A comprehensive analysis: American food culture

As we all know, American-style food is not exquisite, and many of us are more quick and convenient, less luxurious and more popular. Three meals a day are also relatively casual, and many people will devote more time to their work. So, do you know what American food culture is?

Next, let's find the answer together!

the influence of American special cultural background on cooking dishes

To understand American food culture, we must first talk about some American history, geography and customs.

Two major factors

There are two major factors in the formation and development of a national diet culture, one is the local geographical factor, and the other is the diversified human factor. For the United States, the pluralistic man-made factors are more critical than the local geographical factors. In Europe and Italy, due to topography, soil, climate and other reasons, there are differences between southern cuisine and northern cuisine, but there is little difference between them, mainly because the people in this country are all of the same language and species, and there is little difference in human factors. There are some different regional dishes in France, Spain, Britain and Germany, but there are not many differences between them. But the situation in Switzerland alone is different. The northern part of Switzerland is German, the southern part is Italian and the western part is French, each of which has its own unique cooking dishes, so it is more difficult to define what real Swiss food is. In China, Asia, there are Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine, Ji cuisine and Liao cuisine, Beijing cuisine and Shandong cuisine, Suzhou cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine, Hangzhou cuisine and Shanghai cuisine, etc. Although their styles and tastes are different, there is little difference, because geographical factors and human factors are similar. However, Guangdong Cantonese cuisine, Sichuan cuisine, Shandong cuisine and Huaiyang cuisine are quite different from each other. Han, Manchu, Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan and Miao ethnic groups have different cuisines because of their different nationalities and different living areas, which is due to the dual influence of human factors and geographical factors. But China people are all descendants of the Chinese people, belonging to the same clan. The situation in the United States is rather special, with a vast land and a short history. People from more than 1 countries and different races immigrated to the United States, with a total population of more than 3 million. Among them, there are about 43 million Spanish-speaking residents, about 36 million blacks, and more than 1 million immigrants from Asia. Such a huge number of foreign immigrants have settled down in the United States, making the United States a melting pot of the world's races. Therefore, the formation of American food dishes also comes from this "melting pot".

The foods that Americans come into contact with the most in daily life, such as hamburgers, fried chicken, pizza, noodles with sauce, tacos, sandwiches, hot dogs and French fries, are all imported from western European countries in the early days, and steak, lamb chops, pork chops and fish chops are not the earliest foods invented in the United States. Therefore, many people think that these are not American foods by strict eyes and strict standards. So what is the real American food?

This confusion was not realized until I traveled to Shenzhen in the autumn of 23. After I arrived in Shenzhen from Guangzhou, Shunde and Zhongshan, I asked the hotel attendants and friends who came to receive me questions and wanted to eat delicious Shenzhen food, but they looked at me in surprise and said, "What Shenzhen food is there? I have never heard of it." Later, I learned that Shenzhen is the most populous city in China, and most people living in Shenzhen, including taxi drivers, come from all over China. It is said that there are people from 56 ethnic groups and 32 provinces and cities in China. I didn't ask if this statement was exaggerated, but during our stay in Shenzhen, we did eat very satisfactory fast food and pastry snacks, very cheap Guangdong tea and seafood, very authentic northeast stews and dumplings, and very spicy and authentic Sichuan cuisine and Hunan cuisine, which made me, a Jilin native born in Chongqing and living in San Francisco, feel full of food, full of addiction, not only refreshed, but also the taste buds in my tongue seemed to be flexible, and my belly seemed to be more elastic, not only I was extremely tired after eating all day. I went back to the hotel and lay in bed at night. I saw and heard "Hong Kong-style Cantonese cuisine, Hong Kong-style Sichuan cuisine, Shanghai-style Sichuan cuisine, Shanghai-style Shanghai cuisine, new Beijing flavor, and mysterious cuisine ..." on TV, but I never saw or heard the advertisement of "authentic Shenzhen cuisine", which deeply felt and inspired me. In terms of eating, Shenzhen is very similar to the epitome of the United States, but I live in Shenzhen. Dishes from all over China will not change much subjectively and objectively when they come to Shenzhen, but it is different in the United States. The people living in the United States are not of the same language and species, and the flavor dishes spread to the United States from all over the world have changed over time.

Reasons for Early Backwardness

There are three reasons for the underdevelopment of American cooking industry and the backward cooking level. First, the length and depth of history and culture are not enough. It has only been 23 years since the United States became an independent country in 1776, and it has only been 5 or 6 years since it gradually developed into a rich and powerful country after the victory of World War II. The primitive Indians in the United States are desperately looking for food to live on, hoping to make themselves and their families live. It is impossible for them to create any delicious food, let alone create a unified national dish. Second, the founding spirit and national bias of the United States are conservative and simple. In the early 17th century, the Puritans in England crossed the Atlantic to the United States with the spirit of adventure, struggle and hardship for religious freedom and preaching Christianity. These pious Puritans attach importance to spiritual life rather than material life, attach importance to religious etiquette, and advocate a hard-working and simple lifestyle. These people are the ancestors of the United States, and their descendants living in the United States have also inherited the fine traditions and cultivated a simple, polite and well-behaved moral code. Their mainstream values of frugality, no waste, no vanity and seeking truth from facts restrict and hinder the progress and development of food. Third, the United States does not have the promotion and encouragement of the royal family. China, France, Italy, Spain and even Persia, India and Thailand once had royal aristocrats who attached great importance to food. Think about it, if a country's respect, emperor and king like to eat, it will definitely promote the innovation of cooking dishes. Whether it is the capital, the court or the palaces around the country, chefs all over the country will rack their brains to surpass them in order to seek the favor of the emperor and ministers, which will inevitably form the driving force of by going up one flight of stairs's food culture and cooking skills. Unfortunately, the United States seems to have only heard of a lecherous president, but not a delicious president, so it has not formed a set of gourmet recipes that can cover the whole country. (This is only my personal opinion)

Formation and characteristics

Due to the influence of early immigrants (British Puritans and American pioneers), traditional American food is just like traditional Yankee, which is characterized by "rough and crazy", eating fresh raw materials, not relying on additives and seasonings, keeping the original flavor of the food, and the cooking process is not sloppy, whether it is roasting, frying or frying. The main structure of American food is the 1234 system, which is like a triangle. The most important one is beef, the second is chicken and fish, the third is pig, sheep and shrimp, and the fourth is bread, potatoes, corn and vegetables.

At the end of the 2th century, with the development of American civilization and economy, coupled with the development of information and transportation, Americans' demand for food has gradually increased. Especially since 1965, the United States has relaxed its immigration policy, and people from all levels and industries have poured in in in large numbers from all over the world. These huge new immigrants have had a huge impact on American social and cultural structure. The cooking style and characteristics of dishes brought by new immigrants are like a single spark, which makes rich and diversified foods appear on the tables of American families and restaurants.

There is no doubt that Americans all admit that European cuisine is the ancestor of American cuisine. American cuisine takes European cuisine as its "root", and then through its own cultivation and germination, it grows branches and leaves, gradually flourishes, establishes its own main body, and even spreads to all parts of the world. The western United States is rich in Pacific seafood and all kinds of seafood, the freshest and most varied vegetables and fruits in the United States, famous California cuisine and fusion cuisine with Asian cuisine characteristics. Texas cuisine with Mexican characteristics in the south, Louisiana cuisine with French, Spanish and African characteristics, Florida cuisine with tropical islands of Cuba and Brazil, Chicago cuisine and Pennsylvania cuisine with German, Dutch and Nordic characteristics in the central and western regions, New England cuisine and new york cuisine with British, French and Irish characteristics in the east, and Hawaiian cuisine with eastern islands of Oceania, Philippines, Portugal and Japan ... In short, you are welcome to come to the United States to taste it in person.