American Cuisine

American cuisine reflects the history of the United States, blending the culinary contributions of various groups of people
from around the world, including indigenous American Indians, African Americans, Asians, Europeans, Pacific Islanders,
and Latin Americans. Though much of American cuisine is fusion cuisine reflecting global cuisine, many regional cuisines
have deeply rooted ethnic heritages, including Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Native American, New Mexican, Pennsylvania
Dutch, Soul food, and Tlingit. 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 what is now American cuisine. The
European settlement of the Americas introduced a number of ingredients, spices, herbs, and cooking styles to the
continent. The various styles of cuisine continued expanding well into the 19th and 20th centuries, proportional to the
influx of immigrants from many different nations; this influx nurtured a rich diversity in food preparation throughout the
country.
When the colonists came to the colonies, they farmed animals for clothing and meat in a similar fashion to what they had
done in Europe. They had cuisine similar to their previous Dutch, Swedish, French and British cuisines. The American
colonial diet varied depending on the region settled. Commonly hunted game included deer, bear, bison, and wild turkey. A
number of fats and oils made from animals served to cook much of the colonial foods. Prior to the Revolution, New
Englanders consumed large quantities of rum and beer, as maritime trade provided them relatively easy access to the goods
needed to produce these items: rum was the distilled spirit of choice, as the main ingredient, molasses, was readily
available from trade with the West Indies. In comparison to the northern colonies, the southern colonies were quite diverse
in their agricultural diet; the growing season was longer.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, Americans developed many new foods. During the Progressive Era of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries, circa 1890s–1920s, food production and presentation became more industrialized.
Pre-colonial cuisine
 Seafood

Blue crab was used on the eastern and southern coast of what is now the U.S. mainland.
Seafood in the United States originated with the American Indians in the United States, who often ate cod, lemon sole, flounder, herring,
halibut, sturgeon, smelt, drum on the East Coast, and olachen and salmon on the West Coast. Whale was hunted by American Indians off
the Northwest coast, especially by the Makah, and used for their meat and oil.[1] Seal and walrus were also eaten, in addition to eel from
New York's Finger Lakes region. Catfish was also popular among native people, including the Modocs. Crustaceans included shrimp,
lobster, crayfish, and dungeness crabs in the Northwest and shrimp, lobster and blue crabs in the East. Other shellfish include abalone
and geoduck on the West Coast, while on the East Coast the surf clam, quahog, and the soft-shell clam. Oysters were eaten on both
shores, as were mussels and periwinkles.[2]

 Cooking methods
Early American Indians used 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. Grilling meats was common. Spit roasting over a pit fire was common as well.
Vegetables, especially root vegetables were often cooked directly in the ashes of the fire. As early Native Americans lacked pottery that
could be used directly over a fire, they developed a technique which has caused many anthropologists to call them "Stone Boilers". They
would heat rocks directly in a fire and then add the rocks to a pot filled with water until it came to a boil so that it would cook the meat
or vegetables in the boiling water. In what is now the Southwestern United States, they also created adobe ovens, dubbed hornos by the
Spanish, to bake products such as cornmeal bread. Other parts of America dug pit ovens; these pits were also used to steam foods by
adding heated rocks or embers and then seaweed or corn husks placed on top to steam fish and shellfish as well as vegetables; potatoes
would be added while still in skin and corn while in-husk, this would later be referred to as a clambake by the colonists.
Colonial period
 Fats and oils

A plate of scrapple, a traditional dish of the Delaware Valley region still eaten today
A number of fats and oils made from animals served to cook much of the colonial foods. Many homes had a sack made of deerskin filled with bear oil
for cooking, while solidified bear fat resembled shortening. Rendered pork fat made the most popular cooking medium, especially from the cooking
of bacon. Pork fat was used more often in the southern colonies than the northern colonies as the Spanish introduced pigs earlier to the South. The
colonists enjoyed butter in cooking as well, but it was rare prior to the American Revolution, as cattle were not yet plentiful.[16]

 Alcoholic drinks
Prior to the Revolution, New Englanders consumed large quantities of rum and beer, as maritime trade provided them relatively easy access to the
goods needed to produce these items. Rum was the distilled spirit of choice, as the main ingredient, molasses, was readily available from trade with
the West Indies. Further into the interior, however, one would often find colonists consuming whiskey, as they did not have similar access to sugar
cane. They did have ready access to corn and rye, which they used to produce their whiskey.[17] However, until the Revolution, many considered
whiskey to be a coarse alcohol unfit for human consumption, as many believed that it caused the poor to become raucous and unkempt drunkards.[18]
In addition to these alcohol-based products produced in America, imports were seen on merchant shelves, including wine and brandy.[19]

 Southern variations
In comparison to the northern colonies, the Southern Colonies were quite diverse in their agricultural diet. The uplands of the Piedmont and the
coastal lowlands made up the two main parts of the southern colonies. The diet of the uplands often included wild game, cabbage, string beans, corn,
squashes and white potatoes. People had biscuits as part of their breakfast, along with healthy portions of pork.[20] The lowlands of Louisiana
included a varied diet heavily influenced by the French, Spanish, Acadians, Germans, Native Americans, Africans and Caribbeans. Rice played a large
part of the diet in Louisiana. In addition, unlike the uplands, the lowlands subsistence of protein came mostly from coastal seafood. Much of the diet
involved the use of peppers, as it still does to this day.[
Post-colonial cuisine
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Americans developed many new foods. Some, such as Rocky Mountain oysters, stayed regional; some spread
throughout the nation but with little international appeal, such as peanut butter (a core ingredient of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich); and some
spread throughout the world, such as popcorn, cola, fried chicken, cornbread, unleavened muffins such as the poppyseed muffin, and brownies.

20th-century American farmhouse

During the 1920s, American farms were mostly self-sufficient; but, certain staples like salt, coffee, sugar and baking soda would be purchased at the
town general store. If the family didn't grow wheat, then flour would also be purchased. Another luxury was canned salmon, which was sometimes
eaten for Sunday dinner. Items purchased at the general store would be paid for with eggs, butter or some other food from the farm. Women were
responsible for much of the processing of food like straining fresh milk, churning butter, making molasses from sorghum, grinding corn into cornmeal
or cleaning whole chickens.

Fresh picked apples were pressed into cider, which could be fermented to make apple cider vinegar. Fruits and vegetables were preserved by various
means like canning, drying or pickling. One contemporary writer from Michigan described October as cider season, when apple butter would be made.
Her writings mention johnnycakes; and, as winter fare, buckwheat cakes.[23]

Typical farmhouse fare included fried chicken, simmered green beans, boiled corn, chicken and dumplings, fried ham, boiled beans and beets, stewed
tomatoes, potatoes, and coleslaw made of shredded cabbage. Pon haus, similar to the scrapple of the Pennsylvania Dutch, was a typical breakfast dish
among the Germans who had settled Indiana in the 19th century. Pork scraps and corn meal were cooked into a thick porridge and molded in loaf pans.
Once solidified, the mixture would be cut and fried. During the fall months pork might be replaced with fried apples or potatoes. It was served with
buttered biscuits, jam, jelly, milk gravy or sorghum syrup. Fruit butter might be made from apples. plums or peaches to accompany the meal.
Pork was a staple of the rural diet through the Southern and Midwestern United States. Lard was used for baking, frying and even as a seasoning. The
cookware of the period was made of cast iron and these were thoroughly seasoned with pork fat. Fried salt pork with gravy was an indulgent fat-laden
dish often served with a side of boiled potatoes. In the Appalachian region a dish called "killed lettuce" was made with pokeweed, dandelion and assorted
wild greens that were drizzled with hot bacon grease until wilted or "killed".[23]

Pie could be served up to three times a day and many varieties were prepared depending on the season. During the spring months, pies would be made of
rhubarb and strawberry; in summer peach, cherry, blackberry, blueberry, elderberry and grape; and in fall apple.[23]

The staples of the urban diet were bread, dairy and canned goods. Dinner might be tomato bisque from a can topped with cream or a salad made of
canned string beans and mayonnaise. Many preferred to purchase food at delicatessen's, rather than attempt to prepare meals in the cramped kitchenettes.
German delicatessens in cities like New York and Milwaukee sold imported cold cuts, potato salads, schmierkase, wienerwurst, North Sea herring,
assorted pickles and other prepared foods. Jewish immigrants from Germany soon followed suit, replacing pork dishes with corned beef and pastrami.
Ice cream soda was served at soda fountains, along with various other early "soda water" recipes like the Garden Sass Sundae (rhubarb) or the Oh-Oh-
Cindy Sundae (strawberry ice cream topped with chocolate syrup, chopped nuts, whipped cream and candied cherries).
Modern cuisine
In the 20th century highly industrialized processed foods became a dominant feature of American diets. Fusion of the food traditions of various immigrant groups to the US contributed to
development of distinct ethnic-American dishes. "Dainty" fare became the norm at fashionable luncheons and teas in areas like New York City including dishes like grapefruit with cherries, fruit
served in cantaloupe, strawberry tarts or egg soufflé, other types of tea sandwiches, small decorated cakes or gelatin based desserts. This style of dainty fare was highly decorated and ladylike
and it was intended to be consumed only by women. The decorative and ornate foods were a symbol of distinction between men and women, as the former were associated with less refined
foods.[24] Tea parties were fashionable for well-to-do women and dainty fare remained a symbol of upper middle class luxury. Dozens of articles published in women's magazines promoted the
"dainty" quality of tea parties. From one 1911 issue of Good Housekeeping: "the secret of a successful tea room is daintiness, first in the service, and then in the quality of the food served".[25]

 Processed food
During the Progressive Era (1890s–1920s) food production and presentation became more industrialized.

From 1888 through 1908 the machine double-crimped, compound-sealed, open-top, so-called "sanitary can" was perfected (replacing individually crafted and manually soldered hole-in-top
style cans). Also during that time, the can manufacturing industry consolidated.[26] These improvements in canning made fruits and vegetables increasingly available to chefs outside of the
regular harvest season.

During that same time frame, grain-feeding of cattle during low pasture months made milk increasingly available year-round. The invention of milking machines lowered production costs.
Pasteurization, homogenization, evaporation, condensation, and refrigeration along with glass milk bottles, wax paper cartons, and then plastic bottles made milk increasingly available and safe
for urban consumers.[27] Milk became a staple food item and an increasingly important ingredient in American cuisine. Examples include the Root beer float and the Milkshake.

Major railroads featured upscale cuisine in their dining cars.[28] Restaurant chains emerged with standardized decor and menus, including the Fred Harvey restaurants along the route of the
Sante Fe Railroad in the Southwest.[29] Fast food restaurants with standardized product and franchised service models began to appear and spread with the development of the highway system.
White Castle (1916) was one of the first examples. Franchising was introduced in 1921 by A&W Root Beer. The McDonald's brothers created their "Speedee Service System" in 1948.

At the universities, nutritionists and home economists taught a new scientific approach to food. In the early 1900s muckraking journalists raised public concern about the wholesomeness of
industrialized food products that contained various preservatives and adulterants of unknown safety. From 1902 to 1912 Harvey Washington Wiley, a chemist at the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, supervised "hygienic table trials" to test the safety of food additives and preservatives. His work contributed to the enactment of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906. He became the
first commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and later led the laboratories of Good Housekeeping Magazine.