What we consume is heavily steeped in our culture and tied to our identity. This is the case with American foods too. For some time now, Africans have come to identify themselves with specific meals that are linked to Uncle Sam. But what constitutes an American dish or cuisine? Is it the fast foods from the restaurant or the processed take-out? Here are some of the widely-known American foods
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Although food trends have changed in the past decades, some delicious dishes are still popular on the menu. A large number of these cuisines are classical specialties that cannot be overlooked as being unique to the American people and their definition of what fits in their various course meals.
Popular American breakfast foods
Here are the common dishes consumed by Americans as breakfast meals:
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Here is what you are most likely going to find on an American's breakfast plate:
1. Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich
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This famed breakfast meal consists of bacon, cheese, and eggs served with buttered or toasted bread. Many joints mostly brand and market it with an acronym-BE&C.
2. Breakfast burrito
Also referred to as breakfast wrap, this breakfast delicacy is composed of several ingredients that may include potatoes, scrambled eggs, onions and bacon wrapped in a flour tortilla burrito.
3. Buttermilk pancakes
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Americans added flavour to pancakes by adding buttermilk as one of the ingredients. This makes the pancakes thick and fluffy.
4. Grits
Grits are considered as cereals on the American food pyramid. Most people consume grits with shrimp. This is an ideal breakfast meal to get you started for the long day ahead.
5. Chicken and waffles
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This is one of the notable American staple foods that consists of fried chicken, crisps, waffles, and occasionally a topping of maple syrup.
6. Key lime pie
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This pie is Florida’s official state pie. The initial use of sweetened condensed milk gives the dessert a creamy texture. The pie is made of lime juice, sweetened condensed, milk and egg yolks in a pie crust.
7. Sourdough bread
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The miners or ‘sourdough,’ as they were called, never lacked to carry this bread during the gold rush era. In 1849, Boudin Bakery started baking the bread and since then, the loaf has become popular on the American breakfast table.
8. S'mores
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This is one of the easy breakfast desserts to prepare it as it only demands roasted marshmallow, sweet crackers, and chocolate rolled up in between pieces of graham crackers.
9. Twinkies
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This American snack cake was initially made of banana cream filling. Twinkies, 'yellow cake', is served with cream that provides lots of calories when consumed. The loaf is marketed today as a 'golden sponge cake with creamy filling.’
Typical American lunch meals
What do Americans consume for lunch? Here is the list.
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Take a look at these amazing American lunch delicacies:
1. Burger
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If you are asking, "Where can I get American foods near me?", burgers are your answer. Burgers are available in nearly every local fast food outlet. Common burger concepts consist of ground meat, tomato, gooey cheese, lettuce, and sauce sandwiched between sliced bread buns. When taking it, you can add a topping like mayonnaise, onions, mustard, and relish.
2. The classic hot dog
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The hot dog is a popular street food in the US that rocks a sausage sandwiched between sliced buns with ketchup or mustard toppings. Any type of meat can be used to make the sausage. The hot dog can be either grilled, microwaved, boiled or even baked.
3. The cheeseburger
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Burgers, no doubt, fall among popular staples common with food chains like McDonald’s. A Cheeseburger is simply a burger topped with cheese with a variant of toppings that may include lettuce, bacon, onion, tomato, pickles, mayonnaise, ketchup, spinach or olives.
4. Reuben sandwich
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This is one of the popular classic sandwiches that ranks top on the American food recipes. A Reuben sandwich is made up of grilled corned beef matched with sauerkraut with a topped Swiss cheese all dressed between two rye bread.
5. Barbecue ribs
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Who does not love ribs? Fact is, you cannot fail to spot some people indulging in barbecue ribs in several recreational or restaurant joints. A classic rib can be of beef or pork. The grilled ribs can be taken with vinegar or tomato-based sauce depending on the preference.
6. The BLT
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The sandwich earns its name from the mix of bacon, lettuce, and tomatoes.
7. Apple pie
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If the infamous cliché, ‘As American as apple pie’ is something to go by, this symbolic pie is one of the most popular desserts in America. Apple pie will have vanilla ice cream, cheddar cheese or whipped cream on top.
8. Philly Cheesesteak
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This hot dog steak is one of the regional foods to have originated in South Philadelphia. Philly Cheesesteak is a mix of sliced beef, chip steak, cheese, and onions inside a hoagie roll.
9. California roll
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California roll is a typical American dinner menu meal prepared with sticky white rice that is served with crab meat, avocado, dried seaweed or cucumber.
10. Beef jerky
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One of the native food snacks in America. The old practice of drying meat still lives on to date. Jerky can be from any lean meat including beef, pork, or turkey.
11. Buffalo chicken wings
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The cuisine is popular in grill joints and bars in the United States. The food is precisely spicy deep-fried chicken wings coated with cayenne pepper, hot sauce, and butter. The name ‘Buffalo’ stuck after a family-owned bar in Buffalo introduced the dish on its menu in 1964.
12. Baked Alaska
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A creation of Delmonico's restaurant, the dessert is ideally slices of sponge cake topped with layers of ice cream and then coated in a toasted meringue.
Common American dinner foods
Curious to know what consists a typical American dinner? Read on to find out.
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Here is a list of the most common American dinner delicacies:
1. Meatloaf
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Although the dish has its roots in Europe, it has gained a reputation since the industrial revolution thanks to the meat grinder that made an appearance at the same time. A meatloaf dish is a baked loaf stashed with ground meat, diced onion, sauce, and spices.
2. Macaroni and cheese
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Simply called Mac & Cheese, this is one of the common American foods that has defied the test of time. This meal consists of cooked macaroni flavoured with cheese sauce like cheddar. American food restaurants are famed to prepare the mouthwatering treat of these noodles with creamy cheese.
3. Fajitas
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Today, you are bound to find fajitas as grilled meat on a tortilla, and sometimes served with an array of condiments that includes green pepper, grilled onions, shredded cheese or sour cream.
4. Chicago's deep dish pizza
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Making headway since the Second World War, the pizza has become one of the popular foods in America. The delicacy is made up of pizza baked in a pan layered with cheese, meat fillings, vegetables, and sauce.
5. Thanksgiving turkey dinner
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An iconic staple food that dates back to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. The yummy turkey can be grilled or deep-fried and dressed in cornbread, onion, celery, fruits, chestnuts or oysters.
6. Tater Tots
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As far as some food critics will point to how Tots are not healthy, no one is putting the meal off the shelf. Tater Tots consists of crunchy fried potatoes served as a side dish. It's a typical American version of French fries.
7. Baked beans
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Baked beans are among traditional American dishes popular among the Native Americans. The protein-rich starch meal consists of beans that are baked but in most cases, stewed in a sauce.
8. Wild Alaskan salmon
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No doubt, US is home to the best salmon fish. Like all fish, this classical fish delicacy is a rich source of protein and omega-3 fatty acids.
9. Grilled cheese sandwich
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The advent of the sliced bread in 1928 paved the way for the invention of grilled cheese. Later, a brilliant American soon discovered a brilliant milk by-product-cheese. Within no time, the duo became enjoined in a recipe.
10. Cornbread
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Originally a main dish of the indigenous Americans, cornbread heavily engrained in American food culture. The major ingredient of this bread is leaven and ground cornmeal mixed with baking powder. Cornbread can be taken with meat, stew or salad.
11. Cheesecake
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This sweet dessert is prepared with cookies or sponge cake base with cream cheese, eggs, sugar, nuts, and other condiments toppings.
Other American foods
The list is not exhaustive; we have other types of American cuisines and delicacies that are popular all over the world. We cannot wrap up the post without the mention of these additional foods:
- The lobster roll
- Cobb salad
- Jambalaya
- Rattlesnake stew
- Biscuits 'n gravy
- Onion rings
- Frybread tacos
- Banana split
- Maryland crab cakes
- The po-boy
- Muffuletta
- Fried alligator
- Cheese Curds
We know you cannot wait to grab some hot dogs or cheeseburgers after reading this. Hunger pangs have started kicking in, right? I bet you have not tried all the listed foods. Go ahead and order one of these American foods at your local joint. No doubt, America has a lot to offer to our dinner tables. It will not hurt to learn how to prepare any of the listed dishes. So, let’s dig in!
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