Saw this on a game show this morning. These five foods, according to a survey of college students, best represent America: Burgers, Hot Dogs, Pizza, BBQ, & Turkey.

 

Which of the five would you put at #1?

 

I'm taking Hot Dogs.

Burgers. Cheeseburgers to be exact.

It has to be either burgers or hot dogs and I've gotta go with burgers.

I would agree with either Burgers or Hot Dogs; however, I'm willing to bet that there are several states that might say BBQ.

I would personally go with BBQ if it’s an all inclusive term for all of the food associated with BBQ. But since we could never agree with one specific food for BBQ nor would that one food on its own be able to overtake any of the other items on this list, the correct answer is 100% Burgers.

I think if you went around the world and polled people, you'd find that most folks think hamburgers are the most American food.

 

I want to make a case for barbecue.

 

First, hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza are all imports and variations on old world foods. The hamburg steak and frankfurters were served in Germany for some time before making their way here and being turned into something essentially American. Pizza was a Neapolitan specialty for centuries. I'm throwing them out as overseas imports turned into something somewhat different upon arrival.

 

Second, turkeys and barbecue are both native to this continent, so thus they remain. Turkeys have been domesticated in North America for over 1,000 years. Barbecue arose from traditional cooking methods used by Caribbean and Southern native groups rarely (if ever) seen by Europeans until their arrival.

 

BUT... turkeys, while themselves being native to this continent, don't in themselves grant us much to go on. It's just an animal.

 

Barbecue was a cooking method used by natives, adopted by the African slaves that observed it and turned into what we see today. Those who spent centuries perfecting the methods of pit cooking used trial and error and attempting to get something right over and over and over again. It's the perfect combination of traditional method paired with experimentation and ingenuity that makes it uniquely American even on this list.

 

It may not be the most well-known around the world on this list, but I submit that is the most QUINTESSENTIALLY American food.

Edited June 11, 20197 yr by bugatti

I would put burgers #1.

I would gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today.

Burgers. Cheeseburgers to be exact.

 

Agreed. Burgers on the grill at the Memorial Day cookout signals the official start of summer in my family. Plus, that's what most people have on the 4th of July.

I want a burger.

I would gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today.

 

Today is Tuesday. :idunno:

Turkey...really??

Burgers and ribs.

Turkey is right. Turkeys are only found in America. All those other foods originated across the Atlantic.

 

Turkeys have been getting eaten in America since before humans cooked food with fire.

 

If it was best represents the United States of America (the country) I’d say bbq. America is different. Word choice is everything.

Edited June 12, 20197 yr by El Diablo

I would go with burgers. In fact, back in my teen years I remember European guys in online video games telling us "Fat American's" to go eat a Big Mac after we would beat them.