Here are some foods that may not always seem
so American to a lot of people. So let’s get the inside scoop on 10 foods only America
was crazy enough to invent (Part 3). Meatloaf With Ketchup In the very beginning, American-style meatloaf
was made with scrapple. Scrapple is a blend of cornmeal and ground pork. In Pennsylvania,
Americans who emigrated from Germany enjoyed serving scrapple, and scrapple inspired the
classic, American-style meatloaf that people in the USA enjoy today. Meatloaf has been
around since the colonial days, but it didn't start popping up in American cookbooks until
much later on. Of course, people in other countries, including Germany, enjoyed preparing
and eating dishes made with ground meats. Some of those might qualify as meatloaf, too,
but the meatloaf we know and love today is so very American. It's usually made with ground
beef chuck, ground pork, ketchup, eggs, onions, grated carrot, bread crumbs and a selection
of savory spices. American-style meatloaf almost always includes ketchup as a meatloaf
ingredient or a meatloaf topping. There's something so American about ketchup, isn't
there? Even though ketchup was inspired by a Chinese fish sauce! Meatloaf is such a
classic that you'll find it in lots of American chain restaurants, including Boston Market,
which offers meatloaf made with tomato puree and toasted breadcrumbs, to name just a couple
of tasty ingredients. Meatloaf from Boston Market is served with a thick coating of hickory-flavored
ketchup. Cobb Salad This delightful and nutrient-dense salad is
really a full meal and it was invented in America, at a legendary restaurant in Los
Angeles, known as The Brown Derby. The owner of the eatery was Robert Cobb. He had leftovers
in the restaurant kitchen. These leftovers included chicken breast, hard-boiled eggs,
chopped bacon, salad greens, tomatoes, Roquefort cheese and avocado. That's a lot of delicious
leftovers and he decided to combine them and create a new dish. The Cobb Salad was born.
All its inventor had to add, beyond the leftovers, was a vinaigrette made with Worcestershire
sauce, garlic, red vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice. He did add a little pepper and
salt, too. This salad has the same vibe as a BLT sandwich, minus the slices of bread.
Lots of Hollywood film and TV stars adored the Cobb Salad. Lucille Ball and Clark Gable
both ate the innovative dish and loved it. The Cobb Salad became an important hallmark
of the California culinary style. While The Brown Derby is no more, the Cobb Salad is
still an American classic. Doughnut Holes Legend has it that the inventor of delicious
doughnut holes hailed from Rockport, Maine. He was a sea captain and his name was Hanson
Gregory. He's passed away, but his passion for doughnut holes lives on. While at sea,
Captain Gregory had a penchant for consuming globs of fried dough as he also took care
of his captains duties. He liked these fried dough blobs because he could impale each blob,
or doughnut hole, on the boat's steering wheel handles. That made it easy to grab the doughnut
holes when he got hungry, without needing to leave his post. A century after he invented
doughnut holes, a plaque was put up at his birth site, memorializing his achievement. Necessity
is the mother of invention, especially when it came to doughnut holes. He needed a convenient
snack, so he invented one. Ranch Dressing Whether you're dipping a slice of pizza into
a little tub of ranch dressing or drizzling it onto a salad, you probably already know
how good it tastes...did you know that it's also one of those foods that only Americans
were crazy enough to invent. Ranch dressing is the invention of Steve Henson. He was a
plumber who developed the dressing while working in a remote area of Alaska. In the early 1950s,
he and his spouse, Gayle, opened their own company. Can you guess what it was called?
If you guessed, "Hidden Valley Ranch", you're right! The new company gave customers the
ability to buy pre-made ranch dressing that they could take home with them, as well as
ranch seasoning packets that could be combined with buttermilk and mayo. Demand for ranch
dressing went through the roof, because it's delicious, and Clorox eventually bought Hidden
Valley Ranch for a whopping 8 million bucks. Since 1992, ranch dressing has outsold all other
salad dressings in America. Pecan Pie Pecan pie is an exceptional sweet treat that
is also an American creation. This pie is made from pecan nuts and has a filling made
from butter, sugar, and eggs. Usually, corn syrup is used as the sugar in this recipe,
but recipes do vary. There are people who add onto the classic American Pecan Pie recipe,
with a touch of bourbon whiskey or chocolate. After the pie is ready to serve, it may be
eaten plain or accented with hard sauce, vanilla ice cream, or whipped cream. This All-American
treat is a crowd-pleasing favorite on special occasions, such as Christmas or Thanksgiving.
Pecans are native to Southern parts of the USA, and the indigenous people of the South
used to enjoy pecans thousands of years ago. The word pecan is derived from an Algonquin
word which means "several nuts". While there are people who believe that the French are
the true inventors of pecan pie, and created the dessert after emigrating to New Orleans,
most people consider this type of pie to be the brainchild of Americans who lived in the
South. Candy Corn Do you love candy corn or hate it? This candy
is polarizing. Candy corn looks like corn and tastes like sweet candy. It tricks the
eye and it's popular at Halloween, because it looks like harvest corn, but offers a real
sugar kick. This candy used to be made by hand, right in the USA. The first candy corn
was marketed under the brand name, Chicken Feed, back in the 1880s. It was made by Wunderlee
Candy Company. After the 19th century ended, a firm called Goelitz Confectionery Company
produced the product. This company is now called Jelly Belly. Candy corn was developed
to appeal to rural customers. Sometimes, there are seasonal variations of traditional
American candy corn, including Reindeer corn for the winter holidays. Reindeer corn has
green ends and red centers. A Valentine's Day version is made with pink and red colors. Key Lime Pie Key lime pie is a unique and one hundred percent
American invention that has plenty of fans, including Oprah Winfrey herself. Made from
egg yolks, Key lime juice, and condensed, sweetened milk, it's served in a pie crust
that is typically made from tasty graham crackers. The most traditional version of Key Lime Pie
is the Conch version. With this one, egg whites are utilized to create a sweet and airy meringue
topping. As its name suggests, Key Lime Pie is named after the compact Key limes that
grow all through the scenic Florida Keys. This USA dessert's roots go way back to the early
part of the 20th century. Of course, the pie was invented in the Key West region of Florida.
So, what's so special about Key limes, anyway? As it happens, a lot. They are more fragrant
than the usual limes, but they have thinner rinds, which means that they are delicate.
They are more perishable than your everyday limes. Usually, limes from Persia are used
in recipes, which is why Key Lime pie is so different. It is made from American limes
that evoke the lush splendor of the Sunshine State. One other fun fact about Key limes
is that they have thorns. Also, their juice is pale-yellow, rather than green, like other
lime juice. French Dip The name, "French Dip" may evoke images of
chic Parisian bistros, where patrons lounge elegantly, with wine glasses in hand, but
French dips are sandwiches with Los Angeles roots. The name is believed to refer to the
French bread being used. One L.A. restaurant, Cole's, claims to be the place where the delicious
and hearty French Dip was invented. This eatery opened for business in 1908. Another restaurant
in the same sunny city, Philippe's, also claims to be the first eatery to serve the sandwich.
While it may not be possible to definitely prove which restaurant offered this meat sandwich
first, a journalist who explored this topic felt that Philippe's had the edge. What it
is possible to prove is that carnivores who adore roast beef love eating French Dips. So,
for the uninitiated, what exactly is a French Dip, anyway? Well, it's a delicious mass of
roast beef, served in a French roll. The sandwich comes with a plate or bowl of sauce, which
is usually a combination of roast beef drippings and veggie broth. The sandwich gets dipped
in the sauce and this softens the bread and adds moisture to the beef. It makes the process
of eating the sandwich easier...and even more delicious. Boxed Macaroni and Cheese Macaroni and cheese is a dish that's been
around as long as America has, and a lot of USA residents think of mac and cheese as true
comfort food, whether they make it from scratch and bake it in their ovens, or open boxes
that contain dried pasta and processed cheese, or in a bowl. In Italy, a medieval recipe
for "dough and cheese", as they then called pasta and cheese, showed that the dish was
made in the same fashion as lasagna. Pieces of dough were layered with cheese and butter,
just like lasagna noodles are layered with cheese and tomato sauce. The English had their
own spin on pasta and cheese, which included the addition of a French sauce called Mornay
sauce, which contained cheddar and Bechamel cheeses. In America, cheddar is the preferred
cheese for this dish, and boxed macaroni and cheese was invented right in the USA. Thomas
Jefferson usually gets the credit for bringing the recipe for pasta and cheese to the United
States, after a trip to Europe. Clearly, as so many people do, he enjoyed eating his way
through Europe and discovered macaroni pasta while in Paris. He wanted to enjoy it after
returning to America. Despite his passion for the short, curved pasta, Jefferson didn't
invent Kraft Mac and Cheese. This boxed macaroni and cheese product was the brainchild of a
salesman named Grant Leslie, who was born in Scotland and lived in Missouri. Leslie
sold cardboard boxes of pasta, along with packets of processed cheese, from door to
door. In the late 1930s, Kraft launched his invention on a wider scale and the rest is
history. Boxed macaroni and cheese helped Americans to get nutrients and feel full during
the dog days of the Great Depression. Today, it's very popular in America and Canada. Succotash Remember the Looney Tunes cartoon character,
Sylvester the Cat? His catchphrase is "Sufferin' Succotash”. While you may be aware of Sylvester's
catchphrase, you may not know what Succotash actually is...or where it came from. The word,
Succotash, is a Narragansett word that means 'broken corn kernels'. The dish itself is
made from sweet corn and shell beans, such as lima beans. This recipe is all about mixing
a legume and a grain. Plus, it's a cheap recipe, and most versions of the recipe have ingredients
that are really easy to access at most grocery stores or farmer's markets. Because Succotash
is such an affordable dish, it became popular during some very hard times in America. As
the Great Depression brought poverty and hunger, some cash-strapped USA families made Succotash,
to get basic nutrition. This dish is now part of many New England Thanksgiving dinners.
It's also popular in other USA areas, including Pennsylvania and the South. The Southern version
usually has lima beans, plus a butter or lard topping. You can thank the Native Americans
of the 17th century for this dish. Made from ingredients that weren't known in Europe back
then, Succotash eventually became an everyday meal in the kitchens of settlers. If you're
not familiar with Succotash and you want to give it a try, basic and gourmet recipes are
easy to find online. Tap that screen and we’ll serve up more
great videos. And if you haven’t joined our notification squad yet, show us some love
and slam that subscribe button and ring on that bell.
