I've been asked many times to define American cuisine. It's not as easy as it sounds if you think about it: In a country as vast and diverse as America, we are a melting pot of immigrants and cultures. Every city, small town, and out in the boondocks has a patchwork of cuisines. I honestly could go on forever just about how different BBQ is defined regionally from town to town by ethnic diversity (and product availability) that helped change up its styles. I'm not going to do that to you, though, this time.

Instead, let's simply put American foods into two buckets. (Disclaimer: This does not begin to cover all American foods, so please don't get upset!) Bucket No. 1, New American. Cuisines from abroad have been fused while attempting to keep their heritages: bucket No. 2, food styles from different countries that have been Americanized, old-school style.

Bucket No. 1, New American. Fusion is an overused word. However, it's certainly needed to describe what happens when a Mexican neighborhood blends with a chef from Canada on the southern California coast and out pops poutine with Baja tuna, corn and cilantro microgreens, tomatillo/guajillo salsa, and queso Chihuahua. Or charcoal-grilled burgers with spicy kimchi, smoked bacon and BBQ sauce aioli. Or garbanzo bean pizza crust with EV olive oil, arugula, fresh mozzarella, heirloom tomatoes and turmeric balsamic drizzle.

Bucket No. 2, Americanized versions of foods from different countries. The second bucket consists of food items from different countries that have been transformed and Americanized—stripping them of complex flavors for bland and straightforward with a big side of convenience. Compare the intense and complex flavors you see in Southeast Asian and Latin American, Indian cuisines compared to American foods such as mac and cheese, hamburger, tater tots, apple pie and meatloaf. The latter do not often have more than one or two dominant tastes: salty, fatty or sweet. This is the American palate, for the most part, in a nutshell.

These three characteristics of salty, fatty or sweet also could be applied to 75% of American snacks, a distinct category within bucket No. 2. Snacks such as potato chips, Cheez-Its, peanut butter pretzels, Girl Scout cookies, and gushers can be found in nearly any grocery store in America. How is American food considered in other countries? The list of top-selling items at an American food store in London, England. Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, and Maruchan Ramen Noodle Soup — chicken flavored. What do they have in common? It's all about convenience and being ready to eat in 20 minutes. They consist of highly processed ingredients and have been removed from any cultural tradition in their packaging and branding, making them some of the most American foods found abroad.

We have seen through mass production, even steeped with our multicultural heritage, many manufacturers have stripped away most of the authentic ethnic ingredients. Here are a few examples of what I experienced growing up in in Jersey: Taco night was ground beef with a package of "Mexican" seasoning and two tablespoons of tomato paste and water, crunchy Ortega taco shells with shredded iceberg, California black olives and processed cheese. I don't even think I can talk about the '"chow mein" kit out of the can! These were made only as last resorts with two parents working. Such fond memories. (I love you, Mom.)

Would you mind sharing a dish you've had from buckets No. 1 and No. 2? What do you feel is American food is besides BBQ, burgers, fried chicken and clam chowdah?

Live well.

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