We’ve all heard the phrase, “As American As Apple Pie.” And most of us have also heard the argument that apple pie originated in Germany and the recipe came over on the boat with somebody’s grandmother. But if you search most cookbooks on German cuisine, guess what? No recipes for apple pie are to be found.
Although there is often a recipe for apple pie’s distant cousin, German Apple Cake or Versunkener Apfelkuchen, apple pie is uniquely American after all. While Frankfurters originated in the town of Frankfurt, Germany, the American hot dog we have come to know and love originated on the Boardwalk at Coney Island, New York. Nathan Handwerker, a Belgian immigrant, developed the recipe while working at another food stand.
Many of America’s favorite foods did travel across the ocean with our ancestors and remained relatively close to their original recipes through the years. Pizza in Italy tends not to have as much cheese as its American version. And in Belgium, the actual home of the “French” fry, fries are served with a mayonnaise sauce! But American cuisine is unique, whether the dish is a cousin of an Old World recipe or a totally American concoction like barbecued ribs or a Dagwood sandwich.
Wait a minute…barbecue originated in South America. And the sandwich was invented by The Earl of Sandwich, an Englishman. So are there any true “All American” foods?
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