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If you grew up in America, you probably ate a lot of popcorn. If you went to the movies, you ate much of it out of buckets as big as your head. We fit into both categories. But have you ever thought about what you were eating?

Enjoyed by native American cultures for millennia, it’s not an overstatement to call popcorn a wonder of the biochemical world. Since we’re not scientists ourselves, it’s our vague understanding that popcorn has something to do with steam, pressure and endocarps. Archeologists have found evidence of corn and popcorn consumption in South America almost 6,000 years ago. FYI, we’re also not archeologists though we’re duly impressed.

We assume that ancient people ate popcorn during religious celebrations and at harvest festivals. Movies would have to wait a few thousand years, give or take.

Fun Fact
Americans eat more than 17 billion quarts of popcorn each year. That’s billions with a b.

12. Tater Tots

Tater Tots at Luckys Last Chance in Philadelphia
Tater tots taste good on their own and even better when loaded with toppings. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

When Americans of a certain generation or later think of tater tots, visions of a school lunch lady dishing out hotel spoons of the brown grated potato cylinders onto melamine plates resting on aluminum lunch trays come to mind. It’s inevitable.

Don’t bother trying to make a proper tater tot in a home or even restaurant kitchen. You really can’t. This is a product of large factories. In fact, Ore-Ida, a massive potato processing and frozen food company, invented the tater tot as a way to repurpose potato shavings that would otherwise go to waste in the making of frozen french fries. Some chefs attempt to make them from scratch while other chefs just order the frozen Ore-Ida version without pretense. To us, the latter is the smarter move.

Fun Fact
Tater tots hit the big screen when they were featured in the movie Napoleon Dynamite.

13. Nachos

Nachos in Montreal Apartment
We’ve eaten nachos all over the world in spots like Franschhoek and Da Nang. However, our favorites are the nachos we make at home. | Image: ©2foodtrippers

Nachos may be the most popular American bar snack that wasn’t invented in America. First served in Piedras Negras, Mexico, spitting distance from the Texas border, nachos have become a staple at bars, ball clubs and movie theaters since Ignacio Anayo melted cheese over tortilla chips and sprinkled jalapeño peppers on top back in 1940.

America, being America, has taken Anayo’s simple nachos to the next level by loading them with a slew of additional ingredients options like ground beef, sour cream, guacamole and beans. Cheese options run the gamut, with the best cheese often being the one in the refrigerator.

While we don’t recommend it, ballparks and movie theaters use a ‘special’ nacho cheese processed into a pourable orange consistency. Many people associate Nachos with processed cheese sauce and choose to buy jars of it at the grocery store or from Amazon. Go figure.

Fun Fact
Pair your nachos with a margarita or mojito to make your happy hour extra happy.

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