Fanta Ranta

In the US there is orange soda (Sunkist) that tastes like ZOMG SUGAR and a tiny bit of orange. It is colored like the Dutch National Football team's jerseys--which is to say, a neon and ungodly shade of tangerine orange--and it doesn't look like anything so much as glow toxically.

Fanta is also available in the US, as well--flavored like Sunkist and equally disgusting to behold. So for a long time, in the Netherlands, I steered well clear of the orange concoction, terrified of the fate that would await my tastebuds if I tried it. Turns out I needn't have worried: the Fanta here is tart, orangish-flavored, and, while still too sweet to be enjoyed frequently, is miles above and beyond the sugar-loaded syrupy excuse for a soft drink served up in the US.

The recipes for Fanta differ all over the world, so it's not like Coca Cola, which supposedly tastes the same everywhere you go (connoisseurs tell me that the Coke you get in Mexico is a gazillion times sweeter than the drink in the States, because it's made with cane sugar). But even so, the difference between the European and American versions of Fanta are astounding. If it weren't for the Fanta on the bottle, you'd never think that they were the same product. Not even close.

But aside from putting me into a hyperglycemic fit, I have to wonder what the US version of Fanta says about Americans in general. It's not very flattering.