You go home and walk into the kitchen excited to see a big plate of food for your rumbling stomach.. only to be shown an empty plate. So you decide to order take-out instead. There are four choices of foods: dumplings, sushi, pizza, and macaroons. But you know nothing about them. What type of food is it? Where is it from? How was it made? Is it popular here in the USA??
Dumplings
What are dumplings?
Dumplings are commonly thought to be dough wrapped around a type of filling.The english version of 饺子 or dumplings first came in the 17th century. Back then dumplings meant a lump of dough with no sort of filling. This meaning of course changed later on.
How were dumplings invented?
There is no answer to when dumplings were invented. The first ever written paper on what seemed to be a dumpling was by a Chinese poet named 舒熙( Shu Xi). He wrote what could be a recipe called Mantou. Mantou was mentioned to be a non-native dish to China. No one really knows its origin, it could have been made in many places without being written down.
Dumplings’ world expansion!
Dumplings slowly started to spread throughout China and later to other countries. They also spread during historical events such as the Mongolian invasions, when dumplings spread to Korean culture. One thing that has happened in less than 100 years was World War 2, when dumplings were brought to Japan. Japan made their own adjustments and additions to dumplings and later called them gyoza (餃子).
Sushi
What is sushi?
Sushi (寿司) is sometimes a simple dish of many kinds of usually raw meat on top of vinegared rice. Sushi is a worldwide known type of food that is commonly considered to be from Japan.
The history of sushi
Sushi was first made at a time of starvation when people need of a way to preserve (save) food.
Sushi was made to keep fish edible for a longer time period. This old way of keeping food preserved involved salted fish with fermented rice. This method was called the fermentation process. The fermentation process allowed fermented fish to be stored for months or even years.
Later, sushi-makers began to add vinegar to the rice, which lessened the production time yet made it even tastier. This later on made it to more of the modern types of sushi.
Sushi world expansion!
Sushi was shared through crossing the oceans and trading with other ships. Sushi was loved by many and later on sushi had adapted to many different cultures and styles. Two of the different types of sushi that aren’t really from Japan are California sushi rolls and dragon sushi rolls.
Pizza
What is pizza?
Pizza is a type of very well known food all over the world. Pizza in the most common form is bread with tomato sauce and cheese on top, sometimes even with pepperoni.
The creation of pizza!
Pizza was officially considered to have been first made in the late 18th century in Naples. During King Bourbon’s reign, Naples’ population had grown, making Naples one of the biggest cities in Europe. Unfortunately the economy couldn’t keep up, making the city fall into poverty. People with nearly no money were called Lazzaroni due to their looks that were similar to Lazarus. These types of people never had money and needed many jobs to survive in this state of poverty.
Food was expensive and hard to obtain if you were a Lazzaroni. Pizza was cheap and easier to buy and later on would even be sold by street vendors. The price and easy-to-find ingredients made pizza more popular to the people who were broke. However, people who had money, like merchants or businessmen,, thought pizza was disgusting.
This opinion later on changed when King Umerb 1 and Queen Margherita visited Naples. The reason they had visited was due to their boredom with many complicated French dishes – they wanted to try out Italian cuisine. The queen’s approval of pizza made it become a truly national dish.
Pizza spreads outward!
Pizza, although after being approved by the Queen, maintained its presence in Naples. Just like dumplings, pizza spread through historical events such as World War 2, in which soldiers used this food to survive. It started to spread and people started to add their own ingredients, leading to the pizza toppings we know today.
Macarons
What are macarons?
Macarons are a world wide known type of French treat. They are a small round cookie made up of two main parts: the two shells and the sweet filling. But while macarons seem to be from France, they actually have a bit of Italian roots!
The origin of macarons
Macarons don’t really have an exact origin and place of creation like pizza. But it is said that macrons were discovered in the middle ages by the first European navigators. The reason the origin and history is hard to track is because of the older meaning of macarons. Back then macarons weren’t known as the small snack but instead as soup. This made it hard to tell whether writings talked about the soup or the cookie.
But macaroons weren’t always the macaroons we know today. The structure wasn’t that of a cake but instead just a small shell that was crunchy and easy to melt in the mouth. But in addition to all the misunderstandings in the writings was the fact that many people had claimed the creation and invention of this delicacy.
How did macarons spread?
Macarons were not popular back then unlike now. The reason they had become so popular is actually because of many things such as nuns selling them to survive the French Revolution!
Which do you choose?
Now that you know all about dumplings, sushi, pizza, and macarons, what will you pick to eat? Dumplings sound yummy and perfect for a mystery. But so does sushi in case you are starving. Pizza sure sounds good, especially if you are on a budget. Macarons are a light snack, perfectly sweet and easy to chew. Not sure about you but I’ll take the sushi!
Source #1: food unfold Title: The Mysterious Origin Of the Chinese dumplings Author: Emma Berthoaud Date posted: January 30th, 2025 Web address: foodunfolded.com Source #2: Mr T’s Bakery Title: Sushi history: From Ancient Origins to Modern Delights Author: Annie Nguyen Web Address: mrtsbakery.com.au Source #3: A history of pizza Title: A history of pizza Author: Alexander Lee Web Address:Historytoday.com Source #4: The origins of the macarons Title: The origin of the macaron: The history of an exceptional pastry Web address:www.fauchon.com
