North America offers an impressive selection of dessert options, some of which have failed to gain popularity. Whether they have gross-sounding ingredients, unusual taste combinations, or an unappealing appearance, these desserts are the worst-rated nationwide. Here, we take a closer look at 18 of the most unappetizing desserts available in the US as provided by Taste Atlas.
Sweet Potato Pudding
Harking from Jamaica, sweet potato pudding is a traditional Southern dish of mashed sweet potatoes, sugar, spices, and sometimes additional ingredients like marshmallows! It’s often criticized for being excessively sweet (and unhealthy) and having an unpleasantly dense texture.
Chongos Zamoranos
This Mexican dessert is made from curdled milk, sugar, and cinnamon and is very popular in a few select places. However, it doesn’t have universal appeal due to its unusual and off-putting ‘chunky’ texture (akin to cottage cheese) and its overbearingly strong cinnamon flavor.
Fortune Cookies
A common offering after every meal in a North American Chinese restaurant, these crunchy, thin, hollowed-out snacks often contain a prediction or warning for the eater. Being considered more of a novelty item than a dessert, they aren’t anyone’s first dessert choice- often described as dry, brittle, and bland.
Bourbon Balls
These candy-like balls originate from Kentucky and contain the rich bourbon for which the state is well known. They consist of bite-sized balls of crushed wafers or cookies mixed with chopped nuts, sweetened condensed milk, and bourbon, then dusted with cocoa. Although popular locally, most Americans find them overly sweet and boozy!
Jell-O
This wobbly, translucent, and simple dessert choice is divisive- while some people love its nostalgic simplicity and convenience, others crave something more ‘grown up.’ Critics complain that the fruit-flavored gelatin is too artificial and uninteresting, with every bite inevitably tasting the same.
Ambrosia Salad
This classic, sweet salad of canned fruit, marshmallows, and coconut smothered in whipped cream or mayonnaise is common at potlucks. Honestly, the list of ingredients doesn’t sound appetizing, and many people find the odd combination off-putting and overly ‘heavy.’
Watergate Salad
Yet another retro sweet salad that isn’t always popular is Watergate salad, made from pistachio pudding, canned fruit, marshmallows, and whipped cream. While it may be nostalgically kitschy for some diners, the artificial pistachio flavor and chaotic mix of different textures and flavors make it an unappealing dessert option for many.
Snickers Salad
This brave combination of diced Snickers candy bars, apple chunks, and whipped cream topped with caramel or chocolate sauce will surely be packed with calories. Besides the high sugar and fat content (and associated health risks), the salad is criticized for being excessively sweet and having an unpleasant, confusing texture.
Candied Apples
Apples again, this time smothered whole with a sweet and sticky coating. Candied apples may be a classic treat at carnivals and fairs, but many people don’t enjoy them. Not only are they messy and difficult to eat, but the uneven distribution of sugar makes the outside too sweet and the inside overly tart. Plus, it’s easy to crack a tooth while chomping through one!
Capriotada
This Italian dessert is made by soaking bread in wine and then topping it with sugar and cinnamon. It’s often regarded as an ‘acquired’ taste due to its unusual flavor combination and unpleasantly soggy texture of sodden bread. Consequently, it’s a dessert cherished by only a distinct few diehard wine lovers!
Tamarind Balls
A popular Caribbean dessert, these candy-like sweet balls aren’t popular in the US due to their unique flavor of tamarind, which is a strong mix of sweet and sour. They’re also very tough on teeth, having a sticky, chewy texture and containing hard tamarind seeds that need to be laboriously extracted during consumption.
Sugar on Snow
The name says it all! This traditional yet unusual New England dessert is made by pouring hot maple syrup onto fresh, clean snow. The resulting taffy-like substance may be adored by those with a sweet tooth, but many find it too intensely sugary to enjoy. Its odd, sticky texture and extreme simplicity also attract criticism.
Bizcochito
This cookie-like dessert is popular in Mexico and has an intense, aniseed flavor many North Americans can’t stomach. The strong licorice taste has been called overpowering, while health-conscious individuals are put off by the use of high-calorie animal fat (lard) in their production.
Graham Crackers
These simple, wholewheat crackers are only slightly sweetened and often considered too bland and underwhelming to be served as dessert! While they are used in other, more interesting desserts like smores and pie crust, their dull and dry texture isn’t anyone’s first choice as a stand-alone dessert option.
Jamoncillo
Another traditional Mexican sweet treat, Jamoncillo, is made with condensed milk and sugar- giving it an overwhelmingly sweet taste and hard, sticky texture. The result is candy-like cubes that are often too sweet and cloying for many peoples’ tastes. Plus, they’re terrible for your teeth!
Pets de Sœurs
These traditional French-Canadian pastries are made by rolling dough with brown sugar and butter, resulting in buttery pastries full of a sweet, gooey filling. Considered indulgent and flavorsome by their fans further north, many North Americans find them overly sweet, rich, and calorific.
Moon Pies
Popular in the southern states of the US, these marshmallow-filled graham cracker snacks are coated in chocolate and taste like cold smores. The marshmallow center makes them extremely sweet and sticky, while the combination of different textures (crunchy and gooey) doesn’t appeal to everyone.
Shoofly Pie
Shoofly pie was invented by Dutch settlers in Pennsylvania who took a filling of gooey molasses and covered it with a crumbly topping. This high-fat, high-sugar dessert hasn’t been universally popular, largely due to its heavy texture and unpleasantly intense flavor of molasses.
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Source: Taste Atlas