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Location: The place where the road & the sky collide
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elnina
I don't think there is any REAL American food (American as what, Indian?). Just like the immigrant people who have made up the nation, the bountiful natural resources immigrants transformed into something new and shaped the food we enjoy today. This massive variation is in large part a result of the groupings and presence of different ethnic groups. Some of that became Americanized, underwent extreme changes, and is uniquely present only in the US.
I would say that peanut butter and jelly is something that, to me, is an American signature food.
BBQ, the way how is prepared - with sauces, rubs, and varied cooking methods - is definitely taken to new and unique levels. Pure deliciousness I had only in the US.
Clam chowder is another example. I love soups, but never saw clam chowder outside the US. And, I think - pies. That for sure is typical American.
Where I live now, there are literally hundreds of different pastries and cakes, but no pies as we know them in the US.
The natives taught the early settlers to plant the 3 sisters - corn (maize), climbing beans, and squash. They are pretty much "American foods".
I think we can call a transformed food “quintessentially American” if it has been transformed by Americans. Apple pie is a descendant of German pastries, and was probably transformed by the Pennsylvania Dutch. Our hamburgers are American, IMO, and they have traveled the globe as American food. Other food seems to be inventions of our own that spread, such as fried chicken, clam chowder and barbeque. But to me they seem simply American food.
Remember that the Italians probably got pasta from the Chinese and certainly got tomatoes from the Americas, but no one disputes that pasta with red sauce is Italian.
I brought this topic up to a table full of Mexicans, their opinions:
1. Mac & cheese
2. Burgers
3. Wings
#3 is a bit skewed since American style buffalo wings are very popular in Mexico, there are many wings chains with outlets everywhere. I don't think I've been to any other country where wings were as much of a thing.
I think I'd go with traditional Thanksgiving fare: Turkey with all the fixins. Maybe a TurDuCken instead. Pumpkin Pie. While the Detroit Lions are playing Da Bears on TV.
A cheeseburger is not really considered to be a different thing, just a subtype of hamburger.
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