What is American cuisine?

SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
that's easy. just look at the food of all the countries we have ever invaded and mix them together. problem solved! :laugh:
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Ah - invaded - so that means by military force. Not many really. Settled in - yes, ruled for a short time - yes, discovered even - yes, but actually militarily invaded and ruled - not many.
Further we do have many old recipes and old traditions but like most things we tend to ignore them or even worse laugh at them eg morris dancers are often a figure of ridicule but to do the same to for example, an African tribal dance would be considered VERY bad taste and it's the same with our cooking.
American food is young but to get back to English food we must go back at least 500 years and the trail is a very tangled one but that does not mean it should simply be forgotten about and dismissed.
PS - apple pie is not really American is it. I could be wrong but, although they do eat it as we do hot dogs etc the apple pie came from - yep - England.
 
Shaun said:
I've also heard of grits (although I still don't fully understand what grits are/is) and jambalaya - is that like a southern caserole?

I wonder, too, if there are any dishes of native american origin that are still popular?
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Grits are made from dried white corn kernels. And it is very good when eaten with scrambled or fried eggs and meat (bacon or sausage) for breakfast.
As kids, we were raised on it! Most of my family, including mom & pop are from the South, so we all like it!! :wink:
 
Shermie said:
Grits are made from dried white corn kernels. And it is very good when eaten with scrambled or fried eggs and meat (bacon or sausage) for breakfast.
As kids, we were raised on it! Most of my family, including mom & pop are from the South, so we all like it!! :wink:
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So, @Shermie, please tell us your authentic Southern recipe for grits. I've never had them, but assuming I can get the basic ingredients here, I will give it a whirl. :cook:
 
there are a lot of American themed restaurants that use trade names or ingredients or known names to originate the dish ,burger Coney Island ,or buba gump shrimps ,baby Ruth ice cream,burgers and ,corn dogs ,topped with pulled BBQ pork American generic cheese,the term wet comes in ,topped with chilli,
,movie bits on the wall ,diner seats ,pancakes and syrup,flasks of coffee ,orio shakes,bottles of bud,is this what American food is?
Regional specialities,great ingredients,cooked in a melting pot environment ,we mention grits,makes a lovely paste for a different carb,have used it over the years,seen it used in some really good restaurants
I do speak from experience ,I helped open a American diner not so many years ago and is still operating though the chap I set it up with sold it on
 
I always (rightly or wrongly) associate biscuits and gravy as being typical American food. But its not biscuits and gravy that we in the Uk would think. Its more like a scone and the gravy is a white sauce? Never tried it to be honest.
 
I'm not saying this is accurate or correct, just my opinion. When American food is mentioned, what comes to my mind is steak with mashed potato, vegetable salad and soup. It can also be a hamburger and fries. Do not forget the mustard because that's one thing that makes it American. And for the vegetable dishes, brocolli and cauliflower represent that category. That is why we have a dish called American chopsuey that is a mix of broccoli and cauliflower with asparagus and carrots.
 
Berties said:
there are a lot of American themed restaurants that use trade names or ingredients or known names to originate the dish ,burger Coney Island ,or buba gump shrimps ,baby Ruth ice cream,burgers and ,corn dogs ,topped with pulled BBQ pork American generic cheese,the term wet comes in ,topped with chilli,
,movie bits on the wall ,diner seats ,pancakes and syrup,flasks of coffee ,orio shakes,bottles of bud,is this what American food is?
Regional specialities,great ingredients,cooked in a melting pot environment ,we mention grits,makes a lovely paste for a different carb,have used it over the years,seen it used in some really good restaurants
I do speak from experience ,I helped open a American diner not so many years ago and is still operating though the chap I set it up with sold it on
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If you ever get to go over to Las Vegas, you'll find restaurants in an abundance of this type, as well as just about every other ethnic eatery there, especially steakhouse restaurants & buffet restaurants also!! :wink:
 
sidevalve said:
Ah - invaded - so that means by military force. Not many really. Settled in - yes, ruled for a short time - yes, discovered even - yes, but actually militarily invaded and ruled - not many.
Further we do have many old recipes and old traditions but like most things we tend to ignore them or even worse laugh at them eg morris dancers are often a figure of ridicule but to do the same to for example, an African tribal dance would be considered VERY bad taste and it's the same with our cooking.
American food is young but to get back to English food we must go back at least 500 years and the trail is a very tangled one but that does not mean it should simply be forgotten about and dismissed.
PS - apple pie is not really American is it. I could be wrong but, although they do eat it as we do hot dogs etc the apple pie came from - yep - England.
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I think you may have missed the emicon at the end of my sentence. It was said in jest. If perhaps I offended you, sorry.

But I am British to all but 1/128th of my blood (some Italian managed to creep in) and I am more than aware that an apple pie is British.
(I am not English though, just to clarify. I don't see the need to divide an already small and divided country any further than necessary.)
 
Duck59 said:
Surely America is so culturally and ethnically diverse that "American cuisine" can be almost anything?
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Taking things further, every nation in the world is a mixture of different heritages and cultures. Britain is made up of people from Celtic, Pictish, Roman, Saxon and Norman descent (in fact, the original "Britons" were Welsh) and more recently Caribbean, Indian sub-continent and multiple European cultures. It has a royal family that is German. Food is always going to be a diverse mixture with all that taken into consideration.
 
I think the term Pacific rim cookery sums up food of that section of the globe,basically a whole host of food styles rolled into one ,
 
SatNavSaysStraightOn said:
(I am not English though, just to clarify. I don't see the need to divide an already small and divided country any further than necessary.)
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We are talking about food here and English is NOT the same as Welsh OR Scottish OR Irish. Britain did not finally come into being until the early 1700s. Only before this date is there any true English cuisine [although I admit it was even at that time heavily influenced by the Norman French]. If we are to use dates after this then like America we must accept all regions from all over the world [similar to every other country really]. For example here we have some of the finest curry houses in the world [and that does include India] but they are quite recent [about fifty years although of course we ate curry long before this].
The problem is to identify a countries food you have to go back to it's roots and although burgers - steak - grits etc etc are now identified with America [and nothing wrong with that - although I'm not sure about grits] the only truly American food would be that produced by the native Americans before the settlers arrived. There really is no 'one country' food anymore - something may be more common but that is all. Still - that doesn't mean we can't enjoy steak apple pie and all the other goodies at a 'theme' restaurant - even if you can just buy them off the shelf at the local supermarket
 
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