Innovative Foods Born Out Of Cultural Tragedies

The stories behind the origins of your favorite foods are not always sunshine and roses. Some are the result of poverty or scarcity (known as "desperation recipes"). Other stories involve cross-cultural adaptations due to immigration, war, colonialism, exile, and the slave trade, when familiar recipes had to be changed to incorporate ingredients available in a new location. Some of these foods might surprise you. Learn how fry bread, barbecue, spam, bánh mì, gumbo, milk bars, fried chicken, one pot meals, and Monterey Jack cheese have backstories that involve cultural tragedies for some group that developed, adapted, or popularized them. Does this mean you should feel guilty enjoying them? No, but it's a way to learn how the events of history influence what we eat today.