{"id":6617,"date":"2022-03-21T02:37:38","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T02:37:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/?p=6617"},"modified":"2022-03-21T17:57:21","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T17:57:21","slug":"typical-american-food","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/books-we-read\/typical-american-food\/","title":{"rendered":"What Food is Typically American?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I\u2019ve been reading American Cuisine: And How it Got This Way<\/a> by Paul Freedman. It delves into the history of \u201cAmerican\u201d cuisine and how it was shaped by the country\u2019s history. As can be imagined, there are many factors involved in this evolution, from the various cultures and backgrounds that are the heart of America\u2019s melting pot, to technology advances and changing tastes and preferences. It really made me think about what types of foods can be defined as typically American.<\/p>\n

This is not a new concept. Back in the early 1870s, the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia visited the United States and later claimed that American cookery was nonexistent and the best American cooks \u201cwere all French.\u201d Incensed, Philadelphia Chef James Parkinson of (The Thousand Dollar Dinner<\/a> fame) wrote an editorial published in the Philadelphia Press<\/em> and later as a stand-alone pamphlet called American Dishes at the Centennial<\/em>. In this lengthy essay, Parkinson extensively sang the praises of the numerous \u201cexclusively and distinctively\u201d American foods and dishes, meticulously pointing out the duke\u2019s inaccuracies. It was two years before Philadelphia\u2019s Centennial Exhibition (America\u2019s first official world\u2019s fair), and Parkinson declared that the rest of the world would see and taste the true excellence of American cuisine at this celebration. \u201cAmerican dishes at home, at the great fair in 1876, will lead to American dishes abroad,\u201d he predicted. \u201cAmerica, therefore, should become, and may become, the fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Parkinson wasn\u2019t wrong, but ironically in a different way. He wrote mainly about America\u2019s plentiful native game, fish and produce, for example, referring to American oysters as \u201cnot the peanut, copperish caricature of France or England, but the large, sweet, delectable, and glorious American oyster\u2014the envy of the world.\u201d But today it is fast and processed food that is typically globally defined as American cuisine, with huge corporate entities such as McDonalds, Starbucks and Coca-Cola now available throughout the world.<\/p>\n

And part of this has to do with portion sizes. When Europeans first arrived in America, they marveled at the bountiful size of its fish, oysters, wild turkeys and squashes. That was the beginning. As a result of all this abundance, portion sizes of dishes in the U.S. were typically big and just kept increasing. Flash forward to today where many restaurants offer platter-sized portions.<\/p>\n

Another factor is that Americans have always embraced technology. So when food processing really took off at the end of the 19th<\/sup> century, Americans were all in. Canned and boxed goods were convenient. They helped free up women\u2019s time in the kitchen, allowing them to work outside the house. Packaged foods could travel much further distances without spoiling. Railroads and steamships could transport staple foods around the country.<\/p>\n

Both technology and convenience also played a huge role in the rapid acceptance of fast food chains. As the \u201cland of opportunity,\u201d America has typically been an \u201con-the-go\u201d culture, eating quick meals for sustenance. Europeans visiting America in the late 1800s were rather appalled at how fast Americans gobbled down their meals. So no surprise \u201cfast food\u201d became ubiquitous starting in the 1950s, especially as the American highway system expanded.<\/p>\n

When I hear the phrase \u201cAmerican cuisine,\u201d I think of all of these factors, plus the fact that the U.S. is such a geographically large nation that each region has its own specialties, a fact Freedman highlights in his book. In addition, America encompasses such a vibrant mix of cultures that have impacted what we eat. I am personally grateful for this as I love trying new flavors and cooking techniques. What about you? I would love to know what comes to mind when you think of American cuisine!<\/p>\n

For further reading try:<\/p>\n