Stories, Cooking Directions for Popular American Foods

Thanks to her two girls, Kim Zachman spent a lot of time making popular American foods like peanut butter and jelly¹ sandwiches, chicken fingers, hot dogs, and pizza.

Her girls are adults now, but when they were young, Zachman also learned a lot about books written for children.

"I just got hooked² on children's books myself, I just really love ‘em," she said.

Zachman wrote for newspapers and magazines, but she wanted to try writing a children's book. With the recent publication of There's No Ham in Hamburgers, she has.

Zachman said it was not easy to learn how to write for children. She had to learn to use clear vocabulary and shorter sentences. She said, "it's been a long process, a learning process."

The book is about the history of American foods like cookies, chocolate, and cereal³. When Zachman first had the idea of writing the book, most publishing companies were not interested. But that was before chefs got famous and television was filled with cooking shows – some of which featured children.

"Now, times have changed, and kids are interested in food," she said.

One of her favorite "kid food" stories is about the first breaded boneless chicken pieces, now known as nuggets. No one had found a way to cover the chicken pieces with a bread mixture that could be frozen⁴ and then stay on when cooked. When that finally happened, chicken nuggets started selling at McDonald's restaurants all over the world in the early 1980s.

"You know, we had fried chicken for hundreds and hundreds of years, why not the chicken nugget? And it really was that that was a technological⁵ challenge. ... It was actually that really required a lot of technology to make it happen, so that surprised me that this little chicken nugget was such a big deal, and we didn't have it sooner."

Zachman said she had fun learning some of the stories behind the foods people love to eat. Each story includes history, fun facts, food nutrients⁶ and even cooking directions, or recipes, in case people want to try to make the foods themselves.

Did you know, for example, that all it takes to make a really good peanut butter cookie is about 128 grams each of peanut butter and sugar, plus one egg? Divide the mixture into small equal pieces onto a baking surface, flatten⁷ them with a fork, and then bake at 176 degrees Celsius⁸ for about 10 minutes.

Some "American foods" are actually versions of food brought to the U.S. by immigrants. For example, hamburgers came from Germany but the food became popular when someone in America put them on a round piece of bread.

Speaking of something else that is round, pizza was a food eaten by poor people in Italy for hundreds of years. In 1905, an Italian immigrant named Gennaro Lombardi opened the first pizza place in New York City. Now, New York-style pizza is famous around the world.

Zachman said immigrants added to American food culture in many ways.

"Because the immigrants came over, and some could find jobs, but some had a hard time finding jobs, so they would be entrepreneurs¹⁰ and start this little food business, little food truck business kind of thing to get going."

Now, not every story in Zachman's book is true. Some were passed down for generations and are still unproven. But one might argue that the more interesting food stories are the true ones.

For example, pepperoni is not a traditional pizza addition in Italy. It is an American creation¹¹ thought to have been started by German immigrants who wanted a spicy¹² sausage.

Anyone who watches American television probably knows that children love peanut butter and jelly spread between two pieces of bread – known as a sandwich. But it did not start with kids.

The peanut butter and jelly sandwich got its start with American soldiers in World War I and stayed popular among soldiers through the 1940s. When soldiers returned home after World War II, they started making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for their children.

There are a lot of brands of peanut butter in the food store today. But Zachman discovered that, in 1910, there were 21 different brands of peanut butter in the U.S. state of Kansas alone!

Zachman's book has 10 parts. She said she would have liked to write about more foods, but she ran out of space. She thought about doughnuts – sweet fried balls of dough¹³ topped with sugar or stuffed with cream or jelly. There are also tacos and macaroni and cheese. Maybe she will include them in another book. One thing is for sure, however. It will also be for kids.

"I like the idea that I'm hopefully inspiring kids to read and inspiring kids to learn," Zachman said. "I've got several ideas I'm researching right now. There might be another food book, which would be fun for me."

Words in This Story

hooked –adj. very interested in and enthusiastic about something

cookie –n. a sweet baked food that is usually small, flat, and round and is made from flour and sugar

cereal –n. a breakfast food made from grain

chef –n. a professional cook who usually is in charge of a kitchen in a restaurant

kid –n. a young person

challenge –n. a difficult task or problem : something that is hard to do

style –n. a particular way in which something is done, created, or performed

entrepreneur⁹ –n. a person who starts a business and is willing to risk loss in order to make money

brand –n. a category of products that are all made by a particular company and all have a particular name

dough –n. a mixture of flour, water, and other ingredients that is baked to make bread, cookies, etc.

inspire –v. to make (someone) want to do something : to give (someone) an idea about what to do or create

1 jelly   

n.冻，果子冻，胶状物

参考例句：

• We had toast and jelly at breakfast.我们早餐吃的是烤面包和果冻。
• The medicine was a clear jelly.这种药是透明的胶状物。

2 hooked   

adj.钩状的，弯曲的

参考例句：

• I first got hooked on scuba diving when I was twelve. 12 岁时我开始迷上了带水肺潜水。
• He hooked his arm round her neck and pulled her head down. 他一只胳膊钩在她的脖子上，把她的头拉低。

3 cereal   

n.谷类，五谷，禾谷

参考例句：

• I have hot cereal every day for breakfast.我每天早餐吃热麦片粥。
• Soybeans are handled differently from cereal grains.大豆的加工处理与谷类的加工处理不同。

4 frozen   

adj.冻结的，冰冻的

参考例句：

• He was frozen to death on a snowing night.在一个风雪的晚上，他被冻死了。
• The weather is cold and the ground is frozen.天寒地冻。

5 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 flatten   

v.把．．．弄平，使倒伏；使(漆等)失去光泽

参考例句：

• We can flatten out a piece of metal by hammering it.我们可以用锤子把一块金属敲平。
• The wrinkled silk will flatten out if you iron it.发皱的丝绸可以用熨斗烫平。

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

9 entrepreneur   

n.企业家，主办人

参考例句：

• The entrepreneur has become a news figure.这位企业家变成了新闻人物。
• The entrepreneur takes business risks in the hope of making a profit.企业家为追求利润而冒险。

10 entrepreneurs   

企业家( entrepreneur的名词复数 )； 主办人

参考例句：

• He is one of the entrepreneurs of the concert. 他是这场音乐会的主办人之一。
• Entrepreneurs are free to develop their businesses. 企业家们可以任意发展自己的企业。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

11 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

12 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。

13 dough   

n.生面团；钱，现款

参考例句：

• She formed the dough into squares.她把生面团捏成四方块。
• The baker is kneading dough.那位面包师在揉面。