this post was submitted on 29 Jul 2023
2 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Americans

1 readers
1 users here now

Yes, the yellow school buses are real. No, we don't ascribe a lot of significance to the red solo cups. We're more culturally diverse than Europeans think, but probably less than we believe. Peanut butter is delicious. Thanks to @minnieo@kbin.social for Kibby, and @euphoria@kbin.social for our logo.

founded 2 years ago
2
What's the deal with bread in the US (self.askamericans)
submitted 2 years ago by mayonaise_met to c/askamericans@kbin.social
11 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I had a bit of a discussion with someone on Reddit a while ago about American bread. They claimed decent bread was available in almost every bakery section of every grocery store. All American bread I remember was full of sugar and preservatives, not just the wonder bread type, but also everything else. Since my memory could be wrong, or one-sided, or perhaps things have changed, I left it at that.

Now I've been in the U.S. for over a week and visited at least one grocery store per day (we don't have reliable access to a fridge so we buy fresh stuff daily). I just cannot find anything close to the fresh bakery section in a Dutch supermarket. And compared to other European countries that isn't even a particularly high bar.

What I find is either to way too sweet and fluffy/cakey, and nothing even close to the mediocre pre-sliced bread back home. What am I doing wrong?

I've tried Aldi, Walmart and a few local(?) chains.

all 16 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] AlphaAcid@lemmy.world 2 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That's because you're going to Aldi and Walmart, which cater to the low end and are cheap above all else. Try a regular mid range grocery store like Safeway/Albertsons/Vons and you'll find a bakery section. But like the other commenter said if you want higher quality you'll have to go to a higher end grocery store like Whole Foods. Also depending on which part of the country you're visiting you'll find huge differences in food quality standards.

[–] mayonaise_met 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I have visited a few other chains as well. Not really the cheap kind either. I'll see if I can find a whole foods before the end of the trip.

I'm I've visited mostly Northeast states so far.

[–] Nemo@midwest.social 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

Not every grocer has a bakery section. But yes, we like fluffy breads here.

[–] mayonaise_met 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

That's too bad. Hard crust is the best!

[–] Nemo@midwest.social 1 points 2 years ago

Big disagree, and I'm someone who prefers dense, chewy breads.

[–] DontEatTheProstitute@lemm.ee 1 points 2 years ago (1 children)

I've visited Oregon as a European a few months ago. Best bet are Trader Joe's or making your own bread. Some higher end patisseries might have a proper baguette but most of the time it devolves into the soft milk bread you've described. Another worthwhile visit is whole foods but it's expensive as frick. Either way, enjoy the beautiful nature over there! America has some pretty wild untapped beauty to discover!

[–] mayonaise_met 1 points 2 years ago

Thanks for the recommendations. I haven't actually been to a Trader Joe yet. In Europe I do prefer Aldi Süd over Aldi Nord, so I didn't seek them out. Maybe I should.

I have noticed a huge spread in grocery prices. Like cold cuts and pre-sliced cheese starting at $6-7. That'd be at least half that back home. Then in another store in another place I bought pre-sliced Gouda for some super reasonable price which I don't quite remember.

I think I'd buy one of those bread making machines if I lived here I think.

The nature of beautiful though. No doubt.