Four American Food Recipes: Beyond the Burger

When thinking about the gastronomy of the United States, hamburgers, hot dogs, barbecue sauce and, in general, what we know here as come to mind. Also the macro portions, the sugary soft drinks and all those icons that have contributed to the bad food fame at the same time as the high rates of overweight and obesity in both adults and children in that country. It is true that the American gastronomic offer is based largely on this type of product. Nevertheless, there are traditional recipes made from vegetables or fish, which break with the tonic of meat and processed. To learn more about other lesser-known options in American cuisine, we suggest a few traditional recipes:

Sucotash

Sucotash is a recipe based on garden products. It is said that the origin of its name is in the mixture of different words in the language of an Indian tribe. This American food, being made up of easily accessible and relatively inexpensive ingredients, was widely consumed during the great depression in the United States. The basic foods that comprise it are corn and beans, but it is possible to add almost any other type of vegetable cut into small cubes such as peppers of different colors or zucchini, and you can also add slices of ockra or cherry tomatoes, or cut green beans. The combination of cereals (corn) and legumes (beans), offers us a dish with the combination of all the essential amino acids, so without adding any product of animal origin we have a complete protein-level dish. The least interesting part on a nutritional level is that the main fat used is butter, not the olive oil typical of the Mediterranean diet.

Succotash ingredients:

• Tender corn.
• Tender broad beans.
• Peppers of different colors.
• Cherry tomatoes.
• Green beans and / or ockra.
• Onions.
• Olive oil.
• Butter.
• Tarragon and chives.
• Salt and pepper.

Coleslaw

This salad, despite having European origin, is part of the typical United States gastronomyYes, because nowadays it is very often served with meat. It is an essential part of barbecues, barbecues or picnics. It is a very fine cut. In fact, all the ingredients are cut into very thin strips julienne or chiffonade style. The basic ingredients are cabbage and carrot, although it can also contain other vegetables such as onion, apple and different types of cabbages.

As it is a vegetable dish, we could say that coleslaw is an American food interesting on a nutritional level, the problem is the amount of sauce that is usually added, since it is usually seasoned with a mixture of mayonnaise, vinegar, etc. The nutritional advice, therefore, would be that, if you choose to consume this salad on a regular basis, it is desirable to limit the amount of sauce that is added.

Coleslaw ingredients:

• Cabbage or white cabbage or of different types. Half cabbage
• Carrot, 2 units.
• Apple, medium.
• Onion, a small one.
• Mayonnaise.
• Sour cream.
• Vinegar.
• Mustard.

Pumpkin pie

It seems that what we know today as pumpkin cake it does not at all resemble the origin of this recipe. It is said that originally the top was cut off and filled with cream, eggs, honey and spices. It was cooked by putting it under the ashes in the fire. Subsequently, the preparation has been varied and today it is one of the most typical recipes of the american gastronomy and is part of the tables on Thanksgiving Day.

Currently, the recipe tries to maintain original characteristics and therefore the dough is cooked with the skin of the pumpkin and inside a puree made with whipped pumpkin. It is very common to make this dessert based on canned pumpkin that is also sold already spiced.

Nutritionally, the positive part is that it is based on an interesting plant food like la, and the negative part is the amount of sugar it contains, so its consumption should not be abused.

Pumpkin pie ingredients:

• 1 can of pumpkin (15 ounces or about 425 g).
• 1 can of sweetened condensed milk (14 ounces, about 400 g).
• 2 large eggs.
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger.
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
• 1 crust without oven.

Clam chowder

What is known for chowder They are a type of soup, usually fish or shellfish, which are generally blended with cream and thickened with flour. East type of soups they are typical of the New England coast. It seems that the French fishermen who in the 18th century They worked on the shores of Newfoundland, preparing fish soups similar to today's bouillabaisse. They were prepared hot, in French "chaud", phonetically similar to chowder, with the remains of the day's catch. These soups broke through the traditions of the region and clams, very abundant in the area, gave rise to the current version of clam shouder, a clam soup with cream and flour that is combined with other plant foods , and usually with a little bacon. As in all recipes, there are variants.

Clam chowder ingredients:

• The 1 kg of clams.
• 2 slices of bacon.
• potatoes.
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks of celery.
• 1 onion.
• 200 g of sweet corn.
• 1 lemon
• 4 tablespoons of flour.
• 250 ml of cream.
• Extra virgin olive oil.
• Salt and pepper.
• 1 teaspoon of paprika.
• 1 bay leaf.
• Parsley.

Other American food recipes

Other of the typical American foods They range from marshmallows or candy clouds coated with different ingredients, through pecan pie or pecan pie, barbecues and their ribs in sauce, pepperoni pizzas, macaroni and cheese, peanut butter sandwiches and jam and of course, hamburgers and hot dogs. Many of these, as we have mentioned, would not be nutritionally recommended, but we cannot fail to mention them, as they are known.

• There is a kitchen beyond fast food in the United States, based on plant products, cereals and legumes.
• Typical dishes such as Sucotash or Coleslaw are made from products from the garden.
• Another issue is sauces, sometimes excessively caloric and fats that accompany them, or the fat in which they are cooked (butter instead of our olive oil).

Bachelor of Food Science and Technology Diploma in Human Nutrition and Dietetics