Editing American cuisine (section)

===Colonial period===
{{Main|Cuisine of the Thirteen Colonies}}
[[File:Our_(Almost_Traditional)_Thanksgiving_Dinner.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Roast turkey with [[gravy]], cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, green beans, sweet and sour cod, steamed rice, ''achara'' (pickled green papaya relish), ''leche flan'', pig in a blanket and apple crisp]]
[[File:Map of territorial growth 1775.jpg|thumb|left|Map of the [[13 American colonies|13 American Colonies]] in 1775]]

The [[European colonization of the Americas|European settlement of the Americas]] introduced a number of ingredients, spices, herbs, and cooking styles to the continent.

When European colonists came to [[History of Virginia|Virginia]], [[History of Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania]], [[History of Massachusetts|Massachusetts]], and any of the other English colonies on the eastern seaboard of North America, their initial attempts at survival included planting crops familiar to them from back home in England. In the same way, they farmed animals for clothing and meat.{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}} Through hardships and the eventual establishment of trade with England, the [[West Indies]] and other regions, the colonists were able to derive a cuisine similar to what they had previously [[British cuisine|consumed in Britain]] and [[Irish cuisine|Ireland]], while also introducing local animals and plants to their diet. American colonists followed along the line of British cookery up until the Revolution, when a desire to distinguish themselves from Britain led Americans to create "American" styles of cookery.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Smith|2004|p=512}}.</ref>

In 1796, the first American cookbook was published, and others followed.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stavely|first1=Keith|last2=Fitzgerald|first2=Kathleen|title=Northern Hospitality: Cooking by the Book in New England|year=2011|publisher=[[University of Massachusetts Press]]|pages=7–33|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRbJUQMM0ssC|access-date=August 12, 2016|chapter=Culinarily Colonized: Cookbooks in Colonial New England|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pRbJUQMM0ssC&pg=PA7|jstor=j.ctt5vk2dv|isbn=978-1558498617}}</ref> There was a general disdain for [[French cuisine|French cuisine/French cookery]], even with French [[Huguenot]] settlers in [[South Carolina]] and French-Canadian emigrants in America. One of the cookbooks that proliferated in the colonies was the English cookbook  ''[[The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy]]'' (1747) by [[Hannah Glasse]], who referred to "the blind folly of this age that would rather be imposed on by a French booby, than give encouragement to a good English cook!" Of the French recipes given in the text, she speaks out flagrantly against the dishes as she "... think[s] it an odd jumble of trash."<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Glasse|1750}}.</ref>

With the introduction of slavery, Africans were brought into the colonies. With them, came foods and ingredients such as [[bananas]], [[peanut]]s, [[sweet potato]], [[Yam (vegetable)|yams]], and [[coffee]], and cooking styles reminiscent of West African cuisines are still found in many dishes, especially in [[Southern cuisine]].

The [[expulsion of the Acadians]] from Acadia led many of them to Louisiana, where they left a French influence [[Cajun cuisine|in the diet]] of those settled in Louisiana, and among the Acadian Francophones who settled eastern Maine and parts of what is now northern Vermont at the same time they colonized New Brunswick.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Smith|2004|p=512, Vol. 1}}.</ref>

Some of the Jews who fled from the [[Spanish Inquisition|Inquisition]] with other [[Sephardic Jews]] in the 15th century had previously settled in [[Recife, Brazil]] and the [[West Indies]], where their cuisine was influenced by new local ingredients like [[molasses]], [[rum]], [[sugar]], [[vanilla]], [[chocolate]], [[Capsicum|peppers]], [[corn]], [[tomato]]es, [[kidney beans]], [[string beans]] and [[turkey (food)|turkey]]. In 1654, twenty three Sephardic Jews arrived in [[New Amsterdam]]  bringing this cuisine with them to the early colonial United States. Early American Jewish cuisine was heavily influenced by this branch of Sephardic cuisine. Many of the recipes were bound up in observance of traditional holidays and remained true to their origins. These included dishes such as stew and fish fried in [[olive oil]], beef and bean stews, [[almond pudding]]s, and [[egg custard]]s. The first [[kosher food|kosher]] cookbook in America was the ''Jewish Cookery Book'' by Esther Levy, published in 1871 in [[Philadelphia]] and includes many of the traditional recipes.<ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Andrew|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America|date=January 31, 2013|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=375|isbn=978-0-19-973496-2|access-date=March 18, 2023|archive-date=May 21, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240521012537/https://books.google.com/books?id=DOJMAgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

====Common ingredients====
[[File:New England clam bake.jpg|thumb|A New England [[clam bake]] consists of various steamed [[shellfish]].]]
The American colonial diet varied depending on the settled region in which someone lived. Local cuisine patterns had been established by the mid-18th century. The [[New England]] colonies were extremely similar in their dietary habits to those that many of them had brought [[English cuisine|from England]]. As many of the New Englanders were originally from England, game hunting was useful when they immigrated to the [[New World]]. Many of the northern colonists depended upon their ability to hunt, or upon others from whom they could purchase game. Hunting was the preferred method of protein acquisition, as opposed to animal husbandry, which required much more work to defend the kept animals against raids.<ref>{{Cite book |date=January 1, 2012 |title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acref/9780199734962.001.0001 |volume=2 |pages=26 |doi=10.1093/acref/9780199734962.001.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-973496-2 |access-date=May 24, 2023 |archive-date=January 16, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116171827/http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199734962.001.0001/acref-9780199734962 |url-status=live }}</ref>

A striking difference for the colonists in New England compared to other regions was seasonality.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Oliver|2005|pp=16–19}}.</ref> While in the southern colonies, they could farm almost year-round, in the northern colonies, the growing seasons were very restricted. In addition, northern colonists' close proximity to the ocean gave them a bounty of fresh fish to add to their diet.

[[Wheat]], the grain used to bake bread back in England, was almost impossible to grow, and imports of wheat were far from cost productive.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Pillsbury|1998|p=25}}.</ref>{{dubious|Clarify timeperiod and location(New England?)|date=July 2015}} Substitutes in cases such as this included cornmeal. The [[Johnnycake]] was a poor substitute to some for wheaten bread, but acceptance by both the northern and southern colonies seems evident.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Oliver|2005|p=22}}.</ref>

====Livestock and game====
Commonly hunted game included deer, bear, [[American bison|buffalo]], and wild turkey. The larger muscles of the animals were roasted and served with currant sauce, while the other smaller portions went into [[soup]]s, [[stew]]s, [[sausage]]s, [[pie]]s, and pastries.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Smith|2004|pp=546–547, Vol. 1}}.</ref> In addition to the game, colonists' protein intake was supplemented by [[mutton]].

The [[Spanish people|Spanish]] in [[Florida]] originally introduced [[sheep]] to the New World, but this development never quite reached the North, and there they were introduced by the [[Dutch people|Dutch]] and English. The keeping of sheep was a result of the English non-practice of [[animal husbandry]].<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Smith|2004|p=26, Vol. 2}}.</ref> The animals provided wool when young and mutton upon maturity after wool production was no longer desirable.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Root|De Rochemont|1981|pp=176–182}}</ref> The forage-based diet for sheep that prevailed in the Colonies produced a characteristically strong, gamy flavor and a tougher consistency, which required aging and slow cooking to tenderize.<ref>{{cite news |first=R.W. Jr. |last=Apple |title=Much Ado About Mutton, but Not in These Parts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/dining/29mutt.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 29, 2006 |access-date=January 23, 2008 |quote=Until it fell from favor after World War II, it was a favorite of most Britons, who prized [[mutton]] above lamb (from younger animals) for its texture and flavor. It has a bolder taste, a deeper color and a chewier consistency. |archive-date=April 16, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416174107/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/29/dining/29mutt.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Fats and oils====
[[Image:Plate of scrapple.jpg|thumb|200px|A plate of [[scrapple]], a traditional dish of the [[Delaware Valley]] region made of [[pork]] and [[cornmeal]], still eaten today]]
[[Fat]]s and [[oil]]s made from animals served to cook many colonial foods. Many homes had a sack made of deerskin filled with bear oil for cooking, while solidified bear fat resembled [[shortening]].

Rendered [[pork]] fat made the most popular cooking medium, especially from the cooking of [[bacon]]. Pork fat was used more often in the southern colonies than the northern colonies as the Spanish introduced pigs earlier to the South. The colonists enjoyed [[butter]] in cooking as well, but it was rare prior to the [[American Revolution]], as [[cattle]] were not yet plentiful.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Smith|2004|pp=458–459, Vol. 2}}.</ref>

====Alcoholic drinks====
Prior to the [[American Revolution|Revolution]], New Englanders consumed large quantities of [[rum]] and [[beer]], as maritime trade provided them relatively easy access to the goods needed to produce these items. Rum was the distilled spirit of choice, as the main ingredient, [[molasses]], was readily available from trade with the West Indies.

Further into the interior, however, one would often find colonists consuming [[whiskey]], as they did not have similar access to [[sugar cane]]. They did have ready access to corn and rye, which they used to produce their whiskey.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Pillsbury|1998|p=17}}.</ref>

Until the Revolution, many considered whiskey to be a coarse alcohol unfit for human consumption, as many believed that it caused the poor to become raucous and unkempt drunkards.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Crowgey|1971|pp=18–19}}.</ref> In addition to these alcohol-based products produced in America, imports were seen on merchant shelves, including [[wine]] and [[brandy]].<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Pillsbury|1998|p=18}}.</ref>

====Southern variations====
In comparison to the northern colonies, the [[southern colonies]] were quite diverse in their agricultural diet. The uplands of [[Piedmont (United States)|Piedmont]] and the [[Atlantic coastal plain|coastal lowlands]] made up the two main parts of the southern colonies.

The diet of the uplands often included wild game, [[cabbage]], [[string beans]], [[corn]], [[Cucurbita|squashes]] and white [[potato]]es. People had biscuits as part of their [[breakfast]], along with healthy portions of pork.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Pillsbury|1998|pp=47–48}}.</ref> The lowlands of Louisiana included a varied diet heavily influenced by the French, Spanish, Acadians, Germans, Native Americans, Africans and Caribbeans. Rice played a large part of the diet in Louisiana. In addition, unlike the uplands, the lowlands subsistence of protein came mostly from coastal seafood. Much of the diet involved the use of peppers, as it still does to this day.<ref>{{Harvcolnb|Pillsbury|1998|pp=48–49}}.</ref><ref>{{Harvcolnb|Smith|2004|p=149, Vol. 2}}.</ref>