List of American foods

This is a list of American foods and dishes. There are a few foods that predate colonization, and the European colonization of the Americas brought about the introduction of many new ingredients and cooking styles. This variety continued expanding well into the 19th and 20th proportional to the influx of immigrants from additional foreign nations. There is a rich diversity in food preparation throughout the United States.
This list is not exhaustive, nor does it cover every item consumed in the U.S., but it does include foods and dishes that are common in the U.S., or which originated there.
What is "American" food? The answer is that it is part Italian, part British, part German, part Mexican, part Chinese… When people from other countries came to live in the US, they brought different cooking traditions. Some of them opened restaurants. Today Americans enjoy food from all over the world. Over the years some foreign dishes changed a little. Doughnuts were originally from Holland. In 1847 a young American boy told his mother that her doughnuts were never cooked in the middle. He cut out the centre and his mother cooked them — and they were very tasty! Maybe the US is most famous for "fast foods". The first fast food restaurants served hamburgers, but now they serve other kinds of food too. Inside there is often a "salad bar", where you can help yourself to as much salad as you want. Americans eat a lot, and when they go to a restaurant, they don't expect to be hungry afterwards. Most restaurants will put a lot of food on your plate — sometimes it can be too much. But if you can't finish it all, don't worry: they will give you a "doggy bag" and you can take it home. Most Americans now have a light breakfast instead of the traditional eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice and coffee. But on weekends there is more time, and a large late breakfast or early lunch is often eaten with family or friends. mericans eat a lot. They have three meals a day: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Most of Americans don't eat home but prefer to go to restaurants. They can choose from many kind of restaurants. There is a great number of ethnic restaurants in the United States. Italian, Chinese and Mexican food is very popular. An American institution is the fast food restaurant, which is very convenient but not very healthy.
However there are some principles of American cuisine (if we may call it so). Americans drink a lot of juices and soda, eat a lot of meat, fruits and vegetables, not much bread. In the morning Americans have cereal or scrambled eggs, milk or orange juice.
Chicken or fish, fried potatoes, vegetable salads, and desert: this is the most common menu for lunch. Dinner is probably the most important meal of the day, some people have family dinner, when all members of family have to be there.
For dinner Americans usually have meat, fried or baked potatoes with ketchup or sour cream, corn, peas, sometimes macaroni and cheese or spaghetti; ice-cream, fruit or cake may be for dessert.
Turkey, ham and apple pie are traditional for Christmas and Thanksgiving Day dinners.
Americans usually have three meals a day. Breakfast usually comes before eight o’clock in the morning, since most people have to be getting off to work and children have to leave for school. Lunch is served between twelve and one o’clock, and dinner, the main meal, is generally between six and eight in the evening.
Breakfast in America may be orange juice, toast and coffee, or juice and cold dry cereal with milk. Lunch in America is usually a small meal – a sandwich, salad or soup.
People who work must either brown-bag or get it near their work place. School children take sandwiches, fruit and cookies along with them or eat in the school’s cafeteria.
Brunch is a combination of breakfast and lunch that many Americans enjoy on Sunday. Scrambled eggs or omelets are often served along with other, regular luncheon dishes. It is usually served about eleven in the morning.
Many fine restaurants have a traditional Sunday brunch where it is served from around 10 a.m. until mid-afternoon.
Dinner is ordinarily planned around a meat course, pork, or various fowl such as chicken or turkey. Ground beef is called hamburger and ground pork is sausage. In addition to meat, an American dinner often includes potatoes or rice, and a green or yellow vegetable. Fresh salad is also frequently served. Coffee, tea and milk are generally served with a dessert after dinner, but not always. Sometimes a typical dinner may include an appetizer, such as soup or fruit salad. The word “supper” can be used in place of dinner.
A wide variety of dining pleasures awaits a visitor to New York City. The least costly alternatives are those used by many natives at lunch time: street vendors, fast food places and delis.
Street vendors’ offerings – hot dogs far $ 2.00 or less – are fast, inexpensive and very “New York”. Hot dogs (also called “franks” or “frankfurters”) are a kind of sausage placed inside a bun. They are often made from pork and can be steamed, boiled, or grilled.
The fast food places, such as McDonald’s and Burger King are much the same everywhere in the United States. They offer a pretty standard fare: hamburgers, French fries, and coke (Coca-Cola), at a pretty standard price. A meal will rarely exceed $ 4.00 per person. Hamburgers are made from beef, not ham, and served in a round bun. They are often eaten with tomato, or lettuce, or onion, mustard, and ketchup. A hamburger with melted cheese is called a cheeseburger. There are also some other kinds of burgers with other names, such as the jumbo burger (very big), mushroom burger, or bacon burger, depending on the extra ingredients added.
With so many people traveling in cars, fast food places can be found all along the highways. If you are in a hurry, you can drive round to a “drive through” window and pick up your food packed in a paper bag without leaving your car. Likewise, other fast food places may have “drive-in” facilities. A waiter will meet you in the restaurant’s parking lot, take your order and deliver the food to your car, where you can eat in the relative comfort of the parking area.
Along highways and in town, “diners” give you a fine opportunity to have a quick snack. They are small-size restaurants, traditionally shaped like a railroad car.
Another option, the delis – short for delicatessen – offer sandwiches and assorted salads. Americans eat a lot of sandwiches, especially for lunch. They are made with two pieces of bread and a filling. Some common fillings are: tuna fish, eggs, ham, chicken, turkey, roast beef, cheese, and peanut butter and jelly. Some sandwiches are served hot, for example, a hot roast beef sandwich. Another special type is the “club sandwich” which is made with three pieces of bread and two fillings between them. One common sandwich is called a BLT, which means bacon, lettuce, and tomato. Although the bill delis may run as high as $ 8.00 per person, their advantage is quick service, and of course, as the name implies, the food is delicious.
Another relatively inexpensive is the gourmet take-out shop stocked with foods for home or picnic.
Some places call themselves “family restaurants”. This usually means home style cooking. The food is almost as reasonably priced as in delis or better cafeterias.
In a cafeteria you walk through a line, choose your food, put in on a tray, pay at the end of the line, and carry your food to a table.
Turning to foreign cuisine, New York City’s excellent and inexpensive offerings include pizza and a wide choice of Chinese and Mexican food. Pizza comes in two varieties – thin-crust “Neapolitan” and thick-crust “Sicilian” – and is served by the slice or by the pie. The best Chinese food, of course, is in China-town. To snatch a quick taste of Mexican cooking one may go to Taco Bell or Taco-Time, where you will be offered tacos, chunks of marinated and broiled meat rolled in tortillas (flat bread made from wheat or corn) or chili, a spiced (“hot”) seasoned dish of beef, beans, chili peppers, and tomatoes.