/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Summer time. I grill steak, pork loins, chicken, kebabs, brats, burgers, etc. Typical all American meals.

Come by my house any time or any day and you will likely enjoy a great meal.

>>6643977
BTW, I live in southern Michigan.

Oh hell, I can't believe I forgot about ribs. I grill ribs once a week.

I'm Australian so I'm not qualified to answer but I really like watching the 'wat eat now' and 'dinner' threads to see what other cultures are eating and for this reason I'd really, really like to see flags on /ck/ though I accept that it will never happen.

However, I just wanted to say that it's possible that your image of what Americans eat may be skewed by the product placement you're seeing in those movies that helped you draw your conclusions.

Do Americans drink in bars like you see on TV shows like Drew Carey or Cheers?

Generally depends on ethnicity and geographic origin.
No one in New England, for example, eats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funeral_potatoes just as no one in Dixieland eats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boiled_dinner and no one in the Pacific Northwest eats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_caviar

Few Americans who aren't southerners or black cook black-eyed peas with smoked hocks.

Few Americans who aren't Yiddish Jews cook lokshenkugl.

Few Americans who aren't ethnically Scandi cook USican-style lutefisk.

There's very little food that's unifyingly American beyond the stereotypical.

>>6643988
Cheers is more accurate. We're a friendly bunch unless you're from California. We hate those guys.

>>6643989
This guy is smoking weed. Americans grill burgers and dogs during the summer. (not actual dogs - hot dogs)

>>6643989
Oh, and they don't generally eat in courses like we do (I am also from Italy, but I live in America right now). They set the whole meal into a single plate and eat all at once. Even when cooking their interpretation of [mostly southern] Italian food, they will eat the pasta and sauce/broth and vegetables and meat all in one course, all at once, served in an enormous plate rather than eating the pasta with sauce/broth as first plate then the meat and veg second.

>>6643963

Well, many days I make pasta-type dishes, lots of Asian food (Taiwanese gf) and bake homemade pizza, bread, and experiment with different foods. Recently delved into Indian cuisine, and it's pretty fun and fairly easy to do.

American, by the way. Not all of us eat nothing but microwave burritos and McDonald's. But too many of us do. It's a shame, but I'd like to think there are plenty of us doing good food-wise. And I certainly don't assume all Italians are stuffing their faces with vino and spaghetti all day. I know better. But again, many Americans don't, just like many Europeans don't really know what it's like here.

>>6643994
>you're totally wrong, man!! like, totally, totally wrong!!
>Americans grill burgers and dogs during the summer!!!!!!!!

>>6643989
>There's very little food that's unifyingly American beyond the stereotypical.
>unifyingly American beyond the stereotypical
You understand what that means, right? Hot dogs and burgers are stereotypical for Americans and you just admitted that they're also unifyingly American.

>>6644002
Is that not appropriate?

>>6644007
We Italians eat our meals in courses. Like if we have beef-or-chicken soup for dinner, we will have the broth and pasta as first course, then the meat and veg separately as second course.
Several of us wrongly think this is common the whole world round just as several Americans think the whole world eats the whole all at once, simultaneously.
The idea of chicken noodle soup actually pissed one of my aunts off. It was funny seeing a sixty year old woman throw a 'tismtantrum because Americans don't eat the way she eats. And she's never even been here to the US. I was telling her about it over Skype.
Neither system is necessarily better than the other, I'd say.

>>6643963
What ever I feel like tbh

I've binged on enough Jacques Pepin, Foodwishes, and Gordon Ramsey that I know the basic principles and techniques. I still use mostly recipes but I could make due.

I try to avoid eating out, but maybe once every two weeks I'll go to a restaurant or nice deli.

As far as daily meals, lots of salads and vegetables, usually fruit, cheese, yogurt, oats/granola/nuts as snacks. Meat is an occasional thing, but I always love me a nice steak or chicken.

As far as average diet, it varies far too much, you have a spectrum to choose from, I'm abnormal on it however, I think most eat more meat than I.

>>6644007
Scandinavians doesn't eat in courses either. When I visited France with my French wife and ate at her parents and stuff they always ate in courses and dinners took fucking forever.

>>6643977
>>6643979
>>6644005
but, are you the average or the exception? I'm interested in that, what the average american, I'm sure there's plenty of people that enjoy good food like you, afterall this is ck, it's expected to find people taht cook ehre
>>6644002
dove? lavoro/studio?

>>6643963
This must be a troll thread, but I'll bite. Americunt here. I enjoy cooking and usually cook for 2-3 days worth of meals at a time and eat them over my work week. I can only cook about 2 dozen dishes, but I can cook them damn well cause I learned through a lot of trial and error or from motherfuckers that knew their shit. BTW, my spaghetti and meatballs recipe beats the fuck out of yours. So does my osso buco. So does my spaghetti carbonara. As a fucking wop I bet you can't make a corned beef hash that comes close to mine though, or an irish stew, or a haluski, or a properly done sous vide steak, or a slow cooked butter/bearnaise porterhause. I mean I'm an Americunt so I can't cook Kartoffelpuffer and I definitely don't have an authentic Ukrainian borscht recipe up my sleeve. I bet you want all those recipes. You don't get them cause you are a cunt anon.

>>6644019
I think the only Germanic cultures that do eat in courses, at least from time to time, are Flemish, Luxembourgers and Swiss and that's because each of those have had very, very influence from Romantic cultures.
Alemannic Swiss and Luxembourgers will eat in courses about half of the time while Roumands, Ticinese and Rumantsch eat in courses more often than not.

Americans eat a lot of cheese

>>6644014
>>6644019
I certainly learned something today. Thank you.

>>6644029
>>6644019
>>6644014
I've been to germany dont know what city and they ate all in one plate, noodles meat and veggies

>>6644023
I figure I'm average. My neighbors (in downriver Detroit) grill just about everyday. We cook / grill anything. Most likely you;ll find steak or chicken on the menu.

My impression of a typical american dinner:

-Sauteed Steak or some other meat
-Gravy made from jus (or sucs if you're american) of the steak
-Mashed potatoes with the gravy
-Some vegetable (like carrots, broccoli, etc)

>>6644031
Not really. We skip cheese half the time.

>>6644046
Way off. You lean too much on sauces and gravy.

We eat meat and a carb. That's the gist of it. Most likely, we grill it with bbq flavors like mesquite or hickory.

>>6644044
Well yeah. Like >>6644029 said, Germanic people don't generally eat in courses except for the ones listed there.
The only time I've seen Germans eat in courses was visiting a friend's parents in Saarbrücken, but I don't think that counts because his mum's half French and dad's half Italian (their other halves are both German).

>>6644058
Make up your mind.

>>6644064
You've misunderstood something. Reread >>6644029 over and over until you understand what's being said.

most meals in restaurants are meat + carb + vegetable or salad

fast food is iffy, many people are moving away from cheap food like mcdonalds, but demographics in the US vary wildly so a lot still eat there

The big thing about the US is that you can literally get any food you want in any decent sized city.

>>6644028
Ok, that was strangely hostile.
I dont know what I did to insult you, but I'm sorry if I did.
I just wanted to understand american culture a bit better, since I've never had the luck to be able to travel there.
Also some other anons did the same thing as you, I repeat, I'm sure you guys here know how to cook, I wanted to know about the average bachelor in his 20's, I dont know why everybody comes at me with their cooking, I know you guys are good. I'm sure you know more recipes than me, I havent had to provide to myself yet, since I'm stuck with my parents.
Ok, let's do just a bit of dick-measuring contest: how do you make your carbonara?

>>6644076
I agree. Mid Westerner here.

>>6644083
Properly, yolk in, with cream. You should know exactly what that means. The recipe is retard shit ratio-wise with little to no variation, but its the timing that takes a few tries to get right.

>>6644083
Boil spaghettoni, fry up some guanciale (or whatever salty pork i have if its not a big occasion) in olive oil, add cooked spaghettoni to pork, then pour in a mixture of eggs, parmesan, and pepper to the pasta while its still hot to coat everything.

>>6644106
>cream
oh boy, please no trolling, this is a friendly thread

>>6644107
at least you got the recipe right. Try adding first the pasta to the guanciale, then add that to the egg in a bowl, otherwise the pan dries the shit out of the eggs and they dont have that creamy texture

>>6644115
So that's what I'm doing wrong. Holy cow.

Thanks for the tip!

>>6644109
Someday you will learn that there is more than one way to make any dish and my way is usually the best +/-.02%.

>>6644120
>>6644124
again, dont know where the hostility comes from.
Also, why are 2 people responding as one guy...oh yeah, this is 4chan
You guys have a great day!

>>6644124
You absolute nigger.

Meat and potatoes.

Welcome to America

>>6644129
....wish we had the id's still so you could see how wrong you are. anyway I got to crash so night you fucking guinea. You know italians are the niggers of europe right?

California here:
Meat, starch, veggie is the standard.

Animal protein from most used to least used (In my house):
Chicken-Pork-Beef-(non-chicken bird)

A typical weeknight meal could be:
"Hunter's Stew," smokey pork sausage cooked in a sautee pan with bell peppers, kale, potatoes, and onion. Spicing would be chile pepper flakes/black pepper/salt. Served with a dollop of yogurt or creme franche on top.

Typical weekend meal could be Baked chicken, on a bed of roast root veggies (carrots, potato, sweet potato, onion, maybe beet. Served with a side salad, and perhaps some rolls.

The veggies are pretty dependent on the seasons, as I get them mostly from the farmer's market.

>>6643963
Great plains guy here. Like most people are saying, the standard meal is meat carb and a vegetable in a single course. I tend to have various spice & herb blends on hand (made myself) to season the meat before I saute or roast it (our smoke it in the summer). I don't do many sauces. The carb of choice is rice in my house. Vegetables depend on what is in season. In the winter, I do a lot more Cajun Creole cooking. In the summer, I do a lot more grilling and BBQ (no, they are not the same).

For another insight, today is my birthday, and here's the meal.

Smoked chicken wings with a chili pineapple glaze
Smoked chicken wings with BBQ sauce
Jasmin rice
Chips and homemade salsa
Grilled zucchini

As far as fast food, I usually get it once or twice a week. Since I eat 21 meals a week, I don't think that's too much. I don't eat at many normal restaurants because I can cook much better than the ones I can afford.

>>6644145
ok, now you're sounding desperate with those 3rd grade tier insults...why the id's?

>mfw asked what you guys think the "average american" eats
>everybody just tells me their fucking food regimen, even though I said that they are the exception since they enjoy cooking, and I'm interested in the US everyman
>what the fuck

>>6644347
There is no "average" American you fucking retard. The country is the size of fucking western Europe combined. There is no unifying generic American cuisine.

>>6644006

He said very little outside of stereotypes.

>>6644370
sorry that you feel the need to attack people because of your insecurities. I asked the average american, meaning people that you know of, who are not particularry into cuisine, NOT specifically you because people here are posting on a food board so they know some shit about cooking, and I'm not interested in the niche, I want to understand on more of a macro level. If you can't understand that, it's ok, just leave the thread

>>6644385
He's right though.

You might as well consider states as different countries.

>>6644391
that's fair, I was "complaining" about the fact that many people just told me THEIR food regimen, which is not what I was interested in. maybe it's my fault and I wasnt clear enough, my bad if that's the case

>>6643963
the avrage american. i would assume it is a lot of take out. At least in the cities. I live in a more rural area, and this is what i ate for a bit: chicken with veggies, pork chops, pasta, and pizza every friday becuase my step dad was cool as fuck. As of late, my family mostly eats take out because of how busy everyone is.

>>6644400
Checked

>>6644400
>I was "complaining" about the fact that many people just told me THEIR food regimen, which is not what I was interested in
Yeah, of course that's justified.
I'd help you, but as a syrupnigger who traveled the US a decent bit I really couldn't give a good description as it's actually staggering how diverse the food is depending on where you are.

I'd say that meals are often centered around a piece of meat with side dishes, but as far as generalizing goes I couldn't say much more.

>>6644400
The average food is big chain restaurants otherwise it's very regional. Seafood is going to be rare or bad in ohio. While eaten all the time in maine. I could keep making examples but you get the idea.

>>6644417

That's been my experience as well. I've lived in four different US states and traveled to many more on business. It is true that you will see many of the same big-name chains in various parts of the country but the local diet varies a great deal.

OP here, I was wondering....are there actually savages that put ketchup on pasta?

>>6644430
The deep south and any region settled by the scotts will have that kind of horrible food.

Bostonfag here. The reason why you see burgers and hot dogs so much for representations of American food is because they are one of the few foods that every state eats. Each region has its own cuisine that makes up the bulk of their diet. Up here in New England, we eat a lot of fish, beans, chowder (creamy, fuck you Manhattan, that's soup not chowder), pasta, apples, and forced meats. Typically our food is easy and fast to prepare because they are a working man's meal, and needed to be made after a long days work. Food that is longer to cook (boiled dinner) was reserved for holidays and Sundays. I can't stress how big a part seafood is to our cuisine up here.

>>6644469
how much fast food do you think an average 25yo bostonian gets in a week?
Also, is Boston a nice city?

>>6644373
>>6644064
>having reading comprehension skills this poor

Average work a day meal for me in California:

Breakfast: 2 eggs over easy, toast, and coffee.

Lunch: Either leftovers from previous night's dinner, or a turkey sandwich on wheat with lettuce and tomato.

Dinner: usually a chicken based dish, like grilled lemon-pepper chicken with some steamed or grilled mixed veges on the side.

Dinner can also be spaghetti with meatballs, pork curry, steak and mashed potatoes, pork chops, a large salad.

Sometimes on a friday I'll grab a small pizza and a six pack of beer. Usually after a payday.

>>6644493
you eat 2 eggs eevry morning? is that healthy?
I ove eggs but too many too often make me feel not so well

>>6644488
It would depend on your job. The better paying your job, the less you would feel the need to eat fast food. For an average 25 yro with an average paying job, I could see maybe 1-2 times a week. Somehow Massachusetts is ranked one of the least obese states.

As for how Boston is as a city, it's really dependent on the person. We are self-proclaimed Massholes, so if you can't take a little verbal harassment and get offended easily, you will hate it here. If you can take it and throw it back at us, you will fit right in. We are currently the best sports city in the US, so if that's your thing even better. You also need to like the cold. Our seasons are pre winter, winter, still winter, and road work time. We still have a snow bank in Back Bay from this year's record snowfall. There's also no nightlife, everything, including the subway, shuts down by 2 am. But the food is nice, the people can be friendly, and we have fun pretty much year round no matter the occasion.

>>6644444

Nice quads.

OP a lot of rural Americans hunt deer for their meat source for several months of the year. Typically I see it used as a beef substitute. This is pretty consistent across the country in my experience.

I eat out/take out maybe once a week, but that's more due to being poor than anything else. I cook a lot of chicken/ground beef dishes, rice noodles spices, the occasional taco night, a good bit of stir fry.
Most of my friends who have money eat out or get takout for maybe 6-7 meals a week, often lunch. My poor friends survive off of frozen stuff like pizzas and (god help henry) taquitos
I'm actually in europe right now, yall need to get your taco game on, nobody here makes them and I had to struggle to find the proper ingredients at the supermarket. Mexican food is on point

>>6644524
self-proclaimed Massholes
It's not self proclaimed. No one in New England likes you for good reason.

>>6644524
Oh, I actuully love bostonians, my favourite comedian is Bill Burr, I love that kind of person.
I enjoy drinking, and I know that you guys are big on that, not that into sports, just soccer, basketball and gold (seldomly though). My only question, job-wise, is there demand for more tech-oriented kinds of people?
>>6644533
I've seriously never had a taco in my life (italy) or any mexican food for that matter. and the worst part is that I know I would absolutely love it

>>6644552
Judging by my recent job searches, I would say yes.

>>6643963
I eat very similar to you OP and I am from the United States. I also went to culinary school and I have been cooking since I was 12 and for my family since I was 16. My family always lower-middle/middle class but still ate very well. Good food was important for my family. Lots of Middle Eastern food at my house (grandmother taught english in Egypt) family is mostly italian so we did a lot of pastas and frozen sellfish when we didnt have much money.

Most americans don't eat fast food more than two or so times a week (unless they are very poor). We'll cook at home most of the time, and go to sit down restaurants maybe three or four meals out of the week.

As for what we eat... lots and lots of meat, big crazy flavor combinations, and ethnic food from around the world.

>>6644385

>receives answer other than expected and complains about it
>encounters retaliation because people are answering the posed question in the manner they think is correct
>"wow how did this happen f-fuck you too b-buddy"
>meme arrows

Typical of a European to assume that that the US is some conglomerate minded brainmass that eats the same food.

Every state has its own racial and religious majorities and minorities that all uphold their own cultures, traditions, and the cuisines that accompany them.

There is no "typical american food", even things that are thought of as "typical aperican food" like hamburgers and hotdogs vary from area to area in terms of ingredients and preparation. Try again when you're not so quick to get insulted.

>>6644579
This is about right. It really depends on the economical status and the cultural understanding of the individual. America is known as a melting pot so it is common to find cuisine from around the world. American-Chinese and American-Mexican are probably the most popular "ethnical" american foods. Sushi and ramen is getting up there too.

>>6644587
Ramen is not very popular at all.

>>6644582
>Typical of a European to assume that that the US is some conglomerate minded brainmass that eats the same food.

We Americans do that too. We've fond of talking about "Chinese Food" or "Indian Food" (for example). We lump those cuisines together even though they have just as much regional variety as the US does.

>>6644582
like you can name 3 countries out of europe
also, didnt ask "american traditional food", nice reading comp.

>>6644616
If this is op. I'm not really sure what your looking for anymore. You sending really iced signals on what information you're looking for.

>>6644600
I see ramen places popping often and Its one of the few non-american foods I hear about constantly. I also live around DC so that may be the difference.

>>6644678
Have you considered that America is more than just the five big cities you know about?

>>6644636
reading the first post would help

>>6644758
But everytime someone tries to given a more nuanced answer then burgers and fries you berate them.

>>6644782
my post was not replying to anyone, how can you say that?

Should OP die?

>>6644616

>Naming western European countries.
>difficult for literally anyone.

You know our grade school history largely focuses on European colonization and the world wars, right?

Americans probably consume frozen meals more often than fast food. That would be those Banquet, Michelina, Stouffer's meals and stuff like Bertolli or frozen Asian food. For the most part, the basic meal is meat + starch + veggies.

>>6644791
You were an op surrogate for that post.

>>6644851
what does that mean? I am OP

>>6643963
It is virtually impossible to say what the "average American" eats on regular basis because there is so much regional, ethnic and generational diversity.

In the Midwest the influence of northern Europe is very strong. On the west coast the abundance of high quality fruits and vegetables plays an important role in the cuisinre. The various southern regions have very old, very unique food traditions that incorporate French and West African elements. In all parts of the country Mexican and Asian food are very popular and range from dishes identical to what one might find in Mexico or Asia to completely bastardized American versions.

1/2

>>6644862
Oh I miss understood the post.

Honestly I'm getting confused and this is one of the occasional time where anonymous posting make a discussion hard.

>>6644874
How often people cook at vs. How often they eat at restaurants/take really depends on the family. My family cooks dinner at home at least 4 nights a week. My family's typical dinner begins with a salad course followed by a plate of meat or fish with a cooked vegetable and pasta, rice, bread or other starch. We usually drink beer or wine with dinner. For example two nights ago we had grilled shrimp with polenta and roasted tomatoes.

I should point that I'm upper middle class and our diet is quite a bit different from the poor. They tend to eat a lot more fast food and boxed/canned processed food because it is cheaper and easier to prepare.

>>6644884
yeah, it's a fucking pain. I wish every board had id's

>>6643963
It varies extensively based on the location.
It always gets me how foreigners think all of american is like one european country or something.

>>6644899
hello jew

>>6644927

>>6644899
I just wish it was an option to turn off and on when the op makes the first post.

I'm sorry OP, but I don't think you will find a satisfying answer. America is simply too diverse to have much common ground.

like everyone has been saying it varies
some people eat out all the time and some rarely do and everywhere in between
I rarely eat out because its expensive and unhealthy compared to making food at home
every once in a while its nice to eat out, or if you are out and hungry fast food is convenient

for breakfast I usually have oatmeal and whatever fruit is in season, I like apples and cinnamon, I'm from new york and we have lots of apple orchards around here
i like to put strawberries and blueberries in sometimes too
cereal and milk is easy if your short on time, with yogurt or fruit or toast
eggs, pancakes, waffles are also good

lunch I usually have a sandwich
cheese, either american, muenster or provolone, with turkey,ham, roast beef
I get the meats from the deli in the supermarket, new york has good deli meat and bread
sometimes soup

dinner I usually have chicken, fish or steak with vegetables
i make a lot of rice too, i use my rice cooker a lot
I love fench fries, pizza, cheeseburgers and hotdogs but they arent healthy so I only eat them every once in a while

the thing about the USA is that there are a lot of people from other cultures that have come here so people eat all sorts of things

what I listed was very basic, I also love to try new foods and have a wide variety of foods that I eat
my family is polish so we have things like pierogi, kielbasa and kapusta a lot at sunday family dinners
my grandmother is greek so she likes to make lamb with everything

>>6643963
It's remarkable how many Euros don't understand how pointless a question like "what does the average American ____ "is. The US is the 3rd largest country in the world and made up of immigrants from every other country, there is no generalization I can make that will come close to fitting a majority of Americans.

In my own case I grew up with home cooked albeit bland food prepared by my mother who had learned to cook for her 11 siblings from her mother. When I moved out I did subsist largely on fast food/ processed junk for the first year since I lived with 3 other lazy guys but I've cooked my own food at least 6 days a week ever since.

>>6643979
Everyone on /ck/ is from Michigan, havent you noticed?

Lapeer queer here

>>6643963
I'm 21 and live at home.

I cook my own food for rwo meals a day and I eat out once a day cause I'm at work.

I almost always have eggs and toast in the morning, then for dinner I'll have whatever im in the mood for.

I was just in italy a few weeks ago. Nice country you got there. Great food, too.

>>6643988
This.

Fuck people from california. And I'm from NYC. Seriously fuck them.

OP, people are posting their own diets and not "your average American's" because there isn't a good answer for what you want. We're a grand old melting pot of different food cultures, and the best we can do is give an example of what we and the people around us eat on a daily basis.

Young people where I live can't cook, so they either rely on their parents for food or just eat fast food every day, and go to sit-down restaurants maybe twice a week. It's a miracle if they can make pasta most of the time.

Their parents fed them microwavable shit growing up, so they only eat stuff like mac and cheese, hot dogs, boneless skinless Atacama-desert-dry chicken breasts, overcooked steak/pork, grilled cheese (Americans love melted cheese), chicken noodle soup, burgers, Americanized Chinese food, and tacos.

Adults are too lazy to cook things from scratch most of the time, so if they're not lapsing into their kids' eating habits (but without the fast food, most of the time), then they're eating canned food and jarred sauces mixed with pasta.

Immigrants within two generations generally still eat home-cooked meals though.

>>6643979
Detroit here. Everyone I work with eats Coney island or McDonald's for breakfast, Wendy's or taco bell for lunch

>>6644014
You have a very impressive english vocabulary for how unimpressive your grammar is.

>>6644044
Germany is different faggot. They do eat everything at once in germany. In italy it is as he says.

If you go to restaraunts in italy they separate it by courses at well.

Appetizers, then first course, then second course, then dessert.

For breakfast, some sort of protein and some sort of carb. So like, sausage and a bagel, or toast and a fried egg.

The rest of the time I eat sandwiches of some kind, including burgs, and occasionally noodles or pasta. Sometimes veggies and rice in a rice cooker.

I'm poor as fuck though, so I'm probably a bad example.

>>6645538
This. I walk 15 minutes and hit 7 fast food joints, 3 Chinese or Thai spots, a bar and grill, 6 mexican restaurants, 2 pizza places, a soul food restaurant, a place that's specializes in deep frying and barbecuing EVERYTHING, and about a dozen Coney islands.

I don't even live in a large city, about 40000 total population, and that's not including the city 4 miles down the road with 500000 people.

>>6643963
You're on /ck/, a board for food and cooking. All of us are going to be cooking our own meals, at least somewhat. I would say that the average american "cooks" but usually with pre-made spices and sauces. Pasta with prego, hamburger helper, jarred salsa and taco meat spice packets are examples. Fresh herbs are hard to find and expensive, so most used dried packaged herbs.

When it comes to staples, most Americans don't know how to make a decent loaf of bread, make pasta, boil rice, butcher a chicken etc.

If you ever come to America, go grocery shopping and look at what they have in their carts. You'll see that most of them either can't or don't cook.

>>6643963

The US has massive diversity in its food culture. There is no food culture that the whole US 'shares'.

>>6645640
>Fresh herbs are hard to find and expensive
What are you talking about, they are widely available at every single grocery store I have ever seen. There's a price mark up, yeah, but depending on what you get it can be incredibly cheap.

And the cooking thing varies incredibly. In my opinion it is totally and completely based on either class or country of origin. Rich people tend to cook a lot, actually, because they often see it as a hobby. Immigrants or the children of immigrants actually cook a lot too no matter their income because most just have that cultural background.

The people who do the least cooking, in my opinion, are poor whites with no recent immigrant background.

>>6643963
That looks like a piece of shit sirloin steak covered in rat turds and baby puke.

>>6643963
i get a decent meal about every day. toast and milk for my morning, a sandwich at lunch usually. dinner is usually something like a meat, some potatoes, and mushrooms and spinach and that sort of thing. the idea that all we eat are hotdogs and hamburgers is a joke that has gone too far.

i eat takeout maybe 4 times a week. it gets hard when you work from 7 to 6, 5 days a week

>>6645651
>What are you talking about, they are widely available at every single grocery store
not the guy you are replying to but it gets hard where i am to find simple ingredients sometimes. i sort of live in the boonies of nj and its shit. best thing tho is that there is plenty of land and water to hunt and fish. i get some great duck during the winter. i love it.

>>6643963
I like to eat 2 egg, sausage, and cheese mcmuffins every morning, for lunch I like to have a grilled cheese and a bowl of tomato soup or a hamburger from this diner nearby, and for a snack I like having a caesar salad with extra dressing in between lunch and dinner, and for dinner I usually like to eat a steak, fish and french fries, or some kind of stew.

>>6645697
I guess it depends on where you live, I've lived up and down the West coast and fresh herbs were never an issue even in the worst of crappy supermarkets.

>>6645737
thats the west coast for you

>>6643963

As someone in a middle-class family with parents who are alright at cooking, I think the average non-fast-food American dinner (or rather, supper as it's called in some places)

a big meaty thing (burger, chicken cutlet, pork chop, maybe eggs or eggplant or something like that for vegetarians/vegans)

Something carby you can shovel in (like rice, potatoes, bread buns, pasta, etc. Often we find a random flavorful sauce to throw on dry carbs. We almost go international with the sauce.

A vegetable- like the classic supermarket mix of frozen pieces of carrots, corn, peas, and beans. Or vegetable-esque, like tomato or avocado.

Often we have crackers, chips, lettuce, etc. on the side to fill ourselves.

Sometimes it's all mixed in a pile, sometimes it's on different parts of the plate.

And the vast majority of us have fruit juice or soda with these meals. We are practically forced to eat candy and cookies and ice cream before we can even talk, so it's a miracle that many of us only crave 25 grams of sugar or so in a meal. Lots of us eat fresh fruit, or try to drink healthy juices, or rather have water or alcohol with dinner.

A lot of us eat dessert after dinner, kind of a bad habit. I try to have it as a snack instead.

The best American desserts include homemade-style cake, chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin cookies, ice cream and yogurt, and apple pie. But we often settle for having peanut butter and jelly, or cereal, or sweetened granola bars.

Can I just say, from an American to an Italian- that your dessert is fucking atrocious. How do you even like European cake? It's overly light, has weird little semi-fruity flavors, and the sugar is packed tight in the frosting. Biscotti comes close to decent dessert. Just saying, there's a reason why we imitate the fuck out of Italian cuisine more than any other nation's food, but generally skip the shitty Italian desserts.

Also, good English, Mr. Italiano.

>>6643963
I eat a party sub every day.

>>6644515
Americans are typically used to more calories in meals than others

>>6644552
Tech jobs are huge in America. I go to a culinary school that shares dorms with a tech school and they outnumber us 5:1

>>6644515
2? 2 is nothing I eat 5 to 6 eggs either scrambled or in an omelete every morning.

>>6644552

Fun fact- what has become known as "the taco" is actually a corruption of the original cuisine, to suit American tastes. Real tacos taste are sour shriveled burrito things.

There will be no good answer. American states are more diverse than European countries. You wouldn't ask what food culture is in Europe, would you?

>>6646208
>American states are more diverse than European countries.

Flyover/poorfags detected.

You've never been to Europe.

>>6646208
>American states are more diverse than European countries.
Why would you make such a ridiculous statement on a board that is browsed almost exclusively by Americans and Europeans? Chances are some of us have traveled enough to call you out on your shit.

>>6646223
I've been to many European countries. Why do Euros get so angry when someone points out this fact?

>>6646237
I'm American you dumb faggot.

You have never been to Europe in your life.

>>6646223
California alone is larger and more varied culturally than most European nations. Prove me wrong, please

Hit up a place like Applebee's or Marie Callender's, be served 4 cups of alfredo. That's pretty much the American baseline.

>>6646243
>I'm American
And I'm the queen of England.

I've been to many European countries. Here's a picture I took in Spain last Summer.

Here's what I eat: never the same meal twice a week.

>>6646274
thanks for sharing

I've been wondering for some time, what's the real food culture in Europe?
I mean, what does the average european get to eat in his day-to-day life?
From movies, shows and the internet I can guess: as long as you stay with your parents it's some decent cooking, though heavily relying on takeout, leftovers and boiled stuff.
Then when you get out of home it's a lot of fast food and take-away.
I live in a completely different reality (the moon), I enjoy cooking even though still at home (21), I'm not a pro but I have a good number of dishes under my belt and can provide for myself and improvize, so I have really no idea of what is life there
Thoughts? I was just wondering how much is stereotype and how much is reality
>how many times do you eat fast food/takeout?
pic related, my favourite second course

As far as what I eat, it's usually whole grain cereal in the morning, a wholesome sandwich for lunch, and some combination of meat/protein source, green veggies, and starch or grain for dinner.

For what I see in other families, it's basically the same but with more processed foods and lots of snacks and sodas.

I think the main problem with the USA diet is the ignorance of the population in basic nutrition. Also most people don't exercise regularly, which is why we have so many fatties.

>>6646357
>Maybe if I insult my country the Euros will finally like me!

>>6646363
>I am blind to the reality that surrounds me
Open your eyes man, 2/3rds of Americans are obese. I'm not ashamed of it, but it's a fact.

>>6646363
>not laughing at the fatties at walmart

U kidding me? They're gold. I always check what's in their shopping carts as I pass by.

There's a difference between insulting a country and insulting some of the individuals that inhabit it.

>mfw I realized other countries don't eat soup before every meal

>>6646357
>I think the main problem with the USA diet is the ignorance of the population in basic nutrition.
Believe it or not, poverty is a contributor. Cheap food is never healthy, and the healthiest food is always expensive.

>>6646372
One third, not two.

>>6647334
>Cheap food is never healthy
This is straight up bullshit

The cheapest meat is chicken, and a simple grilled chicken meal (pic related, not the O SAY CAN YOU SEE 5 DIFFERENT BBQ SAUCES American style of grilled chicken) is healthier and cheaper than any ground fat burger your country's fat fucks keep guzzling down.

>>6647346
Pic related, then forgot pic. Sorry.

>>6647334
>Cheap food is never healthy, and the healthiest food is always expensive.

Hell no.

I think what you meant to say was that cheap PROCESSED food is rarely healthy.

It is very inexpensive to cook healthy food from scratch; it's even cheaper than fast food or processed garbage.

>>6647351
Greens besides iceburg are really expensive in the US. For the cost of 1lb of good greens someone can get a high calorie meal at a fast food joint. Avocados are sometimes a buck fifty here. Your picture was a poor choice. I agree that with smart shopping and cooking you can make it better even if you are poor, but many of these people are resigned to their lifestyle and have poor education (and more important, no drive for self-education) that the short term success of stuffing your meal with Taco Bell is a "cheaper" alternative to buying groceries and cooking them.

For me it went like this.
>growing up mother home cooked pretty much every meal, huge portions that always had leftovers.
>eating out was a huge treat, maybe 1-2 fridays a month we would go out for pizza
>turn 16, get a car, get a job (brothers are around the same age)
>I eat out more with friends, eat at home less frequently
>they start making smaller portions and eating more of their leftovers instead of full meals
>moved out and literally ate out every single meal
>quickly realize that fast food is shit, and decent take out meals are awfully expensive
>start buying frozen premade meals like crazy
>realize how mediocre and expensive it is
>decide to learn to cook on your own, because only girls are taught to cook by their mother

And here we are
I know people who eat Taco Bell 3-4 times a week because of the happy hour thing makes it really cheap if you buy the right stuff.

>>6647376
>Only girls are taught to cook by their mother
Shit mother detected. Mine cooked with all of her children when we were little and then allowed us to choose our interest. Used her as a reference guide as I learned and now she does the same for me.

>>6647370
>Your picture was a poor choice.
My picture is a random google images picture of grilled chicken.

Now, I don't claim to know the price of vegetables in the US, but I'm sure you can get something to go along with your meat for relatively cheap. Hell, lettuce and rice should be cheap everywhere.

People just don't realize how cheap homemade food can be. Pretty much everything that you find in restaurants (fast food joints included) you can make yourself for a fraction of the cost.

>>6647387
Cheap lettuce is nutritionally void. Cabbage or lentils would have been much better suggestions. Seasonally, corn is also buttfuckingly cheap in the US and potatoes are too.

>>6645774
>We are practically forced to eat candy and cookies and ice cream before we can even talk
..Wtf are you talking about?

>>6647393
>Cheap lettuce is nutritionally void
And Taco Bell is a better option, right?

You don't have to treat your meals like a fucking nutrient checklist in order to "eat healthy", just don't eat junk food 5 days a week. Cheap lettuce can be soaked in cheap vinegar for a tasty salad that won't kill you or your wallet. It's not like I choose my meals based on the nutritional value of the ingredients, I just have the common sense not to survive entirely on concentrated cholesterol treats.

>>6645774
Speak for yourself man. As an American, tiramisu is absolutely god-tier, as is gelato.

>>6647334
>food isn't healthy
>IE eating healthily is not possible to do without spending a lot of money

Cheap /prepared/ food isn't usually healthy, but raw foods are cheaper than prepared nine times of ten.
For example, chicken breast is on sale this weekend for $1.49/lb (all meat is super cheap around Independence day and it's my annual stock-the-fucking-meat-freezer holiday). That's pretty cheap. Even cheaper if you get it bone-in/skin-on (99¢/lb!).
Anyway, 4lbs of boneless, skinless chicken breast is enough for eighteen servings of meat! That's less than 35¢ per serving of lean chicken. Cook it up, serve it between sliced bread with a side salad and some glazed carrot or something and you've got a complete meal for under a buck.
By contrast, a McChicken is $1 and comes with no sides, Budget Bites and other ready meals are a dollar each and are loaded with fat and sodium, and ready-formed chicken patties for sandwiches are not only full of sodium and nitrite preservatives but are also 'spensive as fuck at $5/lb.

Another example, swapping out the chicken for beans for veggie burgers drops the cost per serving quite a bit. 2lb bags of pinto beans are sold at Save-a-Lot for $1.89 and can make, with a few additional ingredients, a total of thirty-two veggie/bean patties, costing under 11¢ each one. Storebought veggie burgers cost at least 50¢ per serving, usually sold in boxes of four at $1.99 per box, at the cheapest.

While poverty is a contributor to obesity, it's not because of the cost of food but due to the lack of knowledge, up to and including cooking knowledge, that tends to accompany poverty.

>>6646357
It's not ignorance of nutrition. It's ignorance in general, most specifically culinary ignorance, that contributes to fatties being fat.

>>6647386
The thing is, I had zero interest in it. Me and my brother would go off and do stuff while my sister would help cook.

And I am >>>/diy/ as fuck, learning to work on the house appliances and cars with my father.

It only recently occurred to me that all the hands on type shit I know, I should know how to cook my own balanced meal.

This isnt the 70s, you dont necessarily get married so that your wife can cook while the man goes out to work. But thats what we were backhandedly taught, because thats how my parents were, my grandparents, great grandparents etc etc.

>>6647416
I should point out too, I grew up Baptist, and that I am 26 and not married. Most of my girlfriends barely knew how to cook.

My parents got married at 18, my grandparents got married at 16. Gender roles is a big thing in many religions.

By all accounts, if I were still Baptist I should already be married and have a girl who cooks for me every night. Im not supposed to know how to cook.

And its more widespread than you think, its why in 90s shows it was so special when a girl found a handsome providing man who could also cook!

>>6647443
It's okay bro, you seem alright to me. I'm the same age as you with the same religious background and sort of agree with your assessment. I see it like this, though. You love food, right? Then why the fuck would you not be interested in knowing how to prepare it for yourself? Kudos to realizing this.

I mostly eat canned beans, nuts and seeds, and fruit.

>>6644712
Have you consider most of america eats a bigger variety of food then your shitty flyover states?

>>6648280

I think that was his point.

>>6643963
>heavily relying on takeout

My household does not do this. We cook every meal and the only time we eat out is at a restaurant and not food from a drive through. Food is different in almost every household here. Sometimes we make spaghetti, mashed potatoes, chicken, rice, broccoli, salmon, beans, etc. there really is no way to pin it down.

>>6647407
Face it. He blew you the fuck out.

>>6644023
It's average. Euros are just filled with misconceptions and anger for whatever reason.

>>6648280
Did your mom drop you on your head as a kid? Think carefully before responding.

>>6645561
this sounds like central iowa

Reliance on takeout and microwaved shit are individual faults.

Call anyone out on it and you'll get some long butthurt rant about not having time or the patience to cook something healthy. They'll mention their jobs or lives, being stressful. Etc.

I'm not average but usually I will eat yogurt and fruit for breakfast, skip lunch or have a small sandwich, and something fast but homemade for dinner, usually a sauteed chicken breast with pan gravy or fried eggs and some kind of light salad or cooked veggie. I'm not big on carbs

>>6646289
Aaaaaah kenkerlekkere bammetjes met echte oerhollandse dwergenkeutels!

My meat products consist of a lot of fish and shellfish, chicken thighs and breasts, and I have an extreme weakness for buffalo wings, so always some in the freezer. Bacon and some pork will occasional pop up.

The majority of my red meat is vineson, white-tailed deer specifically.

Veggies come from farmers market, so whatever is in season.

I'm an RN, so easily reheatable foods consist of my diet. Many soups and stews, rice and beans, and because I'm from the Deep South casseroles are awesome for tgis. Always prepare, never TV dinners, too much sodium and preservatives.

1 egg, 1/2 bagel, small cup of oatmeal most every day.