Latin AmericanMigration
Argentine Pastry Names and the Anarchist Bakers
Bolas de fraile, vigilantes and cañoncitos are said to be jokes by anarchist bakers in 1888. The strike is documented. The joke itself is harder to prove.
6 min read
Migration Stories
Every PlateTales food history story tagged Migration, newest first.
11 stories · All stories
ItalianMigrationRitual Foods
The Real Origin of the Feast of the Seven Fishes
The meatless Christmas Eve supper is southern Italian and in print by 1847. The name and the fixed seven are Italian American, and nobody has found them in print before 1983.
8 min read
North AmericanMigrationChinese
Why Jews Eat Chinese Food on Christmas, and Since When
In 1899 a New York Jewish weekly scolded readers for eating in Chinese restaurants. By 1935 chow mein was arriving at a Newark children's home on Christmas Day.
9 min read
JapaneseNorth AmericanMigration
Where Did Fortune Cookies Come From? Japan, via California
The fortune cookie began as a Japanese cracker with a paper slip in its fold. Japanese bakers made it American, and internment in 1942 handed it to Chinese restaurants.
8 min read
South AsianMigrationBritish
Where Chicken Tikka Masala Comes From, and Who Made Up the Soup
A Glasgow restaurateur said he invented chicken tikka masala for a customer who found his tikka dry. The tin of tomato soup in the story was a joke told to journalists.
10 min read
MigrationBritish
The History of Fish and Chips, From Soyer to Malin
Fried fish tied to Sephardic Jewish cooks met the fried potato chip in 1860s Britain. Joseph Malin and John Lees both have claims, and neither is settled.
6 min read
MigrationStreet FoodNorth American
The History of Hot Dogs, From Frankfurt to Coney Island
Frankfurt and Vienna both claim the sausage, and Coney Island, St. Louis and a ballpark all claim the bun. Here is what the record actually shows.
6 min read
MigrationColonialismVietnamese
The History of Pho: A Beef Soup Younger Than You Think
Pho is not ancient. It took shape in northern Vietnam in the early 1900s under French rule, and its beef, its name and its birthplace are still argued over.
5 min read
MigrationNorth American
How Immigration Changed American Food, Dish by Dish
Pizza, chop suey, hamburgers and Tex-Mex all took their American shape from immigrant cooks. Here is what the records show about where each dish started and what changed.
8 min read
MigrationWest African
Jollof Rice Origin: How a Senegalese Dish Started a War
Jollof rice traces back to ceebu jen, a fish and broken rice dish from Saint-Louis, Senegal. Here is what the evidence shows, and how Nigeria and Ghana ended up fighting over it.
5 min read
JapaneseMigration
The Origin of Ramen: Chinese Noodles, Japanese Hunger
Ramen began as Chinese noodle soup in Japan's treaty ports, then took off in the hungry years after 1945. Here is what the records show, and what is only legend.
6 min read
Never Miss a Story
One food history story, delivered every week.