Instant Foods, Ancient Roots

Americans gobble down countless fast-food meals every year. While the popularity of pizzas and tacos attests to their tastiness, most people have never experienced their authentic, traditionally crafted counterparts from across the globe. Behind nearly every Americanized quick bite is a one-of-a-kind culinary masterpiece. Many of these foods, such as Neapolitan pizza, Japanese ramen, and Mexican tacos, are still produced the way they have been for centuries.

Pizza di Napoli

Popular outside of Italy since the beginning of the 20th century, pizza has permeated most of the developed world’s diet. Each country (and sometimes city) has its own take on this famous Italian pie. While American pizzas might be topped with anything from pineapple and ham to barbecue chicken, the authentic Neapolitan pizza is dressed with extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, oregano and garlic. Additionally, American pizzas often use frozen dough baked in electric or conveyor ovens, but Pizza Napoletana must be made from scratch, hand shaped and baked in a traditional wood-burning brick oven. The result is a true taste of Italy: a tender, easily folded crust with a raised rim that showcases the rich flavors of its natural toppings.

Pizza di Napoli via Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino

Fresh Ramen

In America, ramen is synonymous with deep fried blocks of instant noodles and preservative-laden seasoning packets. These go-to college student lunches are not only ridiculously cheap, but require very little skill to prepare. It’s a wonder that in Japan, the country that invented instant ramen, traditional ramen-y noodle shops elevate this one-bowl dish to an art form with handmade noodles, delicate broths and colorful toppings. Every major city in Japan has its own local style of ramen preparation and presentation, but all of them feature fresh noodles composed of wheat flour, water, salt and alkaline or egg to give the noodles their firm, springy texture. The noodles are served steaming hot with an artistic arrangement of toppings, such as sliced meat, tofu, leafy vegetable, mushroom, egg, toasted seaweed, or seafood. Instant ramen is notorious for its high sodium and low nutritional value. Worlds away, in a traditional Japanese ramen shop, bowls of steaming ramen promise a meal that is wholesome, fortifying and aesthetically balanced.

Japanese Ramen via Culinary and Cooking

Tacos Frescos

The prefab, mystery-meat filled tortillas of Taco Bell are a far cry from authentic Mexican tacos, which are typically soft corn tortillas with stewed chicken, grilled steak, sausage, grilled seafood or even organ meats. While there are endless varieties of authentic tacos, ground meat fillings are not common. Deep fried “flautas” or flutes may be filled with a finely shredded pork or beef filling and served over fresh lettuce, diced tomato and a dollop of sour cream. Instead of the neon orange cheddar shreds typically served on American fast food tacos, Latin American tacos are more likely to use a mild, white cheese, if any at all. Finally, traditional tacos are often accompanied by a variety of fresh and pickled vegetables to provide a crisp contrast to the savory snacks.

Pizza, fries and tacos are popular enough in this country to be considered cultural icons. However, it doesn’t hurt to probe into the history and tradition behind these foods. One taste of an authentic slice of Pizza Napoletana or the experience of slouching over a steaming spoonful of Tokyo ramen would be enough to convince anyone that the ubiquitous fast foods of our country are steeped in rich and tasty traditions from around the world.

Flautas via The Food Network

About the Author: Elaine Hirsch is kind of a jack-of-all-interests, from education and history to medicine and videogames. This makes it difficult to choose just one life path, so she is currently working as a writer for various education-related sites and writing about all these things instead.  She currently writes for an online school resource.