The United States is a rich blend of people, religions, and cultures. This diversity is reflected in its cuisine as well. Different cultures have brought their own food traditions and adapted them to the American ingredients, kitchens, and customs. Food specialties from Italy, China, Vietnam, Thailand and Mexico have become popular in America - continuing to expand what is called "American food." Some of the more traditional American foods are hamburgers, cheeseburgers, fries, apple pie, hotdogs, fried chicken, and ice cream sundaes.

The Chocolate Chip

Like many great discoveries...and this is one of the greatest, the Chocolate Chip was a mistake. Ruth Wakefield invented chocolate chip cookies in 1930 at the Toll House Inn she and her husband operated near Whitman, Massachusetts. One evening in 1937 Mrs. Wakefield decided that she wanted to make a chocolate butter cookie. She broke up one of the bars of semi-sweet chocolate that Andrew Nestle had given to her and thought that the pieces of chocolate would mix together with the dough and to create chocolate cookies. Her plan didn't quite work out but she served them anyway. They were so good that she made them again and again. She published the recipes in several newspapers and the recipe became very popular.

Ruth called her amazing cookie the Chocolate Crunch Cookie. She made a deal with Nestle that they could put the recipe on their chocolate bar if they supplied her with free chocolate for her cookies at the Inn. Nestle tried to make it easy for people to make these cookies by making a small chopper in the package. Finally, in 1939, the Chocolate Morsels that we know today were introduced.

The chocolate chip cookie is the most popular kind of cookie in America. Seven billion chocolate chip cookies are eaten annually. The Toll House produces thirty-three thousand cookies each day.

Mrs. Wakefield's Original Toll House Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 2/3 cups (11-oz. pkg.)
  • 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 375° F.

COMBINE flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto un-greased baking sheets.

BAKE for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

PAN COOKIE VARIATION:
GREASE 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan. Prepare dough as above. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 4 dozen bars.

Pemmican

Pemmican is a concentrated high protein food consisting of dried pulverized meat, dried berries, and rendered fat. (This version leaves out the meat and fat but you can add it if you want to.)

It was invented by the native peoples of North America, and widely used during the fur trade and later by Arctic and Antarctic explorers such as Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen as a high-calorie food.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/2 cup dates
  • 1/2 cup cranberries
  • 1 cup peanuts
  • 1 jar of honey

Directions

Finely chop all of the ingredients except for honey

Add honey a small amount at a time until the mixture is moist enough to hold a shape.

Pour into a pan or mold into bars on wax paper and refrigerate prior to eating this nutritious, high energy snack.

Cranberry Fritters (A Native American Recipe)

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup fresh cranberries
  • 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of milk
  • 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
  • Oil (for deep frying)
  • Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions

Wash cranberries and dry on paper towels.

Sift dry ingredients together and mix in milk gradually to form a stiff dough.

With well-floured hands, pinch off 1 teaspoon of dough and make an indentation.

Sprinkle a little brown sugar in the indentation and place a cranberry in the center.

Roll dough around the berry. Balls should be about the size of a large marble.

Heat oil in a deep, heavy kettle until the temperature reaches 375 degrees F.

Drop fritter balls into the hot fat and fry, turning, until they are deep golden brown on all sides.

Drain on paper towels. If desired, shake confectioner's sugar over the fritters just before serving. SERVE HOT.

Makes 3 dozen.

Cities in the United States come in all sizes and personalities. Each has its own habits and traditions. Charleston, South Carolina is very different from Cheyenne, Wyoming. But they are both very American.

The Constitution is the set of ideas and laws that gave birth to the United States of America. It was written in 1787 and it very much guides our nation today. Many other nations have used the American Constitution as an instruction book for their own govenments.

scroll up more scroll down