I think it’s more that the US is a very recent country and was a melding of many cultures, plus the sheer size of the country and diversity of the ingredients found around the country.
Yeah that’s fair, but in some ways other young countries have their own distinctive cuisines that are popular, such as Mexico and Peru. Additionally, i don’t think the blend of other cultures is really the problem in having an identity. Other countries have plenty of immigrant populations, but they still have their own identity. For example, turkish doner is huge in Germany, but German cuisine is very much its own thing. Then you can even dial it in even further, looking at bavarian, franconian, swabian, etc.
I agree that any one of those points alone doesn’t make for a particularly distinct cuisine, but combining them leads to a lot of diverse sub customers. I think the size point is the biggest one though. It’s hard to compare us cuisine to a single country since the US is so big that different regions create their own sub cuisines. As far as the sub cuisines go, I do think there are distinct cuisines, like you have various bun based sandwiches like burgers, hotdogs, and subs, there’s also casseroles, roasts, and southern food is its own distinct cuisine.
Right, but that was the point of the episode of the documentary. At a basic level, American cuisine is based on plentiful food sources, and we get things like burgers and hotdogs. I recommend watching it, it was quite interesting. I’m not trying to suggest that this is the only explanation, but it was an interesting theory nonetheless.
Sure, some regions have some variety (as you mention, a casserole). Size is a factor, but similarly maybe countries have some form of culinary identity (russian, chinese, brazilian). They have sub cultures as well. I’m not well versed in them, to be honest, but i know they exist.
It was an interesting point that i found to be somewhat profound especially as i explored other cuisines, which are typically developed during hardship.
I think it’s more that the US is a very recent country and was a melding of many cultures, plus the sheer size of the country and diversity of the ingredients found around the country.
Yeah that’s fair, but in some ways other young countries have their own distinctive cuisines that are popular, such as Mexico and Peru. Additionally, i don’t think the blend of other cultures is really the problem in having an identity. Other countries have plenty of immigrant populations, but they still have their own identity. For example, turkish doner is huge in Germany, but German cuisine is very much its own thing. Then you can even dial it in even further, looking at bavarian, franconian, swabian, etc.
I agree that any one of those points alone doesn’t make for a particularly distinct cuisine, but combining them leads to a lot of diverse sub customers. I think the size point is the biggest one though. It’s hard to compare us cuisine to a single country since the US is so big that different regions create their own sub cuisines. As far as the sub cuisines go, I do think there are distinct cuisines, like you have various bun based sandwiches like burgers, hotdogs, and subs, there’s also casseroles, roasts, and southern food is its own distinct cuisine.
Right, but that was the point of the episode of the documentary. At a basic level, American cuisine is based on plentiful food sources, and we get things like burgers and hotdogs. I recommend watching it, it was quite interesting. I’m not trying to suggest that this is the only explanation, but it was an interesting theory nonetheless.
Sure, some regions have some variety (as you mention, a casserole). Size is a factor, but similarly maybe countries have some form of culinary identity (russian, chinese, brazilian). They have sub cultures as well. I’m not well versed in them, to be honest, but i know they exist.
It was an interesting point that i found to be somewhat profound especially as i explored other cuisines, which are typically developed during hardship.