2008 Woodie Awards
Eat This!
College MythBusters
Michael Haig and Grace A. Reband
Issue date: 2/25/08 Section: Features
Media Credit: Andy BurkholderEthnic food tastes best when made the real American way.
Another Valentine's Day has come and gone, and those of you lucky enough to be in the throes of romance probably found yourselves out to dinner at a fine restaurant of your choosing. Did you go to that favorite Chinese restaurant of yours? Or was it Italian this time out? Almost everyone has a favorite type of food that they really enjoy, and quite often, it's of a particular ethnic variety.
What if we told you that the dish that had your heart this Valentine's Day isn't really ethnic at all? This week, MythBusters takes on many of the commonly held false beliefs about the origins of so many of our favorite foods.
For starters, chop suey is a popular dish ordered at Chinese restaurants all over the country. So, naturally we assume that the birth of this fine dish must have taken place in China at some point in past. This assumption would be wrong.
Chop suey originated in New York by the cooks of Chinese ambassador Li Hung Chang. On Aug. 29, 1896 Chang was having American guests for dinner and he wanted his cooks to concoct something new and fresh. So, the famous Chinese meal actually originated in America ("Chop Suey History and Orgin," www.foodreference.com).
The next time you gorge yourself with a burrito the size of your head, you may want to consider the fact that this is not how the Mexican culture invented the famous food. The burrito derived its name from the Spanish word burro - which means little donkey. A giant flour tortilla stuffed with enough food to feed a small family doesn't exactly fit the idea of 'little.'
Although burritos are practically a staple of the Mexican diet, the tortillas contain only a small portion refried beans, Spanish rice or meat. The American burrito is something vastly different from the way it originated in Mexico.
Emily Isberner, first-year psychology major, notes, "Many people believe that foods with ethnic names originate in those countries, but Parmesan Chicken, for example, is in fact an American creation. Ask any first or second-generation Italian and they will tell you that this dish isn't from Italy."
There are also misconceptions of where certain foods come from. Did you know that the original ketchup contains no tomatoes? Or that the fruit that Hawaii is famous for, the pineapple, was not grown first in Hawaii but is actually native to South America? We can also ensure you that you won't have any luck finding fries on the menu of your local French restaurant. They're as American as apple pie.
And for dessert, Monsieur? We all know that ice cream was first created in America for the World's Fair sometime in the early 20th century. We thought we did, anyway. There was actually an advertisement for ice cream in the New York Gazette in 1777 by creator Philip Lenzi, and it is believed to have been consumed before that. Later, a machine was invented making ice cream production easier. Nancy Johnson is credited with inventing the first ice cream maker in 1846 ("Ice cream history," www.homecooking.about.com)
The next time you sink your teeth into one of these commonplace "ethnic" foods, think about their history; they may not be as ethnic as you think.
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What if we told you that the dish that had your heart this Valentine's Day isn't really ethnic at all? This week, MythBusters takes on many of the commonly held false beliefs about the origins of so many of our favorite foods.
For starters, chop suey is a popular dish ordered at Chinese restaurants all over the country. So, naturally we assume that the birth of this fine dish must have taken place in China at some point in past. This assumption would be wrong.
Chop suey originated in New York by the cooks of Chinese ambassador Li Hung Chang. On Aug. 29, 1896 Chang was having American guests for dinner and he wanted his cooks to concoct something new and fresh. So, the famous Chinese meal actually originated in America ("Chop Suey History and Orgin," www.foodreference.com).
The next time you gorge yourself with a burrito the size of your head, you may want to consider the fact that this is not how the Mexican culture invented the famous food. The burrito derived its name from the Spanish word burro - which means little donkey. A giant flour tortilla stuffed with enough food to feed a small family doesn't exactly fit the idea of 'little.'
Although burritos are practically a staple of the Mexican diet, the tortillas contain only a small portion refried beans, Spanish rice or meat. The American burrito is something vastly different from the way it originated in Mexico.
Emily Isberner, first-year psychology major, notes, "Many people believe that foods with ethnic names originate in those countries, but Parmesan Chicken, for example, is in fact an American creation. Ask any first or second-generation Italian and they will tell you that this dish isn't from Italy."
There are also misconceptions of where certain foods come from. Did you know that the original ketchup contains no tomatoes? Or that the fruit that Hawaii is famous for, the pineapple, was not grown first in Hawaii but is actually native to South America? We can also ensure you that you won't have any luck finding fries on the menu of your local French restaurant. They're as American as apple pie.
And for dessert, Monsieur? We all know that ice cream was first created in America for the World's Fair sometime in the early 20th century. We thought we did, anyway. There was actually an advertisement for ice cream in the New York Gazette in 1777 by creator Philip Lenzi, and it is believed to have been consumed before that. Later, a machine was invented making ice cream production easier. Nancy Johnson is credited with inventing the first ice cream maker in 1846 ("Ice cream history," www.homecooking.about.com)
The next time you sink your teeth into one of these commonplace "ethnic" foods, think about their history; they may not be as ethnic as you think.
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