What We Ate and Why: A History of American Food

During the Revolutionary War, when more American soldiers died of malnourishment than fell in combat, survivors sustained themselves on a Native American concoction of cooked cornmeal, which they dubbed “johnnycakes.” While American culinary history is brief compared to that of the ancient civilizations of Asia, South America, and Europe, its evolution is fascinating. In this course, we examine the key dishes, inventions, innovations —and fads—that have shaped our national diet. We discover how macaroni and cheese was first prepared in America by James Hemings, an enslaved chef of Thomas Jefferson; how Chinese railroad workers introduced the country to Chinese-American cuisine; and how a massive surplus of military Cheddar cheese powder after World War II paved the way for iconic packaged snacks like Cheetos. Our chronological journey traces the influence of The Joy of Cooking in the 1930s, TV dinners in the 1950s, Julia Child in the 1960s, and the rise of the Food Network in the 1990s, concluding with a look at how ultra-processed foods, organic farming, and digital apps from Uber Eats to Tik Tok impact what we eat today. (And yes, there will be delicious samples to taste along the way!)