for what those poor animals had to go through in order to satisfy someone's palate.

    What I do like are the breads and the desserts. I could drown myself in crepes,croissants and eclairs!
  • fcp1234
    fcp1234 Posts: 1,098 Member
    I dont even know how to answer the question "where ya from". My mom is Greek, my dad is Italian, I was born in Albania. Ive lived in all 3 countries. Greek is my favorite food in the whole world...

    I live in US now, food in US is ok. My down fall is chocolate.
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    I'm from New England--born and raised, but my parents were French-Canadian, so many of my comfort foods are of that tradition: crepes with maple syrup, baked beans, cubed pan-fried potatoes called pommes rissolees, and tomato-rice soup.

    I became 100% vegetarian, and mostly vegan, almost 40 years ago, so I've expanded what I consider to be regional favorites to include Chinese, Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Middle Eastern, Mexican and Italian. YUM!
  • larrys2112
    larrys2112 Posts: 35 Member
    I am from Southwest Louisiana. Everything here is deep fried and covered in sugar. It's a wonder I don't weigh 600 pounds. LOL
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,689 Member
    I like in Maryland, USA. There isn't much as far as weird foods. Summer here is all about blue crabs, tomatoes, corn on the cob, and beer.
    We have scrapple though which is pretty heart clogging as far as breakfast meats go. And we eat soft crab sandwiches.. mmm.
    051104016-01-soft-shell-crab-sandwich.jpg

    No, you only think there is no weird food, since it is "normal" to you. A whole crustacean battered and deep fried placed on a sandwich is pretty effing weird to me. And don't get me started on how weird/gross cheese is if you really think about it (or try making it yourself).

    I don't know that I have a lot of downfall foods, other than vegan baked goods. Oh, and I eat a lot of tofu, usually broiled plain, which other people think is a tad odd.

    I'm veg*n now, but back in my flesh eating days I tried gumboots, which are a crustacean that lives on the side of rocks (think about eating a mouth full of salty, briney, rubber band), and seal oil.
  • homerjspartan
    homerjspartan Posts: 1,893 Member
    Detroit, MI. We love our coney dogs. Lafeyette Coney Island has the best. Big hot dog smothered in chili and onions.
  • Im_NotPerfect
    Im_NotPerfect Posts: 2,181 Member
    I live in Northeastern part of Wisconsin, USA and while not native to our area, we're known for Bratwaurst in our state. And I LOVE brats (you expected me to say Cheese, didn't you?:wink: ) Especially now that football season is upon us.
  • lik_11
    lik_11 Posts: 433 Member
    Born & raised in Texas... TEX-MEX!!! cheesy, saucy, spicy deliciousness. nom nom
  • RideaYeti
    RideaYeti Posts: 211 Member
    Born & raised in Texas... TEX-MEX!!! cheesy, saucy, spicy deliciousness. nom nom

    Amen! Born and raised in Austin and love pretty much anything on the Chuy's menu, especially the Chuychanga!
  • _VoV
    _VoV Posts: 1,494 Member
    I like in Maryland, USA. There isn't much as far as weird foods. Summer here is all about blue crabs, tomatoes, corn on the cob, and beer.
    We have scrapple though which is pretty heart clogging as far as breakfast meats go. And we eat soft crab sandwiches.. mmm.
    051104016-01-soft-shell-crab-sandwich.jpg

    No, you only think there is no weird food, since it is "normal" to you. A whole crustacean battered and deep fried placed on a sandwich is pretty effing weird to me. And don't get me started on how weird/gross cheese is if you really think about it (or try making it yourself).

    I don't know that I have a lot of downfall foods, other than vegan baked goods. Oh, and I eat a lot of tofu, usually broiled plain, which other people think is a tad odd.

    I'm veg*n now, but back in my flesh eating days I tried gumboots, which are a crustacean that lives on the side of rocks (think about eating a mouth full of salty, briney, rubber band), and seal oil.

    The picture of that sandwich makes me feel sad. One day, we were beach strolling and came upon a molting crab. The poor thing looked so vulnerable, so we stuck around like labor coaches, and when the crab had fully molted, we made sure it found a good hiding place among the sea lettuce. So that's my association to the subject of crab.
  • taylor5877
    taylor5877 Posts: 1,792 Member
    I'm from Louisiana.

    The food anywhere else in the world SUCKS.
  • ValRAAAAY
    ValRAAAAY Posts: 270 Member
    Atlanta, GA in the US.

    the Southern US (Southeastern, really) is notorious for frying EVERYTHING. We are the same part of the country that created Fried Oreos, Fried Snickers Bars and Fried ________.

    Knoxville, Tn in the U.S.

    DEEP FRIED TWINKIES!!!!!
    They've also deep fried BACON on occasion...and....AND....Macaroni and cheese!!!!!
  • Another Dutchie here :wink: !!

    I actually don't care for a Broodje Kroket that much, but I LOOOVVVEE stroopwafels...

    24_stroopwafel_blik.jpg
    stroopwafels.jpg

    Yummmm... KEEP THEM AWAY FROM ME:noway: !!

    PS: about 155 cals per piece and it's never just one... *sigh*...
  • staceyseeger
    staceyseeger Posts: 778 Member
    Texas here!

    Tacos, Tacos, Tacos!
  • Glasgow_Vegan
    Glasgow_Vegan Posts: 209 Member
    I'm from Glasgow in Scotland. My country has a reputation for deep frying everything in batter and binge drinking. This includes battered pizza and chocolate bars, I kid you not.
  • MuddyEquestrian
    MuddyEquestrian Posts: 366 Member
    I'm from Maine, USA, and my downfall is by far Whoopie Pies!
  • cheerforsteelers
    cheerforsteelers Posts: 686 Member
    Russian - hearty borscht, pelemeni, perogi, delicious chocolate, venigrette, homemade kompot...oh man don't get me started.
  • stacypepper
    stacypepper Posts: 4 Member
    Born & raised in Texas... TEX-MEX!!! cheesy, saucy, spicy deliciousness. nom nom

    And don't forget the barbeque....anything slathered in sauce and thrown on a grill is what we Texans love (or this Texas girl!).
  • taratam83
    taratam83 Posts: 88 Member
    Maryland, USA

    My local faves -- Scrapple... Berger Cookies...

    Cant get the picture of the cookies to work... darn. LOL here's the website - http://www.bergercookies.com/
  • AliceKlaar
    AliceKlaar Posts: 275 Member
    I live in England. My father's Austrian and we lived in Vienna for a few years when I was growing up. I haven't been back for a few years but when I do go, I have to have wiener schnitzel (but made with pork, not veal) with kartoffelsalat and a couple of ice-cold beers!

    As for English food - it's not native but it's become a British institution - it has to be curry. I'm clever with my calories to ensure I can go out for a curry once a week and I'm currently addicted to the local restaurant's naga special chicken curry - usually with saag daal and a naan bread.

    I'm also a bit of a cheese freak - we've got a fantastic cheese shop in the village which I have to avoid for the most part but I go and stay with a friend every few months so I'll stock up on local cheeses before I go and we'll spend the weekend eating our own bodyweight in cheese and washing it down with copious quantities of red wine! That has to be a very occasional treat though :-)