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American Foods

Believe it or not, all these foods and beverages were invented right here in the U.S.A.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: December 4, 2019
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First submittedMay 21, 2014
Times taken37,477
Average score60.0%
Rating3.69
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Description
Answer
Ground beef sandwich
named after a German city
Hamburger
Frank on a bun
Hot Dog
Canned pork product popular in Hawaii
Spam
Single-serving cake made in a muffin tin
Cupcake
Soft drink once made with cocaine
Coca-Cola
Prophetic dessert thought to be Chinese
Fortune Cookie
Breakfast food made popular by
Battle Creek health nuts
Breakfast Cereal
Ring-shaped coffee accompaniment
Doughnut
Chocolate cake
with coconut pecan frosting
German
Chocolate Cake
Graham crackers, marshmallow,
and chocolate
S'More
Description
Answer
Cajun soup often made with
okra and shellfish
Gumbo
Meat sandwich of Philadelphia
Cheesesteak
Soda originally made with sassafras
Root Beer
Brand of cream-filled sponge cake
said to have infinite shelf life
Twinkie
Marinated raw tuna of Hawaii
Ahi Poke
Style of whiskey
associated with Kentucky
Bourbon
Sushi roll with crab and avocado
California Roll
Fried ball of cornmeal batter
Hushpuppy
Citrus pie of south Florida
Key Lime Pie
Deep-fried burrito
Chimichanga
82 Comments
+3
Level 78
May 22, 2014
Awesome...so the only American foods are junk foods. Even the meals on here, burger, hotdog, cheesesteak, not exactly the paragon of health. Sigh...
+4
Level 86
May 22, 2014
Ahi tuna is pretty good for you, in moderation. And bourbon is pure joy in a bottle ;)
+2
Level 50
May 26, 2014
It doesn't actually say that these are the ONLY American foods....
+4
Level 81
Jul 6, 2014
It does say that Corn Flakes were popularized by health nuts. And yes, these are not the ONLY American foods. Americans also invented Grape Nuts and Boca Burgers..
+8
Level 81
Mar 26, 2019
and some British foods I'm sure legally would have to go in the pet food aisle of an American grocer. What's your point?
+2
Level 90
Apr 21, 2019
Is there palatable English food?
+4
Level 83
May 8, 2019
Yes, but you have to dig a bit. WW2 rationing is usually blamed for loss of wider variety of edible traditional food. Later it was apparently easier to embrace world cuisine.
+4
Level 62
Jul 3, 2019
Imagine the country that invented Spam criticising anyone else's cuisine.
+2
Level 81
Aug 26, 2019
I'm not a country.
+1
Level 73
Aug 26, 2019
The widely spread usage of spam can probably also be blamed on WWII.
+1
Level 49
Aug 18, 2017
It's really more about how they're served at restaurants (especially fast food) that's unhealthy. A burger/hot dog can be quite nutritious with the right ingredients. A good whole grain bun provides fiber and carbs, the meat adds protein, and there are lots of veggies to choose from for getting micronutrients. Unfortunately, it's more common to see bleached white flour buns slathered with excessive amounts of butter, mayo, and ketchup. And they all probably have HFCS added for good measure.
+1
Level 45
Apr 24, 2018
now you made me hungry!
+2
Level 60
Aug 26, 2019
Butter? What are you, Canadian?
+1
Level 90
Jul 17, 2018
...and popular cuisine of other countries isn't full of fat and starch? Maybe Japan, other than that?
+1
Level 81
Mar 26, 2019
what do you think rice is?
+1
Level 70
Mar 26, 2019
Where is rice on its own popular cuisine?
+1
Level 90
Apr 21, 2019
It isn't. It's a base food, but not popular cuisine.
+1
Level 81
Aug 26, 2019
it's a starch. Plain white rice has almost no nutritional value at all. Like white bread.
+1
Level 48
May 22, 2014
Cereal is actually terrible for you.
+8
Level 86
Jun 9, 2014
I'm not sure you can make that generalization. Not all cereals are created equal ;)
+2
Level 76
Jul 6, 2014
German chocolate cake?
+1
Level 75
Jul 6, 2014
buffalo wings
+3
Level 51
Mar 6, 2017
cool
+1
Level 55
Jul 6, 2014
Where I grew up, we always called it a corn fritter - not hush puppies. I think that is a regional term.
+1
Level 44
Jul 7, 2014
No Ahi?
+2
Level 74
Jul 7, 2014
been to Hawaii many times and never heard of Ahi Poke...just Ahi
+1
Level 74
Jun 26, 2018
I thought the same thing, but we were there fourteen years ago so I thought things might be different now. I looked it up and laughed when I saw an article on the popularity of poke salad. I am a Southern girl, and around here poke salad (or salet) is something quite different. :)
+1
Level 57
Mar 26, 2019
Ahi is the name of the actual fish and poke is how its prepared
+1
Level 90
Aug 26, 2019
Then you haven't been paying attention. I've been going to Hawaii once or twice a year for the past 30 years (visiting family). Ahi poke (as well as many other types of poke) is super popular and has been for as long as I can remember.
+1
Level 14
Jul 24, 2014
I missed doughnut. And cupcake. Aaannnnddd....I live in America. That is sad.
+1
Level 9
Aug 27, 2014
chimmichanga is Mexican
+5
Level 48
May 15, 2017
No, invented in USA. Born from a burrito and no doubt some Mexican folks or of Mexican ancestry were involved, but invented in the U.S.
+1
Level 90
Aug 26, 2019
Just like nachos. Invented in Texas but adopted into Mexican cuisine.
+1
Level 60
Aug 26, 2019
Actually, Nachos were invented in Mexico, but on an American military base near the border.
+1
Level 76
Aug 23, 2023
I didn't see any sold anywhere in Mexico in the two months or so I spent traveling there
+1
Level 9
Aug 27, 2014
Also Fortune cookies are Chinese. also nobody knows what Spam is made of
+1
Level 90
Aug 26, 2019
Nope. Fortune cookies invented in the U.S.
+1
Level 60
Aug 26, 2019
Not Chinese at all.
+2
Level 36
Aug 26, 2019
Spam is actually Spiced Ham.
+1
Level 71
Feb 13, 2015
why is america so obsessed with germany there are like three german things here
+3
Level 74
Jun 26, 2018
Again, the German Chocolate Cake was named for a man whose last name was German. It has nothing to do with the country. Germany can lay claim to the Hamburg steak, but it was in America that it was first put onto a bun with toppings which turned it into our beloved hamburger. In the same way, the frankfurter is German, but it was a German immigrant living in the US who first put them on buns and began selling them with toppings, which became our hot dog. So, one item has nothing to do with Germany, the other two had German connections, but the final products were developed in the USA. (I'm part German so I win either way.) :)
+1
Level 83
May 8, 2019
German Americans are supposedly the largest group if you count the British ancestry separately (English, Scottish etc), but due to 2 world wars huge number of names were changed and many people hid their ancestry, so it's not so prominent today.
+1
Level 36
Aug 26, 2019
Djilas: Yes, for example Bosch (Bush); Trumpf (Trump); Rosenfeld (Roosevelt); Schmidt (Smith, Smyth; Hoeven (Hoover)...
+1
Level 76
Aug 23, 2023
Roosevelt was from Dutch stock
+1
Level 72
Feb 17, 2015
Really? Cereal doesn't work for breakfast cereal? It says breakfast food in the clue, and no one ever says cereal and means anything else.
+1
Level ∞
Feb 17, 2015
Of course cereal works. Sheesh.
+1
Level 51
Apr 4, 2015
Can you maybe just accept "ahi?"

It's what it's usually referred to as.

+1
Level 51
May 4, 2015
Never have I been so proud of my country.
+2
Level 77
Mar 26, 2019
That's kinda sad.
+1
Level 43
Sep 24, 2016
Explain why you won't accept "hotdog".
+2
Level 81
Jun 12, 2017
Explain why your name is not "DapperAlpaca"
+2
Level 59
Dec 29, 2016
Technically the California roll actually originated in Canada by Chef Tojo
+1
Level 74
Oct 22, 2020
Agree this should be fixed.
+1
Level ∞
Oct 22, 2020
Nothing to be fixed. Although there is a Canadian claim, there is much more evidence to suggest a Californian origin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_roll

Honestly, the Canadian claim seems unlikely. It's just one dude, who decades later, claimed to invent it based on his own memory. Meanwhile, the earliest written sources trace the invention to California.

+2
Level 36
Apr 30, 2017
first one was actually made in germany
+1
Level 60
Aug 26, 2019
That's a matter of debate.
+1
Level 48
May 15, 2017
I encountered 17 of these before adulthood, sushi and cheesesteak following shortly. If not for the tuna I could have aced this on experience.
+1
Level 81
Jun 26, 2018
I had ahi poke for the first time when I was about 19. I had bourbon for the first time at around age 24. California rolls I think was 16 or 17. Most of the rest of these before then- though I think that my first chimichanga might have been in my mid 30s.
+1
Level 85
Oct 12, 2017
Can't see "breakfast cereals" without also thinking of sloths, and orangutans, for some reason.

And there was much rejoicing. (yay!)

+2
Level 62
Jan 19, 2018
I got cholesterol and diabètes just by reading those words...
+1
Level 4
May 18, 2018
to hard
+1
Level 81
Jun 26, 2018
You should add pizza to this. The food that goes by this name and is popular and famous worldwide was invented in Little Italy, New York City.
+4
Level 70
Jul 29, 2018
Really? Not to mention the fact that the quiz isn't "all American foods", pizza (at least in a prototype form) comes from Naples. The food has evolved continuously since its invention, doubtless with some evolution in the USA, where it was first popularised outside of Italy. However, as far as I am aware there is not much reason why the changes in the USA should be considered great enough for pizza to be considered a different type of food from the Italian form.
+1
Level 81
Mar 26, 2019
Really. The food called pizza that is famous and popular worldwide was invented in Little Italy in New York City. What I said. If we're going to give credit to any foodstuff that was vaguely similar and went by the same name (with a different regional pronunciation) then you ought to credit Greece for making "pita." The changes were substantial.

New York pizza = a perfectly circular pizza pie of thin, semi-rigid crust cooked until golden brown, cut into several triangular shaped pieces so that you can hold one in your hand and eat it this way, with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese distributed evenly over the pie as a foundation upon which to put other toppings like pepperoni, sausage, olives, peppers, onions, etc.

Neapolitan pizza = an amorphous blob of extremely greasy, doughy whiteish undercooked mush, served uncut, with a few dollops of cheese dropped here and there at random intervals, an uneven drip of tomato sauce, and maybe one sprig of basil in the center.

+1
Level 81
Mar 26, 2019
The Neapolitan pie is best eaten with a knife and fork, because if you try to pick it up grease will drip everywhere and the dough is not stiff at all it will fall apart and the pool of oil in the middle will run down your arms and on to the table. If you try to eat a NY pizza with a fork you will be mocked.

Which of these two sounds more like the kind of "pizza" that you would find being enjoyed in literally every country on Earth (including Italy outside of Naples!)?

drunken gandalf once commented that Chicago-style pizza is not pizza, it's quiche. :) I laughed at that remark and it's probably true. I'd add to that and say Neapolitan pizza isn't pizza it's soup. Soup in an undercooked bread bowl.

New York pizza is pizza. To most people. Including those in your country, TW

+1
Level 81
Mar 26, 2019
It's actually very similar to hamburgers and hot dogs which ander explained above. If someone wanted a hamburger and they ended up with German hamburg steak... they wouldn't be getting the food that they asked for. Even if the names are similar.
+2
Level 70
Mar 26, 2019
https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=6C80AF64CD07798ACEA88E1503BD696C0321237C&thid=OIP.BUXql_8aIy2tlfbDBEaTbQHaE8&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fd1wb0ukcj65cfk.cloudfront.net%2Frestaurant_original%2F43f7a057-52b2-4659-90c2-7797a44422f9.jpg&exph=2000&expw=3000&q=double+zero+pizza&selectedindex=3&ajaxhist=0&vt=0

That's pizza. I like it.

https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&id=8177EC40D43ED183217955EE5D15BDC67A3AC753&thid=OIP.Hz7Q9c7O9gCR79fgu8X82gHaE8&mediaurl=http%3A%2F%2Fpizzainny.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2016%2F04%2FNew-York-Pizza-Slice.jpg&exph=960&expw=1440&q=new+york+pizza&selectedindex=0&ajaxhist=0&vt=0

That's pizza too. I also like that. One of them was invented in the USA. The other, as far as I know, wasn't. Partial credit can be given to the USA. Partial credit can be given to Italy. Partial credit can be given to Greece. You can give the full credit to the US for the last step if you like. Because #1 is pizza too, I wouldn't.

+2
Level 73
Apr 27, 2019
Marketing aside, Sicilian pizza (sfincione) is the probable progenitor of NY pizza from what I hear, which itself descended from focaccia.

Neapolitan pizza straight from a Neapolitan oven is amazing. If the crust is mushy something's wrong. Either you failed to eat it fresh out of the oven. Or you went to the wrong place and the person who made it for you is inept (e.g. a large diameter is a bad idea because it ruins the crust chewiness in the middle, so stick to individual personal size pies).

It's intended to be simple in "toppings" so that you can enjoy the quality, simplicity and balance. Saying Neapolitan pizza is about "toppings" is like saying sushi is about toppings, or gumbo, cassoulet and paella are about fillings. These dishes are synergies of good ingredients. Everything in authentic Neapolitan pie is specific, fresh, and high quality: finely refined flour, buffalo milk mozza or fior di latte (cow milk), excellent olive oil, maybe prosciutto di parma. Big yum

+1
Level 81
Aug 26, 2019
I had it fresh out of the oven at the most famous pizzeria in Naples. It was alright. It just shouldn't be called pizza as it doesn't much resemble what 99% of the world calls pizza.
+2
Level 77
Jul 29, 2018
My score (thankfully) 4/10 -- who eats this stuff???
+2
Level 70
Jul 29, 2018
You are taking the same quiz as me, right?
+1
Level 36
Dec 7, 2018
The sandwich shown is a Cheeseburger. A hamburger is without the cheese.
+3
Level 37
Mar 26, 2019
Should the donut count? was a thing in the Netherlands (oliebollen) . dutch immigrant baker guy just poured icing on top when arriving in the US.

Not really a "american invention"

+1
Level 81
Aug 26, 2019
All cultural inventions borrow and build upon what has come before. Also people who like plain donuts are barbarians.
+2
Level 45
Mar 26, 2019
Wow, this explains so much.
+2
Level 77
Mar 26, 2019
Yes, I believe it. I can believe it just fine.
+1
Level 90
Apr 21, 2019
Believe it or not, Twinkies were created in the U.S.A. I had to check half a dozen Google references to finally accept that shattering revelation.
+1
Level 70
May 26, 2019
How did only 47% get root beer?? I love that stuff, I could drink it all day.
+1
Level 67
Mar 24, 2020
For “ Ring-shaped coffee accompaniment”, I said Bagel...
+1
Level 92
Mar 23, 2022
This list isn't as embarrassing as I'd expected when I first saw the quiz title. That canned pork product is an abomination, obviously. But the rest of this stuff, as long as you consume most of it in moderation, ain't too shabby. Throw in some baked beans, Buffalo wings, and peanut butter, and you're good to go. You're welcome, world.
+1
Level 44
Jun 29, 2024
As a person from Hawai'i, I always think Hawaiian food is a cuisine by itself, but it's not. It's American food and the ahi poke is just called poke. Ahi poke is a type of poke you can get, but there's also shrimp poke, tuna poke, and tako (and more).
+2
Level 76
Aug 31, 2024
Consider accepting just "German"? I know it's lazy, but the clue already says "chocolate cake". :P