Hello there, fellow food lovers! How are you doing? Ready to take this food test? When you think about the food in the United States, what comes to your mind are most likely hamburgers, hot dogs, and fries. It is understandable – that kind of food has become the universally recognized symbol of the country. The US cuisine has a lot more variety than that, however. Every foodie out there can find something tasty for themselves in the country of the bald eagle. Do you want to give it a try?
American cuisine is hard to define, as it is so varied. The settlers coming to the continent brought their recipes and customs with them from Europe and adapted them to indigenous food and ingredients. Across the country, you can find influences from Native Americans, African Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many different cultures and traditions, making it a truly unique blend of cuisines.
The Northeast of the United States, for example, offers a large selection of seafood-centric dishes, given this region is located near the Atlantic Ocean. Lobsters, clams, and crabs are heavily used in particular, with dishes such as the lobster roll, the seafood chowder, or the Maryland crab cakes gaining popularity.
The Northeast is the place where many different immigrant influences cross. In Pennsylvania, the settlers created would later become the famous Philly cheesesteak. In New York City, Boston’s North End, and South Philly the Italian immigrants helped shape the national cuisine with their hearty, tasty foods and love for meat, cheese, and sauce.
New York City itself is a great example of the melting pot of nation that the US is. The Jewish, the Russians, Puerto Ricans, Middle Easterns, Greeks, and many others – their food added the flavor to the cuisine of NYC, and later the whole country and even the globe. Have you heard about the Reuben Sandwich or the New York Cheesecake? You most likely have the immigrants to thank for them.
The Midwest serves as the center for national grain production, including wheat, corn, and soy. Some call the region the breadbasket of America. This is why Midwestern dishes are usually satisfying, rich, and hearty meals like bread pudding, Chicago deep-dish pizza, casseroles, sandwiches, and all sorts of cakes.
As with many American regional cuisines, Midwestern cooking has been heavily influenced by the immigrant group arriving in the country over the years. Swedish pancakes and Polish pierogi are common throughout the northern Midwest. German immigrants brought their pork sausages and potatoes; you can easily find them in Wisconsin, Missouri, Ohio, Kansas, and Illinois.
Chicago is known for its sandwiches, such as the Italian beef sandwich, which originated during the Great Depression. We mentioned the Chicago-style deep dish pizza. This kind of pizza is baked in a special pan that gives the dish a high edge. The crust has to be thick enough to hold the large amounts of cheese and chunky tomato sauce, but also light and buttery.
The Southern cuisine includes diverse food traditions of many cultures. Many elements of Southern cooking were borrowed from the indigenous nations of the United States, for example, tomatoes, squash, corn, or the deep-pit barbecue method. Sugar, flour, milk, eggs, livestock, and several vegetables were introduced by the Old World, European colonists. Meanwhile, enslaved Africans introduced black-eyed peas, okra, rice, eggplant, sesame, sorghum, melons, and various spices.
Certain regions have been inspired by different Old World traditions. Louisiana Creole cuisine is a blend of French, West African, Spanish, and Amerindian influences. Floribbean cuisine is Spanish-based with obvious Caribbean influences, and Tex-Mex has considerable Mexican and Native American influences with its abundant use of New World vegetables (for example corn, tomatoes, squash, and peppers) and barbecued meat.
Soul food is an ethnic cuisine traditionally prepared and eaten by African Americans. The cuisine originated with the foods that were given to enslaved black people by their white owners on Southern plantations; however, it was strongly influenced by the traditional practices of West Africans and Native Americans from its origin. The term “soul food” originated in the 1960s, during a time of strong black cultural identity and expression.
Typical soul food would include fried chicken, fried fish or pork, black-eyed peas, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, collard greens, cabbage, or kale. As for desserts, we have to mention banana pudding, peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, or pound cake (a cake typically made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar).
Are you already hungry? Because we are! Get ready to find out what is the perfect US food for you. Perhaps it is time for classic mac and cheese? Or maybe you should get a slice of a fresh apple pie? What about some s’mores over the campfire? Take the quiz and discover your answer!