The Hamburger Is the 'Most American' of Foods

Posted by Adam Kuban, July 1, 2008 at 9:30 AM

So sayeth the James Beard Foundation. In a white paper (download PDF from JBF here), the culinary society tried to take the measure of U.S. food culture and determine whether, in this nation that's often called a melting pot, we had a distinctly American cuisine. Of the 248 people surveyed, 90.8 percent believed we did have one. According to those surveyed, the top five foods that make up this crazy quilt of Amerifood are:

• Hamburgers and cheeseburgers
• Barbecue
• Fried chicken
• Mac and cheese
• Apple pie

So I think it's time to adjust a phrase: "As American as baseball and burgers" will now replace "... baseball and apple pie." Chew on that as you down some burgers this Fourth of July weekend.

And stay tuned, folks, because we're about to drop a beautiful analysis of one of the most important burgers in the nation—certainly one that has woven its way into American foodlore.

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Tags: James Beard