What makes a food "American"?
Nearly all of today's popular U.S.A foods
(apple pie,
hot dogs,
hamburgers,
pizza,
tacos,
chocolate,
jelly beans,
ice cream,
steak,
potato salad,
watermelons) originated in other
countries. Their ingredients and recipes were introduced to our shores by colonists, settlers, and
immigrants. Native ingredients play a key role but they do
not tell the entire story. In fact, many of the "new world" foods arrived to the USA via Europe.
"American foods" These generally fall into six categories:
1. Native foods
There are several varieties of vegetables, nuts, mammals and fish that are indigenous to North
America, most notably beans, corn and squash (the "Three Sisters" upon which several Native
American diets were based) and the American bison. Some of these foods also had "Old World" varieties (strawberries).
Indigenous recipes included succotash, corncakes, and baked squash. Need a list of New World foods?
2. Hybrid dishes
---Old world recipes adapted to include new world ingredients. Example:
cornbread.
3. Ethnic blends
---When diverse cultures/cuisines settle together in a region, foods mix. Example:
Chop Suey
4. Regional specialties ---The American Melting Pot stirs up taste of place. Example: Tex-Mex
5. Generic traditions & food fads
---Caution: the history of these items can be traced to the Old World. Examples:
corn dogs, Chex mix, &
Rice Krispies Treats.
6. Manufactured goods (items foreigners typically associate with "United States")
---The sky's the limit here. Take your pick: Campbell's tomato soup, Moon Pies, Kool-Aid, Jell-O, Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner, TV dinners, Coca Cola, McDonalds, Hershey Bars
BEWARE!!! Most sources oversimplify the topic of Native American foods, concentrating primarily on the Three Sisters: maize, squash and beans. Native American foodways is not one cuisine, but several. Foods, procurement methods, cooking techniques, dining customs, and religious observances varied greatly from tribe to tribe. Native Americans depended upon local foods. Peoples living in the northeast ate very different foods (maple syrup) from those living in the great plains (buffalo), southwest (cactus) and Pacific northwest (salmon). Agricultural communities had different food issues from nomadic peoples. Peoples living in cold climates employed different preservation techniques from those living in deserts.
If you need information on the historic foodways of a specific group of Native Americans (Wampanoag? Iroquois Nation? Pueblo?) please let us know!. We are very happy to send. The notes below are general starting points for basic school projects. Your librarian will help you get the books.
Recommend source for Native American foodways(general overview)
Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America, Andrew F. Smith (Volume 2: "Native American Foods")
Recommended sources for information on specific Native American peoples
General observations
[Prehistory-Pre-Columbian]
The earliest print descriptions we have of Native American foods were written by Europeans, who often had no clue what
they were seeing and/or eating. They did their best to describe what they saw based on their own personal knowledge. Socio-cultura bias and subsequent translations/
references sometimes rendered inaccurate information. These early reports (from California mission fathers, French fur traders,
English colonists) are being re-examined for accuracy. About California Mission foodways,
including native Chumash subsistence.
Native Americans ate the foods which were indigenous to their regions. Generally, the "Three Sisters," (corn, beans and squash) was known in some form in most parts of the future United States. Other foods generally consumed were nuts, berries, fruits, fish, and small game (rabbits, squirrels, etc.). Peoples living near oceans included shellfish in their diets; Peoples living in the northern regions tapped maple syrup; Plains Indians hunted buffalo etc. Some Native American peoples placed great emphasis on structured villages and agriculture; others lived a more nomadic life, following their food source.
[1492-1850s]
The impact of European foodways on Native American cooking [1492-1850] differed greatly according to region and tribe. Native Americans encountering Spanish settlers were exposed to different foods than those exposed to French, English, and Dutch cuisines. In each case, the exchange of foods (this worked both ways) was unique. In places where Native Americans worked closely with the European settlers (Southern California missions) the impact was much greater than places where encounters were less friendly and regular (Sioux Nation). Some tribes eagerly embraced new foods and recipes; others shunned them.
There is much discussion and controversy regarding the effects European colonialism/foodways had on Native Americans. Some argue the the "Columbian Exchange" launched a new and interesting cuisine. Others think "white man's" foodways was a contributing factor to the erosion of Native American culture and society. Case in point: None of the ingredients of contemporary "Navaho Fry bread" are Native American ingredients. It is more closely related to the Spanish sopaipilla.
ABOUT THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE 1 & 2
[1850-1900]
This was a period when many Native peoples were removed from their homelands and relocated to reservations. Food
at reservations was sometimes very different from traditional recipes. Residents were served/provided "Army-style"
rations by the government. Nutrition experts confirm this had a significant [negative] impact on the health and well
being of the populations.
[20th-21st centuries]
Many Native Americans eat the same foods as the rest of the people living in the United States. Pizza, ice cream &
hamburgers.
Regional & ethnic cuisine
America, the melting pot
The impact of ethnic foods on American cuisine is a study of:
SOURCES FOR LEARNING ABOUT IMMIGRATION & AMERICA
RECOMMENDED READING
"Food at Ellis Island. When the federal government took over the responsibility of inspecting the
immigrants in 1890, the idea of moving the inspection process to an island was attractive to the
officials. Castle Garden, located on the mainland, provided too easy a target for the thieves and
criminals that would prey upon the unsuspecting immigrants. In addition, by the time Castle
Garden closed, the corruption within the inspection process was bordering on a public scandal.
The concession contracts were often awarded by patronage, not for the quality of services they
offered the immigrants. Officials hoped for a clean sweep of those mistreating immigrants.
On the steamships, passengers were provided with little to eat in steerage except lukewarm
soups, black bread, boiled potatoes, herring or stringy beef. In the early years, any hopes the
immigrants had in receiving better treatment at Ellis Island were futile. It did not take long for
corruption to find its way to Ellis Island. Surely the first concessionaire made himself a rich man
at the expense of the immigrants' stomachs. The detained immigrants were generally served
stewed prunes over dried bread. Often there was no cutlery. Bowls were used and reused without
washing; floors and tables often went unwashed. When they were washed, it was often by an
intimidated immigrant.
As time went on, the commissioners became more involved in the treatment of the
immigrants and the situation improved. Food, including thick soups and stews, became plentiful.
The facilities were better maintained and, in time, ethnic and kosher meals were provided. This
both solved and created problems. An immigrant appearing at the wrong seating might be
exposed to unfamliar foods. White bread was thought to be cake; bananas were a complete
enigma. How strange and frightening it must have been!
As most of the immigrants were not detained and were destined for points outside New York
City, provisions were made to supply them with some food for their train trips. Boxes of food,
fifty cents for a small one and one dolllar for a large one, were sold to the immigrants in the
railroad waiting room. The contents of each box were printed on the sides, with corresponding
prices, in several languages: two pounds of bread, eight cents; one pound cervelat sausage,
twenty-two cents; five sandwiches, twenty cents; four pies, twenty cents; two boxes of cake,
twenty cents; oranges or apples, ten cents. Surely the immigrants wasted no time in tasting the
contents of the boxes to sample the flavors of their new country.
Mealtimes were one of the few times the detained immigrants were reunited with family
members. Surely the enormity of their decision to come to America was hammered home when
they sat down to eat and did not know what they were eating, or how they were to eat it. No
doubt they were most anxious to recreate the comforting smells of the kitchens they had left
behind.
Bills of Fare for Ellis Island Dining Room
Sunday, July 1, 1917
"Opens the Door to
Frauds: How Food is Sold to Immigrants at Ellis Island,"
New York Times, December 13, 1893 (p. 1) details the first attempts at providing food to the newly immigrated. It confirms
private enterprise planned to take advantage of this "captive" crowd.
It also provides prices posted at the facility's restaurant. [Click the magnifying tool to enlarge the article].
You can read additional historic articles from the New York Times online,
free. Search: "ellis island" food [NOTE: Skip the articles requesting payment...your local public library can get obtain the
"premium" content for you without charge.]
"As it happened, America actually welcomed the immigrants with good food. Emblazoned on the
panel at the museum which now stands on the former receiving station at Ellis Island is a quote
from a Swedish woman describing her first encounter with America. "When I arrived at Ellis
Island," she recalled," they served us coffee and doughnuts. This was the first time that I saw or
ate a donut and I thought it was great! It tasted so good. Of course at home we didn't have
anything like that." America to her was associated with that sweet and filling taste. The chance to
have a full belly could not be resisted."
"Italian charitable societies also played a part in the emergence of a singular Italian American
food cultures. Organizations such as the Italian Welfare League in New York distributed food to
newly arrived immigrants in need, to stowaways detained at Ellis Island, to people being sent
back to Italy after failing to pass inspection, and to the distressed in the community. Relying
upon local food merchants for donations, volunteers for the charity distributed spaghetti, canned
minetrone soup, tomato paste, fresh fruit, cheese, beans, rice, chicken, veal, sausage, "food that
Italians like.""
"Jewish immigrants arriving after the 1870s entered into a well-structured and complex universe
of Jewish philanthropy set up to cushion distress...The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, HIAS,
worked out an arrangement with officials at Ellis Island to provide kosher food for Jewish
detainees."
If you need something not yet added to our site (Germans in Texas? Scandinavian-American
traditions? Pittsburgh Polish? Jewish-American foodways?) Let us know! The list below is only the
tip of the culinary iceberg...
Every group of people who settled in American contributed something special form their
traditional cuisine to our national "melting pot." Native North American, England, the
Netherlands, West Africa, Sweden, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Scandinavia, Japan,
Central Europe, India, and the Caribbean. In short? The first explorers were English,
Dutch, and Spanish. These were the first non-native cuisines to take root in our country.
Port of entry were the first areas of culinary influence (New York, Boston). Study
settlement patterns (Germans in Milwaukee, Italians in Boston MA, Greeks in North
Carolina )...to examine regional influence & local contributions.
Ellis Island
Food served to immigrants at Ellis Island came from a variety of sources. Some were government
issue, others were contacted out to private concessionaires, still others were provided by
charitable organizations. General notes here:
Novmber 19, 1906
Breakfast: Coffee with Milk and Sugar, Bread and Butter, Crackers and Milk for Women and
Children.
Dinner: Beef Stew, Boiled Potatoes and Rye Bread, Smoked or Pickled Herring for the Hebrews,
Crackers and Milk for the Women and Children.
Supper: Baked Beans, Stewed Prunes and Rye Bread, Tea with Milk and Sugar, Crackers and
Milk for Women and Children.
Breakfast: Rice with Milk and Sugar Served in Soup Plates, Stewed Prunes, Bread and Butter,
Coffee (Tea on Request), Mik and Crackers for Children.
Dinner: Beef Broth with Barley, Roast Beef, Lima Beans-Potatoes, Bread and Butter, Milk and
Crackers for Children.
Supper: Hamburger Steak, Onion Sauce, Bread and Butter, Tea (Coffee or Milk), Milk and
Crackers for children.
Milk and Crackers will be served to children between the regular meals."
---Ellis Island Immigrant Cook Book, Tom Bernadin [New York] 1991 (p. 24-5)
---Hungering for America: Italian, Irish, and Jewish Foodways in the Age of Migration, Hasia R.
Diner [Harvard University Press:Cambridge MA] 2001 (p. 16)
[NOTE: This book is an excellent source for information about what the immigrants of these
cultures ate while in America. Your local public librarian will be happy to help you get a copy.]
---ibid (p. 71)
---ibid (p. 187)
Military rations
Space food
Recommended reading (general)
or go to
K-12 teacher resources for food history lessons