American Eats
Encyclopedia
American Eats was an American documentary series
that aired on The History Channel
from June to November 2006. The program follows in the footsteps of the earlier documentaries American Eats: History on a Bun and American Eats: More American eats both of which also aired on the History Channel in 2006. The series was produced by Atlas Media Corp.
and foods. Each episode details the particular foods' origins, key innovators, history
, and evolution
into modern cuisine. The series is subtitled "The Food That Built America" due to its reverence for food's place in American history and its impact on culture. The show is known for its nostalgia
and general quirkiness, often including facts such as "Did you know Teddy Roosevelt took over 500 gallons of beer
on an African safari
?"
Marathons
of American Eats aired regularly on Thanksgiving
from 2006 through 2009.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that aired on The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
from June to November 2006. The program follows in the footsteps of the earlier documentaries American Eats: History on a Bun and American Eats: More American eats both of which also aired on the History Channel in 2006. The series was produced by Atlas Media Corp.
Overview
The series examines the history of American cookingCooking
Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
and foods. Each episode details the particular foods' origins, key innovators, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
, and evolution
Evolution
Evolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
into modern cuisine. The series is subtitled "The Food That Built America" due to its reverence for food's place in American history and its impact on culture. The show is known for its nostalgia
Nostalgia
The term nostalgia describes a yearning for the past, often in idealized form.The word is a learned formation of a Greek compound, consisting of , meaning "returning home", a Homeric word, and , meaning "pain, ache"...
and general quirkiness, often including facts such as "Did you know Teddy Roosevelt took over 500 gallons of beer
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
on an African safari
Safari
A safari is an overland journey, usually a trip by tourists to Africa. Traditionally, the term is used for a big-game hunt, but today the term often refers to a trip taken not for the purposes of hunting, but to observe and photograph animals and other wildlife.-Etymology:Entering the English...
?"
Marathons
Marathon (television)
In television, a marathon is typically the sequential broadcast of a single or a number of related television programs, most notably reflecting a theme....
of American Eats aired regularly on Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
from 2006 through 2009.
Featured foods
Some American foods that have been featured are:- HamburgerHamburgerA hamburger is a sandwich consisting of a cooked patty of ground meat usually placed inside a sliced bread roll...
s - Fried chickenFried chickenFried chicken is a dish consisting of chicken pieces usually from broiler chickens which have been floured or battered and then pan fried, deep fried, or pressure fried. The breading adds a crisp coating or crust to the exterior...
- Hot fudge sundae
- Hot dogs
- PizzaPizzaPizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
- Hoagie (also grinderGrinder-Machinery:*Angle grinder, hand held power tool*Grinding machine, used in a machining operation to refine the surface of materials*Tool and cutter grinder, a machine used to manufacture or resharpen cutting tools*Coffee grinder, a machine used for grinding coffee...
, hero) - ReubenReuben sandwichThe Reuben sandwich is a hot sandwich of layered meat, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, with a dressing. These are grilled between slices of rye bread. The meat is either corned beef or pastrami, and the dressing is either Russian or Thousand Island dressing...
- Ice creamIce creamIce cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
, ice cream coneIce cream coneAn ice cream cone, poke or cornet is a dry, cone-shaped pastry, usually made of a wafer similar in texture to a waffle, allowing ice cream to be eaten without a bowl or spoon... - Chocolate chip cookieChocolate chip cookieA chocolate chip cookie is a drop cookie that originated in the United States and features chocolate chips as its distinguishing ingredient. The traditional recipe combines a dough composed of butter and both brown and white sugar with semi-sweet chocolate chips...
- Big MacBig MacThe Big Mac is a hamburger sold by McDonald's, an international fast food restaurant chain. It is one of the company's signature products...
- "Chinese" foodAmerican Chinese cuisineAmerican Chinese cuisine refers to the style of food served by many Chinese restaurants in the United States. This type of cooking typically caters to Western tastes, and differs significantly from the original Chinese cuisine.-History:...
- CandyCandyCandy, specifically sugar candy, is a confection made from a concentrated solution of sugar in water, to which flavorings and colorants are added...
- ChocolateChocolateChocolate is a raw or processed food produced from the seed of the tropical Theobroma cacao tree. Cacao has been cultivated for at least three millennia in Mexico, Central and South America. Its earliest documented use is around 1100 BC...
- BeerBeerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
- Soft DrinkSoft drinkA soft drink is a non-alcoholic beverage that typically contains water , a sweetener, and a flavoring agent...
s - CerealCerealCereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
- Bread stuffingStuffingIn cooking, stuffing or filling is an edible substance or mixture, often a starch, used to fill a cavity in another food item...
- Candied yams
- Cranberry sauceCranberry sauceCranberry sauce or cranberry jelly is a sauce or relish made out of cranberries, commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner in North America and Christmas dinner in the United Kingdom...
- FruitcakeFruitcakeFruitcake is a cake made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts, and spices, and soaked in spirits. A cake that simply has fruit in it as an ingredient can also be colloquially called a fruitcake. In the United Kingdom, certain rich versions may be iced and decorated...
- GingerbreadGingerbreadGingerbread is a term used to describe a variety of sweet food products, which can range from a soft, moist loaf cake to something close to a ginger biscuit. What they have in common are the predominant flavors of ginger and a tendency to use honey or molasses rather than just sugar...
- Candy canes
- TurduckenTurduckenA turducken is a dish consisting of a de-boned chicken stuffed into a de-boned duck, which itself is stuffed into a de-boned turkey. The word turducken is a portmanteau of turkey, duck, and chicken or hen....
- Snack foods: pretzels, peanutsPeanutsPeanuts is a syndicated daily and Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz, which ran from October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, continuing in reruns afterward...
, popcornPopcornPopcorn, or popping corn, is corn which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. Corn is able to pop because, like sorghum, quinoa and millet, its kernels have a hard moisture-sealed hull and a dense starchy interior. This allows pressure to build inside the kernel until an explosive...
, corn chips, potato chips - Soy sauceSoy sauceSoy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
- Maple syrupMaple syrupMaple syrup is a syrup usually made from the xylem sap of sugar maple, red maple, or black maple trees, although it can also be made from other maple species such as the bigleaf maple. In cold climates, these trees store starch in their trunks and roots before the winter; the starch is then...
- Canned foods
- BarbecueBarbecueBarbecue or barbeque , used chiefly in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Australia is a method and apparatus for cooking meat, poultry and occasionally fish with the heat and hot smoke of a fire, smoking wood, or hot coals of...
- Jell-OJell-OJell-O is a brand name belonging to U.S.-based Kraft Foods for a number of gelatin desserts, including fruit gels, puddings and no-bake cream pies. The brand's popularity has led to it being used as a generic term for gelatin dessert across the U.S. and Canada....
- SpamSpam (food)Spam is a canned precooked meat product made by the Hormel Foods Corporation, first introduced in 1937. The labeled ingredients in the classic variety of Spam are chopped pork shoulder meat, with ham meat added, salt, water, modified potato starch as a binder, and sodium nitrite as a preservative...
Season 1
- Soda
- Salty Snacks
- Hotdogs
- Canned Foods
- History on a Bun
- Ice Cream
- Cookies
- Chocolate
- Condiments
- Barbecue
- Beer
- Cereal: History in a Bowl
- Pizza
- Holiday Foods
- More American Eats