American Food

The American cuisine is the cooking style and traditional food dishes prepared in the United States. Primarily European in origin, it has been significantly influenced by indigenous native Americans, African Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures and traditions, reflecting the diverse history of the United States. Though some of American cuisine is fusion cuisine reflecting global cuisine, such as Mexican-American, Italian-American cuisine, and American Chinese cuisines, many regional cuisines have their own deeply rooted ethnic heritages, including Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Native American, New England Algonquian, New Mexican, Pennsylvania Dutch, Soul food, Texan/Tex-Mex, and Tlingit.

Comida Americana

The American cuisine is very diverse and has various styles of cuisine. It continued expanding well into the 19th and 20th centuries, proportional to the influx of immigrants from many different nations; this influx nurtured a rich diversity in food preparation throughout the country. The American colonial diet varied depending on the region settled. Commonly hunted game included deer, bear, bison, and wild turkey. A number of fats and oils made from animals served to cook much of the colonial foods.

Amerikanisches Essen

美国食品

During the 1800s, American farms were mostly self-sufficient; but, certain staples like salt, coffee, sugar and baking soda would be purchased at the town general store. If the family didn’t grow wheat, then flour would also be purchased. Typical farmhouse fare included fried chicken, simmered green beans, boiled corn, chicken and dumplings, fried ham, boiled beans and beets, stewed tomatoes, potatoes, and coleslaw made of shredded cabbage. Pon haus, similar to the scrapple of the Pennsylvania Dutch, was a typical breakfast dish among the Germans who had settled Indiana in the 19th century. Pie could be served up to three times a day and many varieties were prepared depending on the season. During the spring months, pies would be made of rhubarb and strawberry; in summer peach, cherry, blackberry, blueberry, elderberry and grape; and in fall apple.

Американская еда

Nourriture Américaine

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German delicatessens in cities like New York and Milwaukee sold imported cold cuts, potato salads, schmierkase, wienerwurst, North Sea herring, assorted pickles (pickled cucumber) and other prepared foods. Jewish immigrants from Germany soon followed suit, replacing pork dishes with corned beef (salt-cured beef) and pastrami. Ice cream soda was served at soda fountains, along with various other early “soda water” recipes like the Garden Sass Sundae (rhubarb) or the Oh-Oh-Cindy Sundae (strawberry ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, chopped nuts, whipped cream and candied cherries). Milk became a staple food item and an increasingly important ingredient in American cuisine. Examples include the root beer float and the milkshake.
Major railroads featured upscale cuisine in their dining cars. Restaurant chains emerged with standardized decor and menus, including the Fred Harvey restaurants along the route of the Santa Fe Railroad in the Southwest. Fast-food restaurants with standardized product and franchised service models began to appear and spread with the development of the highway system. White Castle (1916) was one of the first examples. Franchising was introduced in 1921 by A&W Root Beer. The McDonald brothers created their “Speedee Service System” in 1948. Other examples include Burger King, KFC, Wendy’s, Pizza Hut, Little Caesars, Domino’s Pizza and Papa John’s Pizza.

طعام امريكي

अमरीकी भोजन

Cibo Americano

Some dishes that are typically considered American have their origins in other countries. American cooks and chefs have substantially altered these dishes over the years, to the degree that the dishes now enjoyed around the world are considered to be American. Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, but in their modern popular form they can be reasonably considered American dishes. Pizza is based on the traditional Italian dish, brought by Italian immigrants to the United States, but varies highly in style based on the region of development since its arrival. For example, Chicago style has focus on a thicker, taller crust, whereas a “New York Slice” is known to have a much thinner crust which can be folded.
Some dishes that Americans think of as being of “foreign” in origin and/or associated with a particular immigrant group were in fact invented in America and customized to American tastes. For example General Tso’s chicken was invented by Chinese or Taiwanese chefs working in New York in the early 1970s. The dish is unknown in China, except for a distant resemblance to a much spicier dish from Hong Kong said to have influenced the American version. The fortune cookie was likewise invented in California in the early 1900s and is known in Asia only as an American style food.