The land of the free and the home of the brave is surely one of the few places that occupy the mind of every person at the face of the Earth. We are all fascinated by the American music, movies, fashion, and lifestyle. On top of that, we are also seduced by the American cuisine.
The United States offers a wide variety of meals and most of them came with the immigrants from Germany, Italy, Poland, Ireland, China, Mexico, the Caribbean, etc. However, that does not make them any less American. All of these traditional styles of cooking merged beautifully with the American culture and they are recognized all around the world as the typical examples of American cuisine.
Pizza
Pizza arrived in America with the Italian immigrants at the turn of the 20th century. People usually think that Italy was the spot from where this delicious dish spread from, but in fact, the United States was the springboard for the popularization of pizza throughout the world.
Ever since then pizza became an integral part of the American identity. You can find various types of pizza throughout the United States. Some of the most popular are the Chicago Deep Dish with its deep crust and high edge, New York style that is similar to the Neapolitan, California pizza with the thick crust and square slices, etc.
Apple Pie
Apple pie survived the centuries and became one of the most recognizable items of the American cuisine. It came to America with the English, Swedish and Dutch immigrants during the 17th and 18th century, and ever since then, it has held a special place in American hearts and stomachs.
Different types of crust and fillings designate a different type of origin. Dutch apple pie comes in two varieties: crumb and lattice, and has the crust at the bottom and on the edges. English style pie is dome-shaped, made of the sweetened Bramley apple slices, and the Swedish style uses breadcrumbs or oats instead of flour. Every apple pie slice is usually served with a cold scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
Barbecue
Barbecue made its way from the Caribbean all the way to the United States and became one of the most recognizable cooking methods of the American cuisine. If you want to experience a good barbecue, pay a visit to the “barbecue belt”. Anywhere between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, you will find a BBQ recipe unique to every region in the USA.
While Texas style prefers beef cooked on oak and covered with sweet tomato-based sauce, North Carolina style offers pork cooked on oak and covered with vinegar, tomato, or mustard. If you decide to visit St. Louis, you will be offered pork cooked on hickory and covered with very sweet tomato-based barbecue sauce.
Hamburger
This American delicacy originates from the turn of the 20th century when someone, among many German immigrants, put the famous Hamburg-style steak between two slices of bread. Ever since then this piece of American cuisine became popular through the States and all over the world.
You can find different styles of burgers in different parts of the States. In Minneapolis you will bump into Juicy Lucy, a burger stuffed with molten American or cheddar cheese. Connecticut is known for its steamed cheeseburger, Oklahoma for its onion burger, and if you make a stop in Texas, try out San Antonio bean burger, topped with refried beans, Cheez Whiz, white onions, and Fritos.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Ever since Ruth Graves Wakefield created this beloved cookie in her kitchen, in a little town of Whitman Massachusetts in 1938, it has become one of the most recognizable American desserts. Small bits of chocolate in a crispy cookie are very popular all around America.
The ingredients and the type of baking can variate, which leads to many types of chocolate chip cookies, like the M&M cookies with M&Ms instead of chocolate bits, chocolate chocolate chip cookies with chocolate flavored dough, chocolate chip peanut butter cookies in which vanilla extract is replaced with peanut butter, etc.
Clam Chowder
The New England Cuisine heavily relies on the usage of seafood and dairy products. Clam chowder is a perfect combination of these two types of foods, so make sure to try it out if you ever pay a visit to this cozy and picturesque part of the United States. A perfect clam chowder has a white broth filled with clams, diced potatoes, celery, and onions, with the addition of some bay leaves.
Although mostly linked with New England, you can find its different variations throughout the USA. For example, the San Francisco style is served in a sourdough bread bowl, and very hot Florida-based Minorcan clam chowder has extremely hot datil pepper.
This list can serve as a landmark for your future American experience, but besides that, it is recommendable to inform yourself about the local cuisine before you decide to come over. Don’t hesitate to ask the locals for any kind of recommendation because they will be happy to introduce you to the secrets of their tradition.
