DID YOU KNOW? “FOREIGN FOODS” MADE IN AMERICA
So, it turns out a ton of foods that Americans associate with several foreign foods aren’t actually foreign at all. Whoda thunk. In all seriousness, I put together a list of just a few I know about. So let’s crack in.
Chimichanga:
A deep-fried burrito, so it’s already pretty American! This favorite of many Mexican Restaurants most likely originated in Tucson, Arizona. The famous El Charro Café says its founder Monica Flin invented the dish in 1922 by accidentally dropping a burrito into hot oil. However, Phoenix restauranteur Woody Johnson says HE created it in 1946. But regardless, the dish is an Arizona staple.
Cuban Sandwich:
The wonderfully crispy and meaty Cuban sandwich was crafted by Cuban immigrants in Florida’s Key West in the late 1800s. It gained traction with cigar workers and would be refined in Tampa into the city’s signature dish. If you want to do it right, you need roast pork, ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, mustard, Cuban bread, and MAYBE salami if you want to stay true to the sandwich’s Tampa roots.
Fortune Cookies:
This one blew my mind when I was in high school, but fortune cookies were invented in early 20th-century California. Way too many restaurant owners claimed credit over the years, so the truth is a bit muddy.
General Tso’s Chicken:
Who hasn’t heard of this one? Truth be told, The real-life General Tso, a Qing dynasty general, never ate the iconic Chinese-American dish, not unless we invent time travel. Chef Peng Chang-kuei, a Chinese immigrant who fled to Taiwan in 1949, created it in New York City in 1973. In truth, if this dish has any presence in China, I’d be surprised!
German Chocolate Cake:
Well, butter my biscuit. German Chocolate cake wasn’t made by Germans at all! It’s named after a GUY named German, specifically Sam German, an American who developed a sweetened chocolate bar for Baker’s Chocolate Company in 1852. It got its launch in 1957 Texas, when a Texas woman’s recipe, using German’s chocolate, was published in the Dallas Morning Star. From there it took off like… Well, like hot cakes…
Fajitas:
AH! My beloved fajitas! Fajitas is actually derived from the Spanish word for strip, as in strips of meat. The dish began as Texas trail food, with chuckwagon cooks grilling skirt steak on cattle drives. It became popular in recent years when it evolved into sizzling platters of beef, chicken, or shrimp with peppers and onions, served with tortillas. And if you want it done right, spritz some lime juice on it. So good.
Spaghetti and Meatballs:
For all I’ve heard about Italians, with spaghetti and meatballs my whole life, I was dead certain it was an import… But, I lied to myself it seems, or at least partially. Spaghetti itself comes from Sicily, BUT! Putting it together with large meatballs in tomato sauce is wholly American. Close to the turn of the 20th century, Italian immigrants in New York had to adapt their food to abundant local meat supplies. And ground beef was in great supply. In 1880, the New York Times published a recipe for “pasta, meatballs, and tomato sauce”, and a legend was born.
Related Posts
February 20, 2025
DID YOU KNOW? HALLUCINOGENIC HONEY EXISTS
Most people are used to Honey being something sweet, golden colored, and a tasty thing…
January 29, 2025
DID YOU KNOW? THIS IS NOT A RACCOON
The tanuki, or Raccoon Dog, is a wild species related to canines and is easily…
September 24, 2024
DID YOU KNOW? AUSTRALIA’S MILITARY LOST A WAR AGAINST EMUS
So, a long time ago back in 1932, the Australian military took up a large…
