The food of California today is a natural blending of immigrant cuisines, predicated on freshness together with a ferocious zeal for healthful ingredients. Hangtown Fry, is a wonderful concoction of oysters and eggs. Legend has it that is was created during the California Gold Rush of 1849. A miner who had struck it rich swaggered into Hangtown (now called Placerville) and demanded the most expensive meal the hotel could offer. When informed that oysters and eggs were the most costly items on the menu, he told the chef to combine the two. The result was this genuine dish.
Californians take pride in their salads, especially the ones which they originally created. California Salad, Caesar Salad and Celery Victor are probably the most famous. Molded Fruit Salads are also very popular and the variety of fruits included in them is only limited to the imagination of the chef.
Another California invention is Cioppino, a versatile seafood dish invented by fisherman who made it with whatever the ocean was inclined to yield. Abalone Steaks and Crab Louis are just two more epicurean delights that Californians can call their own. Alvarado Bacon and Cheese Pie is California's interpretation of Quiche Lorraine. The California Omelet is their original egg dish that includes tomatos, avacado and olives. As for desserts, Lemon Pie, Banana Fritters and Strawberries Romanoff top off the list.
Hawaii's combination of racial strains, plus the many foods that thrive in the rich soil, and the varieties of fish that swim in its blue waters have created a unique gastronomic repertoire. It all began with the native Hawaiians who prepared all kinds of fish, poi (pounded taro root paste), coconuts and many tropical fruits including the pineapple, banana, breadfruit, guava and papaya. To this nutritious and tasty native diet, newcomers to the Islands brought additions and variations. The Japanese contributed teriyaki; various ways of preparing raw fish; soybeans and their products; and dishes made with rice. The Chinese added soups, noodles, vegetables such as bean sprouts, bamboo shoots and snow peas, and dishes made with pork, fish, and duck. Among the first Europeans on the islands were the Portuguese. They donated dishes made with codfish, tuna, swordfish and octopus to the Hawaiian cuisine as well as their famous Portuguese sweet bread. Native-born Americans from the mainland added their own inventiveness, and from all these Hawaiian cuisine thrived.
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page 12 of 13
By Mary Eccher
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