Globally there are many cuisines, and each tells a story about a region, its land, plants, animals, and people. But I could never wrap my head around what an overall USA Cuisine would be. Perhaps the USA Melting Pot Cuisine as a trm would fit the bill, for it seems we ”Americanize” the ethnic foods of all the people that were originally here, or immigrated to this country.
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Defining North America
Wikipedia writes that the word “cuisine” references a specific set of cooking traditions and practices, often associated with a specific culture or region. Each cuisine involves food preparation in a particular style, of food and drink of particular types, to produce individually consumed items or distinct meals.
- Wikipedia notes that the continent of North America includes the countries of Greenland, Canada, USA, Mexico down to Panama, and the Caribbean Islands.
As a continent, North America’s first identifiable cuisine would have to be those of the Indigenous Peoples who lived on these lands for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans. My focus however, for this post, is really the USA and not North America.
European Culinary Colonialists
We know that the Norse arrived in North America sometime around 985 (1), but I am unaware of any lasting impact on food traditions from this initial contact. Then, during the 1400s to 1600s large waves of colonists from Europe appeared along the Eastern seaboard of what became the USA. The History site explains, that within a short period of time the Spanish were living in Florida, the British in New England and Virginia, the Dutch in New York, and Swedes in Delaware; along with over 300k indentured servants and untold number of enslaved peoples from Africa, India, and the Caribbean.
Each group brought food and cooking traditions from their home lands. But in those early times, not every immigrant group faired equally well; just read about the Pilgrims desperation and reliance on Indigenous Peoples for survival. But sharing knowledge with the locals, refining farming and hunting techniques to fit the new land, and support from their home country, colonial sustainability was improved, and the European cuisine changed to include Indigenous Peoples food, storage techniques, and even cooking styles.
Then came the culinary experience of those forced to migrate to North America, the indentured European servants and enslaved peoples, who were often charged with growing and cooking the foods for everyone. This led to the combination of European culinary preferences, Indigenous Cuisine with local ingredients, and African foods and cooking styles. This combination became the base of what we now call Southern + Soul Food cuisines.
From then on, as waves of people arrived from various other countries, what we ate changed. In the Western and Southwestern parts of the USA there was a mingling of Mexicans, Indigenous Peoples, and Europeans (especially Spanish) that led to the Tex Mex cuisines.
Meanwhile there were waves of immigrants came from Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Germany, and other European Countries. Each bringing their home country cuisines, and integrated those foods and techniques into American culture.
In the mid 1800s, Chinese were imported explicitly to work on the railroad, because Americans of that time did not want to work that hard or endanger their lives (1). This had a great impact in California where the Chinese started to open businesses, including restaurants. The impact here was the creation of Asian-influenced dishes we now think are Asian, when actually they were created with American-tastes in mind.
- It should be noted that in the 1880s thousands of Chinese were expelled from this country due to white American fears and outright hostiliity (after the main railroad lines were done of course), and in 1882 Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act, which was repealed in 1943.
Since then, we continue to have people arriving from all over the world, and each brings their traditions and foods with them to further influence American cuisine.
American USA Cooking Styles
Native American Ingredients + Dishes
These ingredients are native to Central, South, or North America and were eventually exported to Europe and the world, which influenced European foods in considerable ways (1).
- Blueberries, strawberries, salmon berries, cranberries, and other native fruits
- Cacao
- Chili peppers
- Corn: corn meal, corn four, corn mash, grits, corn cakes, pop corn
- Frybread
- New England Clam Chowder
- Pumpkins, gourds and other hard-skinned winter squashes
- Potatoes
- Salmon and other native fishes
- Succotash
- Tomatoes
- Turkey and other native game
Grilling is a Craft
There is tradition and fights among BBQ lovers about all aspects of grilling meats. In the USA there are various styles of cooking, sauces that people use, and side dishes. Some of these foods were developed in America.
- Boston Baked Beans
- Eating corn directly from the cob (Wikipedia writes that the Maya ate corn off the cob, Aboriginal Canadians in Southern Canada did, but Indigenous Peoples living in what is now the USA did not eat corn this way.)
- Fajitas: Texas chuckwagon food
We Love Casseroles
- Baked ziti: An American dish based on similar Italian dishes
- Green Bean Casserole: Invented in 1955
- Meatloaf: I give this dish an honorary casserole title
- Tuna Noodle Casserole
Fast Food Everywhere
The status of being a land predominantly made up of immigrants and their children, there is nothing in our cooking techniques that are unique to our country. But we certainly have modified the world with some of our approaches to food. So while “fast Food” was not created in the USA, Americans have taken it to another level to where it is now a staple way of eating we have exported to other countries.
We have fast food companies focused on: hamburgers, Tex-Mex, fried chicken, pizza, etc. Here are some of the food served in those places which were developed in the USA.
- Buffalo wings: Invented in1964 and named after it’s home town of Buffalo, New York.
- Corn Bread: Indigenous Peoples invention.
- Corn Dogs: Pronto Pup of Rockaway Beach, OR claims to have invented the corn dog in 1939.
- Deep dish pizza
- Hamburger: Created in Louis’ Lunch in New Haven, Connecticut.
- Nachos came from Texas
- Potato Chips: These were invented by an Indigenous Chef in New York, 1853.
- Shrimp cocktail: Most people claim this was invented by a 19th-century miner from California.
- Tater Tots: Ore-Ida invented in 1953 to deal with potato leftovers from processing.
Sandwiches + Soups + Salads
Then there are sandwiches, served in nearly every restaurant in the USA but purportedly created in England. We seem to love this way of serving and eating food; and have made it into an art form. Here are some sandwiches that were invented in the USA.
- BLT sandwich
- Chili con carne
- Chinese Chicken Salad: California
- Club sandwich: New York
- Cob Salad
- Cuban Sandwich: This is from Florida, although many Cubans argue it was a Cuban invention (with Yucca ”bread” and fish) that was only reimagined (deli meats, bread) in Florida
- French Dip Sandwich is from LA, California
- Grilled cheese sandwich
- Lobster roll
- Macaroni salad with mayo-based dressing
- Peanut Butter: Grinding peanuts was done by Aztecs, but PB+J sandwiches was created in Michigan
- Philly Cheesesteak
- Po’Boy: A traditional Louisiana sub, said to have originated in 1929
- Reuben Sandwich was created in (Nebraska) Omaha’s Blackstone Hotel by a poker player with Reuben as a first name
- Sloppy Joes
- Stromboli: Invented in Philly in the 1950s
- Taco salad in a flour tortilla bowl
Americans Have a Sweet Tooth
Then we have desserts that we just love to bake and eat. All on this list were created in the USA, for good or bad.
- Banana bread
- Banana Split
- Brownies: Palmer House Hotel in Chicago
- Candy corn
- Chocolate chip cookies created in 1930 in Whitman, Massachusetts.
- Chocolate chip cookies: Created in 1930 in Massachusetts.
- Donut holes
- Fruit smoothies
- Graham cracker
- Häagen Dazs ice cream: New York
- Ice Cream Cone created by a Swiss immigrant working at Doumar’s in Norfolk, Virginia.
- Ice cream sandwich invented in 1899
- Jello
- Key Lime Pie created in Florida
- Milk shakes.
- Pecan pie
- Red velvet cake
- S’mores
- Salt Water Taffy was invented at Atlantic Boardwalk in New Jersey
Also a Starchy Requirement
Dinner in the USA seems to allways require a starch: pasta, potatoes, rice, etc. That is not the case all over the world, although it does seem to true for many cuisines.
- Sushi Rolls are Japanese, but there are some USA inventions here too, such as, the California roll, spicy tuna roll, Philadelphia roll and the rainbow roll. And I believe vegan sushi is a USA invention as well.
- Biscuits and gravy
- Chop Suey
- Clam chowder
- Mozzarella sticks were a 1970s bar food creation
- Penne alla vodka may have been invented in NY
Processed
Americans also like processed foods. So sautéing ground meats, and mixing it with pasta and a sauce turns into Hamburger Helper. A combination of cheese leftovers is processed and becomes a long-lived, shelf-stable brick of American Cheese. Cakes, brownies, muffins, waffles, scones, all come from boxes containing all the ingredients. Cookies come from the refrigerator section where you just slice, cook and serve. Pizza comes frozen to just pop into the oven to cook. Here are processed ingredients, food and drinks, and dishes.
- American yellow cheese
- Chile con queso
- Coca Cola and other sodas
- Cream Cheese
- Fast food places like McDonalds
- French Roast coffee: invented by Alfred Peet, founder of Peet’s Coffee & Tea in Berkeley, California, in 1966.
- Kool aid
- Many brand named candy bars: Hershey bars.
- Monterey Jack and Pepper Jack Cheese
- Potato chips
- Twinkies
- TV dinners
- Velveta cheese
All these examples probably show a very specific American way of dealing with food. We are generally divorced from how food is made. We are looking to spend the least amount of time in the kitchen as possible. Food has become a chore.
Ethnic Sounding Dishes
The USA used to be called a ”melting pot” with the idea that people come here from all over the world and, each in turn, influenced the pot. So with each wave of immigration, among other changes to society, food changed as well. So we find that there are dishes that use certain ethnic-specific ingredients to make a dish that taste likes one from ”back home”, perhaps titled with a foreign name so you may not be aware of the dish’s source, or it may have the country’s name in its title.
- Chicken parmigiana: derived from an Italian dish called melanzana alla parmigiana, or eggplant parmigiana
- Chimichanga was invented in Arizona
- Chinese Chicken Salad invented in Santa Monica, California
- Chop Suey invented in San Francisco, California
- Cuban Sandwich from Tampa, Florida
- Deep Dish Pizza was first created at Pizzeria Uno, in Chicago, Illinois
- Eggs Benedict
- English Muffin was invented by an English man in New York
- Fajita and Queso invented in Texas
- Fortune Cookie was either created by Japanese in San Francisco or Chinese in LA, California
- French Dressing, California’s Ranch Dressing, and New Hampshire’s Russian Dressing are all from USA
- Frozen Margarita is a Texas invention
- General Tso’s chicken, invented by Chinese chef and tweaked in New York
- German Chocolate Cake was invented by a person with “German” as their last name in Massachusetts
- Sesame chicken with sweet sauce
- Spagetti + Meatballs is the Italian-American immigrant’s fusion of an Italian meatball appetizer and pasta entree, invented in the late 1899s
- Swiss steak is from USA, not named for Switzerland, but for swissing (pounding the meat)
- Taco Salad invented by Mexican immigrant in Texas
- Vichyssoise (cold potato leek soup) invented by a French Cook in the Ritz-Carlton hotel in New York City
So What is American Cuisine
In contrast to other nations, the USA does not have a repertoire of recognizable dishes, cooking styles, spices, or approaches to food. There is no really cultural depth to what we eat day in and day out. However, there are a few American Cuisines that are considered uniquely cultural and important to us as Americans.
- Southern USA Cuisine: A combination of Indigenous Peoples, enslaved people, and English colonialists foods.
- Tex-Mex Cuisine: A combination of Indigenous Peoples, Mexican, Spanish and early SouthWestern Americans.
- Cajon + Creole Cuisine: A combination of Indigenous Peoples and enslaved peoples food, French speaking Canadian immigrants, and French colonialists.
- Hawaiian + Pacific Islander Cuisine: A combination of Polynesian Peoples food, heavily influenced by English seafarers and colonialists.
But otherwise we have a mish-mash of influences that will continue to evolve over time. Do you agree? Do you consider other American foods to make up a cuisine?
—Patty
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