American food is not a myth

Getting a slice in NYC, September 2011

I'm having one of those weeks where it seems to have suddenly occurred to a lot of people around me that I'm American. Coworkers, friends, and my students have been full of questions this week. Which is great. I don't mind answering them, even when they're asking me for the hundredth time why Americans are so fat. 

But this, this one question, is somehow driving me crazy this week, and I swear if I hear one more person say that American food is limited to hamburgers, hot dogs and junk food or that America doesn't really have it's own food culture I might scream. 

So, listen up, Americans and otherwise: we have tons of foods that are uniquely ours. Sure, we are a nation of immigrants and lots of things (but by no means all) have roots in another food culture, but we have changed many things beyond recognition (I submit to you that seven-layer dip is American, not Mexican) and we have plenty of things all our own.

Off the top of my head:

casseroles

cinnamon rolls

biscuits and gravy

fried chicken (they fry it other places too but our buttermilk-soaked way is called "American style")

pancakes and waffles as breakfast food (elsewhere they're usually dessert, if they're around at all)

barbecue sauce and flavors

clam chowder

chicken and tuna salad

club sandwiches

banana splits

peanut butter and jelly

s'mores

coleslaw

crab cakes

jalapeño poppers

buffalo wings and hot sauce

grilled foods from a backyard barbecue (okay, maybe we co-own this with the Australians)

corn on the cob with butter and salt

buttered and flavored popcorns (white cheddar anyone?)

banana/pumpkin/zucchini bread

pumpkin pie

grilled cheese with American cheese (don't act like you didn't eat this as a kid, no matter how much the thought of American cheese grosses you out now. Also, if the thought of American cheese doesn't gross you out as an adult, you should do some soul-searching.)

macaroni and cheese

cranberry anything

anything with a chocolate and peanut butter combination

baked beans

caesar salads

eggs benedict

Now, I'm not saying we own this stuff exclusively or that other people don't eat it. But it's all definitely part of our American cuisine. And yes, such a thing does exist.

Whew, glad to have that off my chest.

I feel cleansed.