Which is your favorite food?
Did you know these 12 very American foods are not really American?
Image: Fernando Andrade
When your country is a melting pot of nationalities and cultural backgrounds, as America is, many things you might consider local are actually not, including food. You might be surprised to learn about the true origins of some of these American culinary icons, from the hamburger to apple pie and beyond. Which one do you like the best?
1
Hamburger
Image: Carles Rabada
Due to their popularity and widespread appeal, hamburgers are considered an unofficial national dish of the United States, and there’s good reason for this. It's hard to think of a more American dish than a hamburger, right?
Well, hamburgers may be a national treasure today, but their very name gives us a clue about their true origin: Germany’s Hamburg .
2
Hot dogs
Image: Peter Secan
Few things are as American as buying a hot dog from a street vendor and enjoying it in the sun, right? Well, not exactly. The more formal names of the humble hot dog—frankfurters and Vienna sausages—give us, once again, a hint about their German and Austrian true origin.
3
French fries
Image: Elizabeth Jamieson
While French fries have been a national staple for quite some time, their very name also gives away their foreign origin. There is an ongoing debate about whether these fries are actually French or Belgian , but in any case, these delicious bits of joy are not American.
4
Mustard
Image: Peter Werkman
Mustard, the first of many popular condiments cherished by Americans, was first consumed by the Egyptians in its original seed form and later by the Romans as the paste we most commonly use today.
5
Ketchup
Image: Dennis Klein
Another condiment that is at least as popular as mustard in America, if not more, ketchup originated as a Chinese fermented fish sauce called "kê-tsiap." Over time, the sauce evolved, leaving the fish behind and replacing it with tomatoes to become the ketchup we know today.
6
Pickles
Image: Mehmet Uzut
Another food highly appreciated on American soil is pickles. Whether on burgers, served as a side with sandwiches, chopped into relish for hot dogs, or enjoyed in many other ways, these vinegar-soaked cucumbers are a staple of our cuisine. But multiple records trace the origin of these treats as far as ancient Egypt , where even Cleopatra was rumored to love them.
7
Apple pie
Image: Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦
This may be shocking to some, but alas, it is true: the quintessentially American apple pie is not really American. The earliest known recipes for apple pie belong to the ancient Greeks . And Dutch bakers created the modern version of the pie in the 15th century.
8
Mac and cheese
Image: Hermes Rivera
Thomas Jefferson is often credited with inventing macaroni and cheese after bringing back a macaroni machine from a trip to Europe, but he was not the first to come up with the idea.
The original recipe for macaroni baked with cheese sauce first appeared in the 14th-century cookbook Liber de Coquina, which is believed to have been written by an Italian author.
9
Bacon
Image: Casey DeViese
Nobody "invented" bacon, right? It’s just a piece of meat. The origins can be traced back to the ancient world, where curing and preserving pork became a common practice. But, as it happens, most sources agree that the Celts were the first to prepare and cook it in the way we do today.
10
Meatloaf
Image: RitaE
A humble recipe, for sure, meatloaf was made in Medieval Europe from scraps of meat held together by fruits, nuts, and seasonings. It was created to stretch leftover beef or create a more substantial meal from less expensive cuts of meat.
11
Mayonnaise
Image: May_hokkaido
The third and final condiment on our list is another American staple, even though its French name might give us a pretty straightforward idea of its origin. But it's not that simple.
The French mayonnaise is likely derived from Spanish versions of aioli, which is a garlic mayonnaise.
12
Barbecue
Image: Andrik Langfield
Surely, something as American as a barbecue must be a local invention, right? Wrong, again. Known as "barbacoa" in the West Indies long before it became popular in America, barbecues have been around for a long time. Even the modern barbecue, with spice-rubbed meat slowly cooked over a fire and topped with sauce, originated in the Caribbean .
