comment put it – tend to live by the maxim of “gobble, gulp and go”.
Nowadays Americans consume more than 12 billion frankfurters a year.
Hamburgers.12
Modern hamburgers on a bun were first served at the St. Louis Fair in
1904, but Americans really began eating them in quantity in the 1920s, when
the White Castle snack bar chain featured a small, square patty at a very
low price. Chopped beef, tasty and easily prepared, quickly caught on as
family fare, and today hamburger stands, drive-ins, and burger chains offer
Americans their favorite hot sandwich at every turn.
The history of the hamburger dates back to medieval Europe. A Tartar
dish of shredded raw beef seasoned with salt and onion juice was brought
from Russia to Germany by early German sailors. The lightly broiled German
chopped-beef cake, with pickles and pumpernickel on the side, was
introduced to America in the early 1800s by German immigrants in the
Midwest.
Doughnuts.12
It was early Dutch settlers and the Pennsylvania Germans who introduced
the yeasty, deep-fried doughnut to America. To the Dutch it was a festive
food, eaten for breakfast on Shrove Sunday.
Legend has it that doughnut got its hole in 1847 when Hanson Gregory, a
lad later to become a sea captain, complained to his mother that her fried
cakes were raw in the center and poked hole4s in the next batch before they
were cooked.
During World War I, when the Salvation Army served them to the troops,
doughnuts really took off as popular fare. Since then, coffee and doughnuts
become a national institution. Stores sell them plain, sugared, frosted,
honey-dipped, or jam-filled.
Apple pie[13]
At its best, with a savory filling and crisp, light-brown crust, apple
pie has long been favorite on American tables.
Apples and apple seems were among the precious supplies the early
colonists brought to the New World. The first large apple orchards were
planted near Boston by William Blaxton in the 1600s. When he moved to Rhode
Island in 1635, he developed the tart Rhode Island Greening, still
considered one of America’s finest apple pies.
As the fruit became abundant, many settlers ate apple pie at every meal.
Garnished with a chunk of cheese, it was a favorite colonial breakfast
dish. By the 18th century apple pie became so popular that Yale College in
New Haven served it every night at supper for more than 100 years.
America’s love affair with apple pie has remained constant. Today’s
housewives, pressed for time, can shortcut the tradition by buying the
pastry ready-made at bakeries and supermarkets. Many variation on the good
old original are available, but the classical apple pie, irresistible when
topped with a slice of rat-trap cheese or slathered with vanilla ice cream,
is still America’s favorite.
Potato chips.13
George Crumb, an American Indian who was the chef at Moon’s Lake House
in Saratoga Springs, New York, in the mid-19th century, was irked
when a
finicky dinner guest kept sending back his French fried potatoes,
complaining they were too thick. In exasperation, Crumb shaved the potatoes
into tissue-thin slice and deep-fried them in oil. He had a dishful of
crisp “Saratoga chips” presented to the guest, who was delighted with the
new treat.
Potato chips became the specialty of Moon’s Lake House and, later,
America’s crunchiest between-meal snack.
Coca-Cola.14
America’s best known soft drink was first concocted by an Atlanta
pharmacist in 1886. The syrup was cooked up by John S. Pemberton from
extracts of coca leaves and the kola nut. He then organized the Pemberton
Chemical Company, and Coca-Cola syrup mixed with plain water was sold in a
local drug-store for 5 cents a glass.
Sales were slow until in 1887 a prosperous Atlanta druggist, Asa G.
Candler, bought the Coca-Cola formula – then as now a carefully guarded
secret – and added carbonate water to the syrup instead of plain water.
Advertisement stressing the words “delicious” and “refreshing” and carry
coupons for free Coca-Cola added to the increase in consumption. A system
of independent local bottling companies was developed, and the flared
bottle, familiar worldwide and said to resemble the hobble skirt, was
designed in 1916.
In 1919 the company was sold out for $25 million to a group headed by
Ernest Woodruff. Under his son, Robert W. Woodruff, Coca-Cola rapidly
expanded its market. By the mid-1970s more than 150 million Cokes a day
were sold in country all over the world.
Today Coca-Cola has to compete with many other soft drinks, but it is
still one of the symbols of the United States.
Kazakh traditional dishes.15
The mode of life of people, traditional craft, interrelations. Customs
and traditions are, perhaps, well comprehended through traditional
dishes. The
methods of cooking, which the Kazakh people used were closely linked with
the culture and mode of life. The table manners of nomads, filled with so
many customs, rituals, special behavior find its place in our time. The
strict nomadic life laws have created moral and ethic norm. The whole clan
and tribe shared the joys and sorrows of life, any unexpected traveler was
an honored guest. Any steppe inhabitant knew, that he was a welcome guest
and had a right to his share. This steppe tradition was strictly observed
and is still observed today by the host. Some time later this violation
merited a sort of punishment. That explains why every host regarded the
ritual of hospitality as sacred rule and welcomed guests warmly and with
all attention and kindly saw them off with good wishes.
The main traditional dish of Kazakh is besbarmak. It is mostly served
for the guests and eaten by hands (bes barmak – means five finger).
Besbarmak is usually cooked of fat mutton and parts of smoked horse meat
and horse delicacies like kazy and shyzhyk. The meat is boiled and
separately is boiled thin paste. Boiled parts of meat are put on the paste
and spiced with a special flavoring called tuzduk. As the custom demands
the host serves the meal in special crockey – tabak. The bas-tabak, which
is placed before the most honourable guests is used to serve the mutton
head, zhambas, horse meat delicacy and other fatty parts. The esteemed
guest (usually the oldest one) cuts bit and part from the head and offers
them to the other guests at the table. The secret of distribution of parts
of the meat from the head lies in traditional wishes. When given the
palate, it expresses the wish – “be wise and eloquent”, the larynx – a gift
to sing, skin of forehead – “be the first among equals”. Meanwhile one or
two dzhigits (young man), sitting next to the esteemed guest start cutting
the boiled parts of meat to pieces and the dish is again spiced with
tuzdyk. The guests are offered to help themselves to the dish. The youth
and children usually sit at sides of the table dastarkhan. They receive
meat directly
from the elders. The custom is called asatu and symbolized the desire of
the youth to experience the long and good life the elders have experienced.
When all the meat and sorpa ( soup with large fat content) have been eaten
and drank, the most respected guest thanks the hostess on behalf of all the
guests and blesses the hosts of that house.
In our days the main features of this old ritual and table etiquette
exist, are carefully kept, followed and passes to their traditions.
Food is Symbolic.16
Throughout history, food has been used as a symbol of wealth or
gratitude, or to demonstrate position and power. In some cultures, eating
lavish and exotic meals is a sign of wealth and power, whereas eating only
the basic foods is a of sign belonging to a more common class. In some
cultures, the offer of a glass of cool, clean water is the greatest
compliment or honor one can receive. In some cultures, whenever you receive
s guest, whether for business or pleasure, you must offer them something to
eat or drink: the more lavish the offering signifies the amount of respect
or honor you give that person. Diet is not a consideration.
For centuries, food has been a key element in religious rituals. Food
was used as offering to the gods and their high priests and priestesses.
Food has been considered a form of tithing to a church or religious sect.
Certain foods such as lamp, bread, and bitter herbs are religious symbols
in some ceremonies.
The sharing of food demonstrates acceptance, friendship, family, and
love. To be invited to “break bread” with a family, in many cultures shows
respect and is a sign of friendship and acceptance. Literature is full of
examples of lovers using food to show their devotion and respect foe each
other: one of the most famous being the line from the Rubaiyal of Omar
Khayyam, “ A Jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread – and Thou…” in the West,
chocolate and sweets have long been a symbolic exchange of affection
between lovers. So, why do we eat the things we do? First, let’s
established that not everything we like to meat is all that good for us,
unfortunately. For example, there is much debate over the value of
chocolate – yes, it does have some redeeming qualities aside from just
tasting wonderful.
Food as a Fad or Cult.17
Food has often found a niche for itself in popular culture. Eating or
entertaining with certain foods has often been a fad or cult. Whichever
group you associate with or aspire to be like will dictate which fad you
