Quote:
Originally Posted by CherryQuinn
Well the other countries have foods that generally you think of when you think of that country, when I think of america I think fatty foods, hotdogs, pizzas, fries, fried chicken, twinkies. Thats your cultural food. its not a dig so much as reality :P I would not be offended if there was a canadian flag made of poutine and maple syrup nor would I be offended if they had a provincial newfoundland flag of fish and chips and vienna sausages and toutons or seal flipper pie or whatever.
I think what is going on here is that because the U.S. is a melting pot of so many other cultures, there is no ONE culture. Thus, there is not many cultural foods indigenous to the U.S. "Our" food is the food of our ancestors, which come from elsewhere. There's nothing wrong with that. Plus, the ancestors of our founding fathers were from England. England has been around for just as long as the other countries on the list and what do they have to show for cultural food? Fish and chips? Bangers and mash? So, we started off with a handicap!
Think about some of the food items you mentioned above. A hot dog is a "frankfurter", which is really of German origin (although placing it on a bun might be an American twist). Pizza is Italian. French Fries come from Europe. (Not sure if they are actually a French invention, but certainly from that region.) A Twinkie is not a cultural food. Is a named brand snack item. I'll give you that its a cultural icon, but that's it!