Riya, Week #5 - What Really is "American" Food?

When someone says “American food”, what comes to mind? The answer is typically pizza, hamburgers, french fries, hot dogs, or mac and cheese. However, have these foods actually originated in America, or are they just a part of American culture?

Pizza originated in Italy, french fries in France/Belguim, mac and cheese in Europe, hot dogs in Germany, and hamburgers also have roots in Germany. These are just a few of the many “American” foods that didn’t actually originate in America.


That’s not to say that America did not invent any culturally significant foods, because we certainly have! America has invented potato chips, banana splits, and THE chocolate chip cookie.




Image Credit: Baking A Moment


If you think about it, many foods in America weren’t created here but are still such a big part of our culture. This illustrates how American cuisine has been influenced by foods from all around the world, creating a mix of traditions.


And as America has come to love these foods so much, we have made different variations of them. For instance, we have added the bun, tomatoes, and lettuce to a hamburger, while Germany invented the bun, and we have also invented Chicago deep-dish pizzas. 


American cuisine is a combination of foods invented from all around the world, making it special in its own way.


So, does a food have to originate from America to actually be American? I don’t think so, because these diverse foods from all around the world being ingrained into our society and daily life is what makes these foods truly American!


Comments

  1. Kan XuOctober 27, 2026 at 8:23 PM

    Hey Riya, as a foodie myself, I really enjoyed reading about this blog. Numerous facets of American culture, such as food, are all ways that show the intensely diverse and multicultural fabric of the United States, that cannot be diluted or simplified to just a single ethnic group. I also like that you pointed out that there were foods that Americans invented. Ironically, they were all created from earlier foods that originated from other cultures: for example, the chip was made from french fries—a Belgian food—while the concept of the cookie in America was brought here by Dutch settlers (and made even earlier, in 7th century Persia. Simply put, without foods from other cultures, American cuisine in its current form would cease to exist. I feel like in today’s world, that message is needed more than ever.

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  2. Pavan Sai SunkesulaOctober 28, 2026 at 7:35 PM

    I think your idea about American cuisine makes a lot of sense! America is a nation that is full of so many different cultures and peoples, so it’s a no-brainer that American cuisine is made up of food that has originated from all over the world. I liked your inclusion of Chicago deep dish pizzas, but I want to add that America doesn’t always just change a food into a new “American style” but different regions and cities can change it on their own smaller levels. This definitely adds to American cuisine, but in my opinion, it belongs much more to those specific areas than the U.S. as a whole.
    We also incorporate whole other cuisines into our everyday lives. People like to go out for Indian or Chinese food, and it has become so common you could say that these cuisines have become a part of American culture. I think in that way, American cuisine is ever expanding as people continue to enjoy other cultures and different regions’ food.
    It was really interesting to learn about the foods we did invent, like potato chips. However, even if hot dogs did come from Germany, I am still going to think of them as a classic American dish!

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