United States of America -

United States of America

The cuisine of the United States of America has a history dating back before the colonial period when the American Indians had a rich and varied cooking style for an equally diverse amount of ingredients. With European colonization, the style of food preparation changed vastly, with numerous ingredients introduced from Europe, as well as cooking styles and modern cookbooks. The style of cookery continued to expand into the 19th and 20th centuries with the influx of immigrants from various nations across the world. This influx has created a rich diversity and a unique regional character throughout the country.

American food in the 20^th and 21^st century - Hamburger is really a very common food in the United States. One characteristic of American cooking is a fusion of multiple ethnic or regional approaches into totally new cooking styles. Asian cookery has played a particularly large role in American fusion cuisine.

Similarly, while some dishes considered typically American many have their origins in other countries, American cooks and chefs have substantially altered them over the years, to the degree that the dish as now enjoyed the world over are considered to be American. Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, brought over to America by German immigrants to the United States, but in their modern popular form they might be reasonably considered American dishes.

Many companies in the American food industry develop new products requiring negligible preparation, for example frozen entrees. Some corporate kitchens (e.g. General Mills, Campbell's, Kraft Foods) develop consumer recipes featuring their company's products. Many of these recipes have become very popular. For example, the General Mills Betty Crocker's Cookbook, first published in 1950 and currently in its 10th edition, is commonly found in American homes.