America rarely makes it onto lists of the world's healthiest or fittest countries. We're known for Texas-sized portions and places like the Heart Attack Grill. But just because the deep-fried spotlight shines brightest on the United States doesn't mean that other countries are just sitting around drinking hot tea and eating leafy greens all day. Eye-bogglingly fattening foods seem to be somewhat of a universal language, with countries from Cuba to Canada and Scotland to South Africa dreaming up all kinds of calorie-laden indulgences (Photo Credit: Flickr/Sifu Renka).
While Chinese food is one of the world's healthiest cuisines, that hasn't stopped them from dishing up deep-fried sweet rolls that are dunked in condensed milk or deep-fried pork chops smothered in gravy. Same goes for diners in Tokyo. Despite being exposed to more Michelin-stars than any other city on earth, they can curb hunger pangs with a $16 foie gras burger. Even though it may sound like a stateside invention, deep-fried pizza didn't start in the U.S. -- it's a Scottish creation. The English are no strangers to guilty pleasure dishes, whether it's fish and chips or Shepherd's pie, but the True Love Roast at Heal Farm is practically virtuosic, cooking 12 birds together, one stuffed inside the other like poultry nesting dolls. It ultimately comes out to 50,000 calories and can serve 125 people.
Of course, no one serves innovative gut-busting meals year after year quite like the stateside creators of deep-fried Coca-Cola, but it turns out the rest of the world is just as capable of clogging up arteries and packing in the calories as we are. Now we just have to learn that pesky lesson of everything in moderation.
- Nicole Campoy-Leffler, The Daily Meal
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