AMERICAN

CUISINE
Background
• Official Name: United States of America
• Population: 307,212,123 (July 2009
estimate)
• Capital: Washington D.C
The United States of America is the third
largest country in the world based on
population (after China and India) and land
area (after Russia and Canada)
The United States also has the world's
largest economy and is one of the most
influential nations in the world
Geography
• Borders:
north – Canada
south – Mexico
east – Atlantic Ocean
west – Pacific Ocean
• a federal republic of 50
states
Topography
• The eastern regions consist of hills
and low mountains while the central
interior is a vast plain (called the
Great Plains region)
• the west has high rugged mountain
ranges (some of which are volcanic
in the Pacific Northwest)
• Alaska features rugged mountains as
well as river valleys
• Hawaii's landscape varies but is
dominated by volcanic topography
Culinary History
• European colonization of the Americas yielded the
introduction of a number of ingredients and cooking styles
to the latter
• Early Native Americans utilized a number of cooking
methods in early American Cuisine that have been blended
with early European cooking methods to form the basis of
American Cuisine
• When the colonists came to Virginia, Massachusetts ,or
any of the other English colonies on the eastern seaboard
of North America, their initial attempts at survival included
planting crops familiar to them from back home in England
• The American colonial diet varied depending on the settled
region in which someone lived; Local cuisine patterns had
established by the mid-18th century
• Native American Cuisine included
- Beans, corn and squash (“three sisters”)
- Wild game and fish
- Nuts and berries
- Regional fruits and vegetables
• During the 18th and 19th centuries, Americans
developed many new foods
• During the Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) food
production and presentation became more
industrialized
Characteristics
• The modern American diet is an amalgam of foods from
around the world.
• American cuisine is described as a “melting pot” or a
blending of cultures from around the world.
• Few foods are truly North American in nature; Most foods
are inspired by foods from other countries or at least use
ingredients not native to North America
• America is a nation of immigrants
• Many different cooking styles
• Regional specialties
• Eating habits change through time (low-carbohydrate;
vegetarian; etc.)
Regional Cuisines Given the United States' large size, numerous regions each
have their own distinctive cuisines, all quite diverse
1. New England
• New England is a Northeastern region of the United
States, including the six states of Connecticut, Maine,
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and
Vermont
• Originally settled by British, Dutch, German and French
immigrants
• Region—rocky, mountainous, forested with long severe
winters
• Preserved foods to survive winter (drying and salting)
• One-dish meals, hearty, hearth cooking
• Soups, stews were popular
2. Pacific and Northwest
➢ HAWAII
• Hawaiian regional cuisine covers everything from wok-
charred ahi tuna, opakapaka (snapper) with passion fruit, to
Hawaiian island-raised lamb, beef and aquaculture products
such as Molokai shrimp
• Pacific Coast—rich, fertile soil & warm sunny climate
• Fruits & vegetables in abundance
• Fish and shellfish
• California cuisine—easy, few rules or traditions
• OR & WA—tree fruits, berries
• Immigrants from Mexico, China, Japan, Korea and South
Pacific—Asian & Mexican influence in cuisine
➢Alaska

• Artic region—long, frigid winters

• South—milder with vegetable, grain and dairy farms
• Caribou, reindeer, bear and rabbit
• Icy clear Pacific—Alaskan king crab
• Lakes & streams—salmon and trout
• Ingredients:
➢- Citrus fruit, papaya, pomegranates, dates
➢- Avocados, Chinese cabbage, tomatoes
➢- Tuna, salmon, lobster, crab and shrimp
➢- Peaches, apples, apricots
➢- Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries,
blueberries
3. Midwest
• Midwestern cuisine covers everything from barbecue to the
Chicago-style hot dog
• The “bread basket” of the nation
• Rich soil, good climate and advanced farming
• Cuisine—hearty and uncomplicated (“steak & potato”, brownies,
apple pie)
• On the surface, seems most “American” in style/ingredients
• Ingredients:
- Corn, wheat, soybeans
- Beef, pork, lamb and poultry
- Lakes & streams—variety of freshwater fish
- Wisconsin & Minnesota—Dairy

• Small farms—fruits and vegetables

• Potluck & Buffet dinners
• Fairs, festivals and picnic
4. West and Southwest
• Cooking in the American West gets its influence from Native
American and Mexican cultures, and other European settlers
into the part of the country
• MT, WY, CO, NM, TX, ID, NV, UT, AZ
• Deserts, mountains, plateaus
• Simple cuisine
• Dependence on beef
• Chili, Chuck Wagon beans, son-of-a-gun stew
• Native American, Spanish and Mexican influence
• Hot and sunny—many fruits and vegetables
• Ingredients:
- West: corn, squash, beef, buffalo, wild rice, corn, various beans,
chili peppers, tomatoes
5. South
• The cuisine of the American South has been influenced by the
many diverse inhabitants of the region, including Americans of
European descent
• Immigrants from France, England, Ireland, Scotland and Spain
• Once established, brought slaves from Africa to work plantations
• Mild climate, waters and forest
Southern Cuisine—Soul Food:
• Combines the customs of African slaves, Native Americans and
Europeans.
• Developed around foods that were readily available to all 3 groups
• Popular dishes include rice and beans, corn bread, chitterlings,
greens, soups, stews
Southern Cuisine—Creole:

• Based in New Orleans, LA •

• Combines techniques of French with ingredients
in African, Caribbean, Spanish and Native
American dishes
• Gumbo
• soup with meat, seafood, poultry, okra and other
vegetables, thickened with roux.
• Jambalaya--Creole rice dish
• Beignets, Café au lait, pralines
Southern Cuisine—Cajun:

• “Backwoods” cooking
• Acadian, French, Native
American, African and Spanish
• Southern Louisiana based
cuisine
• Crawfish, okra, rice, pecans,
beans
• Heavily spiced
• Often made from what was
available and leftovers
Meal Structure and Eating Habits
Dinners for white, working-class, traditional
EuroAmerican families often include
• Meat (usually in large pieces)
• Potatoes
• A vegetable (perhaps canned)
• A salad of lettuce & tomato
• Dessert (ice cream, pie, cookies
“Courses”
of a dinner:
• Appetizer: small “nibbles” to eat
while you wait for the main meal
• Soup
• Salad, often with a “dressing”
• “Entrée” (main dish, usually meat
or fish)
• “Side dishes” (potatoes,
vegetables)
• Dessert
 MEAL PROTEIN POTATOES OTHER
Breakfast eggs “hash browns” or Toast, juice,
“home fries” coffee, sausage or
ham
Lunch Meat sandwich French fries or chips Soda, dessert
Dinner (or Chicken breast, Mashed, scalloped, Salad, vegetables
“supper”) pork chop, potato salad, or (canned or frozen
hamburger, or French fries corn, peas,
steak carrots, or green
beans) Coffee or
tea dessert