I thought this was an interesting topic of one of the episodes of chef’s table (netflix docuseries). The chef focused on what real “american” cuisine looks like, and since cuisine typically comes out of hardship, American food doesn’t have as distinct of an identity since the USA has typically been a country of “plenty.” Was really a fascinating point, and it made me look at food culture in a very different way
Lol fair. Though I don’t mean to suggest that there is no hardship anywhere in the US (i think that’s why chicken wings became popular), but across the board, food has historically been more easily accessible in the US than most nations than pre existed it. Sure there are some regional delicacies, but no true US cuisine. I’m sure that could be partially explained by the geographic size as well, but there are some distinct differences in UK cuisine even though those cultures are significantly closer.
The US is too big to have a unified cuisine. The UK is hard to compare to because even their accents vary much more across a small geographic area, their cultural regions are strictly divided and enforced thanks to deeply entrenched classism and social pressure.
Also I just flat disagree that cuisines like Cajun/Creole or Tex Mex or Southwest/Santa Fe don’t qualify as true US cuisines.
That sounds really interesting, you’ve made me curious about this topic now; I’m not a documentary kind of person, but I’m probably going to read about it later.
I think it’s more that the US is a very recent country and was a melding of many cultures, plus the sheer size of the country and diversity of the ingredients found around the country.
I thought this was an interesting topic of one of the episodes of chef’s table (netflix docuseries). The chef focused on what real “american” cuisine looks like, and since cuisine typically comes out of hardship, American food doesn’t have as distinct of an identity since the USA has typically been a country of “plenty.” Was really a fascinating point, and it made me look at food culture in a very different way
I dunno man, the Pretzel Bun wasn’t really popularized until after Millenials couldn’t afford houses
Lol fair. Though I don’t mean to suggest that there is no hardship anywhere in the US (i think that’s why chicken wings became popular), but across the board, food has historically been more easily accessible in the US than most nations than pre existed it. Sure there are some regional delicacies, but no true US cuisine. I’m sure that could be partially explained by the geographic size as well, but there are some distinct differences in UK cuisine even though those cultures are significantly closer.
The US is too big to have a unified cuisine. The UK is hard to compare to because even their accents vary much more across a small geographic area, their cultural regions are strictly divided and enforced thanks to deeply entrenched classism and social pressure.
Also I just flat disagree that cuisines like Cajun/Creole or Tex Mex or Southwest/Santa Fe don’t qualify as true US cuisines.
That sounds really interesting, you’ve made me curious about this topic now; I’m not a documentary kind of person, but I’m probably going to read about it later.
A lot of south Louisiana food is a reflection of this.
Watch “High on the Hog.”
I think it’s more that the US is a very recent country and was a melding of many cultures, plus the sheer size of the country and diversity of the ingredients found around the country.