Chinese food was the first type of ethnic cuisine to become a food considered ‘restaurant food.’ The history of Chinese food is a rich and interesting subject, especially since it helps tell the story of the first major Asian immigration to the United States. The first documented Chinese restaurant, the Canton Restaurant, opened in 1909 […]
Food History
How Did the Club Sandwich Get Its Name?
I have disappointing news. We don’t really know, for sure, how the club sandwich got its name. You can be sure that the ‘club’ in club sandwich is not an acronym for ‘chicken lettuce under bacon,’ which seems silly on its face as there is no rule that the bacon must be on top of […]
Where Was the First Automated Grocery Scanner Used?
Every item in your local grocery store bears a pattern of lines and spaces on its label. This is called a bar code or a UPC code (Universal Product Code). A UPC corresponds to a series of numbers and each item is assigned its own number. Grocery stores use this code as an accurate way […]
Who Was Fannie Farmer?
Fannie Merrit Farmer was a cooking school owner and a well-known cookbook writer of the early 1900s. She was highly influential in the development of American cooking and the future of American cookbooks. She was the first to insist on precise measurements in her books. Before this, most cookbooks featured imprecise or only vague references […]
Why Did Popeye the Sailor Love Spinach?
Popeye the Sailor, who began as a comic-strip character before appearing on television cartoons and in motion pictures, is famous for loving his spinach. In the cartoons, he even had a slogan associated with his favorite food, “I’m strong to the finish cuz I eats me spinach, I’m Popeye the Sailor Man!” Why did Popeye […]
How Did the Pineapple Get Its Name?
If you thought you already knew how the pineapple got its name, you may have been mistaken. Yes, a pineapple resembles somewhat a pine cone. Therefore, it makes sense that English speakers decided to call them a pine apple, combining the cones of the pine tree with a well-known fruit. But, the actual origin was […]