When you think of American cuisine, you most likely picture hot dogs with a squiggle of mustard, cheeseburgers filled with pickles, and maybe even milkshakes topped with bright red cherries. You probably don’t think of German chocolate cake or English muffins—for obvious reasons.
The origins of dishes from around the world prove to be some of the most confusing pieces of history out there. From misleadingly named foods to heavily adapted dishes, we’re exploring the depths of American cuisine and the backstories behind them.
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English muffins
English muffins at a bakery (Photo: Unsplash)
Despite its geographically misleading name, English muffins may have actually been created in New York City. These foundations of breakfast sandwiches are said to have been invented in 1874 by British baker Samuel Bath Thomas. He would later go on to trademark the name ‘English muffins’ despite residing in New York City. Muffins, however, already existed across the pond.
Men in Victorian England would sell these baked goods in baskets, inspiring the very popular ‘Muffin Man’ rhyme. It is now thought that the British meaning of the word ‘muffin’ referred to bread-based foods instead of the English muffins we’re familiar with.
German chocolate cake
German chocolate cake topped with pecans (Photo: Instagram / @bakingamoment)
A food with a name as confusing as English muffins, German chocolate cake was not invented in Germany. The layered chocolate treat was once called German’s chocolate cake, referring to English-American chocolate maker Samuel German who pioneered the recipe for dark baking chocolate.
This baking chocolate hit American shelves in 1853 while the original recipe for German’s chocolate cake was developed over a century later in 1957. As the popularity of the bake grew, its name was changed to German chocolate cake which led everyone to consider this a German-made dessert.
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Fortune cookies
A tray of fortune cookies (Photo: Unsplash)
Most of us who grew up with unrestricted access to authentic Asian fare know that fortune cookies aren’t traditional counterparts to meals. If you’re more accustomed to Westernised Chinese cuisine, you may consider these message-filled wafers an integral part of dining at an Asian restaurant. While concrete origins have not been pinpointed, fortune cookies were most likely created by Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century. Similar cookies were served in 19th-century Kyoto, complete with fortunes and flavoured with sesame or miso instead of vanilla.
The vanilla version of the dessert is thought to have been introduced to the United States by Makoto Hagiwara of San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden in the early 1900s. They were widely considered Japanese-American creations until World War 2 when Chinese manufacturers took over fortune cookie production. The novelty of messages within each cookie earned this sweet its popularity, with most American Chinese restaurants still serving them today.
Spaghetti and meatballs
A portion of spaghetti and meatballs (Photo: Instagram / @rootspizza)
Spaghetti and meatballs may be a permanent fixture of every down-to-earth Italian restaurant, however, the beloved pasta dish was created in the United States. Drawing inspiration from the cuisine of southern Italy, Italian immigrants in the United States developed the version of spaghetti and meatballs the world has come to love.
Pasta dishes that feature meat can be traced back to the Middle Ages but traditionally took the form of egg-based, baked dishes. Spaghetti and meatballs doused in tomato sauce gained popularity among the Italian immigrant community in New York City, with the first recipe for this dish being published in 1888.
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Fajitas
Fajitas with beef and prawns (Photo: Unsplash)
Being a constant on the menus of most Mexican restaurants, it may come as a surprise that fajitas weren’t exactly invented in Mexico. While a version of the dish—called arrachera—can be sourced in Mexico, the most common variety of fajitas are, in fact, American. Fajitas often feature skirt steak, a cut of beef that is traditionally grilled in Latin American cuisines.
Cattle ranchers on the border of Texas and Northern Mexico would grill tougher cuts of beef over open flames, with Mexican cowboys cooking this meat with onions, peppers, and spices. The dish became a regional delicacy in Southern Texas before Otilia Garza began serving fajitas at Round-Up Restaurant in Pharr, Texas on a sizzling cast iron plate. You’ll now hear this dish sizzling at nearly every Tex-Mex and Mexican restaurant across the globe, sometimes made with other proteins like chicken, prawns, or lamb. NOW READ
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