topic: food in american culture 1-Introduction with a thesis statement2-Provide a brief history of your culture3-Explain how your chosen culture is represented in the United States4-Is your culture i

Food in American Culture

Abstract

The united states society traditionally is known as the “melting pot “due to the welcoming of people from many different countries, races, and religions, all hoping to find freedom. Immigrants that come to the united states bring with them their culture and traditions. They bring the food of their countries with them wherever they go and cooking traditional food is a way of conserving their culture when they move to new places. Food is an important part of any culture and it show the diversity and unique features of different cultural beliefs. In the United States, there are people from many different cultures. They have unique culinary cultures, which enhance to diversity. There is a connection between food and culture that can reflect its unique history, lifestyle, values, and beliefs. This paper studies the history of American food and the different cultures presented in the United States and their traditional foods.

Food in American Culture

• In American early history Native ingredients play an important part in food culture but they do not tell the entire story. Actually, various of the "new world" foods came to the USA through Europe. Today, there are a number of foods that are generally known as American, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, potato chips, macaroni and cheese, and meat loaf originated from other countries.

• Native American food culture is not just one cuisine, but numerous. Foods, obtaining methods, cooking techniques, dining traditions, and religious performances varied from tribe to tribe. In Native foods there are many selections of vegetables, nuts, mammals and fish that are original from North America, most particularly beans, corn and squash.

• In 1492 Europeans influenced the variety of food on Native American cooking, and vise versa. It changed critically according to region and tribes. This exchange was called the Columbus exchange that it was the introduction of the “old world” to the “new world”. these included pigs, oranges, apples, cattle, grapes, onions, olives, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, watermelon, peas, etc.

CULTURAL CONTEXT

There are styles of cooking and types of foods that are specific to a region. Southern-style cooking is often called "American comfort food" and includes dishes such as fried chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas and corn bread. Tex-Mex, popular in Texas and the Southwest, is a blend of Spanish and Mexican cooking styles and includes items such as chili and burritos, and relies heavily on shredded cheese and beans.

Represented in the US

Thanksgiving Day has been an annual holiday in the United States since 1863. 

Thanksgiving Day is traditionally a day for families and friends to get together for a special meal. The meal often includes a turkey, stuffing, potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, pumpkin pie, and vegetables. Thanksgiving Day is a time for many people to give thanks for what they have.

American food is a collective culture due to the varieties of different countries and different types of people blend together as one. America is often called a melting pot.

Artistic

American artists have used food to both celebrate and critique their developing society; express ideas relating to politics, race, class, gender, and commerce; and investigate American identity. Sometimes, particular aspects of cooking develop extraordinarily high levels of creative expression and can be compared to other artistic disciplines.

Values

The American food value is the diversity of foods there is due to all the immigration.

Religion

Nearly every known religion is practiced in the United States, which was founded on the basis of religious freedom.

Contributors consider food practices and beliefs among Christians, Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists, as well as members of new religious movements, Afro-Carribean religions, interfaith families, and individuals who consider food itself a religion.

Religions which require particular food rules include:

• Islam

• Hinduism

• Judaism

• Sikhism

• Buddhism (strict)

• Seventh-day Adventist Church

• Rastafari Movement.

SEX AND GENDER ROLES

• Men cook for many reasons: professionalism, social, necessity but women still in charge of majority of food preparation and cooking in the United States

• Mothers in families still pass on the culinary traditions especially to female children

• Assumption: Cooking – household task most commonly associated with women, considered to be “feminine” except for grilling

ACCULTURATION

What people eat, when, and with whom—their “foodways”—are largely determined by their cultures. As circumstances allowed, immigrant groups brought their food preferences and eating customs with them to the United States, allowing them to maintain a sense of identity and cohesion.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion after researching about this culture it helped me understand and learn more about it American food culture. I learned how food is an important part of culture. It also works as an expression of cultural identity. In the united states we experience different types of food cultures due to its melting pot. It’s amazing to be part of a country that lets Immigrants bring their food and preserve of their culture even though they are in a different place.

References

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McWilliams, M. (2003). Distant Tables: Food and the Novel in Early America. Early American

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Padoongpatt, M. (2016). Sitting at the Table: Food History as American History. Journal Of American

History, 103(3), 686-689. doi:10.1093/jahist/jaw331

Wallach, J. J. (2013). How America Eats : A Social History of U.S. Food and Culture. Lanham, Md:

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.