In our fifth and final edition of Fast Food Multiculturalism; we take a look at American Fast Food. The odd thing about any type of American fast food is that the majority of it is simply a repetition of some other culture’s food. This is not an insult in any way as Americans have taken meals from other cultures and transformed them into something completely new and different than what was previously thought of before. Fast food places originally sold hamburgers as their primary product. In recent decades, Mexican-style food like tacos and burritos, as well as pizza, have also become staples of fast food culture in America and have been transferred overseas to Europe and Asia. Common menu items at fast food outlets include fish and chips, sandwiches, pitas, hamburgers, fried chicken, french fries, chicken nuggets, tacos, pizza, and ice cream. There are a few items that are native to America that i will name though beginning with potato chips.
A potato chip or crisp is a slim slice of a potato deep fried or baked until crisp. Potato chips serve as an appetizer or snack. Commercial varieties are packaged for sale, usually in bags.
Another American favorite is Macaroni and Cheese which is a common dish whose main ingredients are cooked macaroni (often termed elbow macaroni in the US) and a cheese sauce. The commercialized version often involves powdered cheese mix instead of a more traditional cheese sauce like Velveeta or melted cheddar cheese.
Fried chicken is chicken which is dipped in a breaded mixture and then deep fried, pan fried, or pressure cooked. It can often be viewed as unhealthy because of the fatty juices that get absorbed in the process. White meat on a bone or boneless is often used and the fast food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken along with many imitators have commercialized the food and sold it internationally.
Named not for the animal but for the location (Buffalo, New York) and often called chicken wings. They are unbreaded chicken wing sections like the drum or flat and are deep fried and dressed with a cayenne type of sauce and other seasonings. They are well known for their varying degrees of hotness with many establishments giving their wings hot names like medium, hot, or 911.
A hamburger is a type of sandwich that includes a beef patty, a bun and various condiments. Originally thought up in Germany, The meat can be grilled, fried, steamed, or broiled, and is generally served with various condiments like ketchup, mustard, relish, lettuce , tomatoes, onions or more exotic condiments or sauces. Burgers are often served with french fries, potato chips, or onion rings. They were made famous in the 60s for being some of the very first fast food places with joints like McDonald’s, White Castle, Carl’s Jr. and Burger King that created a way to serve customers in a timely fashion the hamburger of their choice.
Popcorn is a type of maize from corn which puffs up when it is heated in oil or by dry heat. It was first discovered by Christopher Columbus when he visited Native Americans and saw that the Iroquois tribe used popcorn as both a food and as decorative jewelery.
Even though the country of Belgium claims to be the originator of the french fry; it is the United States that have commercialized the food by making it a popular side dish for both hamburgers and hot dogs at various fast food joints. A french fry is essentially a potato that has been cut into specific lengths depending on the region and deep fried with oil or baked until they become slightly crispy. French fries are almost always salted just after cooking. They are then served with a variety of condiments with ketchup,mayonnaise, tartar sauce, vinegar and gravy sauce being the most popular.
Pizza has been commercialized in the United States much like the hamburger with places like dominoes and Pizza Hut helping to spread it across international waters. Even though it can be credited to Italians; Americans have been able to create their own style of pizzas that have become popular in certain regions of the USA. The first style of pizza is called New York-style pizza and is sold in over sized and thin slices. The traditional toppings are tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese. It is traditionally hand-tossed and light on sauce and is different than other pizzas because of its thinner crust. Another style that is popular is Chicago-style pizza that features deep dish crust with plenty of cheese and sauce inside it. Finally, California-style pizza is known for its non-traditional ingredients that are used instead of mozzarella cheese or tomato sauce. California pizzas use non-traditional ingredients like vegetables, chicken, thai noodles and peanut-butter sauce and even breakfast pizzas with scrambled eggs inside.
A hot dog is a type of cooked sausage that is usually placed hot in a soft sliced bun of the same shape as the sausage and includes condiments such as mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, relish, coleslaw or chopped onions. The resulting sandwich is also called a frankfurter (named after the city of Frankfurt, Germany), or wiener (named after the city of Vienna, Austria, whose German name is “Wien”). This item became a favorite food for Americans at baseball parks and while it hasn’t been as successful like its cousin (the hamburger) in establishing fast food joints across the world, it has been a success in many major cities like New York City that sell the item in vending wagons at street corners and intersections.
That’s a wrap on our five piece series. Be sure to take a look at our previous articles on different multicultural fast food places from around the world and stay tuned for many other great food articles still to come on boobnewb.com.
[ratings]
Entries (RSS)