the United States of America

A quintessential American food, burger evolved from the German Deutsches beefsteak, according to the New York Times food critic Mimi Sheraton. Its other name (hamburger) is a result of the fact that many German immigrants originally came from the port of Hamburg. Burger... Read more

Cheeseburger is a natural evolution of the beloved hamburger, the only difference between the two being that the cheeseburger has a slice of cheese added on top of the meat patty. Although American cheese was the original choice, Swiss, Cheddar, and numerous blue cheeses were all used later to ma... Read more

Modern American barbecue stems directly from barbacoa, the tradition of smoke-cooking meat which Caribbean natives were doing long before the colonists arrived. Today, the centuries-old technique of smoking whole hogs over a pit is now common in both Virginia and North Carolina. Barbecue... Read more

A cupcake is a tiny cake that is baked in a thin paper mold or an aluminum cup. One cupcake should typically serve one person. The first mention of a cupcake can be traced back to a 1796 cookbook called American Cookery, written by Amelia Simmons. Her recipe stated that a cake is to be b... Read more

The most popular food of the Southern cuisine, fried chicken is the theme of many arguments where everyone involved seems to have a favorite, be it what their mothers used to make, a cult roadside eatery, or a bygone restaurant. However, it is universally agreed that the meat must be moist, succu... Read more

Deliciously chewy, dense and fudgy with a rich chocolate flavor, the beloved brownies are one of the most popular American desserts. Some claim that Bertha Palmer, wife of the owner of Palmer House Hotel, asked the chef to invent a new chocolate dessert to serve at the 1893 Colombian Exp... Read more

Mac and cheese—a seemingly simple combination of macaroni and melted cheese—is one of the most popular dishes in the United States. The preferred American combination consists of curved macaroni pasta and Cheddar cheese, but modern varieties include vegetables, breadcrumb toppings, or... Read more

Burrito is a dish consisting of a wheat flour tortilla that is wrapped in such a way that it is possible to fully enclose the flavorful filling on the interior. The filling consists of a combination of various ingredients such as meat, beans, rice, lettuce, guacamole, and cheese, among others. It... Read more

Usually accompanied by a glass of milk or a cup of hot tea or coffee, chocolate chip cookies are well balanced between salty and sweet in flavor, tenderly chewy in texture, and filled with small melting chocolate pyramids, bringing a generation of Americans back to their childhood. The origin sto... Read more

Although archaeologists had found some petrified remains of fried cakes with holes in the center, it is still unclear how could the early Native Americans prepare these delicious fried dough desserts that we know today as doughnuts. In the past, doughnuts were known as olykoeks (oily cak... Read more

Fajitas is a popular Tex-Mex dish made from marinated, grilled skirt steak that is served in a wheat flour tortilla. The earliest printed mention of the word fajita referring to food appeared in 1971, and ten years later it had become one of the most popular dishes of Tex-Mex cuisine. The word ... Read more

Milkshakes are usually described as flavored milk and ice cream beverages, usually lavishly decorated and served cold. The first written mention, dating from 1885, was somewhat different, and the word was used to refer to a whiskey drink, similar to eggnog, which was used as a health rem... Read more

Traditional American pepperoni is a dry sausage that is smoked and air dried, although sometimes it can also be cooked. It is made from pork, beef, or a combination of both, usually 30% beef and 70% pork. The sausage is typically soft, with a slightly smoky flavor and a bright red color ... Read more

Tabasco is a hot sauce that is, at its basic, made from tabasco peppers, salt, and vinegar. The original sauce was invented in the 1860s by Edmund McIlhenny. He acquired the seeds of Capsicum frutescens peppers from Mexico or Central America and planted them on Avery Island in Louisiana. He crush... Read more

These tiny, bean-shaped sugar candies are an indelible part of the childhood memories of millions of Americans. The chewy jelly beans have a stiff exterior shell and a gelatinous interior, and they come in numerous colors and flavors. Corn syrup, sugar, and starch are the key ingredients used in ... Read more

What once started out as chicken feed (the original name of the candy), has over the years become the quintessential American sweet treat called candy corn. Originally, the sweet confection was made with mellow ... Read more

Corn flakes are world-famous breakfast cereals made by toasting flakes of corn. They were originally created in 1894 by doctor John Harvey Kellogg, an Adventist who believed that bland-tasting food would reduce people's need to masturbate. Corn flakes are usually eaten with cold milk, sometimes s... Read more

Granola is a type of breakfast cereal or snack food that typically consists of rolled oats,... Read more

Colby is an American cheese originating from the city of Colby in Wisconsin. This semi-hard cheese is made with cow's milk and has a firm, springy, and open texture. Its flavors are mild, creamy, and sweet, so Colby is often used in hamburgers, grilled sandwiches, fajitas, or served with... Read more

Pepper Jack is an American cheese produced in Monterey, California. This popular variety of Monterey Jack cheese is flavored with jalapeño peppers for a spicy kick. It's made from cow's milk and has a natural rind that hides a creamy, smooth, and open texture. The aromas ... Read more

Colby Jack or Cojack is an American cheese originating from Wisconsin. The cheese is a combination of Colby and Monterey Jack. It has a semi-soft, smooth texture and an appealing marbled visual appearance. Its flavor ranges from mild and sweet to sharp and tangy. Colby Jack is u... Read more

Yellow mustard is a traditional type of mustard that originated at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis. The bright yellow color of this mustard is a result of the preparation process – it’s a mixture of white mustard seeds (the plant is called Sinapis alba), vinegar, and generous... Read more

Red Delicious is one of the world's most common apple varieties, dating back to 1880, when it was discovered by Jesse Hiatt in Iowa. The apples were first known as Hawkeye, then Stark Delicious, and it wasn't until the emergence of Golden Delicious that these apples wer... Read more

Golden Delicious is an apple variety that's believed to be a product of unintentional breeding between Grimes Golden and Golden Reinette. It has no connection to the Red Delicious. The original tree was discovered in West Virginia at the end of the 19th century, and it's been the officia... Read more

Bourbon is an American whiskey that is primarily made from corn mash, the minimum requirement is 51%, while other options may include rye, barley, or wheat. Although most production is located in Kentucky, bourbon can technically be made anywhere in the United States. The whiskey is almo... Read more

As the name suggests, Old-Fashioned is a very old cocktail made with bourbon or whiskey, fine sugar or a sugar cube, Angostura bitters, Maraschino cherries, orange slices, and a splash of club soda or water. The cocktail is prepared by muddling the bitters, sugar, cherries, an orange sli... Read more

Believed to have originated during the prohibition era in New York City (some say in the original Harry's New York Bar), Bloody Mary is made with a combination of vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, tabasco, celery salt, and pepper. With numerous spicy sauces used in ... Read more

Root beer is a carbonated, non-alcoholic beverage with a distinctly sweet flavor, dark color, and a thick white foam. Originally it was made with sassafras root by the indigenous peoples of America for medicinal purposes before the arrival of Europeans. European culture and culinary tech... Read more

Tequila Sunrise is a classic cocktail that evokes a summer sunrise in a glass. It is made with three basic ingredients: tequila, orange juice, and grenadine syrup. The cocktail was invented around 1930 with a base of tequila and lime juice, soda water, and crème de cassis... Read more

A classic cocktail believed to have originated in the 1970s in New York City, the fashionable Cosmopolitan (or affectionately Cosmo) consists of vodka, orange liqueur, cranberry juice, and freshly squeezed lime juice. It simultaneously gained popularity and influenced popular cu... Read more

A classic cocktail that was created in New York City in the 1940s, Moscow Mule consists of vodka, ginger beer, and lime juice. Because it contains ginger beer, Moscow Mule is a type of buck (a mixed drink with ginger beer or ale, spirit, and citrus), so it is often referred to as Vod... Read more

Screwdriver is one of the most popular highball cocktails, made with vodka and orange juice. Although the exact origin of the Screwdriver is unclear, it is believed that it had originated in the United States around the middle of the 20th century, when it was first mentioned in an issue ... Read more

Sex on the Beach is an American cocktail with many variations and two main types. In its most popular manifestation, the cocktail consists of vodka, orange juice, Passoa or peach schnapps, and cranberry juice. However, along with vodka, the other type includes Chambord, Midori melon liqu... Read more

Southern sweet tea is a classic Southern United States beverage known for its sweet and refreshing flavor. It’s made by brewing black tea, typically using tea bags like orange pekoe and sweetening it with sugar while the tea is still hot to ensure the sugar dissolves completely. Once sweete... Read more

Mai Tai is a popular rum-based cocktail originating from Oakland in 1944. Its name means good in Tahitian. In addition to rum, which can be both spiced and coconut flavored, the cocktail contains lime juice, orgeat syrup, and orange liqueur, typically curaçao, bu... Read more

Zombie is a Tiki cocktail that was invented in the late 1930s in Los Angeles by Donn Beach. The cocktail is named Zombie after the way it affects the drinkers. The drink is made with demerara rum, golden rum, dark rum, 151 proof Lemon Hart, falernum, lime juice, grenadine, Pernod, Angost... Read more