Cuisine

Because the United States has long attracted immigrants from a wide variety of nations and cultures the cuisine of the United States is extremely diverse and difficult to define. One way of describing American cuisine is a synthesis of cuisines from around the world, a style of cooking that takes something from each immigrant community. On the other hand, American cooks have exported a great variety of dishes around the world, and in many ways American cuisine is just as recognisable and as popular as French, Chinese, or Indian.

// Problems with defining American cuisine

The cheeseburger may seem a quintessentially American food, but similar foods are made in Germany and were likely brought across to the United States by German immigrants.

The cuisine of the Native Americans was of course the first American cooking style, and it lent a great deal not only to subsequent American cooking but also to culinary styles around the world. Turkey, corn (maize), beans, sunflowers, potatoes, peppers, and various forms of squash (including pumpkins) are among the Native American foods now widely consumed elsewhere. Superimposed on this original native diet is the massive contribution of the various immigrant groups; many dishes considered quintessentially American are in fact based upon the cooking traditions of other countries. For example, apple pies, pizza, runzas, chowder, and hamburgers are all either identical to, or derived from, European dishes. Burritos and tacos similarly have their origins in Mexico.

Hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, brought over to America by German immigrants to the United States, but in their modern, popular form they are so altered that they can be reasonably considered American dishes.

American cooking has been widely exported beyond its borders. Tex-Mex, Creole, and barbecue restaurants can be found in cities all around the world, while fast-food burger bars and pizzerias are even more popular.

American cooking has been exported around the world, both through the global expansion of restaurant chains such as T.G.I. Friday's and McDonalds and the efforts of individual restaurateurs such as Bob Payton, credited with bringing American-style pizza to the UK.