When you think about American food, the usual suspects like hamburgers and hot dogs probably come to mind—but there are plenty of dishes you’d never guess were born right here in the United States! This includes sweet treats served in Chinese restaurants, as well as sushi rolls that have become global favorites. Our culinary inventiveness might surprise you! Here are ten foods that you probably didn’t know were invented in the United States.
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Fortune Cookies
They might be a staple at Chinese restaurants but fortune cookies were actually invented in San Francisco around the early 1900s. Japanese-American bakers like Makoto Hagiwara are believed to have created these delightful treats, which Chinese restaurants across the world eventually adopted. Honestly, it’s quite strange to think that a dessert so closely connected with China is actually an all-American invention—with Japanese roots!
General Tso’s Chicken
General Tso’s chicken isn’t from China but, in fact, it was born in New York City during the 1970s. Chef Peng Chang-kuei, a Taiwanese chef, created General Tso’s Chicken to impress American diners, which he did by combining deep-fried chicken pieces with a sauce that mixed sweet, sour & spicy flavors. The dish was named after a famous Chinese military leader, General Tso Tsung-tang, even though it has no connection to him, and it’s now a staple of Chinese-American cuisine.
German Chocolate Cake
Despite its name, German chocolate cake isn’t German at all and it was named after Samuel German, an American chocolatier. He created a sweet baking chocolate in 1852 for the Baker’s Chocolate Company—fast forward to 1957 and a Texas homemaker sent a recipe for “German’s Chocolate Cake” to a newspaper. The recipe took off & the cake became a nationwide favorite, even though it was named after a person instead of a country!
English Muffins
English muffins are another food with an incorrect name, as they were invented in the United States—this time, it was by Samuel Bath Thomas in 1894. He was an English immigrant who began making these muffins in his New York bakery, aiming to recreate the traditional crumpets of his homeland. However, he created something rather different on the griddle and his English muffins have been an important part of American breakfasts ever since.
Chimichanga
Chimichanga sounds Mexican yet it was actually invented in Arizona in the 1950s by Monica Flin, founder of El Charro Café in Tucson. She accidentally dropped a burrito into the deep fryer and, apparently, shouted “chimichanga,” a made-up word that sounds similar to a Spanish cuss word. But the fried burrito turned out to be a hit with customers and it soon became popular in Tex-Mex restaurants across the country!
Fajitas
Likewise, fajitas are another important food in Tex-Mex cuisine that are entirely American, as during the 1930s, Mexican ranch workers along the Texas-Mexico border received skirt steak as part of their pay & cooked it over open fires. The term “fajita” comes from “faja,” which means “belt” or “girdle” in Spanish, referring to the cut of meat—but it wasn’t until the 1960s that fajitas began appearing on restaurant menus in Texas. Today, you’ll find fajitas in practically every Tex-Mex restaurant because they’re so darn delicious!
California Roll
Sushi may be Japanese but the California roll was created in Los Angeles during the 1960s by Chef Ichiro Mashita, who started substituting avocado for fatty tuna. He noticed that local diners weren’t keen on raw fish and he also turned the roll inside-out to hide the seaweed. In doing so, he made the rolls more appealing to Americans and they’ve been part of sushi menus ever since.
French Dressing
French dressing is actually an American creation, even with its name, and it was developed in the late 19th century. The sweet and tangy salad dressing is typically made with oil, vinegar, tomato paste & a mix of spices, which is why it has become a salad staple in the U.S.—it makes even the dullest of salads more delicious! As such, that bottle of “French” dressing in your fridge is as American as apple pie.
Cobb Salad
The Cobb salad was invented at Hollywood’s Brown Derby restaurant in the 1930s by owner Robert Cobb who, one night, was hungry & got various leftovers from the kitchen. He chopped up lettuce, avocado, roasted turkey, crisp bacon, hard-boiled eggs, tomatoes, chives & blue cheese, then tossed them together with a vinaigrette. It became a hit among his friends and quickly gained popularity with customers, later becoming a classic.
Reuben Sandwich
Reuben Kulakofsky created the Reuben sandwich in Omaha, Nebraska, during the 1920s—he made it for his weekly poker game at the Blackstone Hotel. The sandwich combines corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut & dressing, grilled between slices of rye bread. It was so tasty that the hotel added it to their menu and it gained national fame after winning a sandwich contest in the 1950s, becoming a classic deli favorite across the country.
Disclaimer: This list is solely the author’s opinion based on research and publicly available information.
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