Here are some foods that may not always seem so American to a lot of people. So let’s
get the inside scoop on 10 foods only America was crazy enough to invent (Part 3).
Meatloaf With Ketchup
In the very beginning, American-style meatloaf was made with scrapple. Scrapple is a blend
of cornmeal and ground pork. In Pennsylvania, Americans who emigrated from Germany enjoyed
serving scrapple, and scrapple inspired the classic, American-style meatloaf that people
in the USA enjoy today. Meatloaf has been around since the colonial days, but it didn't
start popping up in American cookbooks until much later on. Of course, people in other
countries, including Germany, enjoyed preparing and eating dishes made with ground meats.
Some of those might qualify as meatloaf, too, but the meatloaf we know and love today is
so very American. It's usually made with ground beef chuck, ground pork, ketchup, eggs, onions,
grated carrot, bread crumbs and a selection of savory spices. American-style meatloaf
almost always includes ketchup as a meatloaf ingredient or a meatloaf topping. There's
something so American about ketchup, isn't there? Even though ketchup was inspired by
a Chinese fish sauce! Meatloaf is such a classic that you'll find it in lots of American
chain restaurants, including Boston Market, which offers meatloaf made with tomato puree
and toasted breadcrumbs, to name just a couple of tasty ingredients. Meatloaf from Boston
Market is served with a thick coating of hickory-flavored ketchup.
Cobb Salad
This delightful and nutrient-dense salad is really a full meal and it was invented in
America, at a legendary restaurant in Los Angeles, known as The Brown Derby. The owner
of the eatery was Robert Cobb. He had leftovers in the restaurant kitchen. These leftovers
included chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs, chopped bacon, salad greens, tomatoes, Roquefort
cheese and avocado. That's a lot of delicious leftovers and he decided to combine them and
create a new dish. The Cobb Salad was born. All its inventor had to add, beyond the leftovers,
was a vinaigrette made with Worcestershire sauce, garlic, red vinegar, olive oil, and
lemon juice. He did add a little pepper and salt, too. This salad has the same vibe as
a BLT sandwich, minus the slices of bread. Lots of Hollywood film and TV stars adored
the Cobb Salad. Lucille Ball and Clark Gable both ate the innovative dish and loved it.
The Cobb Salad became an important hallmark of the California culinary style. While The
Brown Derby is no more, the Cobb Salad is still an American classic.
Doughnut Holes
Legend has it that the inventor of delicious doughnut holes hailed from Rockport, Maine.
He was a sea captain and his name was Hanson Gregory. He's passed away, but his passion
for doughnut holes lives on. While at sea, Captain Gregory had a penchant for consuming
globs of fried dough as he also took care of his captains duties. He liked these fried
dough blobs because he could impale each blob, or doughnut hole, on the boat's steering wheel
handles. That made it easy to grab the doughnut holes when he got hungry, without needing
to leave his post. A century after he invented doughnut holes, a plaque was put up at his
birth site, memorializing his achievement. Necessity is the mother of invention, especially when
it came to doughnut holes. He needed a convenient snack, so he invented one.
Ranch Dressing
Whether you're dipping a slice of pizza into a little tub of ranch dressing or drizzling
it onto a salad, you probably already know how good it tastes...did you know that it's
also one of those foods that only Americans were crazy enough to invent. Ranch dressing
is the invention of Steve Henson. He was a plumber who developed the dressing while working
in a remote area of Alaska. In the early 1950s, he and his spouse, Gayle, opened their own
company. Can you guess what it was called? If you guessed, "Hidden Valley Ranch", you're
right! The new company gave customers the ability to buy pre-made ranch dressing that
they could take home with them, as well as ranch seasoning packets that could be combined
with buttermilk and mayo. Demand for ranch dressing went through the roof, because it's
delicious, and Clorox eventually bought Hidden Valley Ranch for a whopping 8 million bucks. Since
1992, ranch dressing has outsold all other salad dressings in America.
Pecan Pie
Pecan pie is an exceptional sweet treat that is also an American creation. This pie is
made from pecan nuts and has a filling made from butter, sugar, and eggs. Usually, corn
syrup is used as the sugar in this recipe, but recipes do vary. There are people who
add onto the classic American Pecan Pie recipe, with a touch of bourbon whiskey or chocolate.
After the pie is ready to serve, it may be eaten plain or accented with hard sauce, vanilla
ice cream, or whipped cream. This All-American treat is a crowd-pleasing favorite on special
occasions, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving. Pecans are native to Southern parts of the
USA, and the indigenous people of the South used to enjoy pecans thousands of years ago.
The word pecan is derived from an Algonquin word which means "several nuts". While there
are people who believe that the French are the true inventors of pecan pie, and created
the dessert after emigrating to New Orleans, most people consider this type of pie to be
the brainchild of Americans who lived in the South.
Candy Corn
Do you love candy corn or hate it? This candy is polarizing. Candy corn looks like corn
and tastes like sweet candy. It tricks the eye and it's popular at Halloween, because
it looks like harvest corn, but offers a real sugar kick. This candy used to be made by
hand, right in the USA. The first candy corn was marketed under the brand name, Chicken
Feed, back in the 1880s. It was made by Wunderlee Candy Company. After the 19th century ended,
a firm called Goelitz Confectionery Company produced the product. This company is now
called Jelly Belly. Candy corn was developed to appeal to rural customers. Sometimes,
there are seasonal variations of traditional American candy corn, including Reindeer corn
for the winter holidays. Reindeer corn has green ends and red centers. A Valentine's
Day version is made with pink and red colors.
Key Lime Pie
Key lime pie is a unique and one hundred percent American invention that has plenty of fans,
including Oprah Winfrey herself. Made from egg yolks, Key lime juice, and condensed,
sweetened milk, it's served in a pie crust that is typically made from tasty graham crackers.
The most traditional version of Key Lime Pie is the Conch version. With this one, egg whites
are utilized to create a sweet and airy meringue topping. As its name suggests, Key Lime Pie
is named after the compact Key limes that grow all through the scenic Florida Keys. This
USA dessert's roots go way back to the early part of the 20th century. Of course, the pie
was invented in the Key West region of Florida. So, what's so special about Key limes, anyway?
As it happens, a lot. They are more fragrant than the usual limes, but they have thinner
rinds, which means that they are delicate. They are more perishable than your everyday
limes. Usually, limes from Persia are used in recipes, which is why Key Lime pie is so
different. It is made from American limes that evoke the lush splendor of the Sunshine
State. One other fun fact about Key limes is that they have thorns. Also, their juice
is pale-yellow, rather than green, like other lime juice.
French Dip
The name, "French Dip" may evoke images of chic Parisian bistros, where patrons lounge
elegantly, with wine glasses in hand, but French dips are sandwiches with Los Angeles
roots. The name is believed to refer to the French bread being used. One L.A. restaurant,
Cole's, claims to be the place where the delicious and hearty French Dip was invented. This eatery
opened for business in 1908. Another restaurant in the same sunny city, Philippe's, also claims
to be the first eatery to serve the sandwich. While it may not be possible to definitely
prove which restaurant offered this meat sandwich first, a journalist who explored this topic
felt that Philippe's had the edge. What it is possible to prove is that carnivores who
adore roast beef love eating French Dips. So, for the uninitiated, what exactly is a French
Dip, anyway? Well, it's a delicious mass of roast beef, served in a French roll. The sandwich
comes with a plate or bowl of sauce, which is usually a combination of roast beef drippings
and veggie broth. The sandwich gets dipped in the sauce and this softens the bread and
adds moisture to the beef. It makes the process of eating the sandwich easier...and even more
delicious.
Boxed Macaroni and Cheese
Macaroni and cheese is a dish that's been around as long as America has, and a lot of
USA residents think of mac and cheese as true comfort food, whether they make it from scratch
and bake it in their ovens, or open boxes that contain dried pasta and processed cheese,
or in a bowl. In Italy, a medieval recipe for "dough and cheese", as they then called
pasta and cheese, showed that the dish was made in the same fashion as lasagna. Pieces
of dough were layered with cheese and butter, just like lasagna noodles are layered with
cheese and tomato sauce. The English had their own spin on pasta and cheese, which included
the addition of a French sauce called Mornay sauce, which contained cheddar and Bechamel
cheeses. In America, cheddar is the preferred cheese for this dish, and boxed macaroni and
cheese was invented right in the USA. Thomas Jefferson usually gets the credit for bringing
the recipe for pasta and cheese to the United States, after a trip to Europe. Clearly, as
so many people do, he enjoyed eating his way through Europe and discovered macaroni pasta
while in Paris. He wanted to enjoy it after returning to America. Despite his passion
for the short, curved pasta, Jefferson didn't invent Kraft Mac and Cheese. This boxed macaroni
and cheese product was the brainchild of a salesman named Grant Leslie, who was born
in Scotland and lived in Missouri. Leslie sold cardboard boxes of pasta, along with
packets of processed cheese, from door to door. In the late 1930s, Kraft launched his
invention on a wider scale and the rest is history. Boxed macaroni and cheese helped
Americans to get nutrients and feel full during the dog days of the Great Depression. Today,
it's very popular in America and Canada.
Succotash
Remember the Looney Tunes cartoon character, Sylvester the Cat? His catchphrase is "Sufferin'
Succotash”. While you may be aware of Sylvester's catchphrase, you may not know what Succotash
actually is...or where it came from. The word, Succotash, is a Narragansett word that means
'broken corn kernels'. The dish itself is made from sweet corn and shell beans, such
as lima beans. This recipe is all about mixing a legume and a grain. Plus, it's a cheap recipe,
and most versions of the recipe have ingredients that are really easy to access at most grocery
stores or farmer's markets. Because Succotash is such an affordable dish, it became popular
during some very hard times in America. As the Great Depression brought poverty and hunger,
some cash-strapped USA families made Succotash, to get basic nutrition. This dish is now
part of many New England Thanksgiving dinners. It's also popular in other USA areas, including
Pennsylvania and the South. The Southern version usually has lima beans, plus a butter or lard
topping. You can thank the Native Americans of the 17th century for this dish. Made from
ingredients that weren't known in Europe back then, Succotash eventually became an everyday
meal in the kitchens of settlers. If you're not familiar with Succotash and you want to
give it a try, basic and gourmet recipes are easy to find online.
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