Not many US states have the impact on world cuisine as California.It may have been the state where all our entertainment came from but also many food movements that have impacted the globe also derived in both northern and southern parts of California.
Long before there were the Spanish and Americans in The Golden State, there were the indigenous tribes.Due to its size there are several different scores, each uniquely different. They were eating the healthy salmon long before anyone else discovered this fish and its' nutritional power. There were also deer as well. along with sheep and even bear. Small fowl like grouse and quail were also consumed as well as seafood such as mussels crabs and clams. Most of the tribes relied heavily on accords which went through an elaborate process of boiling and leaching (getting rid of toxic tanic acids ) to create either a thin gruel or a thick stew . Not surprisingly all the tribes of California roasted and the bus which were high in protein. Crickets and grasshoppers were the most popular.When the Spanish arrived in 1769, They brought the chief components of the Mediterrenean diet that are the cornerstone of California cuisine.OLive oil fresh vegetables and wine were now a part of anew rethought California cuisine.
A change happened in Northern California with the 1849 Gold Rush, It also helped to highlight San Francisco, now becoming a place for wealthy patrons to go . The Forty-Niners brought salted food and hard tack, similar to what sailors ate. The Chinese were also coming into the San Francisco area and with them. Even though they were initially disliked, their food and cooking techniques made a massive impact even to this day in the state.Thanks to the fil industry arriving in So Cal , oranges and lemons were being incorporated in not just Californians' diets but all of America's. The Twentieth Century brought such innovators as Helen Evans Brown,originally a New Yorker and Alice Waters. Waters was influenced by her time in France but used fresh local fruit and vegetables at her restaurant ,Chez Panisse in Berkeley California, The state continues to influence the world today. The juicy and delicious French dip originated in LA along with fish tacos and the ever popular California roll. Where would the world be with out San Francisco sourdough.
California is a powerhouse in the culinary world. It has been that way for centuries.It will continue on, with good food and good flavors.
If you want to help those affected by the California wildfires, consider the American Red Cross and PROJECT HOPE
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