Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and… lettuce?

Have you purchased your children’s school uniform shirts yet?

If so, you may have been surprised to come across the oddly-named chultzah Amerika’it (חולצה אמריקאית).

Literally, an “American shirt,” the term refers to what’s popularly known in the States as a baseball shirt (i.e. a t-shirt with raglan sleeves).

Veteran olim will no doubt recognize this as yet another instance of the Israeli predilection for referring to some of the most unlikely things as “American”.

Other classic examples include:

• Mivchan Amerika’i (מבחן אמריקאי) - multiple choice test
• Vafel Amerika’i (ופל אמריקאי) - waffle
• Glidah Amerika’it (גלידה אמריקאית) - soft ice cream
• Chassah Amerika’it (חסה אמריקאית) - iceberg lettuce

But before my fellow Anglos and I start making fun of this admittedly-amusing tendency, we should perhaps recall all the times we naively dined on delicacies such as “French” toast, “English” muffins, or "Israeli" couscous…

Please leave your own examples of so-called “American” items and products in the comment section.

!שבת שלום ומבורך