Is America too Sweet or Britain too Bland?

On a recent visit to the States, Mike noticed that his taste buds had "evolved".

Mike:

I was surprised, on our recent visit, at how sweet America was: the beer, the bread, the pretzels (sugar-coated pretzels—honest to God) and even, oddly enough, the candy.  And if it wasn’t infused with sugar, it was too salty and/or covered in cinnamon.  After nearly ten years in UK, I found it all a bit too cloying.

During our stay, we bought a box of Whoppers, the US version of Malteasers (or, if you prefer, Malteasers are the UK version of Whoppers) and after eating three I felt, literally, nauseous.  The coating was some sort of concoction found only in a laboratory and the center was compact and shockingly sweet.

We found it difficult to order coffee from Dunkin Donuts because they routinely put one or two measures of sugar in a cup.  “Regular” means cream and sugar; to get a coffee with milk only required conversations and confirmation with several employees and a confusion of clerks trying to figure out coffee without sugar.

Conversely, my wife and I had brought over a selection of sweets from an old fashioned sweet shop in our town as gifts for the children we would be seeing.  I am afraid the American children found them rather tame; they just weren’t sweet enough, or sour or tart enough.  Every US confection, it seems, has to be over the top and in your face. 

This got me wondering: are Americans unable to appreciate nuance?  Or are the Brits just too tame with their taste buds?  Are Americans missing out on the delicate blending of subtle flavors or are the Brits eschewing a marvellous taste sensation?

For my part, I favor subtly.  I realize that, while I was there, I enthusiastically sprinkled sugar, salt and/or cinnamon on everything I ate (and I suspect this practice has become worse during my absence) but now that my body has detoxified, it can’t handle the copious amounts of condiments any longer.

Toni:





Bland? Have you tasted Marmite lately?

While I do agree that American food has some strange stuff added to it, I wouldn’t call British food particularly bland.  Rather than sweet, there is often a surprisingly savoury taste when you least expect it. While Cumberland sausage can have a peppery bite to it, Americans actually build their sweetness into the sausage, with maple syrup mixed right in.

And then there are salads. A typical British salad is Coronation Chicken, with its strong curry flavour, whereas the American salads I was first presented with (in the South) mainly consisted of fruit and frothy bits. You’d be forgiven for assuming such sweet salads were in fact, dessert, except that they are often served with BBQ.

There’s a Jellied Waldorf salad here, and a recipe for Marshmallow Fruit Salad from the Internet, just in case anyone thinks I exaggerate:

1 large can fruit cocktail
1 can Mandarin oranges
1 (20oz) can chunk pineapple
3 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. Cool Whip
3 oz. strawberry banana Jell-O
1 bag mini marshmallows
chopped fresh fruit (bananas, grapes, strawberries) (optional)

Open and drain all canned fruit. If also using fresh fruit, chop and set aside in a bowl. Soften cream cheese in a large bowl.

Mix Cool Whip and dry Jell-O (just the powder) with the cream cheese. Make sure that all of the sugar/powder from the Jell-O is dissolved. Finally, add the marshmallows and canned/fresh fruit.

Mmmmm. Great with burgers!