What are some American foods that a European might have never tasted?

Another childhood memory is peanut butter and banana sandwiches that maybe Europeans have not had.

I learned that one of Elvis Presley's favorite foods is peanut butter, banana, and bacon.

I have not had that one:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peanut_butter,_banana_and_bacon_sandwich

I had never heard of this one until I read the Wikipedia article above:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fool%27s_Gold_Loaf

We were never lucky enough to taste a huckleberry pie - which is supposed to be fabulous.
The worst things we  ever tasted in the USA are:
Boston Clam Chowder - tasteless, watery and could not find any clams.  Actually bought in Boston at the markets
Mac 'n cheese - OMG a slimy square of pasta and plastic cheese with a plastic grilled top.  No added salt or spices.
Coffee and Tea with whitener or creamer
Reconstituted mince sold as steak.

But got some great seafood, particularly in Washington DC at the river.  And lobsters in Florida wow

Sharon Goodenough wrote:"Cincinnati Chili" aka Skyline Chili which is chili on top of spaghetti noodles (a 2-way), add grated cheddar on top for a 3-way, onions or kidney beans under the cheese for a 4-way, onions AND kidney beans for a 5-way. Don't forget the oyster crackers and hot sauce!
The ground beef in the chili is boiled instead of browned, giving the chili a fine-grained texture, and the chili has notes of cinnamon and chocolate because...there's cinnamon and cocoa in it! Oh yeah! I almost forgot! A coney! Hot dog bun with chili, onions and cheese and a little mustard on the bun.
It's a Cincinnati classic!

LOL, an x-girlfriend was from ''Cinci-tucky' and her friend's father owned a Skyline...the secret ingredient is....chocolate. Seriously, I've had it and it just tastes like what it is, kinda weird IMO, but to each their own.

I was going to add just regular ole' Yankee Chili ( w/ beans ) to the list. When I lived in Texas my boss gave me his Chili recipe and I asked, what beans he uses, and he looked at me like I just grew a third eye in my forehead.

I currently make my own vegan chili w/ TSP, homemade chili spice and plenty of hot peppers from the garden, I also make a green TSP "chicken" chili w/ tomatillos instead of the reds and have about three other variation of chili where I often put posole'/ hominy corn and or mole' into it.

Oh, one other addition: Rocky Mountain Oysters!

Of course America (North-America) is a continent and probably people in one part have totally different dishes than in other parts. And that's the same in Europe ... maybe there's even more difference!

Here in my part of Italy I must say that guacamole, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff and maple syrup are things that people have heard of but never ventured to try.

Other items are also sushi and most Asian cuisine. Also corn on the cob.

Anne Miller wrote:When I was a kid I went to visit my grandparents every summer.

Something my aunt fixed me while I was there was a carrot and raisin sandwich.

I bet not many Europeans have had a carrot and raisin sandwich and probably not many Americans, either.

Definitely trying this!

For lunch today, I made cornbread dressing to go with some turkey that I took out of the freezer.

Then I thought, I bet not many Europeans have had cornbread salad:

https://permies.com/t/192645/good-Cornbread-Salad-recipe

James Renzi wrote:Here in my part of Italy I must say that guacamole, peanut butter, marshmallow fluff and maple syrup are things that people have heard of but never ventured to try.

Other items are also sushi and most Asian cuisine. Also corn on the cob.

If you can eat real Italian style, why would you want anything else!?

I think the only ones of these I haven't had is real sushi and marshmallow fluff. I could probably have found sushi in Birmingham when we lived near there, and I stock the dry ingredients in my shop here. Marshmallow fluff? Really for kids I suppose? I wouldn't call that food, unless it is not what I suppose it to be.
Guacamole I didn't come across until I was a student in London, the same with curries (my mum doesn't like the smell) although I'm not sure if British curries count as Asian LOL. Chinese is the other Asian cuisine commonly available, albeit highly modified for western palates no doubt. I remember shucking sweetcorn out of the husks as a child (making the silk into blond wigs :) ) bought from a local farm shop. My Mum was pretty adventurous in retrospect.; my parents spent a couple of years in the US in the 1960s before I was born, which may have influenced them somewhat. Growing their own food meant I didn't realise how unusual yellow courgettes (zucchini) and patty pan squash were then.

Timothy Norton wrote:

Nancy Reading wrote:
What's the difference between American goulash and hungarian goulash?

American Goulash

Credit to Spend With Pennies
Hungarian Goulash

Credit to The Recipe Critic.

Hungarian Goulash is more like an actual stew. American Goulash is the weirdest combination of elbow macaroni, ground beef, and tomato.

I never liked (American) Goulash but my grandparents would make it ALL THE TIME. I ate what I was served and was thankful for it haha.

I don't want to be pedantic, but I will

Hungarian goulash (gulyas) is a soup. I think what you have pictured is closer to a pörkölt which is a stew.

Christopher Weeks wrote:

Timothy Norton wrote:American Goulash is the weirdest combination of elbow macaroni, ground beef, and tomato.

FWIW, I've never heard of that. But it looks and sounds sort of like Chili Mac.

ETA: I was wondering if this was a local/regional thing (I've lived several years or more in southern California, the Mid-Atlantic, and around the Midwest, and I'm into food, but didn't know about this 'American' dish) but the Wikipedia article makes it sound like a midwestern thing. It didn't exist in my circles in Missouri, Illinois, or Minnesota (around which I've lived, aside from five years out east, since 1979), but it's clearly a well-documented phenomenon, not just something they happened to serve at Tim's church or whatever.

I saw Timothy's "American Goulash" picture and said "What?! That's American Chop Suey. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_chop_suey Which is apparently the New England version... (beef, tomato, bell pepper, onion, elbow macaroni) I never knew it as anything else!
One of my top ten favorite comfort foods, which bring childhood memories flooding back. I would get scolded for "sampling" the sauce as it simmered on the stovetop all afternoon. I can truly eat unhealthy amounts of the stuff!

I saw Timothy's "American Goulash" picture and said "What?! That's American Chop Suey. " https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_chop_suey Which is apparently the New England version... (beef, tomato, bell pepper, onion, elbow macaroni) I never knew it as anything else!
One of my top ten favorite comfort foods, which bring childhood memories flooding back. I would get scolded for "sampling" the sauce as it simmered on the stovetop all afternoon. I can truly eat unhealthy amounts of the stuff!

My elementary school served something similar that they called Johnny Marzetti. A quick Google search suggests that's a Midwestern dish (I grew up in Montana).