Where Did This Meal Come From?

DATES FROM: 8000 B.C. 
REGION: The Middle East

You can thank the cows of Mesopotamia (part of present-day Iraq) for that burger. Farmers domesticated, or tamed, the first cattle there around 8000 B.C. They started raising the animals to pull plows, as well as to provide milk and meat. 

Fast-forward nearly 10,000 years. In the early 1800s, the residents of Hamburg, Germany, started cooking their prized cattle’s beef into a local specialty called frikadellen (FREE-ka-del-lin). The dish is a panfried patty seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. 

When hundreds of thousands of Germans immigrated to the U.S. in the mid-1850s, they brought frikadellen with them. Someone then made the dish easier to eat on the go by putting the patty between two slices of bread. But we may never know who that genius was. Restaurants across the U.S. claim to have invented the hamburger. 

What we do know is that in 1921, two men in Wichita, Kansas, opened the country’s first fast-food hamburger joint: White Castle. Today Americans eat more than 50 billion hamburgers every year. 

DATES FROM: 8000 B.C. 
REGION: The Middle East

You can thank the cows of Mesopotamia (part of present-day Iraq) for that burger. Farmers domesticated, or tamed, the first cattle there around 8000 B.C. They started raising the animals to provide milk and meat, and to pull plows.

Fast-forward nearly 10,000 years. In the early 1800s, people living in Hamburg, Germany, started cooking their prized cattle’s beef. They made it into a dish called frikadellen (FREE-ka-del-lin). That is a panfried patty. It is seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper.

In the mid-1850s, hundreds of thousands of Germans immigrated to the U.S. They brought their frikadellen with them. Then someone put the patty between two slices of bread. That made the dish easier to eat on the go. But we may never know who that genius was. Restaurants across the U.S. claim to have invented the hamburger.

What we do know is that in 1921, two men in Wichita, Kansas, opened the country’s first fast-food hamburger joint. That was White Castle. Today Americans eat more than 50 billion hamburgers every year.

DATES FROM: 8000 B.C.
REGION: South America

Want fries with that? You’ll need a potato first. The starchy vegetable originated in the Andes Mountains near present-day Peru and Bolivia. People there domesticated the potato—that is, they started growing it for human use—at least 10,000 years ago. 

In 1532, while trekking through the Andes, Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro witnessed local people eating potatoes—a food he’d never seen before. Pizarro took the tuber back to Spain. Eventually, the potato made its way across Europe and then to North America, where—whether boiled, baked, or mashed—it became a staple. 

So how did potatoes become fries? U.S. President Thomas Jefferson reportedly introduced Americans to the thinly sliced, fried potatoes. He served the snack at the White House in the early 1800s after sampling it in France. “French fries,” as they came to be known, soon appeared on menus across America. 

DATES FROM: 8000 B.C.
REGION: South America

Want fries with that? You’ll need a potato first. The starchy vegetable originated in the Andes Mountains near present-day Peru and Bolivia. People there domesticated the potato. That means they started growing it for human use. This happened at least 10,000 years ago.

In 1532, a Spanish explorer named Francisco Pizarro was trekking through the Andes. He witnessed local people eating potatoes. He had never seen that food before. Pizarro took the plant back to Spain. Eventually, the potato made its way across Europe. Then it came to North America. There, it became a staple, whether it is boiled, baked, or mashed.

So how did potatoes become fries? U.S. President Thomas Jefferson reportedly introduced Americans to the thinly sliced, fried potatoes. He ate some in France. Then he served them at the White House in the early 1800s. The snack, which became known as “French fries,” soon appeared on menus across America.

DATES FROM: 12,500 B.C. 
REGION: The Middle East

That sesame-topped bun started out as stalks of wheat. There’s evidence that people in what is now Jordan ground wheat and other wild grains into flour to make flatbread during the Stone Age. (Archaeologists found ancient crumbs from the flatbread in a fireplace built between 12,500 and 9500 B.C.!)

By 9000 B.C., farmers were harvesting wheat in what is now Syria. Wheat farming spread to Asia, Europe, and Africa by about 4000 B.C.

The crop first came to the Americas in 1493 with explorer Christopher Columbus. Colonists planted wheat in Jamestown, Virginia, in the early 1600s. Bread—sold as loaves, rolls, and, later, sliced—has been a hit here since. 

DATES FROM: 12,500 B.C. 
REGION: The Middle East

Your sesame seed bun? It started as stalks of wheat. There is evidence of bread from the Stone Age. People in what is now the nation of Jordan ground wheat and other wild grains into flour. They made flatbread. (Archaeologists found ancient flatbread crumbs in a fireplace built between 12,500 and 9500 B.C.!)

By 9000 B.C., farmers were harvesting wheat in what is now Syria. Wheat farming spread to Asia, Europe, and Africa by about 4000 B.C.

The crop first came to the Americas in 1493 with explorer Christopher Columbus. In the early 1600s, colonists planted wheat in Jamestown, Virginia. Bread has been a hit here since. First sold as loaves and rolls, it later was sold sliced. 

DATES FROM: 300 B.C.
REGION: East Asia

Ketchup comes from a word that means “fish sauce” in some Chinese dialects—and for good reason: People in ancient China made the first ketchup about 2,000 years ago out of small fish called anchovies. 

The condiment was so beloved that Chinese traders took it with them on voyages to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. When British sailors sampled the salty sauce, they were hooked too. By the 1600s, they had introduced ketchup to Europe.

The English put their own spin on it, creating varieties made of everything from mushrooms to oysters to walnuts. Why not tomatoes? They believed that the tomato—which hails from South America—was poisonous!

British settlers brought ketchup with them when they established the 13 Colonies in North America that would eventually become the U.S. Finally, in 1812—after people realized that tomatoes aren’t dangerous—a Pennsylvania scientist created a tomato-based ketchup. It stuck. Today there’s a bottle of the red stuff in 97 percent of U.S. homes.

DATES FROM: 300 B.C.
REGION: East Asia

Ketchup comes from a word that means “fish sauce” in some Chinese dialects. There is a good reason for that. People in ancient China made the first ketchup about 2,000 years ago. They made it out of small fish called anchovies!

The condiment was beloved. Chinese traders took it with them on voyages to Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Then British sailors tasted the salty sauce. They were hooked too. By the 1600s, they had introduced ketchup to Europe.

The English put their own spin on it. They created varieties made of everything from mushrooms to oysters to walnuts. Why not tomatoes? Tomatoes come from South America. The English believed they were poisonous!

British settlers brought ketchup with them when they established the 13 Colonies in North America, which eventually became the U.S. After a while, people realized tomatoes are not dangerous. Finally, in 1812, a Pennsylvania scientist created a tomato-based ketchup. It stuck. Today there is a bottle of the red stuff in 97 percent of U.S. homes.