# American food **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2007, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499 "2007-08-05T10:32:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/101 "2007-08-11T03:21:31Z")
The British made pie. The Americans made PIE! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/102 "2007-08-11T03:25:17Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I’ve never understood hushpuppies. I’ve only known them as shoes, but I’ve heard them referred to as food. [/QUOTE] Falafel made with corn meal rather than ground chick peas. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/103 "2007-08-11T03:29:56Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] That must feel weird on your feet. [/QUOTE] And you are from where, Sir, that I may insult the cuisine of your Native Land? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/104 "2007-08-11T03:35:17Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron] Hushpuppies are little balls of fried cornbread. Think falafel, but made with cornmeal instead of garbanzos. [/QUOTE] My excuses range from late notification of posts by email to alien abduction. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/105 "2007-08-11T05:24:15Z")
Around here, hushpuppies are more than just little cornbread balls. They have onions and peppers and sugar. Very flavorful. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/106 "2007-08-11T06:32:32Z")
[QUOTE=ouryL] A BLT ain’t nothing but a club sandwich minus the turkey!! :mad: [/QUOTE] Bullshit! Even the name is pretentious. What kind of fuckin’ “club” do I have to belong to, to eat this sangwich? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/107 "2007-08-11T13:38:40Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] I thought so, too, until I had Midwestern food as it’s made by the Amish and Mennonite communities. That’s delicious! [/QUOTE] My father grew up in Iowa and on one of their RVing trips they made it up to New Hampshire, passing through Pennsylvania Dutch country. They stopped at the farmer’s markets along the way and my dad found stuff he hadn’t had since he was a kid, like shoofly pie and chow chow and corn relish. He really had a great time. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/108 "2007-08-11T13:43:26Z")
Chow chow is delicious. I have a jar of the spicy variety in my fridge right now after eating the last one in just one or two sittings. I didn’t even use it as a condiment; just ate it straight but, then, I love cabbage in practically all its forms. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/109 "2007-08-11T14:14:16Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron] Chow chow is delicious. I have a jar of the spicy variety in my fridge right now after eating the last one in just one or two sittings. I didn’t even use it as a condiment; just ate it straight but, then, I love cabbage in practically all its forms. [/QUOTE] Heaven is a nice slice of cornbread, cut apart and slathered with pinto beans (and plenty of juice), and a big load of tomato chow chow on top. Add a baked sweet potato on the side, and it’s a perfect meal! ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/110 "2007-08-11T19:52:45Z")
[QUOTE=Scribble] I thought so, too, until I had Midwestern food as it’s made by the Amish and Mennonite communities. That’s delicious! And I second the contention that midwestern BBQ gets unjustly ignored. Besides, fresh Indiana corn, lightly grilled or barely parboiled, with butter and salt, is also Midwestern cuisine. You can’t tell me that stuff is bad. [/QUOTE] I’ll tell you, the Amish are really the people who are keeping alive the original cuisine of the Midwest. People think that Amish food must be some kind of ethnic swiss cuisine, and while there are some Swiss influences, it is truly just genuine, stick to your ribs, Midwest American farmhouse fare dating from the 19th century and earlier. It is honest, simple, and delicious American food that all farmers ate in the breadbasket of this country around your Great Grandpa’s time. If you ever find yourself in Columbus, Ohio and can make the short trip to Plain City, Ohio and you want to try fried chicken that is better than the best Southern Fried Chicken (No offense, Colonel) and feast from a buffet that is simply unbelievable- a veritable showcase of the best Midwestern delicacies- then hie yourself on over to [Der Dutchman Restaurant](http://www.dhgroup.com/en/pc/pc-restaurant.php#). You will not be sorry! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/111 "2007-08-11T20:45:38Z")
And let’s not forget [Pittsburgh style sandwiches](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primanti_Brothers_Restaurant). ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/112 "2007-08-11T21:15:24Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] Bullshit! Even the name is pretentious. What kind of fuckin’ “club” do I have to belong to, to eat this sangwich? [/QUOTE] Anyone can join, as long as they’re in favor of frilly toothpicks. [Club sandwiches](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jWGugxlO_c) ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2007, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/113 "2007-08-11T21:24:23Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I’ve never understood hushpuppies. I’ve only known them as shoes, but I’ve heard them referred to as food. [/QUOTE] Here’s how I’ve always understood the origin: Big outdoor cooking events have always been popular in the South. Somewhere along the way, someone got tired of dogs (which always seem to throng around these events) barking and trying to get at the food during the cooking, so they started frying up scraps of dough or batter (I suspect it started specifically at fish fries). They tossed these to the dogs to shut them up–“Hush, puppy!” Thus, hushpuppies were born. The shoes were apparently [named after the food](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hush_Puppies), on the strength of the slang usage of “dogs” to refer to your feet. (E.g. “My dogs are barking.”–\>“My feet hurt.”) Oh, and hushpuppies would make for rather slippery footwear, I should think. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Leiko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Leiko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leiko)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/114 "2007-08-12T07:57:54Z")
[QUOTE=ivylass] And pecan pie! With vanilla ice cream! God, I just had dinner and now I’m salivating. [/QUOTE] You might be disappointed to hear that one of my British cookbooks (technically a book originally printed in the UK but given a few edits so Barnes and Noble could sell it in the US) considers pecan pie simply a nutty variation of treacle tart. I still think of it as American food, though, and quite tasty. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/115 "2007-08-12T12:29:57Z")
[QUOTE=Leiko] You might be disappointed to hear that one of my British cookbooks (technically a book originally printed in the UK but given a few edits so Barnes and Noble could sell it in the US) considers pecan pie simply a nutty variation of treacle tart. [/QUOTE] Yes, but see, that’s what we did in the South. We used British food as a starting point, but then made it _palatable_. 😃 And the pecan being a native American tree, you’d have a hard time arguing pecan pie isn’t an American dish. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/116 "2007-08-12T12:59:24Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] Yes, but see, that’s what we did in the South. We used British food as a starting point, but then made it _palatable_. 😃 And the pecan being a native American tree, you’d have a hard time arguing pecan pie isn’t an American dish. [/QUOTE] Not to mention that some variations of pecan pie use maple syrup, as well. Also an American “invention”. You could also argue that the traditional ingredients used in modern English treacle tart, Mollasses or Golden Syrup, are both products of the “New World” and Americas, as both are products of sugar cane production which is an import of the Caribbean and Americas. So, that traditional treacle tart might be more American than you’d think. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/117 "2007-08-12T13:48:36Z")
[QUOTE=smiling bandit] The British made pie. The Americans made PIE! [/QUOTE] I also theorize that because of America’s geography and easy access to sugar and molasses and hence relatively cheap sugar in the day, that our pies evolved and centered around the fruit and sweetie pie… The British and Europeans made savory pies and building on their technology we perfected the sugar pie, hence winning the pie race. When come back from America, bring Pie! ---
**Author:** ![MichaelQReilly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@MichaelQReilly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelQReilly)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/118 "2007-08-12T15:47:57Z")
[QUOTE=devilsknew] Succotash in these parts is just a buttery mix of lima beans and corn mixed together, maybe some pimento added in fancier versions. It’s never really been my favorite, the green flavor of the lima beans just doesn’t pair up well with the sweet corn to my palette. I hate American Pimento that comes in jars, too… such a weird flavor… fresh roasted red peppers like the Italians do, is an entirely different creature. Of course, there are many different American versions of succotash with the addition of cream and various different bean and corn pairings. [/QUOTE] Interesting. The restaurant that I’ve had succotash in (the only place) has pretensions of being based on traditional northeastern woodland Indian food, featuring turkey, lobster, cranberry, clams, venison, etc. I wonder if that is what caused the discrepancy between our experiences of the dish. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/119 "2007-08-12T16:21:43Z")
Oh, it’s probably that a can of corn, a can of lima beans with a slab of butter, and some shitty pimento is convenient and passes as succotash. (Not everyone is a great cook, some don’t have the time.) I’m sure the restaurant version that you speak of is pretty good, but I’d doubt that it’s that authentic, probably more of a westernized dish if it has dairy in it. Unless they used lye ash to soften the dried corn in the succotash, and possibly bear fat for seasoning-[recipe for succotash](http://members.tripod.com/~sekituwahnation/index/recipes.htm#succotash) Cherokee Succotash - (Iyatsuyadisuyi Selu) Directions: Shell some corn and skin it with wood ashes lye. Cook corn and beans separately, then together. If desired, you may put pieces of pumpkin in. Be sure to put the pumpkin in early enough to get done before the pot is removed from the fire. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2007, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499/120 "2007-08-12T17:45:23Z")
Pecan pie is American. I doubt anyone can convince me otherwise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-food/414499.md?page=7)