32 Weird American Foods That Are Uniquely American

foodfornet ^

[bert]

Best of the best

[telescope115]

My wife LOVES biscuits and gravy. It’s ok to me, but I won’t eat it because of it’s so unhealthy. The only time she orders it is when we go out for breakfast.

[Texas resident]

My aunt used to make “spoon bread”. It was a very moist cornbread with lots of cooked corn in it.

[bert]

Aaahhh....... spoon bread..

Some how, my step grandmother decided I liked spoonbread.

Every time we visited she made “my favorite spoon bread”. I guess I was sort of special because I visited more often than the other 11 grand kids in the family she married into. I tried to be nice and ate it.

[Albion Wilde]

Oh, so awful! As a candy addict, there are very few I don’t love, but circus peanuts — ew! Flavored with banana oil!

[ViLaLuz]

Not sure. She would parboil it, then fricasse, season and bake. So delicious, I sure do miss it.

[Albion Wilde]

British kids try biscuits and gravy for the first time.

Delightful video!

[Albion Wilde]

In view that we grow our own varieties, I think traditional steamed corn on the cob qualifies—corn, butter and salt. They really don't eat it that way in Europe. Italians call it "horse food" scornfully.

Also, pumpkin pie and pecan pie are quite American. And ice cream was first sold in cones at the St Louis World's Fair in 1904. A vendor rolled waffle cookies up to make the first ice cream cones.

[HartleyMBaldwin]

I’ve always liked Easy Cheese (often miscalled Cheez Whiz), but I haven’t been able to find the bacon-flavored kind for years.

Miracle Whip should be on the list of Toxic Waste That Some Crazy People Eat, whenever you get around to posting that.

[Albion Wilde]

I’ll never get why you post such pap to Free Republic.

Culture is borders, language, customs and food. Observe how freepers are responding from all over the country. From colonial times, American cuisine combined native American, European and African cuisines, followed by the additions of Jewish, Italian and Chinese cuisines in a 19th-20th centuries. Now, we are likely to add more South American and Middle Eastern dishes as "standard" fare. Assuming we survive as a nation.

[Albion Wilde]

The first time I traveled around Europe in the 1960s, we relied on Chinese and Italian restaurants in some of the bad cuisine deserts like the British Isles and outback parts of several of the other countries. Things have improved greatly over there since then. Television helped!

[Albion Wilde]

Biscuits and gravy here in the south looks nasty, with the white slime. (What even IS that?)

It's basically the crumbled sausage and its rendered fat in the pan, and you add a roux of flour, milk, salt and pepper. Mmmmmm! One of the kids in the video observed that it didn't taste that great by itself, but on the biscuit it tasted great. Most people are put off by the look of it; I was well grown before even trying it. Now I love it. But I do not like Cracker Barrel's version.

[Albion Wilde]

I just bought some Snowman Peeps and Christmas Tree Peeps for stocking stuffers.

[DallasBiff]

I know this a stupid question to ask, but can one find a good pastrami sandwich in modern day Israel?

[dennisw]

Chicken fried steak, for example. It’s not even American.
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I figured it was a German/German-American invention, a variation on wiener schnitzel, and I was right.>>>>>>>>>>>> From the Internets>>>>

However, most historians agree that German and Austrian immigrants who settled in Texas during the 19th century most likely influenced the meal. They brought with them the native Austrian recipe called wiener schnitzel, which is veal, and occasionally pork, that is dipped in eggs and bread crumbs and then pan-fried. It was common practice during the 1800s to use tough cuts of meat, which were more affordable and easier to come by, so to enhance the taste and texture, spices and breading were often added, before frying it.

[bert]

It Sounds really good

[MeanWestTexan]

Exactly. Now the heavy batter style is more common in the USA, but it’s done all over.

Ashkenazi Jews have a version, too.

[chaosagent]

That Martha White mix does not make Cornbread. It makes Corn Cake.

The first ingredient is FLOUR. And Cornbread should not be SWEET!

Here's my Alabama grandmother's recipe, going back to the 20's.

2 cups Coarse Ground Yellow Cornmeal
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sugar (Just enough to make it brown on top)
1/2 cup Powdered Milk
Add water (about 1-3/4 cups) until thick liquid consistency
Beat in 1 Egg
Bake (preferably in a cast iron skillet) in a 450° oven until set.
Turn on the Broiler, watching carefully, until the top is dark brown.

Now that's Cornbread.

[ViLaLuz]

Biscuits and gravy topped with scrambled eggs and generous Louisiana Hot Sauce. The best!

[MayflowerMadam]

So... sausage. That sounds OK. Another post didn’t mention meat.