Although their origin is by no means American, the culinary arts have found their place in the United States. The depth and sophistication of a culture can be studied centuries later through paintings, writings, and other fossilized facts; however, cuisine is something near impossible to replicate from a non-existent culture. Modern Culinary America is a sweet treat that only its contemporaries may enjoy.
Sophistication and even focusing on art is difficult to achieve in times of civil unrest. This is why many of the great artistic symphonies, paintings, and sculptures are produced during times of peace. Romans entered an era know in Latin as “Pax Romana” or “time of Roman peace”. During this era, citizens could travel the immense empire of the romans with protection and explore new cultures and ideas. This mixture of ideas and peace led to the beloved art of the Roman period. Flashing forward to modern day America, it is now in a period known as “Pax Americana” or “time of American peace”. America’s identity as a global force for their perceived ideas of truth, justice, and moral good has allowed its homeland to flourish with art forms old and new; the art of cooking has found a prominent place among the American people. This is evidenced by the countless cooking shows, fine dining restaurants, and even an entire network devoted to a love of cooking. Further evidence of the artistic value of cuisine is found in the fact that some restaurants stay in business selling extremely expensive meals. If all food was the same, thus not an art form, Americans would be unwilling to pay exorbitant prices for their meals.
Ironically, the food of America is not very American at all. Much like the term “great America melting pot”, American cuisine is made up of the best dishes from around the globe. Even the food many people attribute as regionally American cuisine is in fact from another country or region. Hamburgers for instance are from Germany; Pizza originated in Italy; Even hot dogs got their start somewhere else (as sausages in Germany). While no food is distinctly American, it is this fact that makes everything Americans eat American food. Since America is a society of Immigrants from all sorts of cultures and backgrounds, it only makes since that its food comes from different countries around the globe.
American Cultural Icons 