Food Geography 101

You can thank the cows of Mesopotamia (part of present-day Iraq) for that burger. Farmers domesticated the first cattle there around 8000 B.C. when they started raising the animals to pull plows, as well as to provide milk and meat.

Fast-forward nearly 10,000 years. In the early 1800s, the residents of Hamburg, Germany, started cooking their prized cattle’s beef into a local specialty called frikadellen (FREE-kah-del-lin). The dish is a panfried patty seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper.

When hundreds of thousands of Germans immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1850s, they brought frikadellen with them. Someone then made the dish easier to eat on the go by putting the patty between two slices of bread. No one knows for certain who deserves the credit for that, but restaurants across the U.S. claim to have invented the hamburger.

What we do know is that in 1921, two men in Wichita, Kansas, opened the country’s first fast-food hamburger joint: White Castle. Today Americans eat more than 50 billion hamburgers every year.

You can thank the cows of Mesopotamia (part of present-day Iraq) for that burger. Farmers started raising the first cattle there around 8000 B.C. The cows were used to pull plows, as well as to provide milk and meat.

Fast-forward nearly 10,000 years. In the early 1800s, the people of Hamburg, Germany, started cooking a local specialty called frikadellen
(FREE-kah-del-lin). The dish was a panfried beef patty seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper.

When hundreds of thousands of Germans immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1850s, they brought frikadellen with them. Then the patty was placed between two slices of bread to make it easier to eat on the go. No one knows for certain who deserves the credit for that change. However, many restaurants across the U.S. claim to have invented the hamburger.

What we do know is that in 1921, two men in Wichita, Kansas, opened the country’s first fast-food hamburger restaurant. It was called White Castle. Nowadays Americans eat more than 50 billion hamburgers every year.

That sesame-topped bun started out as stalks of wheat. There’s evidence that people in what is now Jordan ground wheat and other wild grains into flour to make flatbread during the Stone Age. (Archaeologists found ancient crumbs from the flatbread in a fireplace built between 12,500 and 9500 B.C.)

By 9000 B.C., farmers were harvesting wheat in what is now Syria. Wheat farming spread to Asia, Europe, and Africa by about 4000 B.C.

The crop first came to the Americas in 1493 with explorer Christopher Columbus. Colonists planted wheat in Jamestown, Virginia, in the early 1600s. Bread—sold as loaves, rolls, and, later, sliced—has been a hit here since.

That sesame-topped bun started out as stalks of wheat. People first started to grind wheat and other grains into flour during the Stone Age. Archaeologists have found evidence of bread in the area that is now Jordan. Flatbread crumbs were in a fireplace built between 12,500 and 9500 B.C.

By 9000 B.C., farmers were harvesting wheat in what is now Syria. Wheat farming spread to Asia, Europe, and Africa by about 4000 B.C.

The crop first came to the Americas in 1493 with explorer Christopher Columbus. Colonists planted wheat in Jamestown, Virginia, in the early 1600s. Bread in many forms has been popular in the United States ever since.

Want fries with that? You’ll need a potato first. The starchy vegetable originated in the Andes Mountains near present-day Peru and Bolivia. People there domesticated the potato—that is, they started growing it for human use—at least 10,000 years ago.

In 1532, while trekking through the Andes, Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro witnessed local people eating potatoes, a food he’d never seen before. Pizarro took the tuber back to Spain. Eventually, the potato made its way across Europe and then to North America, where—whether boiled, baked, or mashed—it became a staple.

So how did potatoes become fries? President Thomas Jefferson reportedly introduced Americans to the thinly sliced, fried potatoes. He served the snack at the White House in the early 1800s after sampling it in France. “French fries,” as they came to be known, soon appeared on menus across America.

Want fries with that? You’ll need a potato. People first started to grow potatoes in the Andes Mountains (near present-day Peru and Bolivia) at least 10,000 years ago.

In 1532, while hiking in the Andes, Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro saw local people eating a food he had never seen before. They were eating potatoes. Pizarro took the vegetable back to Spain, and the potato made its way across Europe. Then it came to North America. People began boiling, baking, and mashing it, and the potato became a part of everyday life.

So how did potatoes become fries? President Thomas Jefferson reportedly introduced Americans to the thinly sliced, fried potatoes. He had tried them in France and began serving the snack at the White House in the early 1800s. “French fries” soon appeared on menus across America.

Ketchup comes from a word that means “fish sauce” in some Chinese dialects—and for good reason: People in ancient China made the first ketchup about 2,000 years ago out of small fish called anchovies.

The condiment was so beloved that Chinese traders took it with them to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. When British and Dutch sailors tasted the salty sauce, they were hooked too. By the 1600s, they had introduced ketchup to Europe.

The English put their own spin on it, creating varieties made of everything from mushrooms to oysters to walnuts. Everything, that is, except the tomato. That’s because they believed that the tomato—which hails from South America—was poisonous.

British settlers brought ketchup with them when they arrived on our shores. Finally, in 1812—after people realized that tomatoes aren’t dangerous—a Pennsylvania scientist created a tomato-based ketchup. It stuck. Today there’s a bottle in 97 percent of U.S. homes.

Ketchup comes from a word that means “fish sauce” in some Chinese dialects. The first ketchup made about 2,000 years ago was actually made out of small fish called anchovies.

It was so beloved that Chinese traders took it with them to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. When British and Dutch sailors tasted the salty sauce, they liked it too. By the 1600s, they had taken ketchup to Europe.

The English put their own spin on it. They created varieties made of everything from mushrooms to oysters to walnuts. Everything, that is, except the tomato. The English believed that tomatoes, originally from South America, were poisonous.

British settlers brought ketchup with them when they arrived in America. People eventually realized that tomatoes weren’t dangerous, and in 1812 a Pennsylvania scientist created a tomato-based ketchup. People loved it! Today there’s a bottle of ketchup in 97 percent of U.S. homes.