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28 Comments:
Well, the answer is so obvious that I'm surprised this is even a question. There's a reason we don't say "American as corndogs" or "American as chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream." That's because what we are "American as" is apple pie.
"By the turn of the century, it was not unusual for an American to eat a slice of pie daily. In 1902 when an Englishman suggested this was gluttony and that, perhaps two slices a week would be plenty the New York Times responded thusly:
It is utterly insufficient...as anyone who knows the secret of our strength as a nation and the foundation of our industrial supremacy must admit. Pie is the American synonym of prosperity, and its varying contents mark the calendar of the changing seasons. PIE IS THE FOOD OF THE HEROIC. No pie-eating people can ever be vanquished."
If there is a sensory pleasure better than wrapping your mouth around sweet, warm fruit swaddled in a crisp pastry crust, it hasn't been invented yet. And if there is a gesture than conveys more caring than a freshly baked pie in front of an expectant table of family and friends, it can't compete. This country's greatest psycho-social achievement is simply: pie.
FarmersMarketer at 11:00PM on 07/02/08
This is, of course, ignoring the fact that the apple pie existed a few centuries before America?
(Though it was quite a lovely post you made...)
Prairie at 11:39PM on 07/02/08
@FarmersMarketer--you make me want pie.
wookie at 11:40PM on 07/02/08
It has to be the hamburger. Even though that was invented in Germany, it was the creativity and motivation of Americans that took it to new heights (or lows, depending on how you think about American culture).
And if you think //that// about American culture, send your tongue-tantalizing pizza back to the cook... because American improvements on pizza relate to WWII and what GIs brought back from Europe, and people improved upon.
TikiPundit at 11:49PM on 07/02/08
@tiki- I agree! With all of the countries I've visited and the burgers I've eaten in those countries, the best is in America.
smile at 11:53PM on 07/02/08
I'm not 100% sure but what about country fried steak? sometimes called chicken fried steak. A restaurant in my town offers a hungry mans breakfast with country fried steak, two eggs, hash browns, bisquits and gravy, and toast, yummy!
weljwm at 3:34AM on 07/03/08
Apple pie is very common in England, and was long before 1776.
I think the list is pretty good, regarding what is uniquely American. I would add, for foods Americans seem to find uniquely fascinating/tasty/was invented in America:
1. Peanut butter (and peanut butter sandwiches)
2. Biscuits (Southern-style, not British 'biscuits).
3. Chocolate chip cookies
4. Pumpkin Pie
5. Soda--obviously caught on elsewhere, but became particularly popular here
6. Sweet potatoes--pies, bakes, and so forth
7. Sandwich cookies like Oreos, Vanilla Fingers, Nutterbutters
8. Deep dish pizza
9. Red Velvet Cake
10. Lemon meringue and Key Lime Pies
HeartofGlass at 5:35AM on 07/03/08
The answer to this really depends on the region you're in. I'm sure country-fried steak (which I love!) isn't as popular in Hawaii, and corndogs (I have my own recipe) probably just aren't as prevalent in Alaska.
My own opinion leans toward corndogs and cherry pie. Your mileage should vary. ;-)
LunaPierCook at 5:37AM on 07/03/08
gotta be fried chicken......
sw8t at 6:09AM on 07/03/08
Even though I can't remember that last time I tasted it, no less made one, "As American as Apple Pie" sounds so much better than any of the alternatives. It's tradition and heritage friends! It means so much more than the literal and conjurs images of our mothers, grandmothers, and great-grandmothers and a pie in the windowsill and on the holiday table and picnic tables. It was true in my life. I love the image.
PerkyMac at 7:33AM on 07/03/08
Pie, pie, pie..... pick a fruit (or vegetable!), make the crust, and bake it up! Nothing can beat it.
Brownie at 8:16AM on 07/03/08
Fried chicken, mashed potatoes and fresh green beans! When I think of really good American food fried chicken always come to mind.
dianeb at 8:54AM on 07/03/08
@Heartof Glass
Nice list! No one else could have been crazy enough to invent soda...it's such a weird thing when you think about it
spiegelb at 9:18AM on 07/03/08
I like this thread...So many Yummy things to say.
@Luna: I agree. It depend on the area. So how about these suggestions:
Fruit Pies (Cherry, Shoo Fly, Lemon Meringue...Apple was imported but I would assume we make it best. :) )
New England Clam Chowder
Lobster Rolls
Chili Cheese Hot Dogs
BBQ
Pastrami sandwiches
Muffelatas
Po Boys
Philly Cheesesteaks (have to be on here!)
Alright, it's just too early to be thinking about all this goodness. I want some. Now.
Butrflygirly at 10:01AM on 07/03/08
Great thread! Gotta luv the all-American:
steamed blue crab
steak
chowder
chocolate chip cookies
PBJ
corn on the cob
bar-b-qued ribs, roasts, etc
deep-fried turkey
frozen custard and ice cream
baked salmon
Brats and a cool brew!
Ok, perhaps we didn't "invent" or develope all of the above, but gosh, I doubt they can be made better than we do it!
bubbamom at 10:11AM on 07/03/08
wait, peanut butter was really invited in the US?
gansie at 11:49AM on 07/03/08
@gansie - George Washington Carver was a magical man!
spiegelb at 12:22PM on 07/03/08
Now, this question really moves in two different ways: it could be what unique food to America is the best? But, it could also be, what food (unique to America or not) does the US do the best?
Possible Answers:
New York/Chicago style pizza (okay, so the original is Italian, but have the Italians perfected either of these versions?)
French Fries (they might be Belgian in origin, but do we do them better?)
Hot Dogs
Pie (up where I am blueberry, apple and even choke cherry are nice, but other regional areas have their specialites, too)
Ice Cream
Fried Anything (Chicken, Oreos, Twinkies...)
Hamburgers
Traveller at 2:22PM on 07/03/08
@ Traveller: no, Americans don't do better than Belgian fries. I am a fan of McDonald's thin fries, and I like the large-chop fries steakhouses serve in the US, but pommes frites in Europe are simply fantastic (leave off the mayo, though, thanks).
Hot dogs, for sure. Especially in a baseball stadium.
Ice cream: I'm afraid the Italians have a lock on that.
Fried chicken: Americans own it. Unfortunately, Americans also do own the whole "fry anything for a laff" genre.
TikiPundit at 3:15PM on 07/03/08
Another one: Fajitas! Go Texas!
Butrflygirly at 3:37PM on 07/03/08
I agree---this is a mouth-watering thread. My additions include:
frozen drinks and smoothies
BBQ'ed ribs
chocolate chunk cookies
smoked salmon, cream cheese, and red onion on a bagel
berry cobblers
hush puppies and all manner of fritters (my favorite being the conch fritter)
key lime pie
cornbread--especially with jalapenos and real corn kernels
she-crab soup
gumbo
jambalaya
cold pasta salads
coleslaw
Stop me, stop me, before I get upset the supermarkets are closed today!
Teachertalk at 9:49AM on 07/04/08
When I think of American foods I think of foods native to the new world: corn, blackberries, strawberries, tomatoes, turkey, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, peanuts, chocolate +vanilla (south/central america). And foods I missed when I lived abroad--cheetos, peanut butter cups, cheddar cheese, hot dogs (sausage is everywhere but sometimes you want a regular ol hotdog), barbeque... And then all the crazy things we americans have managed to do with the above, once we stopped thinking tomatoes were poisonous and whatnot.
marlenahooch at 2:08PM on 07/04/08
Jeez, we're like a garbage can. We take everyone's scraps, shake it up, and make it ours! Errr...must think more positively, we're a melting pot. :P
Wish we could take credit for beef jerky. :(
Cassaendra at 4:53PM on 07/05/08
Yeah, peanut butter is definitely an American thing. Other places just don't "get it" when it comes to peanut butter sweets.
For a Northern California perspective I'd have to add sourdough bread, Dungeness crab and cioppino (even though it has Italian roots.) Oh, and sand dabs!
Calichef at 6:59PM on 07/05/08
I think what is most American is the concept that we take our own local ingredients, everyone else's ingredients, other people's basic recipes, and then recombine it all in new and different ways.
Other cultures have traditional foods and traditional recipes that you just don't mess with. Our culture doesn't have those deep roots on this continent. So we're not so afraid to mess with the traditional recipes from other countries. Sometimes it works, sometimes it's just canned glop.
dbcurrie at 12:52AM on 07/06/08
Oooh! Great topic @spiegelb.
Fried Chicken
Barbequed ribs
Classic American style potato salad (potatoes, HB eggs, mayo, etc.)
Cole Slaw
Red velvet cake
Cherry pie
Biscuits and gravy
chisai at 5:35AM on 07/06/08
Prime Rib - rare.
NY Cheesecake (not the fluffy west coast kind).
MMMMmmm She Crab Soup! On Clearwater Beach there is a place called Frenchy's that does an amazing SCS.
therealchiffonade at 7:30AM on 07/06/08
Grilled Blackened Rib Eye Steak with garlic gorgonzola butter and deep fried onion rings
smoked Beef Brisket
pick n pull pork BBQ
banana splits
boston cream pie
sliders
Pittsburgh or Black n Blue NY Strip Steak
Reeses Peanut Butter Cups
Funny Bones
grizz518 at 1:51AM on 07/11/08