Who invented waffles and fried chicken

On her website ToriAvey. Learn more about Tori and The History Kitchen. I realize it might sound strange to the uninitiated.

Chicken and waffles are a dynamic culinary duo. Fricassee was popular in the Mediterranean basin during the medieval period. To make fricassee required an iron pot, meat, and fat, all of which were readily available during the time period.

Early cookbooks like Le Viandier feature recipes for fricassee that can be made with any meat, not just chicken. By the 17th century, recipes more frequently called for chicken. In fact, first lady Martha Washington had two recipes for fricassee in her recipe collection, one of which requires a half pound of butter to fry two cut-up chickens. There are some different theories and stories about the chicken and waffles origin. I did some online research on chicken and waffles history and was a little surprised at all the conflicting information and different theories.

Interesting stuff though! The history of chicken and waffles may have started in the southern United States. Some say African Americans in the south started the recipe a very long time ago.

Other say some restaurants in NYC more specifically Harlem is where chicken and waffles started. Some theories also give the credit to the Pennsylvania Dutch for starting the chicken and waffles craze. Some believe Southern African Americans ate chicken with pancakes many years ago, and the pancakes eventually evolved into waffles which may be some of the earliest chicken and waffles recipes. Others think modern versions of chicken and waffles originated in the African American community of Harlem, New York.

Although the Pennsylvania Dutch version is a little different than what you may think of chicken and waffles today. The Pennsylvania Dutch version generally contains a plain waffle with a pulled stewed chicken on top with gravy. So as you can see who invented chicken and waffles and the chicken and waffles origin is a bit of a mystery. I personally think it may have been a combination of all of the above since recipes change and evolve over time. Now there are many popular places serving up chicken and waffles.

Some of the most well known are:. You can unsubscribe anytime. In , an NPR cooking show called The Salt produced a segment on fried chicken and waffles, but when they called it a traditional Southern food, Southerners were not amused — and they certainly let the show know it. One Southerner responded by saying they had never heard of the dish, while another said they grew up in the South and had never experienced chicken and waffles until they worked in Los Angeles.

Why don't Southerners want to claim this dish? It's sweet and savory, crispy and crunchy, and a cacophony of flavors for your taste buds. Chicken and waffles, in a word, are perfection. But where did this dish originate and why are Southerners so opposed to having birthed it?

Is it the butter? The syrup?