America has embraced different cuisines from all around the world but there are some foods
that are distinctly American inventions. Americans love casual dining, and delicious favorites
like tater tots and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches fit the bill. So let’s get a
taste of 10 Foods Only America Was Crazy Enough To Invent - Part 2.
Vive La America
Of course Vichyssoise sounds very French, but this soup was actually invented in America
in the early twentieth century. This popular soup was created by a chef named Louis Diat
in 1917 while he was working at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in New York City. The key ingredients
of this soup includes potatoes, leeks and cream, but there has been many variations
of this recipe over the years. Potato and Leek soup was a classic of French cuisine,
but, like most soups, was served hot. Diat wanted to serve something cool to the hotel
guests who were dealing with hot summers in a time before the invention of air conditioning.
His decision to add cold cream to the soup distinguished his American version from the
well-known French version. The enterprising chef named his soup after the people who live
in the popular French resort town called Vichy, which is near the French town where he was
born. You might not think of New York city when you hear the name "Vichyssoise," but
this cold soup is truly an American original.
A Salt Water Treat
People don't agree on just how salt water taffy got its name, but we have to stipulate
up front that there is absolutely no sea water or salt water used in the production of this
candy. Many people argue that it was simply a clever name cooked up by seaside vendors
trying to sell more candy. However, there are others who insist there is a story behind
this descriptive name. Taffy was being produced as early as the 1800's, but it hadn't really
broken through as a popular candy. Things changed when an Atlantic City candy maker's
store was hit by an unexpected flood. David Bradley's store was heavily damaged by flood
waters in 1883 and he lost much of his inventory. The way the story is told is that a little
girl came into the damaged candy store looking for a treat. Bradley supposedly told her that
all he had to sell her was salt water taffy. He had meant the line as a joke, but the girl
bought some of his "salt water taffy" anyway. The name caught on after that and an East
Coast candy tradition was born. Whatever its true origins, salt water taffy has helped
make summer a little sweeter for kids of all ages.
Drink Your Ice Cream
Milkshakes were first introduced in America in 1885 as an adult beverage made with whiskey.
That was then, but by the early 1900's they had been established as a creamy kid-friendly
treat enjoyed by all. Milkshakes were originally shaken by hand, but in the early 1900's, a
number of electric mixers and blenders became available, and the modern milkshake with a
more frothy consistency was born. In the days of soda fountains, ice cream started to be
a common ingredient in milkshakes after an enterprising employee at a Walgreens soda
fountain decided to add several scoops of ice cream to the standard shake recipe. Later,
with the popularity of fast food chains and mass produced food, pre-made mixes and syrups
started to replace ice cream in many milkshakes. In the 1950's Ray Kroc helped to make milkshakes
a popular item at fast food chains when he bought the exclusive rights to a particular
milkshake mixer for use at McDonald's restaurants. Although tastes have changed quite a bit over
the years, milkshakes have remained a popular treat.
Leave Room For Your Fortune
If you get Chinese food in America, you'll likely finish your meal with one of those
little folded cookies with a fortune printed on a tiny slip of paper. Not everyone agrees
on the exact origins of these treats, but perhaps the most likely involves immigrants
not from China. It appears these "Chinese" fortune cookies were actually introduced by
Japanese immigrants inspired by a popular cookie in Japan that is served with tea. It
is possible that a Japanese establishment in San Francisco called Golden Gate Park's
Japanese Tea Garden started serving a version of the cookie sometime in the 1890's. However,
there is a competing story that the Hong Kong Noodle Company in Los Angeles first started
serving the cookies around 1918. Whatever the truth is these tasty little cookies were
becoming popular in America in the early twentieth century, and during this period they became
closely associated with Chinese food. A court case in the 1980's ruled in favor of the Tea
Garden's claim that San Fransisco should be recognized as the fortune cookie's birth place,
but the Los Angeles Noodle Company decided to ignore this ruling and continue to claim
the honor for itself.
A Kid Classic
An article in the May, 1896 issue of an American magazine called Good Housekeeping offered
a recipe that called for spreading homemade peanut butter on slices of bread. Soon after,
Table Talk magazine published a recipe for what it called a peanut butter sandwich. At
this point peanut butter was still relatively expensive and the sandwich didn't really catch
on with most people. However, in the early 1900's the price of peanut butter fell quite
a bit and peanut butter sandwiches began to grow in popularity. Several other innovations
soon followed including adding sugar to the peanut butter and offering pre-sliced bread.
These changes helped catapult this modest recipe to new heights of popularity. It is
unclear exactly when jelly became part of the recipe, but records show that by World
War ll, the troops were eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. As popular as this classic
combination has become, there are several well regarded variations such as the fluffernutter.
Instead of jelly, this peanut butter sandwich uses a stiff marshmallow spread called Fluff.
The fluffernutter seems more like a dessert than a sandwich, which is probably just fine
with most kids.
Eating The Kool-Aid
Kool-Aid powdered drink mix has long been a fruity summer tradition for American kids,
but Kool-Aid pickles are a relatively new creation. The American South has been a hot
spot for pickles for a long time, so it should not be surprising that Mississippi proudly
takes credit for first submerging pickles in Kool-Aid. All you have to do to make Kool-Aid
pickles is empty the pickle juice from a jar of pickles and replace it with your choice
of Kool-Aid drink mix. These fruity pickles should be allowed to sit for about 5-7 days
before enjoying them to give the Kool-Aid's coloring and flavor time to transform the
pickles. After a few days you'll have bright red or bright green pickles with a new sweet
flavor added to the pickles' usual tanginess that appeals to both kids and adults. A convenience
store chain in Mississippi called Double Quick began selling Kool-Aid pickles to customers
in 2004. The chain started calling the treats Koolickles and applied for a trademark to
protect its popular snack. The company claims that red Kool-Aid pickles are the top sellers,
which can be cherry, strawberry, or tropical punch flavor. Many people prefer to make their
own Kool-Aid pickles, and with a rainbow of fruit flavors available there is a lot of
room to experiment with different flavor combinations.
Fair Food
Several food vendors at state fairs in the 1940's claimed to have invented this tasty
American treat. However, patent records from 1927 describes equipment that Texas sausage
makers from Germany were using make corn dogs and other deep fried foods. But even if these
hot dogs dipped in cornmeal batter weren't actually invented at a fair, they have certainly
become a tasty part of fair culture across America. There is something about deep fried
foods that just goes so well with these annual summertime events. Many food vendors take
pride in concocting the next deep fried sensation. Despite their connection to fairs corn dogs
aren't confined only to fairs and are often served by street vendors and fast food restaurants.
Some people prefer to make them at home, and the Internet provides a range of different
recipes for this crazy American treat. Some popular variations include putting cheese
between the hot dog and the cornmeal batter or even injecting cheese into the hot dog
itself. If you prefer a quick snack you can get frozen corn dogs at most supermarkets
and heat them up whenever you're in the mood for fair food.
I'll Have S'mores
The Campfire Marshmallows company published a recipe for a Graham Cracker Sandwich in
the early 1920's and camping was changed forever. By the time this recipe was published, S'mores
were already a popular snack with Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts on their camping trips. This
delicious American treat is a wonderful combination of marshmallows and chocolate wedged between
graham crackers. The preferred method for preparation is to roast the marshmallows over
a campfire, but S'mores can also be made at home using the backyard grill or even the
microwave in a pinch. Regardless of how the marshmallows are cooked, they should get warm
and soft enough to melt the chocolate a little bit. However, it also has to be firm, so the
ingredients hold together long enough to be enjoyed instead of completely falling apart.
The graham crackers and chocolate bars are key ingredients of the classic version of
S'mores. However, over the years there have been many variations that used different cookies
and candy. Everything from peanut butter cups to peppermint patties and Almond Joy have
been tried in an effort to improve on the classic recipe. These alternatives probably
taste just fine, but it is hard to top the classic chocolate bar as the perfect match
for the marshmallow and graham crackers. Campfires simply wouldn't be the same without this crazy
American treat.
I'm Going To Eat My Tots
In the 2004 movie Napoleon Dynamite, the title character puts tater tots in his pants
so he can eat them later, but needless to say this plan doesn't work out for him. A
lot of Americans love these little blobs of fried potato, even if most of them don't tend
to store them in their clothes. A Tater tot's cylinder shape lends the side dish to being
a finger food for children, but they are enjoyed by potato lovers of all ages. The Grigg brothers,
the founders of the Ore-Ida company, came up with a new product dubbed the "tater tot"
in 1953 to signify a small potato. The tater tot was Ore-Ida's solution to the question
of what to do with the scraps and leftovers from the huge amounts of potatoes the company
processed everyday. Tater tots were first sold in stores in 1956 at a cheap price, but
they did not sell very well. Ironically, they began to sell better after Ore-Ida raised
the price. Despite these lowly origins the tater tot has become a legitimate alternative
to french fries. These crispy treats have become so popular that Americans now eat as
many as 3.7 million tater tots a year. In addition to traditional tater tots, sweet
potato tater tots and alternatives made with broccoli and cauliflower have become increasingly
popular.
Let's Split
The banana split is big, decadent and delicious, so it's everything crazy American food should
be. This over the top treat features at least three scoops of ice cream, sliced banana served
alongside the ice cream, fruit sauce, and chocolate sauce. This summertime hit is usually
topped with whipped cream, nuts, and maraschino cherries. It might seem like the banana split
is the result of simply throwing a lot of different flavors together at random, but
based on its longevity, it just works. Many ice cream lovers agree that this is a fantastic
creation, but there is less agreement about exactly where and when the banana split was
invented. Between the years 1904 and 1907, no less than three cities claimed to have
come up with this soda fountain classic. The cities of Latrobe, Pennsylvania; Boston, Massachusetts;
and Wilmington, Ohio all claim the banana split as their own. Historians usually give
credit for the banana split to a young man named David Strikler. According to the story,
he was working at Tassel Pharmacy in Latrobe when he was inspired to create this famous
treat. Although the two other cities dispute this account, Latrobe went ahead and celebrated
the 100th anniversary of the banana split in 2004. In 1952, the popularity of the banana
split inspired a Nebraska teenager to create the banana split pie. This unique dessert
won first prize worth $3,000 in a national contest. These historical details of the banana
split are interesting, but what ice cream fans really want to know is where they can
get one!
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