What have you learned so far about some of America's iconic (?) foods? Be sure to demonstrate that you've read the material from this week. Next, choose one food that remains a mystery to you and do some research on it (e.g. Velveeta cheese). Tell us a bit about the history of your food mystery.
due in class 2/1/12
The most interesting food we read about recently to me was spam. Because it has somewhat played a role in my life even though I have never eaten it. I have spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s house over my life and my grandpa eats it all the time. I have always thought it looked and smelled nasty and really had never heard of anyone else eating it. So I thought it was funny in the reading that people who life near the company that produces spam ask if people really eat it. I am not at all adventurous when it comes to food and grandma constantly complaining about the smell and how bad it has to taste when grandpa eats it plays a role too, but I would never see myself eating it and this article continues to drive that home. The spam reading is unlike the marshmallow reading because I have a lot of experience eating marshmallows.
ReplyDeleteThe reading about the gigantic sandwich was also interesting because I have thought the same thing when I have eaten big sandwiches. It was interesting to read of someone else going through the dilemma of having to swallow their manly pride and cut up a sandwich that they can’t fit in their mouth. I normally have this issue with large burritos, sometimes because I put them together myself and don’t wrap them well, but sometimes because I can’t fit them in their mouth. It’s hard to think of any food eating technique less manly than cutting up food that isn’t made to be cut up.
The food that is a mystery to me is the McRib. When the McRib is out at McDonalds I hear so many people talk about how much they like it, but to me it looks horrible and fake. I like ribs, but in real ribs the bone shape is because there is a bone there, but there is obviously no bones in a McDonalds sandwich.
I found that the patties ingredients are Pork, water, salt, dextrose, preservatives (BHA, propyl gallate, citric acid) which makes me feel good for trusting my eyes and not the opinion of others.
I got to say that no matter what food that Americans love, they always love it in bulk and will defend it entirely.
ReplyDeleteI have never personally had a “fluffernutter” before (although I have heard of them). The fact that people were in such a fit because Barrios wanted to ban them from schools was ridiculous. It shows just how much people are willing to defend what they have known and loved since they were a kid. Considering that Barrios had to back down and had to practically put out an apology was a bit ridiculous to me. It is a peanut butter and fluff sandwich for Pete’s sake!
One thing that is clearly obvious is that Americans like their food in bulk. Even in the one reading, the man could not even finish his lunch. It looked like something that he could eat but when it came down to it, there was just too much and he could not continue consuming it. This also somewhat ties in with what we watched this week with Supersize Me. Although Spurlock was addressing fast food and that people consume a lot of that; they also eat in overabundance. No matter what area of the country people live in, bigger portions are becoming even more popular which of course lends a helping hand to the obesity problem.
There is one food that has always been a mystery to me (even as an American classic) and that is the hotdog. Obviously the term “Frankfurter” comes from Frankfurt, Germany where pork sausages were served on a bun. The term “dog” to refer to a sausage is believed to come from the idea that they used dog meat for sausage in 1884. Common ingredients for hotdogs are meat trimmings and fat, flavorings (such as salt, garlic and paprika), and preservatives. Natural casing hotdogs (which usually are not sold in the US) have “skins” that hold the meat together that come from skin intestines.
It was interesting to read the articles this past week concerning what foods were considered icons in America. Obviously the hamburger is at the forefront. The fact that nobody can pinpoint where the original hamburger began makes us question its authenticity. It started as a ground beef steak called the “Hamburg” from Hamburg, Germany, changed its name change to “Salisbury Steak during WW1, evolved in to a sandwich for the factory workers of the U.S., and then became sold at white castle and its many knock offs. The hamburger has certainly gone a long way in its history. Now the hamburger definitely rules American cuisine, yet its origin is still unclear.
ReplyDeleteI never thought spam or fluff to be iconic foods. I have never eaten spam, and have only had fluff for the first time this past year. I understand why spam came in to existence (the rationing during WW2), by why it is still enjoyed is a question to me. It is a little bit of meat, and a lot of mystery. Why spam has its own museum, is sold in 99% of grocery stores, and is still eaten every day is just too much to fathom. I understand that it is cheap and easily accessible, but come on- it is meat that does not have to be cooked that comes out of a can! I never realized how big fluff is in the Northeastern part of the U.S. Having come to the point where senators are debating whether or not to limit fluff intake for kids in school proves how crazy these people are for the marshmallow spread. I also did not realize fluff has been around since 1917. The fact it could be around that long, and still only be popular in the Northeast astonishes me. After all, as Americans we have similar taste, so why does the Midwest not drool over fluff?
One food that I have always been curious about is bleu cheese. It is not blue, and it does not really taste like cheese. It is also a liquid, which further confuses me. I want to think it comes from France, but I have no idea why. I think it is because of the “bleu” spelling. How was made and why it was named bleu cheese are two questions I would love to have answered before I die.
We have been reading a lot about America's iconic foods in the past weeks. I think the most interesting, and in depth pieces that we read was about the Hamburger. While some of the other foods we read about, such as Spam, were interesting and are definitely a part of American food cultures, I think that the hamburger is by far the most popular and most important one of these foods. Although the hamburger got it's start rather late in the game of America's foods, it is still extremely prominent in the meals that we consume today. The hamburger is interesting to me because its actual origins began outside of the US, contrary to popular belief. And also because it gained popularity in the US but is now an international hit as well. Another thing that I found to interesting about the Hamburger piece is how the hamburger gained popularity in parallel to a number of other classic american foods, like coca cola and french fries during and after the war.
ReplyDeleteOne food history that I think I would like to learn more about is microwavable foods. Not only the TV dinner but also the process of adapting other foods to be able to be prepared in the microwave. The Microwave has always been good for reheating last nights dinner, but when did we get Kraft mac and cheese noodles that could cook in the microwave in only 4 minutes. And when did we invent the special types of plastic bags that allows us to cook our food in the bag we purchased it in. Also, are there any harmful effects on our food simply because it was cooked in a microwave?
The first microwaves date back to 1934 and have been a hugh part of the cooking scene since then. Entire companies and websites now dedicate themselves purely to things that can be made in the microwave. Although one must be careful to ensure that whatever they microwave is in a microwave safe bowl, I couldn't find any definite answers about the health effects on food from microwaves.
I now see that the famous hamburger is much more than an outlet for fast food chains. When you think of hamburger one may think of your typical Wendy’s experience, a menu item that hasn’t been further looked into. Though, the hamburger can be anything you want it to be. The hamburger is a versatile food, saying that you can include some grilled onions and sautéed mushrooms to enhance this hunk of beef. Concluding that the hamburger could be overlooked by the majority. As if it’s just something you throw on the grill for dinner or pick up at McDonalds when you’re running behind schedule. No, it’s not there just for convenience, see it as a blank slate (that being the meat patty itself and decorate it with various vegetables and cheeses that could bring your satisfaction from a burger onto a whole new level. The same goes for a sandwich, the forefather of the hamburger.
ReplyDeleteMy food history debate is over the stuffed green pepper, which I find to be an American-borne food. With that presumption being correct, it’s also a favored dish in countries such as India and Mexico. Though the consistency of the dish varies from place to place. I’ve always known in America that ground beef is the main component of the stuffed pepper, but eggplant and cabbage can be the pivotal ingredient. It seems that the pepper itself is just a template for this dish, and that depending on the country’s recipe, it can be practically stuffed with anything. So a stuffed green pepper is open for interpretation.
The biggest thing I learned about America's iconic foods this week was this: people actually eat Spam. To be perfectly honest, I've heard it used as the butt of every culinary joke, seen it incorporated into recipes in a novelty fashion, and I know my dad's family used to use it in their cooking, but I never really thought people ate Spam. I know it's still sold and clearly the company is making a profit or at least breaking even, but the idea of someone actually choosing to eat pasty pinkish canned globs of meat was ludicrous for me, in the comfort of my midwestern middle class home, to even consider. I also was surprised to learn that Spam is not, as the reading put it, the "mystery meat" most of America thinks it is. I had always assumed that Spam was just a step below Taco Bell's beef, the disgustingly processed, pre-all white meat Chicken McNugget equivalent of the pork world.
ReplyDeleteI was also surprised to see marshmallow fluff presented as a common childhood food, considering I had never even seen the stuff until my teens, when our family decided to make homemade fudge at Christmas. It wasn't until I was about to graduate high school that I realized fluff could stand outside of a dessert, when the girls I babysat for ate peanut butter fluff sandwiches just about every day. I guess the benefit is that it gets children to eat, and also convinces them to eat peanut butter and bread, but I never really understood the nutritional value to fluff-for-lunch meals.
The iconic American food that is still a mystery to me is spray cheese. I've never understood what it's made of, how anyone can possibly consider it to be a food, and why anyone would choose to buy it, with the exceptions of budget and threat of torture. So what have I learned about spray cheese in my extensive 10-minute research? Well for one, it's not called spray cheese. Kraft has the product trademarked (although there are of course knock-offs) and it's called Easy Cheese. Somehow that sounds more appetizing, but at the end of the day, it's just not. It's a "semi-solid cheesefood" from the 1970s, and it contains 15 ingredients, very few of which could be described as cheese.
America’s iconic food Fluff, is apparently more iconic then I realized. The goopy sugar mass has stirred more controversy then it may be worth. Obviously everyone can enjoy a delicious sugar binge now and then, but a political movement to limit or ban the product is just silly. Fluff has definitely been apart of most children in America, and for the most part we all apply a little bit of digression. Fluff isn’t the only food served in schools; there are much healthier options as well. The mutual agreement both Fluff companies made is also astounding. In a world where every businesses is in the businesses of making money, two corporations agreeing to share a name and stay within their market is unheard of, almost admirable.
ReplyDeleteAnother food item grounded in American culture is Spam. My experience with Spam is much less then Fluff. I’ve only tasted it once, and I have almost no recollection of the flavor. The fact that the meat remains in a catatonic, ready to eat state, within the can is a little disturbing.
I actually have had marshmallow fluff before and it is good in a very small portion. Putting it on sandwichs and adding it into bigger endeavors would have to be a little too much for me though. Well on second thought...maybe marshmallow fluff and peanut butter would be good...maybe.
ReplyDeleteOne food that I have always wondered about is the eggs at McDonalds. I worked at McD's for 2 years when I was in high school, but for some reason only 1 time near the end of my run at the restaurant did I work a morning shift. On this shift I worked the second window at the drive thru handing people their food and drinks. There was something that day I only briefly saw that I am still curious about- the way they make eggs. Through a narrow slit in all of the food-making machinery I saw a cook pouring something out of a carton onto the grill. What is that I wondered and eventually asked a co-worker. "That's eggs, pretty tasty looking huh!" No not at all, but I do wonder what exactly this is all made of.
Turns out this is what is called liquid eggs made from a company called Lucerne. All of this information is available on McDonalds official website. It still looks really gross and it turns out that McDonalds eggs suppliers have recently been dropped due to animal abuse...I knew there was something fishy about those eggs.
James Roller
ReplyDeleteOne thing that shocked me was that White Castle was once considered the high-end version of the hamburger. These days White Castle is considered a joke. Also the way in which the hamburger was invented surprised me. When we think of a classic hamburger today. We think of a quarter pound full meal type of dish. The small thin patty burgers are considered mini burgers. The thick patty hamburger dressed with lettuce bacon and cheese is a very new development.
Something I would love to know the history is Olive Loaf. Jerry Seinfeld once said, “I have never seen an olive loaf animal. I have never seen a pig with little pimentos in the side of it.” Olive loaf to me is the as far as we can go when it comes to processed meat. Somebody must have just standing above the vat of boiling hoof and snout, and just dropped a load of olives in by mistake.
Oscar Mayer’s concoctions amaze me though. I just wonder how he sold this in the first place. The first time somebody came up to him and asked what a hot dog was made of; he had to have lied. Even today when someone tells us what is in a hot dog many of us cringe. In society, which at the time was much more focused on home cooking. And often raised the animals they were going to eat. How did he get away with this.
I have learned that Americans take pride in their iconic food. No matter how unusual, or fatty it is, we will stand up for it. A perfect example of this is the Article by Rachel Hutton. Spam is just this slop of meat manufactured in a can, yet the people who eat it, or work around it cannot get enough. She stated that at the factory, the tour guides had spam belt buckles. I feel like this is relatable to the people who wear around a Big Mac t-shirt or are Wendy for Halloween. As Americans, we love to embrace everything that is around us, and take pride in what we have.
ReplyDeleteAn All-American food to me would have to be the hot dog. After all, they are a favorite ballpark food that we love to eat while watching America’s favorite pastime, baseball. We can eat them with anything and put anything on them, but no one ever really has any idea what is inside them. After doing some research, there really isn’t anything that we would not eat in a hot dog. According to digitaljournal.com, they include mainly beef, pork, turkey, and chicken. The cut of the meat though is from the muscle of the animal. This to me basically says that I am not ever going to see white meat from a chicken breast in my hot dog. These are considered kosher hot dogs.
Regardless of any hot dog myths you believe, you need to read the label. If the label says “variety meats” or “mechanically separated meats” I suggest you stay away. All you are eating is a paste like substance that possibly has bones, kidneys, liver and meat inside of it that is cooked to perfection. Apparently all of this is FDA approved, but then again, we are America, and we support any American food.
I have learned that some of America’s iconic foods, such as the hamburger, were not even fully invented in our country, yet, were result of a combination of ideas and events throughout different places in history. For example, in Hamburger: A Global History, Andrew F. Smith touches on the fact that the name “hamburger” comes from the dish “hamburg steak,” which was featured on the menu of Phillip J. Lauby’s German restaurant at the Philadelphia’s Centennial Exposition in 1876. Furthermore, sometime between 1880 and 1890, the hamburger became an American favorite, as sometime (it is still unknown as to who) decided to put the patty in between two pieces of bread.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to the hamburger, I feel that Jell-o is another iconic American food item. After some careful research, I learned that Jell-o, which is actually a brand name of gelatin desserts, but has pretty much taken over the market for this particular product and their brand name is the only name really associated with this strange and fun dessert. Odd and gross enough, the key ingredient in Jell-o, gelatin, is produced when collagen is extracted from animal parts such as bones, connective tissues, and intestines. However, like most iconic American foods, what we know as Jell-o was first popularized during the Victorian era, in a much more extravagant and decorative manner. “Jell-o” was introduced in America around the turn of the 20th century, after a man named Peter Cooper sold his 1845 patent for powdered gelatin to a LeRoy, New York couple, who made the dessert out of their house before selling their business to a neighbor. The man who bought the business and patent rights, Francis Woodward, struggled with the product at first, but would eventually popularize the tasty treat.
Personally, I have been subjected to Jell-o from a very early age. Growing up, and still to this day, I have never been a fan of cakes and cookies. It is a bit odd, however, I am more drawn to the taste of salty foods, as opposed to sweet ones. So, on my birthday’s, when I was growing up, my mom would always put together a tray with cups of “birthday jell-o,” candles and all. Some of my friends would look at me strange, but they would enjoy their jell-o. To this day, it is one of my fondest childhood memories.
I have learnt a lot from this week and more about American food, I got a lot out of the movie that we watched in class on Monday on supersize me. It does give you a lot to think about when it comes down to food, and what we consumer and how food is effecting our bodies; you don’t think about it at the time apart from knowing that it is bad food, you don’t stop and think how it is effecting your body though. I liked the listening part that we had in class today on Paula dean son however it was slightly boring in places, he is basically living off of what his mother has already done and he is just adding on and making her recipes healthier; however it has been said that these meals do not seem very appetising.
ReplyDeleteThen out of the reading that we had for today I really enjoyed the one on Marshmallow fluff, I just liked all the description that was in this articles, “the fluff feud was alternately a kerfuffle a sticky situation a food fight and a tempest in a baggie”. This is something that I would be so interested in making, I don’t understand how this is really made. Some of the simplest of things to me seem like they are also the hardest.
I am not too sure on the food that I think I would want to do more research on. there are so many foods that I want to try and have yet to do so also there are a lot of foods that I am scared to try just because of their names.
I think I would want to know more about cooking shrimp, the fresh shrimp, I never know how to eat that either I think it is so difficult and think it needs to come with instructions. This is the food that I would want to know about.
So far in this course I have gained the knowledge of American foods and dishes that I often overlook in y day to day life. Although I frequently eat foods like hamburgers and fast food items, I have never delved into the aspect of actually making these foods or thinking about how they came about in America.
ReplyDeleteIn the reading about the hamburger I got a new perspective about where the first hamburger came from, how the idea for a hamburger came about and how the hamburger has changed over the years. Eating hamburgers all my life I have never really gave the idea of how the hamburger came about, but was interested and excited about reading about it when we got assigned the piece.
A type of food that remains a mystery to me would be meatloaf. Who decided that mixing a bunch of left over meat together with a few random ingredients found in the ordinary persons pantry would be a good idea? The thought to this day does not sound appetizing, even though I have eating a fair amount of meatloaf in my life.
After doing some research on meatloaf I discovered that it generally consists of any and every kind of meat (from ground beef to venison) and originated from the meatball. Similar in ingredients, I’m assuming no one could get enough meatballs so decided to turn it into a meal.
Although I have gotten a feel for the history of meatloaf through this little research I hope to delve into this mystery more in the future.