American
Smoke, grease, and the audacity to deep-fry everything — including dessert.
Barbecue Smoking
Barbecue smoking involves slow-cooking meat over wood smoke, imparting a distinct flavor integral to American cuisine.
View page →At the heart of American dining, there's a plate of fried green tomatoes, golden and crisp on the outside, tangy and juicy within. The griddle sizzles, turning out towering pulled pork sandwiches dripping with sweet, smoky BBQ sauce that clings to your fingers. A walk through a New England town finds you slurping rich, creamy clam chowder, brimming with tender clams and potatoes. Each spoonful is a warm, briny hug. This is America — unapologetic, bold, and utterly satisfying.
The Palate
What makes it taste like itself
Dishes to explore
Buffalo Wings
Messy, fiery, and addictive. The buttery hot sauce clings to each crispy wing, demanding your undivided attention.
Start here because it captures the American taste for indulgence and communal eating.
Philly Cheesesteak
The sizzle of steak, the gooey embrace of cheese whiz, and the crunch of amoroso rolls. This is a sandwich that commands respect.
Begin here to taste the grit and soul of Philadelphia in every bite.
Lobster Roll
Sweet, succulent lobster meat piled into a buttery split roll, kissed by the ocean breeze.
Start here to experience the simplicity and freshness of New England coastal cuisine.
New York Cheesecake
Dense, creamy, and unapologetically rich. A slice that demands both your time and taste buds.
Indulge here for a taste of New York's culinary decadence.
Cooking options
Food choices favor cuisine selections and manageable preparation; check each recipe before cooking.
The Pantry
See all 367 ingredients›
Proteins
Vegetables
Herbs & Spices
Grains & Staples
Dairy & Fats
Sauces & Condiments
Other
Six Regional Kitchens
Six regional kitchens — Southern (fried chicken, biscuits, gumbo, grits), BBQ-TexMex (brisket, queso, breakfast tacos), New England (clam chowder, lobster roll, baked beans), Mid-Atlantic (NY pizza, cheesesteak, crab cake, bagel), Californian (farm-to-table, avocado, sourdough), Midwestern (corn-fed, hot dish, supper-club). Tap a region to see its table.
Soul food and BBQ heritage — fried chicken, biscuits, collards, pecan pie.
Urban Northeast immigrant cooking — Philly cheesesteak, NY pizza, Buffalo wings, Baltimore crabs.
Cold-Atlantic Yankee — clam chowder, lobster rolls, baked beans, cranberry traditions.
Heartland-farmer pragmatism — Chicago deep-dish, hotdish, Wisconsin cheese, Detroit Coney.
Texas BBQ and Tex-Mex border — brisket, chili, nachos, fajitas, breakfast tacos.
Pacific-Rim seasonal fusion — Cioppino, avocado toast, sourdough, In-N-Out.
Red and green chile, pinto beans, and the question 'red or green?' — the New Mexico and Arizona table.
The mountain foodways of Appalachia — soup beans simmered with a ham hock and eaten with cornbread, foraged spring ramps, sorghum syrup poured over biscuits, and apples dried and stacked into spiced cakes. A thrifty cuisine of hog, corn and preservation, with deep Scots-Irish and Cherokee roots.
Salmon, Dungeness crab, and berries — the cool, water-rich corner of Oregon and Washington.
Florida's sun-and-sea cooking — stone-crab claws with mustard sauce, grouper and conch from the Gulf and the Keys, citrus in every dessert, and the Cuban-American table of Tampa and Miami: pressed Cuban sandwiches, black beans and rice, picadillo. Caribbean, Cuban and Cracker-South strands meet on the peninsula.
How They Cook
Methods linked to dishes in this catalog
Smoking
Smoking meats in the U.S. is a slow, deliberate dance with time, infusing pork and brisket with a deep, complex smokiness.
See 23 more techniques›
Baking in America could mean anything from sweet pies to savory cornbread, each with a golden crust that promises warmth and comfort.
In America, grilling is an event, not just a method. Burgers, ribs, and even corn are charred over open flames, acquiring a smoky flavor that's quintessentially summer.
Deep frying here means crispy exteriors with juicy cores — think fried chicken and funnel cakes, each bite a crunchy serenade.
In American kitchens, sautéing is about quick, high-heat cooking that locks in flavors — stir-fried veggies and seared steaks come alive in the pan.
Braising here turns tough cuts into tender morsels; pot roast and short ribs fall apart with a fork, drenched in rich, aromatic sauces.
Related cuisines
Linked by ingredient records in this catalog