/r/iamveryculinary believe there should be no barriers around food, that no food belongs to any one country, that recipes are gatekeeping... but also that American food is superior to all others. As such, they are not amused by this YouTube Short in which an Asian woman suggests that American food boils down to burgers, ketchup, fries and self-service cola machines.
Let's see what the commenters say:
Oh boy, my favorite subject that makes me become extremely patriotic.
America has some of the most diverse food in the world, and its culinary scene is among the best if not the best in the world (in terms of things like global impact, food diversity, world-renowned dishes, Michelin stars, etc)
The American culinary scene is so vast that it varies dramatically even by region, with each region having unique styles and recipes inspired by dishes around the world. Even excluding cultural fusion foods, America still has incredible food that was entirely originated in America.
Oklahoma puts onions in their burgers and New Yorkers don't use mustard on their hotdogs.
Number one burger defender.
America simultaneously has no authentic food and no unique food.
Where's the lie?
The same people that complain that American immigrant food isn't authentic because it's not exactly what they have back in their country also say it's not American, because it's a copy of what they have back in their country.
America is a young and diverse country of immigrants with many agricultural zones, so of course what "American food" is will challenge the concepts held by anyone who's country is old, mostly one ethnic group, and mostly one agricultural zone.
"Which agricultural zone should we dine in tonight? Corn Land or Potato World?"
And then 15 separate comments that boil down to "ummm your point is invalid because of cajun food".
The YouTube comments are also pretty good:
They're unironically right, American food is basically airport food.
American food is diverse because there's a panpipe cover of "My Heart Will Go On" in the background of this video pooping on American food.
@r-slur
@Lappland
@Dramamine defend your culture and try not to mention tater tots this time x
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
I think Americans do some things pretty well. I'll try to highlight the parts I think we do best. !burgers !r-slurs
Chicken & Other Poultry
The US is second in the world in per-capita chicken consumption, and first in the world in per-capita turkey consumption. Poultry is cheaper, leaner, more environmentally friendly, and dare I say more versatile than red meat. Some poultry dishes we make well are
fried chicken
barbecued chicken
rotisserie chicken
chicken salad
spicy chicken — wet sauce (buffalo, hot honey, etc) & dry rub (Nashville, Cajuns, etc)
roast turkey
any ground turkey dish (burger, meatballs, stir fry, etc)
chicken fried steak
Grilled & Smoked Food
Not going to elaborate on this. The US & Australia are the only counties that commonly prepare dishes on an outdoor grill. No, I don't think East Asian & Indian grills are as versatile or widely used. We grill everything here - meat, seafood, vegetables, even fruits. Common grilled items would be
grilled salmon
burgers
grilled chicken breast or thigh
anything on skewers (shrimp, lamb, chicken, scallops, you name it)
steak
hot dogs & sausages
pork & beef ribs
brisket
grilled white fish
really any big meaty fish (swordfish, tuna, mahi mahi, toothfish, etc)
vegetables (zucchini, carrots, broccoli, squash, etc)
some fruits (pineapple, citrus, peaches, melons)
You get the idea
Cajun Food
Basically very rich southern food. Common items are
andouille sausage
crawfish
shrimp creole
etoufee (my personal favorite)
red beans & rice
jambalaya
gumbo
Sandwiches
This one is easy, no other country comes close
cheesesteak
chicken sandwich (fried, grilled, blackened)
hoagies/subs/heros
breakfast sandwiches (usually egg, cheese, meat on bagel, English muffin, or Kaiser)
po'boys
Ruebens
roast beef
pork tenderloin
fish, mainly salmon, tuna, breaded cod/haddock, but can also include some obscure ones like grouper, redfish, mahi, etc
Wide variety of seafood & agriculture
The US is a large & geographically diverse place. I'll try to list some unique foods, but I'll miss countless more
crab (dungeness, stone, blue, snow, king)
American lobster
key limes
pink shrimp
grouper
redfish
Alaskan salmon
Alaskan pollock
Alaskan cod
conch
Atlantic scallops
corn
pumpkins & squash
blueberries
cranberries
pawpaws
Tbh Mexico may have us beat for produce
Improved ethnic food
Face it, the US takes what other countries have and make it better. When you eat pizza, are you more likely to eat Italian style or New York style? When you eat a burrito, do you use a fork & knife or do you eat a handheld one like you'd find in Chipotle? Do you think the Dutch or the French make spicy fries, sweet potato fries, or waffle fries? If you eat Andouille, are you eating the spicy American one or the smelly French one? I'm not going to elaborate on this one, I've typed enough. The US just does it better
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
!masterchef !effortposters
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
This is Reddit mod-tier behaviour
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
!leafs this guy just personally insulted your father, get him.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
This is going to come across as ironic since this post accuses the US of not having a unique food culture, but that criticism really applies to Canada. Leafs grill bc Burgers grill, and we do it better
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
We have poutine and donairs, the only part of the US with a real culinary tradition is the south (and even then only Texas and Louisiana)
You fat fricks just eat processed garbage. Im not going to read your reply unless you post wrist, since 50% of Amerifats are obese and therefore not human
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Bonus pic from last week bc I had to flex after you insinuated I could possibly be a lardass
You are right about the majority of Americans being chonkers, however. I suppose that's why I get upset at the idea that Americans can only eat goyslop-tier food. With our wealth, agriculture, and fishing industries, we've made some excellent food. People are just too lazy to make a blackened trout sandwich instead of buying a Filet-o-Fish. They'd rather eat breakfast cereal than eat unsweetened oatmeal with their own additives. It's frustrating
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Looking good bro
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Looking pretty tan there, you some kind of Latinx?
American food is great, what happened is that after WW2 American consumption of processed food went through the roof because we had re-tooled our economy to make and ship food across the world. We emphasized consistency and quantity over quality and essentially standardized a lot of our food. If you went back to the 1900s, most American produce would be local food with organ meats, local vegetables and nuts, etc--everything standardized after the 1950s and we ended up with a more homogenous food culture.
However, that's not all there is to eat. And you can find great food in any city. And there's great American dishes you can make. Brisket and Beans with Potato Salad and grilled vegetables, or whatever.
Edit: Check out some menus from the 1800s--https://digitalcollections.lib.uh.edu/concern/texts/0c483k10j?locale=en
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Nah I'm a mayo w family roots in a handful of Mediterranean countries. I spend a fair amount of time outdoors w/o a shirt
I never knew how WW2 affected US food consumption. Thanks for the info
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
Based
Youre still wrong about leaf food just being american food though. It's ackshualy worse than that since it also includes frog and bong influence!
Plus native and ukrainian influence if you count the prairies.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
You don't even need to refrigerate the beer
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Fidel Castro?
Edit: No Castro Marsey
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Best I can do is Pol Pot.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
Wtf you have more upmarseys than my actual post. Are rdrama users more r-slurred than Redditors?
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
I pingmaxxed and channeled the American patriotic spirit
As for your question, let's see:
Rdrama users are bigger !r-slurs than Redditors
Factcheck: This claim has been confirmed as correct by experts.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Don't be a b-word. Submit to American superiority and we'll go easy on you.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
No thanks I'm enjoying my tuna and sweetcorn jacket potato
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
Yes.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
!goyslopenjoyers read this you fat bastards
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Also, if our food sucks so much, how come we are all fatter than the supposedly "good" cuisine nations?
It never began for non-Americans.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Finally someone making a good point in this thread.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
Didnt read
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
Burger chicken recipes are generally good--But, do yourself a favor and buy air chilled chicken or just some shit from a farm. USDA regs require the chilling of chicken to 40 degrees within like 30 minutes of slaughter, the fastest way to do this is throwing it into a vat of ice water with a little salt. Thus fricks up the osmotic pressure in the meat and washes out some taste.
That's why when you cook a chicken breast in the US, it's swimming in water when you start cooking it,
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Many grocery stores are moving to air chilled chicken as the equipment is getting more economical and it has a longer shelf life (less moisture).
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
That's a good point. The default grocery store chicken here is pretty tasteless compared to getting a farm chicken.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
I mean it was a good idea when they first started doing it, that's why large cases of food borne illnesses were rare in the US. It just makes for some bland butt chicken.
https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2022-DON369
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
More options
Context
You have forgotten the most American food of all…peanut butter
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context
Way too long, food the us does best:
Literally everything
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
More options
Context
More options
Context