"American" food in France

[FrogPrincesse]

Reading the exchange below in the Dinner thread made me think it'd be fun to start a thread about "American" food in France. As in, American food viewed through the lens of the French.

 

On 5/18/2024 at 4:15 PM, Pete Fred said:

A recent episode of Kenji's podcast featured the grilled cheese sandwich/cheese toastie (listen or watch him make them).

 

His tips for a good "cheese pull" intrigued me (spoiler: American cheese and its emulsifying salt). As you can imagine, this stuff is not easy to come by in France. In fact I'm expecting to be deported at any moment for this treacherous affront to French cheese.

 

But it was "American week" in Lidl and they actually had some, as well as Monterey Jack. [...]

 

 

On 5/18/2024 at 4:37 PM, blue_dolphin said:

 

Also, I can't stop laughing about "American week" in a Lidl in France!

 

On 5/18/2024 at 5:27 PM, Pete Fred said:

 

It ain't pretty. The worst kind of ultra-processed junk, mainly. But I guess it makes a nice change from, you know, frogs' legs and snails. 😉

 

It reminded me of this little series by David Lebovitz where he reviews the "American" offerings at Picard, the French frozen food store (here is their current line up). Being a French native living in the US, I find it silly, entertaining, and horrifying as well. You have to wonder what goes through the head of the people conceiving or consuming these products which are both familiar and strange (a version of hachis parmentier with pulled pork and mashed sweet potatoes representing American cuisine? ok...).

 

 

 

I am sure things have evolved since the unfortunate days of the Indiana Café which, 30 years or so ago, introduced Parisians to "tex-mex" cuisine.

Or have they? (a quick google search revealed that Indiana Café is alive and well with 10+ different locations, serving nachos and burgers...). 

[Pete Fred]

Can't wait to take "A tasty trip to the USA" in Aldi next week.

 

 

Everything your heart desires, from hot dogs to burgers to nuggets to mac 'n' cheese.

[IndyRob]

Jarred hot dogs are just strange, and yet I see them all the time in European videos about American food.

 

Has anyone ever seen a jarred hot dog in America?

 

Edit: And 'saucisses pour Hot Dogs'?  They ARE hot dogs!  The buns et. al. are just obligatory.  Trader Joe's... C'mon man..

Edited May 23 by IndyRob (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

20 minutes ago, IndyRob said:

Jarred hot dogs are just strange, and yet I see them all the time in European videos about American food.

 

Has anyone ever seen a jarred hot dog in America?

 

Edit: And 'saucisses pour Hot Dogs'?  They ARE hot dogs!  The buns et. al. are just obligatory.  Trader Joe's... C'mon man..

Maybe they want to make sure that people don't use these weird jarred sausages for a different purpose inadvertently?  Also odd to see the Trader Joe's label - they wouldn't dare offer this product in their US stores!

 

Worth noting that in France people usually serve these sausages in baguettes, rather than buns, and with Dijon mustard. And that would be with a saucisse de Francfort, which is of course is different from the American version of a Frankfurter. 

[FrogPrincesse]

Saucisses de Francfort are precooked, like American style hot dogs. But they do have skin, a very nice snappy skin. 

[Pete Fred]

Lidl France continue to push customers out of their comfort zone when it comes to the food of Latin America...

 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

10 minutes ago, Pete Fred said:

Lidl France continue to push customers out of their comfort zone when it comes to the food of Latin America...

That's a lot more than I can find in Costa Rica and we're practically neighbors with Mexico.