The Food That Built America

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The culinary arts have always been a fascinating historical subject, and most of the specific dietary habits of Americans started to be documented at the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775.

As far as the food that built America, there are countless masterpieces that are synonymous with American culture, all of which have roots in North American indigenous culture,

and all of the people who flocked to the continent at the height of colonialism and beyond (the 1600s to the present day).

Over the past few centuries, the U.S. has become known as the melting pot, and this certainly shows when exploring the foods that built America seeing that all of our favorite dishes have a foundation from so long ago!

Whether you are familiar with the northern, southern, eastern, or western parts of the U.S., come join us as we discover the history behind the food that built America!

Maryland Crabcakes

No one can visit Maryland without enjoying a crabcake full of decadent, juicy crab meat straight from the ocean, and this idea of crabcakes stems back to the indigenous cultures that once lived on the land.

The crabcake that we know today comes from the innovation of natives who lived in the Chesapeake Bay region, who originally made their cakes from crab, cornmeal, and bear fat!

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Regarding the crabcake being implemented into modern culture, a man named Crosby Gaige made this possible when he published his cookbook,

New York World's Fair Cook Book

, in the 1930s.

This publication was essential to Maryland crabcake history because Crosby had officially written a recipe for the "Baltimore Crab Cake."

Biscuits & Gravy

Most American cuisines were revolutionized during wartimes, and biscuits and gravy are a primary example of one of those dishes, seeing that it had become a foundation of American food after it rose to popularity after the Revolutionary War.

During the turn of the 18th century, most southerners were working all day on plantations, and this filling meal gifted them a full stomach throughout the day to be able to power through their agricultural duties.

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Most people can't imagine visiting the south and not having biscuits and gravy, and the meal became popular after foodstuffs were in diminishing supply after the Revolutionary War.

Furthermore, biscuits and gravy were the perfect post-war meal seeing that it was cheap, filled your stomach, and included some protein.

Jambalaya

Jambalaya is a diverse dish that comes from an African, Spanish, and French background, and is accredited to being created in Louisiana.

In terms of ingredients, this American Creole dish brings a fiery, flavorful punch due to its mix of meat (seafood, sausage), vegetables, and rice, and it was named after a Southern region in France known as Jambalaia.

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As far as the background on this dish, historians believe that the Spanish dish, paella, and French pilaf had inspired jambalaya, and numerous cultures (including African, French,

and Spanish) have perfected and featured the dish to make it what it is today!

Candy Corn

By the end of the 1800s, industrialization had reared its head, and thousands of Americans were making a living by mass-producing foods such as candies!

In the 1880s, many candy companies were fascinated with mixing and molding mellowcreme, and at the time, molding the creme into agricultural shapes was common, and this is how Chicken Feed was created, otherwise known as candy corn today.

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George Renninger had been the first one to create Chicken Feed in the 1880s, and he did so while working for the Wunderle Candy Company in Philadelphia,

PA. The three-color trio is what made this candy revolutionary, and after trick-or-treating rose to popularity after WWII, people had begun to call the treat candy corn.

Cobb Salad

A cobb salad is a part of almost any American restaurant's menu, but before 1937, this was not the case, and we couldn't imagine a day without a protein-rich, delicious salad such as the Cobb salad.

In 1937, the owner of the Brown Derby restaurant, Bob Cobb had haphazardly thrown together this American treasure!

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Robert (Bob) Cobb owned his restaurant in Hollywood, California, and like most famous American dishes, he and his employees had put the dish together with leftovers that they had in the restaurant's fridge.

Before we knew it, Bob had served a dish that would go down in history, full of hard-boiled eggs, avocado, bacon, lettuce, tomatoes, and much more!

Baked Beans

Baked beans seem to be at every American cookout, picnic, and birthday party, for it is an ideal, filling dish that fits any occasion, and the history of this dish dates back to the Middles Ages.

Before baked beans evolved into what they are today, they were known as an English pottage dish full of beans and bacon.

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Originally, baked beans became popular because people could start to cook them on Saturdays and then have a filling meal that requires no preparation on the Sabbath.

Boston baked beans are now the most famous variety, and these developed when Boston was a part of the triangular trade and therefore began to add molasses to their recipe.

Twinkies

On April 6th, 1930, the Continental Baking Company created Twinkies, and the idea for this product appeared after a manager, James Dewar, had decided to make use of the company's strawberry shortcake machine (since it was stagnant when strawberries weren't in season).

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James thought that using this machine for cakes even when the berries weren't in-season would raise profits and little did he know, he ended up creating the king of all junk foods!

Originally the Twinkies had been filled with banana cream filling, but when the company switched to vanilla flavor during WWII (because there were no bananas available), the vanilla became so popular that they never switched back.

Potato Chips

Potato chips can be found in any American household, especially due to all of the varieties that are now available today.

Although, the most popular chip company, Frito-Lay, had been created in the early 1930s as the foundation for all chip brands to come.

Furthermore, Frito-Lay started off as two separate companies, with The Frito Company having been started in Texas by C.E. Doolin and Herman W. Lay being the creator of Lays (H.W. Lay & Company) which he created in Tennessee.

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The two men who had created the companies went on to merge in the 1960s to form "Frito-Lay, Inc." after accumulating massive empires for their snack companies, and the merge did not end there;

a few short years after Fritos and Lays had merged, they made the move once more after they partnered with Pepsi-Cola Company, and as a result, PepsiCo was formed.

Chicken Nuggets

Some of the most passionate chicken nugget enthusiasts may not know that originally the chicken nugget was called the Chicken Crispie,

and it was created by an agricultural food scientist by the name of Robert C. Baker (a professor at Cornell University) in the early 1960s.

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Robert had gone as far as publishing his academic work that he had done with the Chicken Crispie, although he did not patent it.

By the 1980s,

McDonald's had started selling Chicken McNuggets, anyone could buy chicken nuggets fresh or frozen at the grocery store, and every restaurant had them on the menu!

Nachos

Piedras Negras, a Mexican village near Texas, is the home of the nachos (created in 1943), and nowadays, it is an American classic that can be made in so many ways with any type of toppings!

Originally, Ignacio 'nacho' Anaya had created nachos while working at a place called the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, and like most great American innovations, it was created by throwing together what was left in the fridge!

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Initially, Ignacio had made nachos with leftovers consisting of tortilla chips, cheddar cheese, and jalapeños,

and after he put the dish in the oven and served it for the first time to some hungry ladies who had nowhere else to go for food, they became an instant classic!

Additionally, Ignacio named the dish 'nachos especiales' and it was published in a cookbook as his recipe.

Chicken & Waffles

The foundation for chicken and waffles was created in the 1600s as a Dutch dish, and before they had used chicken in their recipe, other wild and domestic meat was used to serve over a crispy waffle.

Although once the Dutch were able to secure a chicken supply, they never thought of the dish the same, and they continued to perfect the chicken and gravy that is served over a piping hot waffle!

Photo Courtesy: [Elliot - Chicken and Waffle/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

There are countless variations of chicken and waffles, for, in the south, they will generally serve it as pictured above, with grits of course,

although the Dutch and many other locations prepare the chicken as a part of a gravy and then smother it over their waffles.

In terms of this American food's history, it officially became a part of southern cuisine in the early 1800s, and in the 1930s, a Harlem restaurant, Wells Super Club, was famous for the dish.

Fajitas

Some variation of fajitas has always existed, but the fajita that we are most familiar with today consists of chipped beef, spices, onions, and peppers served on a corn tortilla with a side of rice.

Historically it is said that Mexican ranch workers stationed in western Texas had invented the dish, and Texas claimed the dish in the early 1940s due to its popularity.

Photo Courtesy: [Elisa Arteaga from Caracas, Venezuela/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Fajitas are an essential food that has built America due to their convenience, deliciousness, and the fact that they can be arranged in numerous ways to fit any type of craving! Fajitas are also fascinating because they were one of the starter foods for the exclusive genre of cuisine, Tex-Mex.

San Francisco Sourdough Bread

If you are a bread-lover and you happen to travel to San Francisco, picking up a thick, fresh loaf of San Fran sourdough bread is a must!

You may question what makes this bread so unique, and the answer lies between 19th-century history and an exclusive yeast found in San Francisco,

Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis

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This sourdough bread was created during the California Gold Rush (1849) by gold-seekers who needed to have a filling and convenient meal during their search for wealth, and it was easily made due to the smooth capability of being able to obtain yeast. Due to San Francisco's foggy climate, there was an abundance of natural yeast, and little did these gold miners know that they had created one of the most unique bread varieties around.

Barbecue Ribs

The history behind barbecue ribs is just as intricate as the variety of BBQ styles available, for there are true ribs (pork), and particular cuts such as baby back, spare, riblets, and rib tips,

let alone the endless varieties of BBQ sauces and cooking methods!

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The creation of BBQ ribs essentially started when Queen Isabella had ordered Columbus to take pigs to Cuba, and almost five decades later, Hernando de Soto fully established pigs in North America in 1539 when he brought 13 pigs to Tampa, Florida.

Within three years, there were over 700 wild and domestic pigs, and people have been enjoying ribs since.

In more modern times, the BBQ Belt has been established, which stretches across multiple states including the Carolinas, Texas, Missouri, Kentucky, and the deep south!

Jelly Beans

Jelly beans have built America seeing that they have been in every Easter basket for decades,

although, the history of these jelly candies goes far beyond Easter,

for they were first invented in 1861 as a gift to be able to send to Union soldiers during the Civil War.

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Jelly beans were created in Boston by a diligent candy maker, William Schrafft, who invented and enjoyed shaping jelly into flavorful, bean-shaped candy.

In terms of history, jelly beans became an Easter candy around the 1930s due to their egg-like shape, and everyone loved them in the 1980s because of President Ronald Reagan's obsession with them.

Meatloaf

Meatloaf had developed from the Pennsylvania Dutch food, scrapple, which was initially made by settlers in the 1700s.

Soon after the meat grinder was perfected, people no longer had to hand-mince meat, and could allow for the innovation of meatloaf - everyone's favorite Sunday dinner meal!

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Before the Dutch, ancient civilizations had made food similar to meatloaf, and this dish has withstood time and has built America because it is so adaptable and customizable.

Not to mention, it was a cheap, protein-filled meal that gained success during events like the Great Depression and WWII.

By the 1950s, people saw meatloaf everywhere they looked, and it is still just as popular today!

Ketchup

Over a century ago, Henry John Heinz introduced the world to ketchup, and he gained inspiration for the idea from a Chinese sauce called Cat Sup, which is made from tomatoes.

By 1876, Henry had started successfully selling ketchup, and his business only gained success from there as Americans developed an obsession with this sauce.

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America is built on Heinz ketchup, not to mention all of the other condiments that Henry went on to create, manufacture, and sell including horseradish, pickles, and vinegar, 57 Sauce (A1 Sauce), and many more.

By 1908, Heinz had become the largest tomato manufacturer in the world, and today the company sells over 650 million bottles of ketchup a year!

New England Clam Chowder

A well-established author, Joseph C. Lincoln once stated that New England clam chowder was "Yankee Doodle in a kettle", and the dish started its development back in the 1600s when French colonists had arrived in North America.

Seeing that there was a never-ending supply of clams, they decided to utilize them in soups and stews.

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By the 1830s, clam chowder was being made in every New England state thanks to the stock of clams, and over the decades, chefs all across the northeastern U.S. were inventing their own versions of clam chowder.

In modern times, the main distinction between New England clam chowders is whether they have tomatoes in them or not.

Graham Crackers

Pictured below is a graham cracker box from 1915, and originally Reverend Sylvester Graham invented this snack to promote a life of purity.

Reverend Graham was Presbyterian, and he stated that eating a bland, clean diet was crucial to reducing, what he thought to believe, immoral activities such as sexual desires.

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Sylvester believed that living a pure life would result in less physical illness in the world, and he also believed that meat and fat were bad for humans because they caused an immense feeling of desire.

Furthermore, Reverend Graham had invented this snack based on religious principles, but everyone had grown to love them, and the first company to produce this treat commercially was the National Biscuit Company.

Popcorn

People have been snacking on popcorn for millennia, for the corn plant started its journey to domestication around 9,000 years ago, and once the plant was bred for larger kernels,

humans have been enjoying the puffy goodness of hot, popped corn kernels ever since.

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By 1875, Frederick J. Myers (from Kentucky) had invented a popcorn popper with a handle that stayed cool while handling,

although popcorn had become most loved once Charles Cretors of Chicago made an electric popcorn machine that allowed vendors to sell the treat up and down the streets.

After 1885, the demand for popcorn skyrocketed, and pictured above is a steam-powered popcorn machine from 1905!

Cioppino

Cioppino was invented before the 1900s when immigrants were coming from Genoa and had to eat on boats while they were coming to the states, which left them to make a stew with leftover seafood and canned foods.

Furthermore, these fishermen who came from Genoa had settled in San Francisco, which is a prime area for incredible seafood!

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Even though this stew was invented over 200 years ago, the recipe hasn't varied much from the Italian immigrants' original concoction.

To make the ideal cioppino, seafood such as Dungeness crabs, fish, clams, scallops, mussels, and shrimp are mixed with a tomato base and wine to create a savory stew.

Smithfield Ham

In any grocery store across the United States, you can purchase Smithfield ham, which originated in Smithfield, Virginia in the 1600s after pigs were established in the colonies.

irginia's ham was so exemplary that Queen Victoria ordered six Virginia hams a week, and soon Virginia was the ham capital of the world and the biggest producer of ham in the U.S.

Photo Courtesy: [Isle of Wight County Museum/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Virginia ham is so exclusive because the pigs grow up in Virginia eating peaches, peanuts, and food on the forest floor, so the ham is a product of its environment!

Although, not only does the pig have to be in the ideal environment, it also has a specific curing process, which can take up to 6 months!

Hamburgers

When people come to America for the first time, their first instinct is to order a hamburger, because they are one of the main foods that have built the country!

Hamburgers have been around as long as people have been eating beef, although they became most popular in America in the 1800s due to the recipes that German immigrants had brought with them.

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Once industrialization had fully taken off, everyone was on-the-go to their factory jobs, so they needed quick food that they could grab walking out the door, and hamburgers fit the bill flawlessly!

Thanks to the convenience of this protein meal, hamburgers can be found around every corner in the U.S., with hundreds of restaurants claiming to have the best burger!

Popsicles

In 1905, Frank Epperson had left his soda and stir stick out overnight after playing in the hot California sun, and when he awoke the next morning, he found a frozen, tasty surprise which he went on to call "Eppsicles".

Eighteen years after Frank had created this treat, he had patented his invention, although his kids called them "Pop's 'sicles", and soon the name evolved into "Popsicles".

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Frank's frozen invention was demanded in mass quantities after he had paired with the company, Joe Low Co., to distribute the treat where we still see them the most today (carnivals, amusement parks, etc.), and the first popsicle sold for five cents.

Cornflakes

At the end of the 19th century, two religious brothers, Dr. John Harvey Kellogg and Will Keith "WK" Kellogg invented cornflakes to promote a life of purity,

and cornflakes were originally made with cooled wheat, which they later substituted with corn.

Photo Courtesy: [Internet Archive Book Images/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Pictured above is an ad for cornflakes in 1916, for by then, the Kellogg Cereal Company was on its way to becoming the largest cereal producer in the world.

Additionally, John Kellogg was strict on keeping cornflakes as a purity food, so when his brother bought the right to produce cornflakes and fought for the right to add sugar to their product,

a legal dispute arose over using the name "Kellogg", which Will Kellogg went on to win.

Hot Dogs

Whether you like Chicago dogs, sauerkraut dogs, or just plain Heinz ketchup on your hot dogs, you can thank German immigrants for bringing their dachshund sausages to America, which would evolve into the hot dogs that we know and love today!

As far as the name, "hot dogs" was catchier and was most likely a comical reference to the dachshund dogs that the Germans were often accompanied by.

Photo Courtesy: [Gerry Dincher/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

The majority of people eat their hot dogs on a bun, and this became a popular practice in the 1860s after a German immigrant sold hot dogs on milk rolls and with sauerkraut via a cart in New York City.

By 1871, America was captivated by the deliciousness of hot dogs, and a German chef, Charles Feltman, had presented the first Coney Island hot dog stand, and he sold almost 4,000 of his creations after one year of business!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are a classic school lunch or summertime snack, and peanut paste was originally created by a physician in St. Louis (Dr.

Ambrose Straub) in the 1880s as a food to give to geriatric patients, for it was easy for them to swallow and was full of protein.

Photo Courtesy: [Famartin/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg had patented the manufacturing of peanut butter, and in 1904, Dr. Straub introduced it to the world, where, after presenting it, grocery stores immediately started to place orders for the product.

For decades, peanut butter was known as a delicacy, and it only rose in popularity as a PB&J recipe appeared in a 1901 cookbook and later as people struggling through the Great Depression and WWII needed a cheap, high-protein meal.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

In 1938, Ruth Wakefield and Sue Brides officially established the recipe for chocolate chip cookies

while they were working at their inn (the Toll House Inn), in Massachusetts.

In terms of these heavenly cookies, the Toll House Inn was the perfect birthplace for this American food, for it was a well-loved restaurant known for its homestyle cooking.

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After Ruth and Sue had invented chocolate chip cookies at Ruth's inn, Ruth went on to publish a cookbook called,

Tried and True

, and it featured the cookie recipe.

Ruth even had the all-American spirit, for her original recipe calls for the cookies to be served with ice cream!

Pot Pie

During the era of the Roman Empire, documentation shows that humans were enjoying forms of pot pie, and in the 1500s, Britain developed an obsession with the dish.

In fact, the British were so obsessed with pot pies, that they even decorated them and made them phenomenally luxurious.

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As people moved to North America to establish what would become the United States, the love for pot pie followed, and by 1796, countless pot pie recipes (including stew, sea,

and chicken pie) were included in America's first cookbook,

American Cookery.

Macaroni & Cheese

Thanks to Thomas Jefferson, we can now enjoy macaroni and cheese in any restaurant and from any grocery store, for he had brought back both the recipe and a pasta machine from France after he had discovered the dish while visiting there.

After industrialization had taken off in the 1800s, mac 'n' cheese became even more popular due to the mass production of cheese and other products.

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In 1851, the first U.S. cheese factory was constructed, and ever since then, this American staple has become widely available, with it originally intended as a weekend and celebration food.

Although, without the Great Depression, Americans may have never fallen in love with this comfort food, seeing that a Missouri salesman, Grant Leslie of Scotland, had

gone around and sold boxes of pasta with packets of grated cheese attached during that time!

Hershey's Chocolate

Pictured below is a Hershey's chocolate wrapper from 1912, and this treat was created in 1894 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania by Milton Hershey. Milton was a leading candy maker, and in 1894 he added a subsidiary chocolate business (Hershey Chocolate Company) to his original candy company, the Lancaster Caramel Company after he saw the Germans' chocolate-making process.

Photo Courtesy: [Hershey Company/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

In 1900, Milton featured his milk chocolate bars, and that same year, he sold his original company to solely work in the chocolate industry, and he named his business, Hershey's Milk Chocolate.

Furthermore, Milton became so successful because he made chocolate affordable to everyone, and throughout the years, he continued to create innovations like Hershey's Chocolate Kisses as well.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Did you ever wonder how buffalo chicken wings got their name?

Some people may guess that it's because buffalo hot sauce is used to make them, but in fact, it is because they were created in Buffalo, New York!

Teressa Bellissimo was the inventor of this snack, and after serving it one time, it was instantly added to the restaurant's menu!

Photo Courtesy: [Andrew Nash/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Teressa was the co-owner of the Anchor Bar in New York, and buffalo chicken wings were first served to Teressa's hungry child and friends in 1964 after they came into her restaurant late one night, looking for a snack.

Again, the boys had enjoyed them to such an extent that Teressa was serving them to customers the next day, and they have been a part of American cuisine ever since!

Tater Tots

In the early 1950s, two brothers (F.

Nephi and Golden Grigg) had sold their potato farms to invest in a flash-freezing plant in Oregon, and after trying a myriad of techniques, they created the foundation for harvesting potatoes and processing them into frozen French fries.

Photo Courtesy: [Gibchan/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

After the two brothers had perfected their French fry process, they had extra scraps of potatoes that seemed to have nowhere to go, that was until Nephi decided to compact the scraps and form bite-size pieces of potato.

When the two brothers were undecided on what to name their product, they held a public contest, and housewife Clora Orton won the contest when she proposed the name, "Tater tots".

California Rolls

By the 1960s, Ichiro Mashita, a chef at a restaurant in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles, had created California rolls, and they were a revolutionary food in America seeing that it was the first type of inside-out sushi.

Additionally, Ichiro was inspired to replace tuna in sushi to bring a unique flavor to the dish that he was making in the U.S.

Photo Courtesy: [Benoît Prieur/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

The main ingredients that Ichiro used for the California roll were crab and avocado, which is how he got the name for this delicacy, seeing that it is the acronym for California (C.A.).

With all this in mind, not only did Ichiro revolutionize sushi by making it inside-out, but he also created one of the most flawless sushi combos of all time.

BLTs

The first BLT ever recorded was in 1903, and the cookbook,

Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book

by Dr. Evan Mee contained the first recipe, which consisted of bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and a turkey slice.

Although, this creation by Dr. Mee did not become popular worldwide until the well-established brand, Hellmann's Mayonnaise, had endorsed the sandwich idea.

Photo Courtesy: [jeffreyw/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Over five decades after Dr. Evan Mee had published his BLT recipe in his cookbook, Hellmann's Mayonnaise had promoted BLTs, stating that their mayo product is "traditional on bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches”.

Since this was a mouthful to say, over time, people had shortened the name of this American treasure to "BLTs".

Pizza

Pizza is not new to human civilization, and in fact, it has been around for thousands of years.

As far as the savory, cheesy pizza that we know today, it started to rise in popularity in the early 1900s as I

talians immigrated to the northeast,

and people became even more aware of this flavorful dish after WWII soldiers had returned to America from Italy.

Photo Courtesy: [jeffreyw/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

After World War II occurred, soldiers who had been stationed in Italy were returning to the United States with cravings for dishes such as pizza,

so soon restaurants all around America started to create their own version of the pizza pie, and after decades of innovation, we have thousands of pizza varieties to choose from!

Beef Jerky

For thousands of years, people all across the world have been curing and drying meat from a diverse number of animals to better preserve it as they travel, and as civilizations became more advanced,

so did their methods for cooking and curing beef jerky.

Photo Courtesy: [Kusie/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Humans from all over the world have been drying meat for millennia, although the peak of the beef jerky process occurred in the 1820s after cowboys had created "cowboy jerky" which is tougher and saltier than the average jerky.

Once people could no longer contain their desire for this protein snack, beef jerky industries started to arise during the Industrial Revolution.

The Reuben Sandwich

In the early 1900s, Reubens Restaurant and Delicatessen was a phenomenal place to go if you were stopping by Manhattan, and it was also the birthplace of the well-admired Reuben sandwich, which was originally called "the Reuben Special."

Arnold Reuben created this sandwich in 1914, and the world hasn't been the same since!

Photo Courtesy: [Ernesto Andrade/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Arnold had gotten the idea for this sandwich after an actress had come into his restaurant with an empty stomach, and she told Arnold to make her whatever he could.

As a result, Arnold searched in his kitchen to create what we know today as the Reuben sandwich.

Furthermore, Arnold had originally put corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and a Russian dressing on rye bread to create this masterpiece.

Philly Cheesesteaks

In the 1930s, Harry Olivieri was a hot dog vendor in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the cheesesteak was invented one day when Harry was on lunch break!

Mr. Olivieri had tossed some beef on his grill to put in a bun for his lunch, and it caught a passerby's attention, and the rest is history!

Photo Courtesy: [jeffreyw/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Harry's brother Pat worked for his hot dog stand, so after the cheesesteak was created, the brothers created their own business which forever changed the perception of Philadelphia, for it is now famous for this delicacy.

Unfortunately, not all cheesesteaks were made with cheese until the 1940s, when an employee at the brothers' restaurant had put cheese on his own beef sandwich.

Pot Roast

Most people could agree that beautiful memories can be made while enjoying a pot roast seeing that it is the epitome of savory comfort food,

and the pot roast was first introduced to America by French immigrants who had come to the New England states.

Photo Courtesy: [Mark Miller/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

In the following years when Germans immigrated to Pennsylvania, they added to the variations of pot roasts as they brought with them methods of marinating the roasts,

and slow-cooking them to develop a one-of-a-kind rich flavor, with beautiful vegetables to surround the protein-filled meal!

Blueberry Cobbler

Blueberry cobbler is unique to the U.S. because blueberries originate from northern-central North America, so indigenous people and then eventually colonists have been utilizing this fruit to cure their sweet cravings for centuries!

English colonists were the ones to establish blueberry cobbler in America, for they admired it since it had characteristics of an English dessert.

Photo Courtesy: [Jim Clark/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Cobbler is a significant staple dessert in American cuisine, and it is characterized by having a thick bottom and top crust with filling in the middle (most popularly, blueberry),

with the top having a coarse texture seeing that it is made with flour, butter, sugar, and oats.

Onion Rings

The first recorded recipe for onion rings dates back to 1908 when Fannie M. Farmer published a recipe for "Frech fried onions" in a local newspaper,

and America continues to love them seeing that in modern times, onion rings are a part of every fast-food chain, restaurant, and grocery store!

Photo Courtesy: [Famartin/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

Even though Fannie Farmer had introduced the world to onion rings, they became more popular in 1933 and beyond after the

New York Times

had published a Crisco ad that advertised the delicious battered and fried vegetable.

After onion rings had become a foundation of American cuisine, experimentation with deep frying other vegetables became of interest to the public as well.

Banana Splits

In America, July is National Ice Cream Month, and much of this has been inspired by the creation of the banana split,

which officially dates back to 1904 when an optometrist (who later became the owner of the pharmacy due to his success with the sundae) created the dessert to attract the wallets of nearby college students.

Photo Courtesy: [Newsum/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

David Strickler was the optometrist who had created the banana split and to make it, he split a banana in two, added a scoop of chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla ice cream, three flavored toppings, and whipped cream.

The recipe for a banana split hasn't changed since then, and since David's creation, the National Ice Cream Retailers Association (NICRA) has certified Latrobe, Pennsylvania as the birthplace of this ice cream treat!

S'mores

Summer in America would not be the same without s'mores, and even though the three components of s'mores each have an extensive history (marshmallows, graham crackers, and Hershey's chocolate),

the first recipe for this campfire treat was published in 1927.

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A Girl Scout guidebook was the first to publish the recipe for s'mores in 1927, but it is interesting to note that a cousin of the s'more,

Mallomars (s'mores in cookie form) were introduced to the world in 1913, with Moonpies being introduced only a few short years after that.

Chicken Fried Steak

America's love for chicken fried steak was strongest during the 1930s and 40s, and today it is on a plethora of restaurant menus and is a traditional dish in the south, especially in Texas.

In terms of history, German and Austrian chefs inspired this creation with their favorite dish which is prepared in the same way but with veal.

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In the 1930s and 40s, commercial restaurants, particularly in Kansas and Colorado, were mass producers of chicken fried steak, seeing that it was one of the most popular menu items.

Even though some people are not a fan of this dish, others know that this is an American classic and that it is never complete without the gravy!

Po'boys

In 1929, New Orleans experienced a strike involving streetcar drivers, and Benny and Clovis Martin decided to feed these "poor boys" while they were out on strike,

and the promise made by these brothers was published in the local newspaper as well, although, in the ad, they did not state what they would be serving.

Photo Courtesy: [Mark Souther/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain]

While the Martin brothers were serving lunch to these workers on strike, their catchphrase of, "here comes another poor boy" evolved into the name of the prized dish, now known as a po'boy.

Po'boys are most popularly stuffed with ham or oysters, but any meat can be put in them, and it is served in New Orleans French bread.

Cornbread

For thousands of years, people have crafted varieties of cornbread from the maize plant found in Mexico, and cornbread is known to be formed by roasting corn, grounding it into meal,

and then forming it into cakes to either bake on its own or with other foods (like stews).

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Nowadays, cornbread is most commonly served with chili, with southern sides such as collard greens, as breakfast, and in casseroles, and it is just as popular as it was thousands of years ago.

With this, cornbread is a staple in American cuisine due to its convenience and easiness to make.

Grits

Native Americans were making a form of grits way before the south was cooking it up for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and this Southern staple dates back to the Muscogee tribe who had made a similar dish with hominy, which is related to corn.

In fact, this dish was so popular that the Grits Belt had formed, which stretches from southern Texas to Washington, D.C.

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Since the introduction of hominy to colonists from the Native Americans, grits have evolved, and they are now made with ground-up corn.

Additionally, countless states including South Carolina and Georgia have declared grits as their state food, stating that "a man full of grits is a man of peace".

Apple Pie

"As American as apple pie" is one of the most famous sayings to date, and Amelia Simmons published the first American apple pie recipe in 1796 in one of America's first cookbooks,

American Cookery

. After Amelia published her recipe, apple pie became an American staple due to its deliciousness and affordability.

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Apple pie stems back thousands of years ago and is influenced by countries such as France and the Netherlands, and this dessert is the perfect representation of America as a melting pot.

In terms of apple pie becoming a national symbol, this did not occur until after the first two world wars when nationalism peaked.