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Old 06-11-2018, 10:38 AM
 
125 posts, read 183,116 times
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When the government is subsidizing the big sugar and corn industries to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars (if not billions) a year you have to find someplace to dump all that sugar and the American populace is paying the price!


I wonder if those industries will ever face lawsuits for creating millions of diabetics the same way big tobacco payed the price for killing millions with their false advertising. Hopefully so...
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Old 06-11-2018, 10:40 AM
 
125 posts, read 183,116 times
Reputation: 363
Quote:
Originally Posted by wasel View Post
Scientists say different cultures have different “wiring” to detect sweetness. What tastes overly sweet to one would be mildly sweet to another.

Europeans and Asians have a higher sensitivity to sugar. Africans have a lower sensitivity. These traits appear to be rooted in what types of foods were available in the immediate area.

That said, I find it interesting that to me the most disgustingly sweet desserts/dessert ingredients are meringue, marshmallows and marzipan, all of which have Euro roots.

So no, “too sweet” is not an American phenomenon.

Do you have a source for this? I could believe it being a cultural phenomenon but have a hard time believing its genetic. Not saying you're wrong, just genuinely curious.
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Old 06-11-2018, 10:40 AM
 
Location: Pennsylvania/Maine
3,703 posts, read 2,647,518 times
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Haha funny discussion. Yes! Thinking the chocolate molten lava dessert whatever it's called. Like 1,000g of sugar!
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Old 06-11-2018, 10:59 AM
 
21,630 posts, read 12,679,017 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chops00 View Post
Do you have a source for this? I could believe it being a cultural phenomenon but have a hard time believing its genetic. Not saying you're wrong, just genuinely curious.
We're ALL hard-wired, genetically, to prefer sweet and fatty foods as a survival mechanism. The more calories we take in and the more fat we store, the greater our chances of survival in case of famine or protracted illness.
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Old 06-11-2018, 11:02 AM
 
2,129 posts, read 1,765,263 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikala43 View Post
Yes. I find our desserts sweeter than most other cultures, EU, Asian, etc.
REALLY? You have clearly never experienced an Indian dessert.

I swear Indians have the biggest sweet teeth in the entire world. That I know of. They would put sugar on sugar. Much like my dad, bless his heart, who would go through 2 of those restaurant style sugar-shakers just putting sugar in his coffee per day. When I was a kid this is how I made his coffee, from a percolator, so strong it could climb out of the pot by itself -

Take the coffee cup.

Fill 1/3rd with sugar.

Add another 1/3rd coffee

Now fill it up with cream.

His favorite pie was pecan, which is basically a layer of pecans on top of a couple of inches of sugar. He would put ice cream on that.

Indians are just like that. His sweet tooth is typical of every single Indian I have ever known, and I have known a lot of them over the years given my ex was from Vijayawada, LOL!

I have never known any Americans other than my dad who slugged down the sweets and sugar the way my dad did. Did I mention he kept a bowl of chocolate candy next to him at all times? He could go through 5 pounds of candy a week! And no, he was not diabetic nor was he fat.

Anyway. Indian desserts.

Jalebi. Basically sugar syrup soaked fried things.

Gulab Jamun. Kind of like a syrup soaked donut hole.

Ras Gullah. Imagine a soft, fresh cheese. Now imagine that soft, fresh cheese - SOAKED IN SYRUP.

I actually love Ras Gullah. It at least has a nice bite to it to counteract all that sugar.

Mysore Pak. There are two kinds. There is the fudgie kind, and the crunchy kind. Both are basically butter, flour and sugar, only one is cooked to the candy stage until it foams up and makes a frothy foamy mass that then cools to crunchy goodness. WAY sweeter than a doughnut in either form.

Kheer. Rice cooked in sugar and milk until the milk thickens to the consistency of cream.

Mango pulp. This comes out of the can already loaded down with sugar. I love mango, but mango pulp is already so sweet it makes my teeth hurt just thinking about it.

A donut by itself is generally not all that sweet. Sprinkles - not sweet. They taste chalky to me, I don't know why anyone likes them. Icing, sure that's sweet. But I don't think a donut with icing and sprinkles is anywhere NEAR the top, let alone over it.

In the USA, our problem is not so much the actual desserts as it is the sugar they put in every goldang thing. It's in canned food, its in bread, it's in EVERYTHING. Plus salt and fat. If you look at any individual item, it doesn't seem like much - but in the aggregate - DEFINITELY over the top. I'll take an overdone Indian dessert in lieu of the cumulative effect of the crap they add to prepared food here any day.
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Old 06-11-2018, 11:13 AM
 
125 posts, read 183,116 times
Reputation: 363
Quote:
Originally Posted by wasel View Post
Scientists say different cultures have different “wiring” to detect sweetness. What tastes overly sweet to one would be mildly sweet to another.

Europeans and Asians have a higher sensitivity to sugar. Africans have a lower sensitivity. These traits appear to be rooted in what types of foods were available in the immediate area.

That said, I find it interesting that to me the most disgustingly sweet desserts/dessert ingredients are meringue, marshmallows and marzipan, all of which have Euro roots.

So no, “too sweet” is not an American phenomenon.

Do you have a source for this? I could believe it being a cultural phenomenon but have a hard time believing its genetic. Not saying you're wrong, just genuinely curious.
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Old 06-11-2018, 11:59 AM
 
6,503 posts, read 3,398,565 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by otterhere View Post
We're ALL hard-wired, genetically, to prefer sweet and fatty foods as a survival mechanism. The more calories we take in and the more fat we store, the greater our chances of survival in case of famine or protracted illness.
That's why when agricultural famine was no longer a real threat, people ate MORE and did LESS work.
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Old 06-11-2018, 01:08 PM
 
Location: Mt. Lebanon
2,001 posts, read 2,502,029 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by otterhere View Post
I just had a donut. Already sweet as is (it's a donut), but then glazed, then frosted, then adorned with sprinkles, then topped with cream. I feel like I need an insulin injection. Something tells me this trend is more for the eye than the tongue; likewise the cupcakes -- two inches high, and sweet enough with nothing on them -- with six inches of frosting on top. I find all of our desserts too sweet compared to the European versions I've sampled. Anyone else?
yes, many of desserts bought in stores - any store - are way too sweet. i know some kids who pass on b-day cake bc is too sweet.
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Old 06-11-2018, 01:11 PM
 
6,503 posts, read 3,398,565 times
Reputation: 7903
Quote:
Originally Posted by XRiteMA98 View Post
yes, many of desserts bought in stores - any store - are way too sweet. i know some kids who pass on b-day cake bc is too sweet.
For once, a recent trend that will have positive side effects
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Old 06-11-2018, 04:32 PM
 
Location: DFW
12,229 posts, read 21,411,120 times
Reputation: 33266
What about Turkish Delight? That may be one of the worst, sweetest things I've ever tasted.
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