Tuesday, September 2, 2008

An American Hundred

Checking out some of the responses to the Very Good Taste posts on the Omnivore's Hundred, this New York guy has put together an American version (VGT is written by a couple of Brits). Ha ha, I think, more fun!

He says:

OK, here's my Americanized take on Andrew at Very Good Taste's Omnivore's Hundred. What makes this an Americanized take? Well, I'm an American and I can step out my door right now and buy most of these things.

I'm afraid that mine isn't as exotic as Andrew's, but I'm surprised by how many of what I consider everyday foods, aren't. Not to say I eat these foods all the time, but each has crossed my table. I'm also not listing foods that are only available in one location, with the exception of Brooklyn pizza.

I'm going to steal some text from Very Good Taste right now. Why not? I stole his idea.

Here’s what I want you to do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here or at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.


The WhiteTrash BBQ Omnivore's Hundred:
  1. Tomato Soup Cake (Bink and I made a Coca-Cola cake once)
  2. Turducken
  3. Chicken Feet (a friend of mine put them in the soup she made to go with her matzoballs)
  4. Sauerbraten
  5. Limburger Cheese
  6. Asian Pears (when I had a crush on Bink, I introduced her to these)
  7. Ham Hocks (with greens)
  8. Ghee (as an ingredient)
  9. Corn Bread (my favorite recipe for this is one I got from a textbook when I worked at a culinary college)
  10. Buffalo Mozzarella
  11. Florida Stone Crabs
  12. Som Tum
  13. Oxtails
  14. Sundried Tomatoes
  15. Beef Jerkey (also salmon jerky)
  16. Tongue (in tacos)
  17. Calves' Liver
  18. Shoofly pie
  19. Pulled Pork
  20. Sour Cream Chocolate Frosting
  21. Bison
  22. Persimmons
  23. Monk Fish
  24. Hoja Santa Cheese
  25. Whoopee pie
  26. Peking Duck
  27. Sopa de Ajo - Castilian Garlic Soup
  28. Pistolettes
  29. Naan
  30. Country Ham
  31. Jambalaya
  32. Anchovies
  33. Black and White Cookies
  34. Chives
  35. Potato Pancakes (latkes!)
  36. Boudain
  37. Macoun Apples
  38. Brooklyn Pizza
  39. Star Fruit
  40. Dosa
  41. Lutefisk
  42. Rhubarb (with strawberries, in pie)
  43. Scrapple
  44. Cuitlacoche
  45. Cherry Pierogi
  46. Kumquats
  47. Ambrosia Salad
  48. Taylor Ham
  49. Sardines
  50. Capers
  51. Dungeness Crabs
  52. Grape Leaves (wrapped around both kinds of dolmathes)
  53. Pepper Jelly
  54. Hanger Steak
  55. A just picked vine ripened Tomato still hot from the sun
  56. Stuffed Quahogs
  57. Smoked Eggs
  58. Chicken Kiev
  59. Bigos
  60. Andouille
  61. Shropshire Blue Cheese
  62. Real Moonshine
  63. Yuca
  64. Chicken Katsu
  65. Clams on the half shell
  66. Scallion Pancakes
  67. Tamales
  68. Maine Lobster
  69. Picadillo
  70. Romesco Sauce
  71. Sour Cherries
  72. Paella
  73. Gulf Shrimp
  74. Empanada
  75. Fluff (straight, and on ice cream - not with peanut butter, obviously)
  76. Ostrich
  77. Wild Blueberries
  78. Skate
  79. Black-eyed Peas (when Zirpu's sister and her husband got married, on a New Year's Day, we all ate this for luck)
  80. Hatch Chile Peppers
  81. Morels
  82. Water Chestnuts
  83. Massaman Curry
  84. Goose
  85. Jamon Serrano
  86. Knish
  87. Quail Eggs (raw, on sushi)
  88. Gyoza
  89. Conch
  90. Rutabaga (with strawberries, in pie)
  91. Turtle
  92. Salsify
  93. Hummus
  94. Seviche
  95. Barbecue Baby Back Ribs
  96. Parmigiano-Reggiano
  97. Pine Nuts
  98. Basmati Rice (this has a lower glycemic index than other white rice, so until I can bring myself to eat brown rice again, we eat this at home)
  99. Pickled Herring
  100. Kohlrabi (we get these at the food bank, and almost no one knows what they are).

I have eaten 53 of these items. How can it be that I've completed more of the British list than the American list? This list includes seven items I won't eat - I tried liver, recently even, and didn't like it. It was pretty discouraging when I started looking at the list and hadn't eaten the first five things. But then I'd eaten numbers six through ten and hit my groove.


I find it interesting that this "American 100" includes so many foods that came into the country with immigrants, but that will lead to a discussion of what are purely American foods, like turkey with cranberries or "hot dish," and how one defines American cuisine (in The Fortune Cookie Chronicles, it's pretty clear that the dishes we call Chinese in the US did not originate in China).

1 comment:

WhiteTrashBBQ said...

You said...

"I find it interesting that this "American 100" includes so many foods that came into the country with immigrants,"

Well, that's part of what makes it an American list. Living in NYC, in Brooklyn specifically, I live in the city of immigrants. It's not uncommon to walk a mile in my neighborhood and not hear a single word of English.

Also, when I complied the list, I tried to stay away from the average foods, like NY Strip steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, etc.

I'm glad you enjoyed it.