Americanization of Foods: Cultures, History, and Cuisine

Introduction

Food is traditionally considered a simple means of subsistence, but it has developed to carry cultural, psychological, religious, and emotional significance. Consequently, food is currently used as a means of defining shared identities and symbolizes religious and group customs. In the early 17th and 18th centuries, this basic means of subsistence was treated as a class marker, but by the 19th century it had become a symbol of national identity. In the United States, food has been influenced by various cultures, including Native American, Latin American, and Asian traditions. As a result, Americans have continually Americanized the foods of different cultures, transforming them into distinctly American dishes. The process by which Americans have Americanized different cultures' foods, and the reasons for this Americanization, is an important topic of discussion.

As previously noted, food was traditionally considered a mere means of subsistence, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries. The early history of food involved its use in defining shared identities and reflecting religious and group customs. Food was filled with psychological, cultural, religious, and emotional significance. During this period, a unique court tradition of cuisine and sophisticated table manners emerged to distinguish the social elite from ordinary people. However, during the 19th century, the history of food shifted as it became a defining symbol of national identity. This period was characterized by the association of several dishes with particular countries and cultures (Mintz, par. 1). For instance, the American hamburger and tomato-based Italian spaghetti are cultural foods invented in the 19th or 20th centuries.

Background: The History of Food in America

The history of food took a significant turning point during the European discovery of the New World. This change involved the westward movement of foods previously unknown in Europe and Africa, as well as foods previously unknown in the Americas — such as potatoes, tomatoes, cassava, beans, cattle, sheep, and pigs. Moreover, foods grown in the New World, such as coffee, sugar, and chocolate, became the foundation for the first truly multinational, consumer-centered industries across the globe due to the movement of foods across borders.

In the United States, the history of food was largely a story of regional customs that originated in England until the late 19th century. Early migrants in America tended to hold strongly to conventional food traditions. For more than two centuries, English food cultures and customs dominated American cuisine. However, experimentation and innovation were eventually encouraged by the presence of new ingredients and interactions between various ethnic groups. Since American cuisine was dominated by English food customs, there were four major food traditions in America before the Civil War, each with English roots: a New England tradition, a Southern tradition, Quakerism, and a backcountry diet (Mintz, par. 4).

The New England tradition associated plain food preparation with religious faithfulness and hostility toward highly seasoned and fancy foods, which were viewed as forms of sensual luxury. This tradition was characterized by a rigorous diet emphasizing boiled vegetables, boiled and baked meats, and baked pies and breads. The Southern custom was a combination of English, French, African, Spanish, and Native American foods characterized by high seasoning and an emphasis on simmering and frying. Quakerism was characteristic of the middle Atlantic areas, where the diet was usually plain and simple, with an emphasis on boiling — including boiled dumplings and puddings. The backcountry diet included several ingredients that other English settlers used as animal feed, with an emphasis on grits, pork, griddle cakes, and greens.

One of the distinctive characteristics of food in the United States from an early period was the large quantity of meat and distilled liquor. Corn from abundant and fertile lands was given to livestock as fodder, while the rest was converted into whiskey. By the beginning of the 19th century, adult men were consuming approximately seven gallons of distilled liquor annually.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, American foods changed significantly due to the increased Americanization of foods from other cultures. While this change is driven by various factors, food has generally become a major cultural battleground in the United States. America is widely known for producing greasy, processed food high in fat and carbohydrates. However, the nation is also a country of immigrants whose citizens and residents have benefited from a combination of different cultural heritages. These immigrants tend to leave behind homeland lifestyles in exchange for the American way of life. Consequently, the country is currently home to numerous non-American cuisine restaurants (Jevgenijs, par. 1), with Mexican food restaurants being among the most notable examples.

Culture is broadly described as the beliefs, habits, knowledge, and customs shared by a group of people. While these elements are not inherited behaviors but learned ones, they are passed from one generation to the next. Each ethnic group or country has its own culturally based foods and food habits. Nonetheless, these customs have been partly influenced and reshaped through contact with mainstream culture. As a result, the foods of various cultures have been transformed by the existence of varying ethnic influences within the United States.

Americanization of Different Cultures' Foods

The American diet and cuisine is an amalgamation of foods from different cultures. In order to understand this diet and the Americanization of foods from different cultures, it is important to study the conventional foods and food habits of several minority groups as well as the interaction between the majority culture and the cultures of ethnic groups. There are three large segments of the American population whose ethnic and regional food practices strongly influence the American diet: African-Americans, Mexican-Americans, and Asian-Americans.

The African-American cuisine is partly based on certain health beliefs passed from generation to generation. For this group, educational background and socioeconomic status are crucial to meal planning and nutrition. The conventional African-American soul food is rooted in food customs and practices shared with white Americans in the southern part of the country. Some of these practices include treating corn as a staple food item, breading and frying meats, and using various green leafy vegetables as staple soul food. Generally, African-American soul food emphasizes vegetables and complex carbohydrates.

The food consumption practices of Asian-Indians in the United States show that they tend to select American and other ethnic foods for main meals and substitute traditional sweets with items such as doughnuts, cookies, and American pastries. There is a tendency among these individuals to decrease their consumption of butter and ghee and substitute them with margarine, a shift correlated with the length of their stay in the country. Generally, the diet of this community has changed from one consisting of low-fat, high-fiber foods to one higher in animal protein, saturated fat, and lower in fiber. Asian-Indians also tend to prefer fast food and convenience foods compared to other ethnic groups in the country.

While food is an important part of Mexican-American life, the conventional Mexican diet is high in fiber and low in fat. The food preferences of Mexican-Americans include a variety of healthy staples such as corn, rice, and beans. However, this population tends to consume foods that are familiar and culturally acceptable.

Based on this analysis, it is relatively difficult to define American food or diet because no single dish represents the expansive country. This is primarily because food in the United States draws from various cultures, as the country functions as a melting pot for different traditions. In reality, nearly every food in the American diet can be traced back to a particular ethnic group or group of immigrants.

Conclusion

American food culture is an amalgamation of foods from different cultures across the globe, a direct result of the absence of a single and distinctive American dish. Americans have consistently Americanized different cultures' foods through varied cooking techniques and flavorings, particularly salting, adding sugar, and frying. This Americanization has been driven by various forces, including globalization, the influx of immigrants into the United States, dietary changes introduced by German immigrants, industrialization, and the fundamental nature of the country as a nation of immigrants. Examples of Americanized foods include Chinese dishes, Indian cuisine, Italian foods, Mexican foods, and other ethnic fare. In essence, the Americanization of different cultures' foods occurs through an American emphasis on convenience and speed that leads to the simplification of ingredients and the adoption of new cooking techniques.