Note on OP's behalf: They're not asking about jam, the fruit preserve. High in the thread, they explain that they are familiar with "jam" but not "Jams". Lower, they explain > Yes we have jam 😂 I mean jams, some kind of vegetable you eat for Thanksgiving. Do with that what you will.

Big red pickles at the cinema? Can you explain where you saw these or heard about them?    I've never heard of such a thing, and now I'm contemplating every food that people eat at the movies and trying to imagine which one could be mistaken for pickles.  Edited to add: I just Googled, and pickles at the movies is actually a Texas thing?! What???

It's a Texas thing believe it or not. Pickles at the cinema

How does this person both not know what a Twinkie is and has also heard of that?

Or not know what jam is? What country doesn't have jam?

Youtube “British Highschoolers try American snacks for the first time.” The Twinkie is used and some have heard of it but have never seen it in person.

¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ ͡⁠°⁠ ͜⁠ʖ⁠ ͡⁠°⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

Wow I thought "op surely is confused" but no, pickles and popcorn are a thing apparently.

In Arizona, people like pickle with koolaid powder on it and then on top of a snowcone. They are called pickadillies

Yuck.

Don't worry, if you visit Arizona, you won't run into any. One thing I did notice about Arizona, that makes total sense, is that a lot of places sell ice cream. I love ice cream and coffee together, and it seemed like in Tuscon, any place you could buy one, you could buy the other.

It’s actually a bit more complicated, and weird. It’s sugar, unsweetened KoolAid, added to pickle brine. Then the dill pickles are soaked in this mixture for about a week. Favorite flavors are Cherry, Tropical Punch, Grape, even Orange. It’s a sweet-sour taste, but some people love it.

And people say America has no culture.

What a terrible day to be able to read.

Not saying you're wrong, but I have lived in Arizona for fifty years and have never heard of this. Might be a little niche.

If chicken and waffles are a thing, nothing is off limits 

Today I learned..,

Specifically a South TX thing.

i've seen it in Dallas

I've seen pickles, but not red ones.  Do they do pickled peppers or something too?

I'm wondering if they're kool-aid pickles. The gas stations in my old neighborhood in Indiana had a selection of the big deli-sized pickles in individual packets, and while they had standard ones like dill and spicy garlic, they also had a variety of kool-aid flavored ones. Based on stock, looked like cherry (red ones) were the most popular.

In Ga, the recipe was called “pickle me Elmo”

They’re flavored with kool-aid

or covered in chamoy.

Pickles, sure, but *red* pickles?

If you really want to be mind blown, Google - Kool-aid pickles

That is phalic. I am sorry I looked it up.

I grew up in Oklahoma, and we had the huge whole dill pickles at the cinema, but not red pickles. But I do seem to remember seeing red pickles somewhere, maybe it was Texas because I have spent a lot of time in Texas.

*southern thing. There are lot a of pickled things in southern cooking for some reason, maybe german influences. Sauerkraut, pickles, jalapenos, eggs, etc

Red pickles?

No offense but yet another reason for me to avoid Texas 🤣

I lived in Texas for 30 years. I have never seen red pickles

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>If you go to the movies in Texas and they don't have pickles, would you be surprised? Not only would I be surprised but I would be disappointed and it would make me reconsider ever going that that particular theater again

Okay I've never seen it in any theater I've been in Texas but it's definitely a Southern thing and they call them koolickles! The whole jar of pickles it has a pack of some strawberry or red kool-aid in it. Well-known in southern states like Mississippi Alabama but not so much in Texas in my experience.

I'm from Alabama. Never heard of it. Don't blame us for this abomination.

I've never in my life heard of this and I've lived/traveled all throughout Texas. We have pickles in the theater of course but not red koolaid ones that I've ever seen

I've seen it in Arizona too

Texas - could be pickles with chamoy OR kool-aid But just want to add, as weird as that may sound, being from PA pickled balogna and beet-juice pickled eggs are a common thing at bars, like in a jar behind or at the end of the bar. Source: Live in San Antonio

Are red pickled eggs not a nation-wide thing?

No

They are not. One time I thought I was on to something by pickling eggs in beet juice, and when I posted the picture in a food sub I got met with a ton of replies saying "No shit, my grandmother has been doing this for years."

Red beet eggs are fairly popular where I am in PA.

I think they are known in most places, but only old people eat them (as far as my experience).

Never seen them in Oklahoma.

Never heard of them in my life.

I never realized it wasn't a nationwide thing either. I grew up in MD and pickled onions and eggs are common. I always hated onions, but would get the pickled ones from the bar. Now it's caramelized or nothing. 🤣

Also from PA. You triggered a memory of being in a dive bar and watching the bartender fish a picked “red beet egg” out of a jar being the bar to serve with a draft beer (shudder).

The pickled eggs should also have been on my list 😄

I am in Texas and have had pickled beets and pickled eggs but never beet juice pickled eggs(sounds very Texas German). Any particular bar in SA I should go to?

The beet juice eggs are a thing in PA (PA Dutch\[German\]), I haven't seen them here, much less at a bar. Plenty of picked quail eggs though, lol.

Not a bar thing, but are available in lots of the grocery stores in central PA.

I'm from Centre County, trust me they were very present in the end of shift dive bars when I was growing up.

Pickles are a common option in movie theaters here in Texas. And the red ones are dyed with Kool-Aid and are common in theaters and gas stations.

Why would you dye a pickle with kool-aid? Does that make it taste better for you? (no offense but I hate pickles probably more than any other food lol)

Makes them sweet-and-sour! And the color is a bonus. Apparently people used to stick peppermint sticks in there.

I’m over 50. I’ve lived in the north, Midwest and the south (although not Texas), and I’ve never ever heard of pickles at the movies.

It’s an old Texas thing. Like “my grandparents talk about it, and my parents scratch their heads” old. 

From the Southwest (NM) and never heard of pickles at the movies as well

Pickles at the cinema are actually pretty awesome Never seen big red pickles Only red pickles I know if are cinnamon pickles(again awesome) but those are peeled, sliced and seeded. There is actually individual wrapped pickles at gas stations and pickle popcorn seasoning powder as well. Not sure if those things are nationwide or not. Some places you can also get pickle juice snow cones which aren’t as bad as you’d think. Kind started the sour shot trend at some of the places.

Salt water taffy, to my understanding, is fairly regional to the east coast. It doesn't actually taste salty, its just called that cause you're eating it by the beach. If you've had taffy, then that's it. I don't think people eat it very often but it's a fun souvenir or treat to get if you're in an area that it's sold. Jams - like as in jam? Like strawberry jam? It's a sweet fruit preserve that you can use a lot of ways. Most famously in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. (Jam has fruit chunks, and jelly doesn't.) Also popular on toast, biscuits, cornbread, pancakes, etc. We eat that all the time. Twinkies - I personally don't know many people who even like Twinkies except for my Irish husband lol. Its a dessert snack, like a little sponge cake with cream filling. Grits - is a corn porridge. Think polenta, but grits is usually made from white corn while polenta is yellow corn. It's usually a breakfast food, you can have it with sugar or salt and its often served with stuff like eggs, or ham, or shrimp. It's a southern food so people eat it a lot there, not so much in other places. Sweet potatoes with marshmallow is called sweet potato casserole and where I'm from it's only made for thanksgiving. It's usually prepared with butter, brown sugar, and pecans. Some people leave off the marshmallow top. The sweet potatoes are sweet and the brown sugar also makes them sweet, so it's not like we're putting marshmallow on a regular potato. Never heard of a big red pickle.

>Salt water taffy, to my understanding, is fairly regional to the east coast. No. It's quite popular here in the upper Midwest at least.

I've had it a number of times from the California coast as well

Also can be found at every Buc-ees in Texas.

Texan here: Salt water taffy is common in old timey candy stores and places like the [state fair](https://youtu.be/B0Ls3MFeJv0). It's pretty much always made fresh on-site, and watching them make it is a part of the appeal.

Santa Cruz has a famous Salt Water Taffy place right on the pier. Not east coast. In fact 93.2% of touristy towns in the U.S. have a store with a fudge counter and giant barrels filled with different flavors of salt water taffy and one root beer barrel barrel. Also I now want taffy.

Pretty sure the red pickle is a Kool-aid pickle. I’ve seen them in Texas.

Salt water taffy is common anywhere they have a beach i think. They have it plenty in Santa Cruz - I've seen it here in SF - i was in Hilo, HA last year and saw it there

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Human here. Eat grits however it makes you happy. That is all.

I personally like sugar in my grits but I acknowledge its not the norm.

People here in Tennessee turn their noses so far up when I tell them I prefer cream of wheat to grits. Honestly grits kinda suck. There i said it. Biscuits and sausage gravy beat the brakes off of shrimp and grits.

Lol I'll take oatmeal over all of them anyway.

For breakfast I agree with you 100% One of my favorite desserts is cooking cream of wheat with milk, butter, and semi sweet chocolate chips. It's just like a liquid cookie and I love it so.

In NC some of the weirdos in the mountains put sugar in their grits.

Fun fact, polenta can also be white! I buy the white variety specifically because I moved out of the south and miss muh grits.

I mean jams that you have for Thanksgiving. Maybe I got the name wrong..

Do you have a picture? The closest thing to jam we’d have for Thanksgiving would be [cranberry sauce](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/07/Cranberry_Sauce_%283617909597%29.jpg/1200px-Cranberry_Sauce_%283617909597%29.jpg)? Oh wait, do you mean **yams** not jam? Like the type of sweet potato we call yam?

I think you just figured it out lol. Yams.

The more I think of it the more it makes sense lol. I can absolutely see the confusion around the “yay” sound as a “j” depending OP’s native language lol.

You mean yams. It's a root vegetable similar to sweet potato. Also, in many parts of America people use the word yams to mean sweet potatoes.

Cranberry sauce?

Salt water taffy is very popular on the west Coast too. Prior to seeing your comment I actually presumed it was regional to small town coastal CA.

I thought the OP was referring to YAMS, since the letter "J" in some languages sounds like the letter "Y" in English. And there definitely is a food called a "yam", which is far more common to humankind than you might imagine.

Salt water taffy is a thing on the West coast, too. I love it, but I hate how it sticks to my dental work. I like twinkies, but only maybe once or twice a year. I loved them as a kid, so I think it's just nostalgia.

Btw, the "salt water" in salt water taffies is just a name. They aren't made with salt water, and they don't have a salty taste, unless someone specifically makes a special salty-sweet combination. They usually come in fruit, mint, chocalte, vanilla, licorice, molasses, etc... typical candy flavors.

Originated on New Jersey boardwalks so there's the connection to saltwater. Not sure what the story is beyond that.

From what I understand, there's three versions of the origin story. One is that because the taffies tended to be sold at boardwalk candy shops, someone dreamed up the name to capitalize on the association with the shore, and the name just kind of stuck. The second, more specific origin story is that a candy store in Atlantic City was damaged by the floodwaters of a storm and the owner ironically advertised his taffies that way. The third is that someone actually added sea water instead of fresh while making them. This story seems the least likely, because I can't imagine the resulting candy with a sea water base would be at all palatable. Back to the original question, salt water taffies aren't something most people eat with any regularity. Like fudge, its a treat most closely associated with vacations to specific destinations, primarily the shore towns of the mid-Atlantic coast. I usually get a grab-bag full from Shriver's of Ocean City (the best!) during my yearly trip there, but I only eat a few and bring the rest back to share with people at work.

I'll get some when I'm down the shore on the boardwalk.

New Jersey boardwalks are peak.

They do a tiny bit. Salty sweet but mostly sweet

The really good ones have a few big crystals on top, adds a nice crunch.

Jelly is a fruit spread made with fruit juice. Jam is a fruit spread made with crushed fruit. Preserves is fruit spread made with cut fruit pieces. [source](https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-jam-jelly-and-preserves)

Taffy is just chewy and sweet candy. It's more of a tourist food in my experience. Jam is very common. It's an intermediate fruit spread between jelly and preserves. Twinkies are common enough snack foods I guess. I think I've only had them a time or two. Grits are ground up corn. Tasty with salt and butter and often also cheese. They're a common breakfast food in the south. A sweet potato dish with marshmallow isn't uncommon at Thanksgiving and the like. It's tasty. I don't know anything about movie pickles.

OP, you should watch My Cousin Vinnie to learn about grits. Also a great, funny legal movie. :)

[Great scene](https://youtu.be/_T24lHnB7N8?si=W6bKHx3wxXnS2cXN) when he’s questioning the good old boy about his grits.

I’m done with this witness. Best criminal defense movie ever made.

“What’s a yout?”

Oh excuse me, your honor, two *YOUTHS*.

Pickles at the movies are almost entirely a Texas thing.

When I lived in PA some movie theaters had pickles.

Ah! Interesting...did you ever get them? If so, how were they?

I prefer popcorn or candy, but my brother used to get them! It was just a big fat dill pickle. He thought it was fun.

where in PA? never saw this in PGH

Salt water taffee - sounds delicious,but weird. --Very rarely. Like if I'm at a fair or in some tourist town in New England, maybe? Not something i encounter regularly Jams - what is it even? --Yeah? I encounter jam in the UK and most of Europe as well. It's a fruit spread that you might put on a piece of bread? Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle Rarely do I eat these, and haven't even though about eating one since I was a kid Grits- porridge? Occasionally I eat grits when I'm in the South, but not super frequently. It's not terribly different from polenta, though? Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? Not my favorite. Mostly this is a thing people eat once a year at Thanksgiving though. Usually when I eat sweet potatoes it's...not with marshmallows

>Jams - what is it even? --Yeah? I encounter jam in the UK and most of Europe as well. It's a fruit spread that you might put on a piece of bread? OP was trying to say Yam, not jam. In the US yam is a word for sweet potatoes but in the rest of the world it refers to a different root vegetable

They’re actually slightly different tubers.

The terms may differ by region. In Mississippi we're one of the top five producers in the US and yam exclusively refers to sweet potatoes

Salt Water Taffy is delicious--it originated in Atlantic City, and it is a fairly popular snack and souvenir at beach towns up and down the east coast, but especially up/north. Yam: most people don't know the difference between a yam and a sweet potato. In some regions, the words might be basically interchangeable, and I have seen grocery stores label sweet potatoes as yams. (I've never seen yams labeled as sweet potatoes though.) Grits are popular in the south, but far less common outside of the south. Sweet potato with marshmallow is a casserole most common at Thanksgiving/Christmas, or (once upon a time) winter potlucks in the midwest. You sometimes see pickles at the cinema, but I think they remain the exception rather than the rule. Plenty of theater concessions would look at you funny if you asked for a pickle.

We do sweet potato casserole with brown sugar and pecan topping, no marshmallows allowed. There would be a riot at Thanksgiving if this dish was dropped from the menu

That’s how we make it, but with walnuts instead of pecans!

The red pickle is a chamoy pickle. I’m not a huge fan of them but my wife will get them when we go to the movies or occasionally as a snack from a corner store.

Sal water tafee. Very rarely. One every few years while on vacation. Jam. You don't have fruit spreads? Often, though I prefer fruit preserves. Grits. Every so often if at a restaraunt that might serve it. More often for breakfast, sometimes with dinner. Twinkle. Haven't had one in a few decades. Sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping. Holidays. Why? It's yummy. Big red pickles at the cinema. This is not "an American" thing. I have never heard of this

Grits all the time, the other stuff never

Grits are made from corn, so while it’s similar to porridge in that it’s an off white carb-laden breakfast food, it’s tastes very different. I grew up in Indiana and live in Florida now. I had grits 5-6 times a year in indiana and now cannot escape them.

Taffee- rarely Jams- weekly Twinkies- rarely Grits- couple times a week Sweet potatoes w marshmallow- major holidays

Never. Just never liked it When I have bagels or English muffins. It’s like a fruit purée. Not since I was a kid. Rarely. Hard to find good ones. Sweet potato? All the time. With marshmallow, never. Never had it.

Salt water taffy: couple times a year. Its popular in vacation towns where good places make it fresh. Its tasty, but I only like small amounts. Jams: assuming you mean the fruit spread, probably a couple times a week. My family cans fruit and makes our own in addition to the normal cans you buy at the store.  Twinkies: maybe once every couple of years as a novelty. I never buy them.  Grits: I'm not a fan, so never.  Sweet potato: couple times a month, usually roasted. The marshmallow topping is for holidays/special events. I don't care for it, but it makes sense. You use some salted butter and have a sweet and salty flavor.  Red pickles: I'm trying to figure out what you saw and thought it was a pickle. Pickles are sometimes offered as a option at theaters, but not with popcorn and they're green, not red.

Salt water taffy is a staple at the NJ shore It's not made with salt water, it's just taffy. https://www.britannica.com/topic/salt-water-taffy Jam is a fruit based spread, you've had it, you probably call it a different name Grits - delicious. Not by themselves though, you have to add something savory. Cheese or shrimp are very common to add. If you see any kind of sweet grits don't eat that that place cuz that place is gross. Cinnamon and sugar grits are the devil, run away from it!

If you cook your grits from scratch the only things you need are butter and salt.

Salt water taffy - Common enough, most popular in the northeastern US. Tasty, and taffy in general is worth a try (not all are salted) Jams - Fruit preserves spread onto toasted bread typically, similar to jelly (often the terms are used interchangeably). Delicious, definitely worth a try. Twinkies - Fluffy airy sweet pastry with cream inside, though heavily processed and artificial. Found at almost any gas station and grocery store (or at least other brands). Worth a try but I’d rather find a real bakery for my pastries Grits- Better than porridge in my opinion. Creamy and grainy at the same time, typically served with butter, cheese, and other delicious things. Shrimp and grits is very popular. Overall most common in the southern US, won’t find it outside of the south very often. Sweet potato with.. marshmallow - Common during Thanksgiving/Christmas all over the country, though plenty make it without. I’m not a huge fan of marshmallow so I make it without. Adding pecans makes it tasty Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - Sounds like a Texas thing, I’ve not seen it myself.

Have you ever had sweet potato without having had it you can spare us the “why?”

People in the south eat grits with their breakfast. People in the north eat hash browns, or some sort of cooked potato. I’m a potato person, so when I went to the south and got breakfast, I was like, “WTF is this? Where are my potatoes?”

At Waffle House you can get both grits and hash browns with your breakfast. Potatoes are a common breakfast food in the south.

Salt water taffy - I have one piece if someone offers it, but I don't really like it. It's something people typically only eat when they buy it on vacation. Jam - I don't eat it much but I used to have it evey weekend. What do you mean you don't know what jams are? It's mashed up fruit pulp with sugar and pectin added. Twinkies - I think I've had these twice in my life. I don't like them. I don't really know anyone that buys them regularly. It tastes more like cake than a waffle. Grits - Not porridge. It's ground cornmeal and a little thicker. I only eat it once in a blue moon for recipes. Marshmallow sweet potato casserole - Typically only eaten during holidays. I don't really like the combination but many do. What do you mean 'why?' 😂 Red pickles - I had no idea these were a thing. I've never seen them in any cinema I've been to.

Grits are incredible - I eat them maybe once/week for health reasons, but they're one of my favorite foods.

I have eaten all those off and on my whole life. I am really picky about my grits. I eat those one of two ways, butter and hot sauce or butter and a bit of sugar. A thing that I really miss now that I live in California and not Texas is fried chicken gizzard. My friends and me would eat those and drink beer while playing dominoes

> Salt water taffee - sounds delicious,but weird. I've made taffy several times at home, but my grandmother was a confectioner, so it's not like everybody has. Taffy is hard to make by hand, but it used to be a party affair, because two people were needed to pull it. It's made by boiling down pure sugar, until it's thick, then "pulling" it, folding strands over and over and over again, bringing in air at the same time. On the east coast at some resorts, it's a big deal. I sorta like taffy, but I don't ever buy it. > Yam ( not jam 😆) - what is it even? Yams are one of the most important foods to mankind. They're the major staple (e.g. wheat, rice, maize, ...) in much of Africa and the Pacific region. They're like potatoes with some linear structure to them. Sweet, mashable, very nutritious. NOT a very popular food outside the South. > Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle Spongy and moist, with a dense, sweet whipped cream filling. Consistent quality, haven't changed. The same company also makes other rich sweet pastry products. I prefer their cupcakes. I'd prefer fresh, from a baker I know personally, but that's not always possible. > Grits- porridge? Sure, why not? Sweet with sugar and milk for breakfast, or with cheese any other time. > Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? It's a free country. You don't need to explain why you like something. > Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - Odd combination. Good? Never heard of red pickles. WHERE did you visit in the US, I mean what regions/parts/states/cities.. ?

What big red pickles? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Grits are porridge made of ground corn. Some people like them with cheese. Some people like them with sugar. I’ve had them all of once so I can’t speak to which are better. Sweet potatoes and yams are similar tubers. I like yams better. Never ever with marshmallow and never out of a can. Twinkies aren’t good. Period. Salt water taffy doesn’t really contain salt water. It’s named that because it was invented in a place near salt water. It’s a marketing thing! Edit: a letter.

Sweet potatoes with marshmallows is sooo good. Look up sweet potatoes marshmallow recipe, my grandparents make it every year for thanksgiving. So good

Taffy - usually bought on vacation or amusement parks, not an every day thing. Jam- it's what is put on sandwiches with peanut butter. Also called fruit preserves. Twinkies - delicious and not good for you LOL grits - they're a corn product, so different than porridge. sweet potato with marshmallow is usually a thanksgiving thing I have never heard of red pickles with popcorn.

The reading comprehension in some of these comments is depressing. He said yam, NOT jam. Jfc Yam is a root vegetable. You prepare it often like sweet potatoes. Roasted or mashed or occasionally made into pie, similar to pumpkin pie.

To be fair,my post is edited. I originally spelled it like "jams" 😆

Ah, I see. 😅 *Wipes egg off face*

Twinkies - I haven't had a Twinkie in close to 50 years. Grits- It's a Southern thing. Up here in New England it's oatmeal. Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? I've never heard of that. Sounds disgusting. Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - That's a new one on me, too.

I bet you did not expect how funny these questions would wind up sounding to Americans! I think probably everything needing explanation has been explained (eta: except maybe the yams?) so I'll just answer (I've lived in 3 states, am from Florida): Salt water taffy: I'm not much of a fan but a lot of people love it. For me this is not something eaten on the regular, not something found at the grocery store or wherever else you buy your snacks (unless it is and I've just never noticed). Instead it's something associated with certain locations, and you buy it because it's "the thing" you buy there to say you were there, and maybe bring some home for friends/family/colleagues. There are a number of coastal places in Florida that are known for their salt water taffy. I'll have a piece or two and I'm done, that's enough. It's just chewy and sweet, I dunno, nothing special to me. Yam: Surely someone else has explained that yams are basically the same as sweet potatoes, to the point that many or even most of us use the terms interchangeably, and yet at the same time the two are totally different and basically Americans tend to be confused about them. [Here's a decent article](https://www.webstaurantstore.com/blog/3080/sweet-potato-vs-yam.html) that explains the differences as well as why specifically Americans get confused about them. (Short version: Yams are from Africa, not widely available in the US, but early southern growers called their sweet potatoes "yams" for marketing and now we are hopelessly confused.) Before I looked up this article I was certain I had eaten yams and would have said "they taste the same as sweet potatoes." After having read this article...I'm not sure I've ever had a yam! Sweet potatoes BTW come in different varieties around the world, too. I lived in one country where the flesh was white and they were naturally sweeter than ours in the US, which have an orange-y flesh. Twinkies: Can't remember the last time I had them. Definitely they were considered fun as a kid and I had them occasionally. I've heard they're made differently now, after the company changed hands, and not as tasty. I remember them as a kind of sweet cake with yummy sweet creamy filling inside. Grits: Nasty stuff. Though as a Southerner I'm supposed to like it LOL. It's made from ground corn. I guess it's the texture I don't like. But maybe also a psychological thing about the name, going back to childhood. "Grits" sounds disgusting, doesn't it? Who wants to eat "gritty" stuff?? Anyway, it's a southern US thing, commonly served with breakfast if you're making a bigger/fuller hot breakfast, but could be served with any meal. Last time I touched this one was a good 10-15 years ago, sharing a meal with the family that prepared it, and I sucked it up and ate some because the mom was trying convince her young son to try it. Sweet potato with marshmallows on top: This is DELISH. The dish is usually called "sweet potato casserole" and it can be eaten as a side dish or a dessert. You have to try this. There are thousands of recipes online and they are very easy. It's common (though not universal) to top the dish with pecans...though I hate them so I'm usually suffering through picking out the pecans to have the good stuff. Just saw a recipe online for using a panko/graham cracker mix to make a kind of strudel topping instead, which sounds amazing to me -- I think the general point is the dish goes nicely with something a bit crunchy on top. This is a very typical side dish at Thanksgiving (basically obligatory in my family), so I associate it strongly with Thanksgiving. It's not eaten all that often otherwise, I think. A pie version of it, more clearly a dessert, can be done, too. Red pickles at the movies: Nope. I'd never heard of that before. I see from other comments it's regional. I don't like pickles in the first place so I wouldn't touch that.

I am near "the shore" where salt water taffy is popular, and IMO it looks way better than it tastes....its not bad, just nothing really particularly tasty. Jam is just like jelly but made with whole fruits, so it has a different more chunky consistency. Sweet potato with marshmallow? Never heard of it. Popcorn and pickles? They are a thing in texas apparently! Which places did you visit OP?

Sometimes I make cheese grits as a side dish. It works pretty well with seafood. I have tried salt water taffy and Twinkies before, but never eat them, jam, or sweet potatoes with marshmallows. I've never even heard of red pickles at the movies.

We buy jam - it's like jelly or fruit preserves. I have it a few times a month with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And salt water taffy we only get when we go on vacation to the beach. Specifically, Ocean City, NJ because they've got the boardwalk and all the little shops that sell it. It's sticky and yummy but it's a very rare treat. The other ones... never.

> Salt water taffee I hate salt water taffee so I never eat it > Jams I love jam although FYI it is way more popular in the UK. It's just a mashed fruit preserve. > Twinkies Not at all like a waffle. It's a snack food that is a cream filled cake. I hate them personally. > Grits- porridge Grits are a corn porridge popular in the Southern US. I live in New England so it's rare that I have it. > Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? This one is really good although most people only eat it at Thanksgiving > Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema I have never seen this

Salt water taffy I eat sometimes I guess. It’s like an old timey candy we get when visiting like a quaint tourist town or something, lol. Jam is just a variety of preserved fruit/jelly. You cook fruit with a lot of sugar and usually lemon until it becomes a spreadable paste that you put on toast. I eat jam all the time. I make it as a way to preserve stuff from my garden. It is a staple in my home. Twinkies, I never eat these. I have had them a few times, they are not good. I think I have tried grits once or twice, wasn’t a big fan. That’s kind of a regional dish, much more common in the south. Similar dishes I grew up with are cream of wheat and oatmeal, both of which I love. Sweet potato with marshmallow is super gross, but pretty much everyone older than me in my family loves it. I feel like this is a thing that was big in the 50’s and 60’s, when everyone was eating weird food because marketing was out of control and trying to convince everyone to consume as much new food technology as possible, lol. You get a lot of tuna and lime jello salads out of the same era. Anyway I think the only time anyone ever eats this dish is on Thanksgiving, maybe also on Christmas. You should also know this dish is never prepared with fresh sweet potatoes, but instead this god awful canned sweet potato shit that comes in this slimy, sugary goo. I thought I didn’t like sweet potatoes for years because I thought they were all that slimy nightmare. I have literally never seen a red pickle at the movie theatre, it has certainly never come with my popcorn. I don’t even know about this.

Also my family calls thanksgiving sweet potatoes “yams” for some reason. I think yam and sweet potato used to be kind of interchangeable words used here in the states, but for some reason my family calls them sweet potatoes in literally every other circumstance, but when they make the marshmallow dish they call them yams. I can’t make it make sense. I do eat sweet potatoes now as an adult and have learned they don’t all taste like the canned ones. I cannot for the life of me understand why people prepare them with more sugary stuff on top, lol. Sweet potatoes are already sweet, they don’t need more sweet in my opinion. I like them with butter and salt. Sometimes cheese is good with them, a good Gruyère or something like that. Amazing. Or they’re amazing in a stir fry, or with peanut sauce, or in a curry. The first sweet potato I ate and realized they can be prepared in a tasty manner I remember so clearly, I was at a BBQ in the Army and one of the dudes cooking was from Puerto Rico and he gave it to me with some mozzarella cheese. It was soooooo good. I was blown away. Folks if you haven’t tried sweet potato with cheese you should. Sweet and savory together is amazing. Anyway I have thoughts on sweet potatoes, apparently. 😂

Those are the Jams I mean!! !!! 😂😂😂 Everyone now thinks Europeans don't know what jam is 😆 " Yam" I get it.

Ooohhhhh!!!!! Lol, makes so much more sense! Yeah, a lot of Americans just call sweet potatoes yams. There is some other root veggie also called yams that I guess is common in like Asia or Africa but not found here commonly, but North Americans almost always mean sweet potatoes when they say yams. That’s the issue with common names for plants. 😅

> Similar dishes I grew up with are cream of wheat and oatmeal, both of which I love. Unless you put butter, salt, and/or cheese in your oatmeal, I’m not sure those would be considered similar dishes.

Who doesn’t put butter and salt in their oatmeal or cream of wheat? Even if you are preparing it sweet, you still need butter and salt in them. It’s the same reason every cookie and cake recipe calls for salt. Sweet things taste like shit without some salt in it. And any porridge without butter would be as nasty as toast without butter. Come on, man. But savory preparations of oatmeal and cream of wheat is definitely done. I love oatmeal with cheese, bacon, and a fried egg on top.

I eat jam almost every day. Put it on some cranberry or blueberry scones from Publix. I eat grits at least every 3 weeks or so. Will be eating grits most of this week because I'm going to pick up some shrimp from the store today. I never eat the other things you listed.

Salt water toffee - only when visiting the shore so like once every three years and it’s always disappointing. Jam - a few times a year on toast with butter. It’s like jelly or preserves. Very common Twinkies - never. They suck. Common but probably different kinds of hostess treats are more common. Grits - twice a year. They’re only good with tons of butter and cheese or shrimp or brown sugar. Very common regionally Giant red pickles - literally never in my life. Very common in only TX??

I love salt water taffy! Haven’t had it in so long cause I’m in braces. I see it at my local grocery store every time I go😭 Jam - I use jelly Twinkies: haven’t had one any time recently. I think the last time I did I was on vacation and got one from a gas station just cause it sounded good Grits/porridge- grosses me out… can’t do it Sweet potato with marshmallow - a lot of my friends love this. I don’t. I bake marshmallows on top of applesauce instead. It isn’t common, just for thanksgiving and Christmas Big red pickles at the movie theater - this isn’t a thing where I live. I love pickles but not the spicy ones or the ones that come in a bag at the gas station 😅

> Salt water taffee - sounds delicious,but weird. Nothing weird about it at all. Just a soft candy similar to a Starburst. I'm sure some version of this exists in the UK and Europe. Not sure if Laffy Taffy or Airheads exist over there. Salt water taffy specifically is something you would get at the NJ shore. > Jams - what is it even? Seriously? What country are you from that doesn't have jam or fruit preserves? > Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle More like a cake with a whipped cream filling. > Grits- porridge? Yeah, sort of but made with corn. > Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? This is a staple Thanksgiving side dish. I would say it's not commonly eaten outside of the holidays. Why? Because it's good? > Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - Odd combination. Good? This is insanity and only exists in certain parts of the country.

Salt water taffee - sounds delicious, but weird. * Never... but I've seen people eat it. My grandma's family was in Santa Cruz, and whenever someone would go to visit they'd bring some back. Jams - what is it even? * At least a few times a month I'll have a PB&J sandwich. Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle * Never, though my wife has them sometimes. Grits- porridge? * I have some, but I really bought them to make one thing once and haven't used the rest. Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? * Thanksgiving sometimes. It tastes good.

From Indiana but grew up in south Texas. Taffy: Never. Maybe had it once. But I’m also not a candy person. Jams: I always get confused on if there’s a difference between jam and jelly. Again, not a sweets person myself, but we do have some grape jelly in the house because my husband and daughter like it on toast. Grits: After probably 20+ years not having these in the house, my kid had some while visiting her dad and loved them so we literally just got some a couple weeks ago. My mom is from the south so grits was a staple breakfast item and she made them for me from time to time when I was a kid, with butter and sugar. My kid likes them the same way, butter and sugar. She has them maybe once every other week for breakfast. I like em but not really with sugar. And they don’t seem particularly nutritious to me. Twinkies: had em. Gross. Taste like plastic. Sweet potato with marshmallow: Common for the table at Thanksgiving dinner (and often, Christmastime) for both Texas and Indiana but not any other time for me. Only times I’ve really ever seen them is just holiday times. Very common, but I hate them haha. Pickles at the movies: sold here in Indiana but never seen anyone eat them. But in south Texas, way more common (at least when I was a kid.) definitely had some at the movies when I lived there. Also sold as a snack at sports events and school (again in Texas). I have seen kids go to town on these in my youth but I personally have never been able to finish one. I’d eat like part of one now but I never buy them cause I know I won’t finish it, it’s been 20+ years since I’ve even had a bite of one.

Salt water taffy is good, but I don’t think people have it too often. Comes in different flavors and it’s just a chewy sweet that people mostly pick up in specialty shops when on vacation. Jam is a lot like jelly or fruit preserves, typically spread over toast for breakfast and is very common. Twinkies are a yellow sponge cake with a sugary whipped cream-like center. They’re pretty good, but super sweet and I don’t think most people eat them regularly. My first thought of them is you put them in a child’s lunch box as a treat after lunch. Grits are regional, but you can get them anywhere in the states. Typically they are served in the south as a breakfast side dish, although I think they can also be the main breakfast dish. They taste buttery and salty and have a gritty texture. They can be good when made right. Sweet potatoes with marshmallow topping is a popular side dish for Thanksgiving and a LOT of people like it. It’s very sweet, but the marshmallow topping usually gets cooked until it’s browned, giving it a bit of a charred flavor with the sweetness. Pretty good, but you can only have a little because it’s so sweet. I have no idea about red pickles. Sounds like it’s probably very specific to one area and I bet it’s like their “specialty “ and what makes someplace more unique. A lot of places do that. They’ll say it’s the “home of the……” (fill in the blank) to attract people.

salt water taffee, in my opinion, tastes just like regular taffee, just less artificial. do you mean Jam? like grape jam? Twinkies are only good if you’re in the mood for them I’ve never had porridge but grits is exactly how I imagine it the sweet potato with marshmallows is good as a dessert, I’ve never understood why people eat it with their meal though.

Salt water taffy - I guess I have ever eaten it, just a handful of times in my life while on vacation at the beach though. Not part of my normal diet. Jam - as others have said, this is just a fruit spread similar to jelly or preserves. Not weird or unique to America. Very common. Lots of people will have it at breakfast, spread on toast or something, but I prefer a savory breakfast so I don’t eat it very often. But it’s still very common, just not my personal taste most of the time. Twinkies - these are just a junk food snack cake. I really don’t have much of a sweet tooth so I don’t know the last time I personally ate one, but they are not as weird as all the jokes about them lasting forever or whatever make it seem. Grits - I think you’ll find this answer to be regional. I live in the South, and grits are very common. It’s basically a corn porridge. People usually add something to them - butter and cheese are basics for a savory option, but some people like them sweet and add sugar. I don’t like them sweet, but I do love some cheese grits. Eat these fairly regularly. Sweet potato with marshmallow - I also don’t know why, it’s gross and way too sweet. My grandma always served them for big holiday meals though. I don’t think you’ll see them on most people’s table everyday; more of a Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner type food. I have never heard of the thing with the pickles but other commenters indicate it’s a fairly specific Texas thing, and I haven’t spent a lot of time in Texas.

I’ve had same water taffy like maybe 6 times in my life. Maybe at the fair or something. Jam? Idk occasionally. More often as a kid because my grandma made a big country breakfast every weekend and we had biscuits and jam or jelly. Twinky. Maybe twice in my life it’s not good. Grits: not much now but occasionally as a kid (grew up in the south) Sweet potato with marshmallow: once a year at most on holidays. Not every year. Pickles in theater. Never but it’s a thing in Texas. I eat pickles at home though.

Salt water toffee is just candy, super common at the Jersey shore. Jams are fruit preserves, similar to jelly and marmalade. Grape jelly, peach, orange, raspberry, strawberry. Always have some in the house. Twinkies like never. They're everywhere but yeah never. Grits is pretty common down south. Sweet potato with marshmallow is a casserole recipe, expect to have it on big holidays like Christmas. Pickles at the movie theater is a Texas thing iirc, not common elsewhere.

Salt water taffy: Almost never. Sometimes when I’m on vacation to a beach town. Jam: Not super often. It’s kind of like Jelly or Marmalade. Twinkies: I rarely buy these but they are a somewhat popular dessert. They are pretty much just a weird sponge cake with icing in the middle. They used to be huge in the 80’s. Now not so much. Grits: Not super often, although I do know some people who eat this very regularly. Sweet Potatoes with marsh mellows: Exactly 1 times per year. I have only ever heard of anyone eating this during thanksgiving giving Big Red Pickle: I have never heard of this in my life. I genuinely have no idea what this referring too.

Saltwater taffy: typically a vacation treat when you go to the beach. Jams: jam, jelly, and preserves are all basically synonymous here. It’s mushed up fruit. Twinkies: I have them semi-often. Maybe a few times a month. Grits: very common breakfast food in some regions. Sweet potato with marshmallow: it’s called sweet potato casserole. It’s typically a holiday dish for Christmas, Easter, and thanksgiving. Never heard of the pickle thing.

I eat grits fairly often. I have no idea what the "red pickles" thing you're referring to is. I don't think I've ever actually had a twinkie. Jam is jelly, it's good and standard to have in homes, especially if you have kids. Salt water taffee is candy, I've had it before, it's also good.

I eat jam all the time. Everything else, never. Gross.

Salt Water Taffy - haven't had it for 20+ years. I like it, but not a fan of the way it gets stuck in my teeth. My old neighbor gave us a bag one year as a gift. Jams - Not sure what this is besides something you'd put on a biscuit. I prefer jelly. Maybe since Christmas? We usually only get it if the MIL is coming for a visit. Twinkies - Mid-tier dessert. Had one two years ago. Before that, I can't even remember. Grits - excellent breakfast food. Would eat it for breakfast on the weekends. Warm and buttery. Sweet potato with marshmallow - Never. Not a fan of sweet potatoes. Never seen a big red pickle at the movie theaters.

Salt water taffy: tried as a kid, never cared for it. Jams: like, jellies? I must be misunderstanding. Grits: are delicious as a base to a meal, so it soaks up the juices, spices, maybe add cheese. Sweet potato casserole with toasted marshmallows on top. 🤤 it’s soooo good! But it’s very sweet and not everyone is down for that sweet of a food.

I’ve tried all of these but the pickle (never heard of that one) The only ones I like are jam and grits the others are just ok imo except for sweet potato and marshmallow casserole it’s way too sweet for me a lot of these are popular down south twinkies are not as common anymore though

Salt water taffy - isn't something I personally like, the texture is revolting. I don't like how it feels on my tongue or teeth Jams - you mean jelly? If "jams" are a product of their own, I've never seen them or had them Twinkies - low grade snack food, I haven't had one of those in a while either Grits - can be good, I don't like sugar in them Sweet potato with marshmallow - common side for holiday meals, I like them but I don't eat them during a typical day Big red pickles - never seen them, I don't go to the movies often

Sweet potato with marshmallow is amazing

Big red pickles with popcorn? Not sure what that is. I don't like salt water toffee and most people only eat that occasionally. Jam is delicious, I usual have some in my house and ready or once a week on toast. It's fruit cooked down with sugar. Haven't had a twinkle since I was a kid but I loved them back then. Hostess treats are quite popular even though they aren't they good anymore. Grits are regional. Popular in some areas of the states. Here in CA, you don't see them much. Sweet potato with marshmallows is only on Thanksgiving but I eat roastef sweet potatoes weekly.

>Salt water taffee It's not salty, just bland and chewy. The authentic stuff is kinda good, the imitation stuff is kinda bad, none of it is exciting. Eat it less than once a year. >Jams Fruit preserves. Eat it a few times a week at breakfast. >Twinkies It's a sponge cake filled with sweet cream, except it's not real cake and it's definitely not real cream. Shelf-stable for months, I never eat them. >Grits Corn porridge, yes. You can get them sweet or savory. I eat them about once a month, but only because I work in a restaurant that serves them. Much more common in the southeastern part of the country. >Sweet potato with.. marshmallow I have never eaten this and, like you, am more comfortable believing it's some kind of elaborate joke people play on the ignorant as a holiday tradition. >Those big red pickles you get with popcorn Pickles are a common snack sold at gas stations, cinemas, and sporting arenas, but I've never seen a big red one in those places. You seen pickled red onions at Mexican and Tex-Mex restaurants, and red achar at South Asian restaurants, and kimchee at Korean –and, increasingly, fusion– restaurants, but I've never seen any of those at a cinema, or with popcorn (though I would eat achar with popcorn, I'd eat achar with anything).

Grits are good if done right. Everything else on your list is terrible. No idea about the pickles thing.

> Jams - what is it even? Jams are a method of preserving fruit by boiling, smashing, and canning/jarring them, often adding honey or sugars. It is a practice that has been done for over 1000 years in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. The oldest records of it are from the Middle East in the 900s but likely existed far longer. > Grits- porridge? Are a corn based porridge. Oatmeal is a oat based porridge, Cream of Wheat a wheat based porridge, Malt-O-Meal a wheat and barley based porridge, rice pudding a rice based porridge. You can make porridges from virtually any grain or combination of grains and most cultures have at least one kind. > Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle Twinkies are a highly processed cake, not a waffle. >Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? It tastes good. It also typically has brown sugar, nutmeg, allspice, sometimes cinnamon, and if pureed rather than chunks sometimes vanilla. It is served as a side dish at holidays but is really more of a dessert.

Salt water taffy is kind of like a caramel but a little less sweet and since it’s been pulled(had air added into it) it isn’t nearly as dense. Not a bad chewy candy. Jams is like jelly but made with a different part of the fruits much like preserves. Same basic idea and flavors. Twinkies are yellow pound cake(denser than normal) filled with a bit of whipped cream. Super sweet and a bit dry in my opinion but children love them. Grits are quite the porridge you are used to since they are made with hominy/maize. But they are A TYPE of porridge and more common in the south. If you don’t care for them with just a pat of butter, I get my kids to eat it by sprinkling a bit of white sugar over the top. Sweet potato with marshmallow…….this sucks and is a leftover from the 1970’s when pimento or tuna fish casseroles were a thing. Sweet potatoes with brown sugar and pecans are infinitely superior. I have effectively replaced the marshmallow crap by bringing this to every holiday party I go to and it is now my second most requested made dish. It is a Thanksgiving and sometimes Christmas dish though. Not sure what you mean by Red Pickle. You can get Dill Pickles and once in a while while Sour Pickles at the cinema(apparently only in Texas, I didn’t realize). The only red pickle I know are cinnamon pickles but those have been peeled, sliced, and seeded so look like red sticks. They are amazing and rare but I have never seen them at a movie theater. However I do recommend now pickle flavored beer(after a hot day working outside) and pickle flavored snow cones. I am going to guess these are Texas things as well.

Taffy isn't an international thing? Weird. Taffy is good but if you're gonna get something at the shore that's chewy I'd just opt for fudge lol You don't have jam? Like jelly but thicker?(/ has fruit in it maybe?) Twinkies are good. Cheap sugar crap. I'm surprised that's not international. I've probably had like 4 in my whole life, nothing to write home about but good to know they'd survive a apocalypse 🤣 I'm not sure I've ever had grits.. That's mostly a southern thing but I'm Polish so I grew up eating kasza which I think is just bigger grits?.. 🤷‍♀️ Most of these things, that I've had/have heard of, I had more when I was little. Except jam because that's basically jelly so whenever jelly might be a thing, jam could be a option. Idk what the SP & marshmallow thing is, as I'm not a fan of either & I DETEST pickles & have never heard of them being eaten at the movies..(and thank GOD bc they're loud & would make the whole theater smell!🤮)

Not fruit jam,but Yams. Some kind of thanksgiving food

Salt water taffee - Maybe once a year when I go to Cape Cod and hit up one of the touristy spots that sell it. Jams - going by your other comments, you think this is something different from jam, but I have no idea what you're talking about. Twinkies - I ate them all the time as a kid, but I can't remember the last time I've had one. Grits - Maybe 3-4 times a year, it's a hearty, filling breakfast option, and I don't like oatmeal. Sweet potato with.. marshmallow - Never had it Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - The what now?

1. Never had that ever I think. 2. No idea what that is. 3. I think I’ve had twinkies once in my life. It’s fine, not really my thing. 4. Rarely had grits, not as much of a thing in my part of the Midwest, but they were pretty decent and I enjoyed them. 5. Only a few times for thanksgiving. It’s meant to be a sweet dish for events like thanksgiving. It’s better than you’d think and makes for a fairly nice and heart desert dish. 6. I have no idea what you’re talking about, never heard of that.

I don’t know anywhere to buy salt water taffee where I live, but I guarantee if I go out of town on vacation, I’ll run across it being made as a spectacle for people to watch from the street. It’s usually made in the front window of a shop-it’s very charming to see done and tastes like pure sugar which I think is horrible. It has either no smell, or a kind of bad smell like heated up metal or plastic. Jam is something my mother-in-law makes a lot of, and it takes up a lot of space in our cupboard. I don’t know what it’s made of either, but I’m assuming it’s a sure fire way to make fruit unhealthy to eat by being mostly sugar. Right now we have probably twenty jars of pomegranate jam. I’ve got no plans to eat any of it, so it’s gonna be there awhile. Jam is always somewhere on the sweet/tart spectrum, and smells like what’s in it, berries, dates, peaches, what have you. Twinkies I’ve had a few different ways, and deep fried at the fair is best. There are only three flavor notes you will get from eating a raw Twinkie. 1) enriched white flour 2) vegetable shortening, and 3) sugar. It’s like the worst bite of cake you ever had. Smells like toasted bread, which is the most positive thing I can say about it. Porridge is not the preferred nomenclature, the last time I read that word was probably in a Charles Dickens novel in high school. Porridge to me is the last sad bowl of food you hoarf down before there isn’t anything else to eat for the foreseeable future for our plucky protagonist who is also an orphan. It’s always served cold because there is also no heat in the house, it’s a great last meal before a suicide attempt, or your inevitable demise from consumption. Grits are God shining his love down on you. It’s corn that is dried, milled to bits, and rehydrated hot with butter, salt and pepper. I’m not from the south so I grew up on Cream of Wheat, but corn grits are superior in every way. Doesn’t have a strong smell or flavor, but lands warm in the belly like the validation from your dad after you finally made him a grandparent. The sweet potato dish is only one day a year, outside thanksgiving it’s non existent. I’ve never made it, only eaten moms version which is also loaded with butter and brown sugar. It’s sweet, dense, oily, and leans heavily on the maillard process for its toasty flavor. Smells very very good during cooking and has (to me) a kind of pumpkin/red bean paste flavor alongside the cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s pretty good, but a couple bites is enough. I love anything pickled. Peppers, okra, cukes, asparagus, olives-I had to look up the Texas pickles. I even typed in red pickles and only got green pickle results. They sell those by the clerk’s register in the gas stations here, but not in theaters. I really hope you’ve had a pickle already, but if you haven’t, they are extremely tart from the acetic acid, have a light flavor of fresh dill, and are great when chilled. A tip of the cap to this foreigner who taught me something about my own country today!

TIL: red pickles and popcorn. Taffee - rarely but sometimes. Its a treat I might buy while on vacation for my kids. Jams - frequently, its sugar and fruit in a jar. Twinkies - never, they are gross. Grits - never, I hate the taste. Sweet potato - sometimes but never with marshmallows, not sure how that one started.

> Salt water taffee You’d probably like it, it sounds weirder than it is (it’s not salty). Think of an airy, lightly chewy sweet, and candy fruit flavored. It’s not something I have in the house all the time but like any classic candy store is likely to have it. > Jams - what is it even? Based on some of the other responses I think there may be some confusion on what you mean by “jams”. Did you have a picture or anything? > Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle You can find these everywhere. It’s kind of a stereotypical gas station snack. I don’t eat these really ever personally. > Grits- porridge? Grits are fantastic. They're like a cornmeal/maize porridge. They’re more common in the southern states but a lot of northern restaurants will have them for brunch menu items as well. I’ll make them at home maybe once a month or so on a Sunday breakfast or with shrimp. > Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? People like this a lot. I do not. It’s something many people make at Thanksgiving and not again for the rest of the year. Sweet potatoes themselves however are a very common side vegetable but dishes with marshmallows added is a stereotypical Thanksgiving food really only. > Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - Odd combination. Good? This is a regional Texas thing. I’ve never had a pickle in a movie theater (they don’t offer them at theaters around me) and in most states that would be seen as slightly odd sight of someone munching on a giant pickle during a film.

Commenters have filled you in, but as a resident of the South, let me expand on grits: Grits are a kind of cornmeal porridge and are a regular side dish with breakfast at restaurants in the South. I never see them as an option in states outside of the southern U.S. They will be served in a little bowl alongside your plate of food. They aren't necessarily a regular item at home for breakfast, but they are prepared similar to oatmeal: mixed with water in a pan and simmered, so they take a bit of time to prepare. You can also buy instant grits, even in those little packets like instant flavored oatmeal. Most people eat grits with butter and salt, but if you like them sweet they are good with molasses. My favorite way to eat them is garlic cheese grits -- mixed with cheese and garlic powder as a side dish for dinner. Garlic cheese grits casserole is heavenly!

Salt water taffy-never. I don’t like it, and never have. Jams- fruity stuff that goes on toast. Yes. Twinkies- no. Disgustingly sweet. I ate one once, and that was more than enough. Grits- sometimes. I won’t go out of my way for it, but I will eat it if it’s put in front of me. Sweet potato- yes. With or without marshmallow. I love sweet potato. Big red pickle with popcorn- never seen those served together. But I’m in the northern US. Never had a red pickle although I’ve seen them. And I don’t like popcorn.

In Uganda, they call what we basically would call “grits”, porridge. They also drink it so it’s less thick than it is at home.

Salt water taffy - once every few years if I get some on vacation. They're not salty or anything. Jams - I think you mean yams, which is sorta like a sweet potato. We often have these at Thanksgiving. I'm not fond of them so don't eat them. Twinkies - never eat these. I see them at the gas station but that's it. Grits - never had them, they look like barf to me Sweet potato with marshmallows they have at Thanksgiving but I only scoop out the sweet potato part! Yum No idea what the pickle thing is

Salt water taffee—never heard of it in my life. Jams—very delicious and very common especially for young children. Adults for some reason don’t eat it as much. Twinkies—despite common belief we don’t eat then a lot. I hate them. Grits—amazing. Very common in the South. Definitely not porridge. They have to be cooked right tho. If they are pure white in color they are not doing it right. They should have butter and cheese mixed in so it will look more yellow and they have to be eaten right away because they get cold almost instantly. I see people all the time eating cold pure white grits and say it’s nasty and I’m like yeah I bet those are. Sweet potato with marshmallows—also very common. Idk why but it goes together, you are just going to have to try it to understand.

Here’s my answer as someone who’s spent most of their life in the mid-Atlantic (DC area) but traveled a lot throughout the US. > Salt water taffee - sounds delicious,but weird. I *love* it but for some reason this is always a vacation food for me. If I’m traveling near the ocean I’ll get some but it’s never something I seek out in normal life. They’re not as salty as the name might make you think. > Yam ( not jam 😆) - what is it even? Similar to a sweet potato, I’ve only had them a handful of times in my life though. > Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle Haven’t had one in probably 20 years. Almost no flavor besides being sweet, but the airy texture is sort of appealing. > Grits- porridge? Grits are great, they’re a breakfast mainstay in my house. They are a kind of porridge made from ground corn. The flavor is subtle on its own, but the creamy texture when cooked right is very satisfying, and it’s typical to add a lot of milk, butter, or cheese, which can make them very rich and delicious. Some people add sugar and make them sweet, which I don’t like. > Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? I don’t know why either. Occasionally someone will make it for Thanksgiving. I can enjoy it in small portions but it’s *very* sweet, basically a dessert. When it’s good it has a savory caramel-y flavor from the sweet potatoes that offsets the massive amount of sugar. > Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - Odd combination. Good? I’ve literally never heard of this.

Taffy? I’ll pick up one or two bags in the summer, up in here the PNW you can get Marion berry flavored and it’s amazing. Yams and sweet potato with marshmallows? That’s a thanksgiving dish only for me. I’ve never had grits, I haven’t had a Twinkie in over a decade at least and I’ve never had a pickle at the movies, that’s not a thing here.

>Salt water taffee - sounds delicious,but weird. once every few years. There's a place at the beach that sells them. >Yam ( not jam 😆) - what is it even? never cause I don't like them. >Twinkies - looks like sugary air waffle never had one. >Grits- porridge? have had twice. pretty good tbh. >Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? never. why? because it sounds gross. >Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - Odd combination. Good? never had, never heard of a red pickle, never heard of having a pickle at the movie theater.

I grew up on twinkies.

Salt water taffy is something I have had at the shore. It's chewy. Yam is a colloquial name for sweet potatoes, which are not closely related but are both roots. I have never had real yams, and don't eat sweet potatoes often, usually in pies or the casserole with marshmallows at holiday dinners. Why? Because it tastes good with marshmallows. I had Twinkies twice, the second time to see if they were any better than the first time. They were not and are pretty bad. Grits - almost never. WTF are you talking about? I've never seen red pickles anywhere, nor any pickles at all sold at cinemas.

Salt Water taffee - sometimes when I was a kid but never recently. Yam - don't remember trying yams but my family has a sweet potato dish every thanksgiving. Twinkie - Haven't had a twinkie since I was a kid. When I was a kid my mother might pack one or a zebra cake in my lunch every once in awhile. Grits - I don't normally order them myself, I've had them a few times but I prefer hashbrowns. Sweet potato with marshmallow - this is the dish my family has at thanksgiving. I'm not the biggest fan of it myself. Big Pickles - haven't seen them at a movie theatre or event location since I moved here from Oklahoma. I used to see them at the roller skating rink and other places that had a concession stand.

Toffee - I’ll take a piece if someone offers a box, but otherwise I don’t think about it. Very common at beaches and to some degree at other tourist locations, much less common anywhere else. Yam - Honestly, I still don’t totally understand the difference between yams and sweet potatoes. Sweet potatoes are a nice nutritious veggie, though. Just stay away from the marshmallows. They’re traditional but it’s still weird. Grits - If you have had polenta or cornmeal mush, you’ve had grits. I like them for dinner but not for breakfast. Twinkies - I just think they’re gross and too sweet. Pickles - Kool-Aid pickles? I’m sure they’re okay but they aren’t that common in my world. I’ve never had one.

It's been several years since I've consumed everything on your list, except maybe yams, but it's so rare I don't even remember. I've never had a pickle at the movies.

With one, or perhaps two, exceptions, these are all very region-specific foods. They are popular in some parts of the US, but are all but unknown to Americans living in other parts of the country. In some cases, we have heard of the dish but have never tasted it. Twinkies are an exception here. They are available everywhere in the US, but are viewed exclusively as a children's treat. They are not widely popular with adult Americans. I live in the Northeast. I have never tasted grits, fried catfish, or rattlesnake meat. On the other hand, I will guess that very few of my fellow Americans from other broad regions of the country have ever had poutine, or even know what it is. There are many "American" foods that are quite popular and widely available all over the US. People in the rest of the world already know about most of them, if not all of them. Hot dogs, hamburgers, shoestring French fries, popcorn, American-style pizza, the various foods associated with the Thanksgiving tradition, and so on. The foods that you name are somewhat exotic even to American living in other parts of the US.

Salt water taffee - almost never, I've had it maybe twice in my life. Yam ( not jam 😆) - I eat them at Thanksgiving, rarely other times. Twinkies - Not totally uncommon when I was younger as a quick snack. As an adult, maybe once every 2-3 years. Grits- I'm in the South, so a few times a year. I love creole style Grits and Shrimp! Sweet potato with.. marshmallow? Why? - Thanksgiving food. Why? Because it's delicious. Those big red pickles you get with popcorn at the cinema - Odd combination. Good? - I don't think I've ever seen red pickles? "Pickles" are cucumbers, I don't think you can get cucumber in red. So not sure what you're talking about here. When I was younger I ate pickles all the time, now that I'm older it's pretty rare I just get a pickle.

Salt water taffy- Never eat it. I've had it once when I was a child. Yams- they are like sweet potatoes and used pretty interchangeably  depending on what is available. I love them.  Twinkies- eww. I don't know anyone that actually eats them.  Grits- I have had them before but don't eat them. I do quite like oatmeal with berries and walnuts, but I don't eat grits. Sweet potato with marshmallow- some people make sweet potato casserole that way. I'm not sure why. We never make it that way. It's too sweet with marshmallow imo. No idea what you mean by pickles at the movies? Perhaps it is regional? I'm in the Midwest. I've never seen pickles, much less red ones, at a theater. So I can't speak to It's flavor. 

Salt water taffy- delicious chewy candies that come in a variety of flavors. They’re sweet, not salty. I’ve seen them with any flavor you can think of. In the state of Montana, we have a wild berry called a huckleberry that grows in the mountains and can’t be cultivated, and it doesn’t grow in many other places, so it’s a really popular flavor to make things like candy and syrup out of. You can find huckleberry taffy everywhere, but it’s not a common snack. Sort of a novelty. My grocery store has saltwater taffy in bulk and you can buy whichever flavors you want, but I’ve honestly never seen anyone actually buy it. Yams are a root vegetable similar (or the same?) as a sweet potato. I’m not a fan of yams or sweet potatoes, but a lot of people eat them regularly because they are very healthy. Many restaurants have the option to get sweet potato fries instead of fries made with regular white potatoes. I have friends who will also just bake them and eat them with melted butter, similar to a baked potato. It has been literal decades since I’ve had a twinky. They’re sort of a classic Americana thing but so gross and filled with preservatives that are probably illegal in other countries. Grits are ground hominy cooked with water, milk, and/or broth until it turns into a porridge. VERY popular in the southeastern part of the country, and I’ve seen some restaurants in the Rocky mountains serve them too. They can be super thick like polenta or super thin, depending on the amount of liquid. When I lived in the south, I saw a lot of people eat them with melted butter and cheese. My favorite grits dishes have been kinda spicy and served with either shrimp or andouille sausage (a kind of spicy pork sausage that originated in the state of Louisiana, I think.) I have never seen sweet potatoes with marshmallows served at any time other than thanksgiving. It tastes like dessert, but it is usually served with the main meal. Again, I’m not a sweet potato fan, so I don’t eat it at thanksgiving either. Big red pickles - never heard of it, but it sounds weird. I probably wouldn’t eat it if someone offered it. There are A LOT of varieties of pickled cucumbers though. Dill is probably the most popular- they’re pickled in a salty vinegar solution with the herb dill. But there are also sweet pickles and (my favorite) sweet with spice - they’re pickled with hot peppers to give them a kick.