I’m not really sure when I developed my fondness for biscuits and gravy, as it was certainly not a regular part of my momma’s breakfast repertoire. Now don’t get me wrong. My momma was an outstanding country cook, but homemade breads (other than cornbread) was just not something she normally did. On the other hand, […]
There is one fact about that popular, spicy concoction we call chili (or chili con carne) that should be cleared up right from the very start–it did not come from Mexico. If there is any doubt of what the citizenry of our southernmost neighbors think of this dish, one needs only to consult the Diccionario […]
When Ruth Wakefield ran out of Baker’s chocolate to make her chocolate cookies and decided to use pieces of a chocolate bar to finish the task, she never thought it would result in the creation of America’s favorite cookie. But it did, and the rest, so they say, is history. Ruth Graves Wakefield graduated in […]
Although the cookie was introduced in America by Dutch settlers in the early seventeenth century, it wasn’t until the early 1900s, with the development of peanut butter, that the first recipe for peanut butter cookies first appeared. When the cotton crop was heavily damaged by the boll weevil, the now famous African-American botanist and agricultural […]
No other food exemplifies America and its plentiful bounty like corn. This is the second in a series of articles that explores the history and culinary uses of this versatile grain. Thousands of years before Europeans first landed on the shores of the New World, corn had become a staple food of Native Americans. Among […]
Probably no other holiday in America is more deeply entrenched in food tradition and superstition than New Year’s. While the first recorded festivities celebrating the arrival of the new year date back 4,000 years to ancient Babylon, it was Julius Caesar who originally established January 1 as the first day of the year, with the […]
“The worst Christmas gift is fruitcake,” cracked Johnny Carson on the Tonight Show. “There is only one fruitcake in the entire world, and people keep sending it to each other, year after year.” We all hear the infamous fruitcake jokes year after year: “Why does fruitcake make the perfect gift? Because the U.S. Postal Service […]
What would Christmas in America be without cookies? There would be no snack for Santa, no visions of sugar plums for the children and no edible decorations for the tree. Christmas it seems was, above all other holidays, invented with cookies in mind. While Christmas cookies have been around since Medieval Europe, it was the […]
Whether you call it pop, soda, soda pop, or coke (a generic term), the soft drink industry in this country is huge–more than 50,000-gallons-per-American-per-year huge! By the late nineteenth century, bottled soda had come of age in America with over five hundred bottling plants producing some 260 million bottles of soda a year. In 1888, […]
As some of you may already know, Hostess Brands, Inc., the company who makes Twinkies, Ding Dongs, Sno Balls, and other popular baked goods, filed for bankruptcy protection on January 11 of this year. Finally on Friday, November 16, after striking workers refused to return to work, company officials decided to seek the court’s permission […]
For most people, the mention of Thanksgiving brings to mind visions of roasted turkey filled with stuffing, pumpkin pie, family get-togethers, football, and young schoolchildren acting out stories of the Pilgrims sharing the first feast with native Indians . But was that day of feasting at Plymouth really the first Thanksgiving in this country? Let’s […]
In the early seventeenth century, sweet sorghum was introduced into America as an alternative to sugar cane in the upper South and Midwest. First brought here by African slaves, sorghum cane thrived in hot, arid conditions and was soon grown by farmers in the Carolinas and as far west as Texas and far north as […]
The peanut is thought to have originated in Brazil and Central America, making its way to Africa by means of Spanish explorers and traders. When African slaves were brought to United States, the peanut arrived with them. In fact, the name "goober," as they are called in the southern states, comes directly from the African […]
We’ve all heard the popular story of how in 1762 a hungry John Montague, Earl of Sandwich, ordered some meat stuffed between two pieces of bread in order to continue playing a game of cards. The idea caught on and the sandwich was born. But it would be some 160 years later, with the advent […]
The distillation of whiskey in this country dates back to the arrival of European farmers, especially those from Ireland and Scotland, who brought with them the skills and knowledge necessary for producing spirits from whatever grains were available. However, beverages produced by these homemade distilleries were for self consumption only and perhaps a few friends […]
Probably the most perfect rendition of street food ever created in this nation is the humble corn dog. After all, what could be more convenient to someone taking a stroll than a wiener impaled on a stick, dipped into a thick batter, and deep fried? The origin for this all-American fast food dates back to […]
The first known recipe for a macaroni and cheese casserole was recorded as far back as thirteenth century Italy. In the medieval cookbook Liber de Coquina, the anonymous author describes layering sheets of lasagne with powdered spices and cheese (likely parmesan) of choice. This recipe (called de lasanis), while certainly not the same as the […]
Gumbo is generally thought to derive its name from the word kingomb, meaning okra in the West African dialect of Bantu . . .
During the 1930s, in his search for a tastier tortilla that wouldn’t get stale so quickly, Charles Elmer Doolin (better known as C. E.) recalled a chip made by Gustavo Olguin, a Mexican native for whom he worked a short time as a fry cook. Gustavo’s fritos (meaning "little fried things") were made from masa […]
Exactly when and by whom the hamburger was invented seems to depend on who is telling the story. Well known historian Frank Tolbert attributed the honors to Fletcher Davis of Henderson County, Texas. It seems “Old Dave,” as he was known to most folks, owned a lunch counter in Athens where he served grilled beef […]
Geo. A. Hormel & Co, a meatpacker of fresh pork products, was founded in 1891 in an abandoned creamery on the banks of Red Cedar River northeast of Austin, Minnesota. Pork sales flourished during the late 1890s, and the company quickly expanded its manufacturing facilities and established a distribution center in Duluth and sales offices […]
No matter what you call it – pan fried steak, country fried steak, chicken fried steak or CFS – the fact is Texans love it! So much so, that restaurants in that great state serve more than 800,000 chicken fried steaks each and every day, according to the Texas Restaurant Association. And while many "outsiders" […]
Traditional whoopie pies consist of two soft, slightly dry devils food mini cakes, generously filled with creamy white filling. The filling not only serves to keep this delectable treat moist, but adds a certain gooeyness to the eating experience that’s half the fun. While the origin of this delicious cream-filled confection can be indisputably traced […]
We’ve all heard the expression "American as apple pie" hundreds of times. But in truth, just how American is apple pie? What you may not be aware of is both apple pie and the fruit whose name it bears are actually of European descent, coming to this country by way of early colonial English settlers. […]
Pawpaw preserves are extremely versatile and makes an excellent topping for ice cream and yogurt.
These homemade fried pies were a special treat my momma made for me as a child.
These doughnuts are coated with a sugary glaze and taste just like cake doughnuts from your favorite bakery.
