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The Western United States has its cuisine, distinct in various ways from that of the rest of the country. [1] States west of Texas, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska would be considered part of this area, as would, in some cases, western parts of adjoining states. [2]
The locavore movement is increasingly influential, as is the concept of sustainability. [3] The influence of the Native American cultures of each area, but especially in the Northwest and in Navajo country, [4] is important in the cuisine picture of the Western United States. [5]
In the Northwest, Oregon, and Washington, various specialties involving salmon, perhaps grilled over a wood fire, and such naturally occurring foodstuffs [2] as blackberries and mushrooms may often be served in forms close to those in which they naturally occur as regional cuisine. The bounty of the land and those things the hunter-gatherers and fishermen found in abundance are major influences.
In the Mountain States, such as Utah, Montana, Idaho, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado and Wyoming, cowboy/ranch culture is a factor, and variations on the beef theme, outdoor cooking, and such events as chuckwagon dinners abound on dude ranches and at other tourist locations. [6]
Hunting is still important in the West, and wild game is part of the cuisine. [7] Rocky Mountain oysters are certainly a part of Western regional food served up for the delight of squeamish tourists. [8]
A growing wine industry is of great importance along the West Coast and increasingly important inland and to the north, not only in California. [9] Along the coast, seafood is important. [2]
The evolution of California cuisine [10] and the influence of Alice Waters are major factors in what could be called the regional cuisine of the West. [10] The slow food and local food movements are parts of this phenomenon.
The influence of the Pacific Rim is huge along the coast, and fusion cuisine, [11] along with interesting Asian-influenced and Mexican-influenced drinks, [12] has become extremely popular. [12]
Near Mexico, with the culture of Mexico spreading as workers move farther from the border, the influence of that country is important in food. [13] The food of other Latin-American countries can also be found and is increasingly an influence, with the food described as Nuevo Latino more and more often seen.
Throughout the West in areas where sheep ranching/sheep herding is important (Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Nevada, eastern Washington, eastern California, other nearby states) restaurants featuring Basque cuisine can be found. [14] They are usually family-style, featuring large tables where diners sit with other parties and share serving dishes which are passed around the table. [15]
California cuisine is heavily influenced by Mexican, Asian, and Mediterranean cuisine. Wraps, burritos, tacos, sushi and salads such as Greek, Cobb, and Asian chicken salad can be found on many restaurant menus, and avocado is used as a common ingredient due to its widespread cultivation in the state.
Californian cuisine tends to reflect the somewhat lighter and more health conscious mindset of the state. Chicken, turkey, and soy are more prevalent in Californian dishes than beef or pork.
American cuisine consists of the cooking style and traditional dishes prepared in the United States. It has been significantly influenced by Europeans, Indigenous Americans, Africans, Latin Americans, Asians, Pacific Islanders, and many other cultures and traditions. Principal influences on American cuisine are European, Native American, soul food, regional heritages including Cajun, Louisiana Creole, Pennsylvania Dutch, Mormon foodways, Texan, Tex-Mex, New Mexican, and Tlingit, and the cuisines of immigrant groups such as Chinese American, Italian American, Jewish American, Greek American and Mexican American. The large size of America and its long history of immigration have created an especially diverse cuisine that varies by region.
Mexican cuisine consists of the cooking cuisines and traditions of the modern country of Mexico. Its earliest roots lie in Mesoamerican cuisine. Its ingredients and methods begin with the first agricultural communities such as the Olmec and Maya who domesticated maize, created the standard process of nixtamalization, and established their foodways. Successive waves of other Mesoamerican groups brought with them their cooking methods. These included: the Teotihuacanos, Toltec, Huastec, Zapotec, Mixtec, Otomi, Purépecha, Totonac, Mazatec, Mazahua, and Nahua. With the Mexica formation of the multi-ethnic Triple Alliance, culinary foodways became infused.
The cuisine of the Southern United States encompasses diverse food traditions of several subregions, including Tidewater, Appalachian, Ozarks, Lowcountry, Cajun, Creole, African American Cuisine and Floribbean cuisine. In recent history, elements of Southern cuisine have spread to other parts of the United States, influencing other types of American cuisine.
The Western United States, also called the American West, the Western States, the Far West, and the West, is the region comprising the westernmost U.S. states. As American settlement in the U.S. expanded westward, the meaning of the term the West changed. Before around 1800, the crest of the Appalachian Mountains was seen as the western frontier. The frontier moved westward and eventually the lands west of the Mississippi River were considered the West.
The cuisine of California reflects the diverse culture of California and is influenced largely by European American, Hispanic American, East Asian and Oceanian influences, and Western European influences, as well as the food trends and traditions of larger American cuisine.
Rocky Mountain oysters or mountain oysters, or meat balls, also known as prairie oysters in Canada, is a dish made of bull testicles. The organs are often deep-fried after being skinned, coated in flour, pepper and salt, and sometimes pounded flat. The dish is most often served as an appetizer.
California cuisine is a food movement that originated in Northern California. The cuisine focuses on dishes that are driven by local and sustainable ingredients with an attention to seasonality and an emphasis on the bounty of the region.
A chuckwagon or chuck wagon is a horse-drawn wagon operating as a mobile field kitchen and frequently covered with a white tarp, also called a camp wagon or round-up wagon. It was historically used for the storage and transportation of food and cooking equipment on the prairies of the United States and Canada. They were included in wagon trains for settlers and traveling workers such as cowboys or loggers. In modern times, chuckwagons feature in special cooking competitions and events. Chuckwagons are also used in a type of competition known as chuckwagon racing.
The cuisine of the Southwestern United States is food styled after the rustic cooking of the Southwestern United States. It comprises a fusion of recipes for things that might have been eaten by Spanish colonial settlers, cowboys, Native Americans, and Mexicans throughout the post-Columbian era; there is, however, a great diversity in this kind of cuisine throughout the Southwestern states.
New Mexican cuisine is the cuisine of the Southwestern US state of New Mexico. The region is primarily known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican cuisine originating in Nuevo México. This Southwestern culinary style is popular beyond the current boundaries of New Mexico, and is found throughout the old territories of Nuevo México and the New Mexico Territory, today the state of Arizona, parts of Texas, and the southern portions of Colorado, Utah, and Nevada.
UTC−07:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of −07:00. In North America, it is observed in the Mountain Time Zone during standard time, and in the Pacific Time Zone during the other eight months. Some locations use it year-round.
Indigenous cuisine of the Americas includes all cuisines and food practices of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Contemporary Native peoples retain a varied culture of traditional foods, along with the addition of some post-contact foods that have become customary and even iconic of present-day Indigenous American social gatherings. Foods like cornbread, turkey, cranberry, blueberry, hominy, and mush have been adopted into the cuisine of the broader United States population from Native American cultures.
The North American Cordillera, sometimes also called the Western Cordillera of North America, the Western Cordillera, or the Pacific Cordillera, is the North American portion of the American Cordillera, the mountain chain system (cordillera) along the western coast of the Americas. The North American Cordillera covers an extensive area of mountain ranges, intermontane basins, and plateaus in Western and Northwestern Canada, Western United States, and Mexico, including much of the territory west of the Great Plains.
Basque cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Basque Country and includes meats and fish grilled over hot coals, marmitako and lamb stews, cod, Tolosa bean dishes, paprikas from Lekeitio, pintxos, Idiazabal sheep's cheese, txakoli, and Basque cider.
Basque Americans are Americans of Basque descent. According to the 2000 US census, there are 57,793 Americans of full or partial Basque descent.
Pacific Northwest cuisine is a North American cuisine that is found in the Pacific Northwest, i.e. the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska, as well as the province of British Columbia and the southern portion of the territory of Yukon, reflecting the ethnic makeup of the region, with noticeable influence from Asian and Native American traditions. With significant migration from other regions of the US, influences from Southern cuisine brought by African Americans as well as Mexican-American cuisine as Latinos migrate north from California, can be seen as well.
Rocky Mountain cuisine is a cuisine of Alberta and British Columbia in Canada; Idaho, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and Montana in the United States. Some distinguishing dishes include bison and Rocky Mountain oysters, or prairie oysters as they are known in Canada.
Carne seca is a type of dried beef used in Mexican cuisine.
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