America: A Melting Pot of Cuisines

In Sidney Mintz's article about "Eating American," he critically evaluates American habits of consumption. He starts off by stating that there is no such thing as an American cuisine; rather, we all individually choose the foods we wish to incorporate into out diets. Because there is no clear, communal identity of what makes up an American diet, Mintz argues that our nation does not have a cuisine, but instead, a culture surrounding our eating choices.

America is a land of great regional, ethnic, and class differences, and with this comes a very diverse cuisine. Of course, we do have staple foods, such as hamburgers, hot dogs and apple pie. In Mark Weiner's piece entitled "Comsumer Culture and Participatory Democracy: The Story of Coca-Cola During World War II," he describes Coca-cola as a "totem-drink" in American Culture that brings about patriotism and triggers memories. At the same time, others find comfort in parts of the melting pot that is America that remind them of their own homes and ethnicities. An example of this is found in "Best Food Writing 2008" as E. Tai explains how regardless of her American lifestyle, she finds much solace in consuming her ancestors' foods.

America is home to so many people of such different backgrounds that the lines of what exactly constitutes an American diet has been blurred. Surely, when we thing "American" these days, we think of fast food, microwave meals - foods we eat due to immense time constraints and excess hurry. We think of foods high in fat and sugar, a nation of obesity. The point is that what's great about our nation has surely come at a price. Being in a place of such diversity has taken away our ability to form a distinct cuisine for the United States. We are constantly going out to eat - Mexican, Italian, Chinese - but when do we ever go out to eat "American?" Instead, the foods we eat are centered around a collective culture. But I need to ask, what's wrong with that? In other countries, where only a select number of foods are available, the options of what to eat aren't as large. So I guess we have given up a definite American cuisine, but we've done this with the awesome benefit of choice. A melting pot of cuisines. Indian food one day and Thai the next? I have no problem with that.