What item(s) represent America?

[TooPatient]

What about cookbooks?

Cookbooks that focus on a region can have great recipes and many are easy to follow so anyone can make them.
It would help if the person could read English and has access to at least most of the ingredients.

 

[elle_chris]

Smoked salmon? Canned Alaskan crab? This is what represents Western coast but I never saw it in other countries.

Funny, I'm from the east coast and always think of Nova Scotia when I think smoked salmon. But it's also very popular in some European countries. I know I've seen it everywhere in England and Scotland.

Never, ever, saw canned Alaskan crab. Wonder if we even have it here.

I bookmarked this thread for future reference. Really liked some of the suggestions.

 

[Porridge]

Smoked salmon? Canned Alaskan crab? This is what represents Western coast but I never saw it in other countries.

Funny, I'm from the east coast and always think of Nova Scotia when I think smoked salmon. But it's also very popular in some European countries. I know I've seen it everywhere in England and Scotland.

Never, ever, saw canned Alaskan crab. Wonder if we even have it here.

I bookmarked this thread for future reference. Really liked some of the suggestions.

Yes smoked salmon is very common here. Mmmm smoked salmon...

 

[steph72276]

I love the hershy bar idea....take along some marshmellows and graham crackers and teach them about the yumminess of smores!!!!

 

[ksinger]

A couple of things.
I second peanut butter. I could occasionally find it in Europe, but it was never the same.
Another is soda. Beyond coke, most are not avaliable elsewhere or are very expensive. I know my friend in Mexico will only let people visit her if they bring Dr. peper. Others like cream soda and root beer are also not common.
I will be honest, I wouldn't bring local wine. There is a reason pretty much no one drinks American wines except Americans, at least nothing affordable. Personally, if I were going to do alcohol I might bring good beers like fat tire that are immpossible to get elsewhere.

I remember kids really liking baseball caps when we traveled, especially with American teams.

Famous landmark stuff is usually a hit as well; not just Hollywood, but NY, San Fran, etc.

Have to disagree on the wines. Don't bring local, as in (I'm in Oklahoma - gawdawful place for wine-growing) don't bring LOCAL, is good advice, but if the people you know in Europe aren't drinking American wines - ie, some of the Californian ones, it's either lack of education, availability, or snobbery, pure and simple. I honestly can't think of anything to pleasantly surprise and educate them more quickly, than an excellent bottle from CA. The number of truly stellar wines grown here in the US is pretty staggering actually. Of course choosing one requires YOU to either be well-versed in wines (and many Americans aren't, this being more of a beer/hard liquor culture after all) or having a really good wine vendor nearby to help you. In any case, wine exports from the US hit over 1 bil last year, so someone "over there" is drinking our wine. I read that the US now ties France as the number 2 wine import into the UK, behind Australia.

The beer idea is great, but I'd also consider a fine Kentucky bourbon, since that is absolutely American, like Scotch screams Scotland.

ksinger, are you able to name a couple of good wineries from the US, in particular for whites? I don't often see (not that i look either) wine from the US and would be interested to try some. I didn't realise that the US produced stellar wines, probably because we have so much to choose from locally here in Western Australia, so I don't tend to try anything other than what I know, but i would like to spread my wings!

Well, I really am not any kind of wine expert. That is a study and passion of a lifetime. AND I'm better with reds than whites. Still, if't'were me, I would go straight to any wine from Clos du Val Winery. They made the first cab I ever had (I was hooked immediately) and were one of the wineries in the famous 1973 Paris wine contest, where the French choked when Stag's Leap Winery kicked their tushies with a cab in a blind taste test - mostly by Frenchmen. Giggle! Anyway, they do make a chardonnay, and I would go for that in a heartbeat. Good wineries make good wines as a rule, regardless of type.

The california Merlots are starting to shake out - in the 90's anyone with money planted merlot and it resulted in some pretty insipid merlots with little character. If you plant merlot in good soil it produces lots of gorgeous, boring grapes. Plant it it crappy soil and you get fewer, amazing grapes. Now the California merlots are worth looking into again, although you still can get a bunch of boring ones. We had several at a recent tasting that we just fab. (Unfortunately I have misplaced my menu for that tasting.)

Right now, I'd keep my eye on Tor Kenward Winery, and Bogle Winery. And I am. Keeping up with them. The Bogle Phantom - a blend we had at a local tasting of "Proprietary Reds" was just amazing, albeit pricey. We bought a Bogle 2007 Merlot instead, but haven't had it yet. And the Tor Kenward Torchiana Cuvee Chardonnay was lovely (served with shrimp with Swiss chard and smoked onion butter). Got to meet Tor Kenward too, that was fun; to meet the man who made the wine. We have a bottle of his Rock Hommage Allan, another lovely red blend, that will wait a few years. These are some of the small wineries that admittedly are hard to come by, especially around here. Luckily we have a wine guy here in OKC who is seriously into bringing in the smaller, overlooked gems to be found, and works extensively with Kurt Fleischfresser, a local chef famous for his food and wine pairings.

For a great hot weather wine, I suggest the Elyse 2008 Rose'. Fruity yet tart, great chilled out on a patio in the evening. We are at the end of our case, sadly.

Right now my personal fave is (get ready) Cupcake Winery's Sauvingnon Blanc, from New Zealand. $13 and very grapefruity and light. Go figure.

 

[zoebartlett]

How very odd - I replied to this a bit ago, but my response disappeared (?!?!?): chalk it up to PS 2.0.

Anyway, the gist of my response was: America is big enough that you might want to go more by region than nation. My grad program in NH gave out maple syrup candy: the interviewer from my first job in CA gifted me with a gorgeous fresh-picked clementine from the tree in his yard; and, if I were going to visit someone within a day of me, I'd bring them some wonderful NY bagels. It all depends, right?

Sorry to threadjack, Fiery, but Circe, you went to grad school in NH? Me too! For some reason, I'm always surprised when I see that someone on PS lives in or has lived here.

 

[lizzyann]

I would go to Hong Kong periodically for work and when we asked the girls in the HK office what they wanted us to bring them when we came for our next trip...they replied with Bath and Body Works!!! Isn't that funny? I was so surprised that was what they wanted. They requested lotions and hand soaps from there! They were so excited when we brought it to them!

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I asked my husband this question and he had 2 other really good suggestions.
The first is hot sauce. You really can't get good stuff in Europe and it was one of the first things he got when we moved back from Dublin, he was so excited.
The other is crackerjacks. You don't see them elsewhere and there are such an American thing. If you can find the ones with little prizes in them, even better. Our German friends used to give us kinder eggs. Even though they were not premium German chocolate, I loved the little toys in them and they were better than any other candy they could have brought us.

Ksinger, we will have to agree to disagree. less than 4% of the world import/export market is American wine, which is what I was refering to. There are good American wines, I find Silver Oak's Napa wines to be the best cabs ever, but in the price range of wine for everyday, I just am not impressed. The reds are not aged long enough and the barrels they use are too new, giving a rough edge and the whites usually have a flavor that is so dominating that you can't taste any of the subtleties that make wine so much fun. I will drink American wine without complaint, but I have yet to find a variety of American wine that tastes better than one of the same price and variety from somewhere else. I can't imagine trying to give an American wine as a gift in France or Italy for example and have it be anything but disappointing for the recipient. Of American wines, cupcake is pretty good I agree, as are Coppola's reds.

 

[monarch64]

Wow, absolutely love reading the responses on this thread!

Being part (1/16 Choctaw, 1/16 Cherokee) Native American, I definitely love the idea of doing something native-based or even early American history-based. However, I understand that those are things people might not be interested in.

That said, why not just ask the recipients what they think of when they think of the United States and go from there? That way, one would be able to find something to appeal to that particular audience without guessing! Perhaps I'm totally wrong and haven't read the thread through, sorry if that's the case. Best of luck to you, OP.

 

[missjaxon]

Being Canadian, this list would be what reminds me of the USA. I also think anything to do with baseball teams and canned cheese! lol

[quoteETA: And, dangit, it did not! What do you guys do to quote, aside from just hitting the button upon responding?]

Don't know if the quote will work, but ....

- Beef jerky (gods help us)

- california wines

- Black Hills Gold

- turquoise

- anything Native American (this is a huge generalization, and not meant to be offensive - if anything, I'd say it's the most genuine thing on the list)

- in point of fact, anything referencing a specific period, from Colonial memorabilia onwards

- cowboy boots and hats

- Hollywood themed items

Making this list makes me feel like we are a kitschy sort of a nation - I feel like our biggest exports are Coca Cola and McDs![/quote]

 

[bee*]

Smoked salmon? Canned Alaskan crab? This is what represents Western coast but I never saw it in other countries.

Funny, I'm from the east coast and always think of Nova Scotia when I think smoked salmon. But it's also very popular in some European countries. I know I've seen it everywhere in England and Scotland.we even have it here

Yep it's really common in Ireland as well. Just had it for breakfast!

I always think hersheys when I'm bringing pressies home for colleagues if I go on holidays in the US.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

Thank you for those wineries ksinger, i am going wine hunting tomorrow

ETA: I am not at all suprised that you found a wine you love from NZ, there is some great wines coming out of there, and at great prices too!

 

[Prana]

I was gonna say something Hershey's or Reeses related, but I'm just gonna go with

HOTDOGS!!!!

I loved reading all the responses, BTW. Some really great ideas!

My friend had to take out a group from Japan for his job once...the only thing they wanted to do was go to the grocery store and buy junk food! One person bought $100 worth of beef jerky and Oreo's.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

Smoked salmon? Canned Alaskan crab? This is what represents Western coast but I never saw it in other countries.

Funny, I'm from the east coast and always think of Nova Scotia when I think smoked salmon. But it's also very popular in some European countries. I know I've seen it everywhere in England and Scotland.

Never, ever, saw canned Alaskan crab. Wonder if we even have it here.

I bookmarked this thread for future reference. Really liked some of the suggestions.

Def. smoked king salmon! I'm in the PAC northwest so that is a stereotypical representation of this region.

(I think this is my first post on the new PS! Hopefully this goes through!)