I think JJ's primary skill as a researcher is finding entire books on the history of extremely specific topics. I think he could assemble a really fun library that's just histories of every food.
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
I'm just impressed that someone has always written a book!
@dl2725 Жыл бұрын
It seems like about 15 years ago, every second book published was a monograph, many about foods. Salt! Beef! Coffee! The potato! Should keep JJ in good shape for years 🙂
@subparnaturedocumentary Жыл бұрын
and never using wikipedia!
@thomasgebert6119 Жыл бұрын
@@JJMcCullough I used to work for a convention management company. One thing I learned is that you can take nearly any noun, and there's a good chance that a conference or convention of some variety exists for it. I remember that I once handed out badges for a graphing convention. As in, the act of plotting mathematical relations on 2D paper. There was apparently enough interest in that particular niche of mathematics that it had a whole conference dedicated to it.
@JustAManFromThePast Жыл бұрын
Not to denigrate JJ's skills as a researcher, but I wouldn't say these books are extremely specific. Just by the covers you can see they were designed as mass market popular books. The really crazy and niche stuff is academic stuff you'll never see popularly published, but is often used in these popular works, with names like, "The Behavior and Effect of the Weevil on Grain Production Meant for Cattle in Illinois from 1870-1885".
@chrisbeynon8700 Жыл бұрын
JJ McCullough ✅ American culture ✅ Food culture ✅ 28 minutes long ✅ Peak evening viewing, great video as always!
@Sorcerers_Apprentice Жыл бұрын
As it relates to the rise of the middle class
@KelsieJG__they-them Жыл бұрын
Contains the phrase "harnessing these mighty udders" ✅
@miatamarine1210 Жыл бұрын
One of my favorite examples of anglicization of Spanish words is the transformation from “Vaquero” to “buckaroo”.
@nostaldec4705 Жыл бұрын
Our cowboy equivalent in Australia was called a jackaroo, and I would have just assumed that was modelled on ‘kangaroo’.
@samsowden Жыл бұрын
Why have i never realised this?
@Mpshfromlowell64 Жыл бұрын
Also juzgado becomes hoosegow…..
@dylanbh1 Жыл бұрын
Ah man I commented this without knowing someone else did first. Tough
@Holtkid13 Жыл бұрын
I'm 6th generation nevaden, a lot of my family were buckaroos
@elizabethduplat5835 Жыл бұрын
The steak part of the video really hit close to home for me. My grandparents and great-grandparents immigrated from Sicily and all of our traditional family recipes are meatless. But within 2 generations, beef (and lots of it) have been added. My grandmother used to get upset that her grandchildren were changing things and explained that they didn't have beef because they were poor. One of my cousins expressed suprised and she shot back "Do you think we would have left that f*cking island if we had as much beef as you?!" I'll never forget that. It put my American meat/beef consumption into context.
@EvilParagon4 Жыл бұрын
That doesn't sound very nice. She should be happy her leaving of 'that fucking island' lead to her family being so fortunate enough as to have so much beef.
@bhavs39810 ай бұрын
@@EvilParagon4 i mean... old people are also just people. if i had to leave my beloved homeland just because of poor living conditions and access to food, then i think id also be bitter, even years later
@TimothiusBelmont Жыл бұрын
Milk was a staple growing up as a poor Appalachian boy. Steaks were an occasional luxury, but Dad worked to provide and we got to have them on a fairly regular basis. Sandwiches are the ideal food to pack when working underground in the mines; their portability and the need to not have silverware to eat them.
@ninjaman815 Жыл бұрын
What about apples?
@TimothiusBelmont Жыл бұрын
@@ninjaman815 My pawpaw actually grew a lot of fruits and veggies, so apples, peaches, pears, and plums were common snacks. I stayed with my grandparents a lot and used to picked tomatoes straight off the vine and eat them.
@Bevalev Жыл бұрын
I could definitely see the extra time put into this video! This is some of your best work JJ, and I wouldn't mind less uploads if it meant getting more videos of such quality. Either way, I love your stuff.
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much my friend!!
Жыл бұрын
*Fewer uploads
@nathangale7702 Жыл бұрын
I agree, I think JJ has established his audience, so he shouldn't feel obligated to stick to the one video per week quota. We'll wait. I also think part of the reason this video took more work than others is because JJ is inching his way towards the most fundamental aspects of U.S./Canadian culture. As anyone who has even passingly studied philosophy/theology/linguistics might observe, it is often the most ubiquitous things in our lives that take the most time to understand analytically. I didn't realize apples, sandwiches, milk, and steak were so central to the soul of this country, but now it makes perfect sense. I feel a little nervous to continue this journey, jajaja.
@chuck1804 Жыл бұрын
It is safe to assume it had already won an award.
@davidlacalle4011 Жыл бұрын
Cool fact about longhorns! As the Spanish had their cow farms, naturally over time a handful of them escaped and went out into the wild. Over time, natural selection in the wild enabled those cows with the best defense against predators (aka longer horns) to survive, and that's where those massive horns came from!
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
Very cool! Some of the horns are A JOKE!
@il-dottore Жыл бұрын
Is that also where the idea of "cow skulls in the desert" came from?
@Skeloperch Жыл бұрын
@@il-dottore Possibly more to do with Apache raiders. The Apache, who mainly inhabited modern day Texas, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Arizona, and New Mexico, would regularly raid Spanish ranches and missions to "liberate" them of their supplies. They would often steal hundreds of cattle and disappear into the wilderness at great speed. They didn't have much of a taste for settled agriculture, so they'd often discard the bones of cattle in the wilderness as they went rather than trying to breed their own herds. The Apache problem was so bad that that's why the Mexicans invited Americans to settle in Texas, thinking - correctly might I add - that the Americans and their gun culture would stem the flow of Apache raids. That was very much the case, but the Americans, now Texans, wound up outnumbering the Mexicans in the area massively, and the Texans went and declared independence. Mexico didn't really control the territory they lost to America in the Mexican-American war. No, that was Apache territory that they couldn't possibly hope to control, and only claimed the land on paper.
@HayTatsuko Жыл бұрын
And some of them are NO JOKE! @@JJMcCullough
@nekobasu99 Жыл бұрын
@@Skeloperch That sounds like kind of a delusional version of histroy... "American Gun Culture" in the 1800s north of México? It wasn't like it is today, Mexico had literally just gone through independence, everyone had guns, it wasn't just an american thing. Noone was begging Americans to please come help with their big gun, they were allowed to migrate to Texas by their own request and under certain conditions, namely becoming Mexican Citizens, I'm not sure if apaches had much to do with it. Oh and you forgot to mention that the reason the american immigrants wanted independance was because they still wanted to own slaves, which was abolished and ilegal in México.
@SA3Future Жыл бұрын
I am absolutely loving the low-poly PS1 floating food items. I would love to see more of that in your videos and generally in my life
@frogonhead Жыл бұрын
Honestly, this has got to be one of the most entertaining and educational (edu-taining?) videos you’ve made, and it’s likely because of the extra few days you had to spend on it to make it so high-quality. This short-vid/long-vid cycle seems like a great idea! Keep up the good work
@realkingofwales3917 Жыл бұрын
Your videos are always some of the best on KZbin in terms of cultural education. Your usage of other peoples categorizations and groupings rather than your own has always stood out to me because it avoids the sort of bias which is all-to-frequent in cultural commentary videos of this kind where self-selection of what is even being discussed often causes such an issue. However, with how unbiased you are I would be shocked if even your own self-selected categories were skewed! Another amazing video
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much for the kind words. I am really drawn to other people's "groups" of things. I'm always just a bit nervous about trusting my own judgement, I like to defer to what "other people" think matter.
@realkingofwales3917 Жыл бұрын
@@JJMcCullough I would say your videos benefit greatly from it! They tend to get a lot closer to reflected actual cultural consensus vs. a very particular modern middle-class American millenial-zoomer mentality which I see elsewhere. Ironic given that the subject of most of your videos are the American middle class yet do a much better job at avoiding it's clichés than others with subjects mostly unrelated lol
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
@@realkingofwales3917what do you mean??
@realkingofwales3917 Жыл бұрын
@JJMcCullough I just mean that while the subject of your videos is the american middle class, you don't fall into the assumptions of that middle class. I've seen other commentaries on other subjects (like video games for example) that do tend to fall into those assumptions (like that everyone had an American middle class childhood for example)
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
@@realkingofwales3917 ahh gotcha! Yeah I try to explicitly acknowledge as many things as possible and not make too many assumptions.
@JamesOKeefe-US Жыл бұрын
I get so frustrated that these videos don't have a million views like they deserve. JJs videos are so well researched and produced, I look forward to every new one like I used to wait with baited breath for the next commercial TV episode :) Thank you JJ for taking the time to share these wonderful videos and essays with us. You are very much appreciated!
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
Aw thank you so much! Your words mean a lot to me
@LucasBenderChannel Жыл бұрын
You can really notice, that you took more time for this video. The "two weeks" truly paid off! 👏 Especially the switch to your kitchen and the real life showcase of the products, nicely broke up the video and made it into a really pleasent watch. Good job :)
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
Thank you sir!
@EggsBenAddict Жыл бұрын
30 minutes of JJ seems like a good pay off if you ask me!
@critterjon4061 Жыл бұрын
Would love to see a series where you did this for various other countries
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
How about you watch this video first
@red1613 Жыл бұрын
@@JJMcCullough I watched it at 10x speed with some subway surfers
@racsoleerf124 Жыл бұрын
@@red1613wow only 10x? What are you? A superhuman?
@MTLYev Жыл бұрын
I believe that JJ's shtick is mainly discussing American culture cause it's the only one he's really been exposed to :/
@SA3Future Жыл бұрын
My man just got iced by JJ
@KurtBrown-p5q Жыл бұрын
Love your videos J.J., especially the American Cultural Canon series! One topic I think would be really interesting would be the big seven American holidays (New Years, Valentines, Easter, Independence, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas) or something related. Regardless, keep up the award-winning videos!
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
That’s a great idea
@PockASqueeno Жыл бұрын
@@JJMcCulloughI know you’re not the biggest fan of distinguishing the USA from Canada, but now I’m curious how those compare to big Canadian holidays. Obviously all of the Christian world loves Christmas and Easter…but Canada has a different Independence Day and Thanksgiving. So it would be cool to compare those holidays between the USA and Canada.
@MrCanadatom Жыл бұрын
Labour Day. And the 24th of May, if we don't get a holiday we'll all run away
@alecduncan3483 Жыл бұрын
Don’t forget St Patrick’s Day!
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
@@PockASqueeno I actually did a video all about Canadian holidays
@laowhy86 Жыл бұрын
Absolutely fantastic episode. Loved it.
@StudioSnakepit Жыл бұрын
Fancy seeing you here! You probably get this a lot but I really appreciate your amazing reporting. You're my number one source of information on China and I always recommend you to friends who want to know more about what really happens over there. Keep up the great work!
@queenvitamin21 Жыл бұрын
Love how JJ always makes his props a part of the story of the episode. Really is interesting to study things like canonical foods through actual, physical sets found in things like decorations, etc.
@JacobLaurenzana Жыл бұрын
You are the only KZbinr that I could watch talk about 4 basic foods for half an hour and still be entertained
@rogerknights857 Жыл бұрын
Here’s a novel “take” on the history of the American sandwich. It is an extract from an article titled Hot Dogs by H.L. Mencken, originally a Newspaper column of November 4, 1929. It is reprinted in a couple of Mencken anthologies, one being “The Impossible H.L. Mencken.” “When I was a boy [around 1890] there were only three types of sandwiches in common use-the ham, the chicken, and the Swiss cheese. Others, to be sure, existed, but it was only as oddities. Even the club sandwich was a rarity, and in most eating houses it was unobtainable. The great majority of people stuck to the ham and the Swiss cheese, with the chicken for feast days and the anniversaries of historic battles. “Then came the invasion of the delicatessen business by Jews, and a complete reform of the sandwich. The Jewish mind was too restless and enterprising to be content with the old repertoire. It reached out for the novel, the dramatic, the unprecedented, as it does in all the arts. First it combined the ham sandwich and the cheese sandwich-and converted America to the combination instanter. Then it added lettuce, and after that mayonnaise-both borrowed from the club sandwich. Then it boldly struck out into the highest fields of fancy, and presently the lowly sandwich had been completely transformed and exalted. It became, as the announcements said, “a meal in itself.” It took on complicated and astonishing forms. It drew on the whole market for materials. And it leaped in price from a nickel to a dime , to a quarter, to fifty cents, even to a dollar. “The rise in price, far from hurting the business, helped it vastly. The delicatessen business, once monopolized by gloomy Germans, who barely made a living at it, became, in the hands of the Jewish reformers, one of the great American industries, and began to throw off millionaires. Today it is on a sound and high-toned basis, with a national association, a high-pressure executive secretary, a trade journal, and a staff of lobbyists in Washington. [He’s being facetious.] There are sandwich shops in New York which offer the nobility and gentry a choice of no less than a hundred different sandwiches, all of them alluring and some downright masterpieces. And even on the lowly level of the drug-store sandwich counter the sandwich has taken on a new variety and a new dignity. No one eats plain ham anymore. At its worst it at least has a dab of coleslaw to set it off. At its best it is hidden between turkey, Camembert and sprigs of endive, with anchovies and Russian dressing to dress it.”
@mindstalk11 ай бұрын
Something rather funny in the idea of Jews inventing a ham and cheese sandwich, given the kosher prohibition of ham, and of any meat with cheese...
@GalacticPossum Жыл бұрын
First of all, Jazz apples fo' life. I'm a 70s kid, and I still remember having a milkman come. We had a galvanized steel box with a thermal lining outside the porch door, and he'd brave the spiders that liked to move into it to leave us our goods. It was a happy day when he'd accidentally (or "accidentally") include a bottle of chocolate milk.
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
Where did you live?
@StephanieJeanne Жыл бұрын
We did, too. A little earlier than you. (Mid-60s)
@ToastieBRRRN Жыл бұрын
Are there still local milkmen delivering in parts of the US? Because here in the UK it's still a thing where they leave them on the doorstep in a milk bottle holder.
@yowayde Жыл бұрын
I lived in Dearborn Mi as a kid and we had a milkman! Early 2000s Era.
@amandabaker4678 Жыл бұрын
@@yowayde Calder Dairy still offers home delivery in most areas of Metro Detroit. They even have the option of getting it in glass bottles!
@sammack1890 Жыл бұрын
I’m glad you’re spending more time on each video, you can really notice the difference. This video was really well made and I can’t wait for more like it
@vonjoris2153 Жыл бұрын
I liked the 3D animation thing of the steak
@ironbanana2253 Жыл бұрын
1:58 steak 8:54 mlik 14:40 samich 21:22 aple
@nibrocgeck7508 Жыл бұрын
You comparing Cosmic Crisps to the Hope Diamond is really fitting. I remember what a craze those things were when they came out. How weird of a memory is that? Remembering when a new apple "came out."
@TheSteelDialga Жыл бұрын
The content in this video was definitely a step above! The info and discussion of culture was great and the production quality was really nice. The animations were especially interesting, which I'm assuming was thanks to your collaborators, Isaac and madebyabra. Worth the wait for sure.
@ethanstewart9970 Жыл бұрын
This video was incredible - the fact you read multiple books just to provide additional sources and stories just proves just how good your videos are. Also shocking to see JJ outside his desk environment lol.
@supraguy4694 Жыл бұрын
These types of videos are my favorite of yours! Concepts like these are household names and embedded in the minds of so many people, yet hardly anyone has given much thought as to why that is the case! Then you come along and give fun, interesting deep dives into their history and I am so grateful for it! Keep it up, JJ!
@GoodCourage Жыл бұрын
JJ -- Of course this was well researched and thought out as always. But man, your production values on this video -- particularly the animation, was off the chain. I cannot imagine the hours of work you put into this. It paid off for me. Well done!
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
I got help with some of the animation to be fair!
@fluffyfluffykatz Жыл бұрын
I feel like you can combine them all to make the ultimate American-sounding meal: Apple crisp buttermilk steak sandwich (with fries)
@malaquiasalfaro8111 ай бұрын
Absolutely delicious
@strawberryshortcake4810 Жыл бұрын
I absolutely adore all ur graphics and drawings u do, even the labels for the sandwich items, great work as always !
@Alterraboo Жыл бұрын
I was secretly hoping JJ would bake an apple pie from all of those apples he bought. Then the bleak kitchen reminded me that it will never happen
@pelletrouge3032 Жыл бұрын
I thought he was going to eat a smoked apple steak sandwich dipped in milk
@joylox Жыл бұрын
I recently was visiting Ireland and the UK, and I got a burger from a nice place in Dublin, which had apple relish on it. Out of all the things I've had on burgers, it was odd to me that something like apple relish wasn't more common in North America. I'd never even heard of it, but now I want to learn how to make it. It was kind of like a spiced apple sauce, but a bit different. If I can figure it out, that would be a great way to use up old apples.
@pelletrouge3032 Жыл бұрын
@@joylox find the recipe?
@jljordan19 ай бұрын
@@joyloxit was probably a chutney
@benzo-diazepine Жыл бұрын
I will always admire JJs ability to turn a simple topic like food into an in depth analysis of American history.
@Hungry4Brussels Жыл бұрын
JJ, you don’t need me to tell you this, but you are so incredibly talented at creating this type of content. The work you put into it is so clear when viewing. I particularly love these “sets” of cultural items that you review. Probably my favorite type of content you make. So unique and you always teach me something. Thanks!
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
Thanks so much!!
@Interrobang2626 Жыл бұрын
Great video. Just forgot to mention that the term "brand" also comes from the great cattle companies as a brand was the burned-in logo on the cattle hide that let you know what ranch that cow came from.
@maryhildreth754 Жыл бұрын
The four food groups are caffeine, sugar, alcohol and fat. Therefore, Irish Coffee is the perfect food.
@Warriorcats64 Жыл бұрын
Forgot about salt.
@maryhildreth754 Жыл бұрын
@@Warriorcats64 what kind of monster puts salt in Irish Coffee?
@acemobb2k2229 ай бұрын
What about meth? 🤪
@christinashelby6083 Жыл бұрын
I can definitely tell you spent more time on this video. Well done, J.J. That is one well-traveled little cow you've got in that first segment!
@BeefinOut Жыл бұрын
Let me just say that I find it incredibly charming whenever you show some sort of factory footage and play that "clank clank clang" song
@TheMetaMoss Жыл бұрын
If you want to find it for yourself, it's the track "Magitek Research Facility" from Final Fantasy VI.
@jordan1192 Жыл бұрын
JJ was very dedicated for this video! It’s a half hour long and he welcomed us into his kitchen. Also he bought a bunch of food not to eat of course but to use as a cultural reference! Which seems very JJ
@Zakalwe___ Жыл бұрын
Hey JJ! I’m the one who called you the other day about finding your property down by the ocean! Hope you found your notebook unharmed! Keep up the great content!
@MrMultiPat Жыл бұрын
Great video, I can tell you put a lot of effort into it. I'm glad I watched it instead of just listening to the audio.
@Fiebich Жыл бұрын
I love the low-poly foods introducing each segment. Nice touch!
@JHZech Жыл бұрын
Kind of random, but I love the way your kitchen looks. Very modern without looking cold. You could do a video on the history of kitchen design one day.
@jiukumite Жыл бұрын
Hey JJ! Love from Raleigh! Take care bro!
@houseofpibb1435 Жыл бұрын
I really enjoyed the new way you took to approaching this video the cut to your kitchen threw me off (in a good way) I’m so use to just looking at your face and the background. Great video as always!
@HayTatsuko Жыл бұрын
I still think Ace of Bass is good, and am not going to apologize even a little for that. Love your deep dives into U.S. and Canadian culture, man. Always a treat to watch! I wish kefir had become a thing much earlier in the US than it did. Would have been a much more wholesome way to get dairy goodness back then. Also enjoyed the "paste-ries" joke -- but some say grains were even more important as a beer source back in the day. After all, the ancient Egyptians used a weak but very nutritious form of beer as part of their staple diet (and payment for the _skilled artisans_ and the unskilled ones who built the Pyramids). Also the Ploughman's Sandwich is one of the greatest lowbrow culinary inventions ever conceived. AND FINALLY, the low-poly Amiga aesthetic of those cutscene animations sang to my oldskool computing heart so much. THANK YOU!
@michaelsimons1489 Жыл бұрын
Love the editing in this video!
@kellitrevino650 Жыл бұрын
Great video! Thanks! Cosmic apples are definitely a fave for me. Also, living in Texas after being a displaced Midwesterner, I pretty much exist on sandwiches during the summer due to not wanting to cook in the heat!
@contentenough Жыл бұрын
Love this video!!! As a Tex-Mex who's from "Cowtown", TX. and is currently studying Anthropology. This is right up my ally! 🤠 Thanks J.J!
@LivingLaughingLoving897 Жыл бұрын
I love the videos about the American cultural canon, I think it's one of the most fascinating topics I've seen covered. The sandwiches in particular made me think of a potential idea for some sort of American canon for bread types. I've found that most places offer a handful of standardized breads (White, whole wheat, rye, Italian, etc.) and then if more than 5-6 breads are offered they typically vary heavily. No idea if there's enough content for a video about that but I thought it was interesting
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
I had breakfast at a place this morning and my choices were white brown sourdough or rye. Some places I’ve noticed include “English muffin” as an option too. And don’t get me started on the jams!
@BadDadio Жыл бұрын
Another excellent video JJ.
@Ska_fan_1996 Жыл бұрын
yet another award winning video from jj!
@stfn4472 Жыл бұрын
I love the production quality of this video! You have truly created such a nice aesthetic with your visual style, J.J.
@TheOtherMwalimu Жыл бұрын
You are an archaeologist of American memorabilia!
@yg6484 Жыл бұрын
The best one at that!
@mintjaan Жыл бұрын
I remember in Kindergarten we had apple day where we'd bring in our favorite apples, I brought in Honey Crisps and I didn't realize how new they were in the 90s because a number of parents never saw them before
@Sam_on_YouTube Жыл бұрын
The history of Honey Crisp is a great legal story. It was the first apple name that was trademarked. Before then, there was no way to profit from new types of apples because anyone who got their hands on a cutting from your tree could start their own orchard. And developing a good new apple variety is expensive and time consuming. So it was a hopelessly money losing endeavor. And they still can grow your apples without asking... but with the idea to trademark the name, they can't be called Honey Crisp unless they pay to license the name and follow the brand requirements. Since that successful business model, new apple varieties exploded.
@Tpcool Жыл бұрын
Great video, JJ! It's easy to take for granted the amount of research that goes into your videos, so thanks for spending an extra week on this to make sure it is complete. It is a simple premise, but each of these foods have their own fun backstories to learn about. I also appreciate the brief mention of the ethical and health concerns of dairy and its production, as I think it is becoming a more relevant and necessary issue to confront.
@jonathanhernandez91815 ай бұрын
I love this channel and this dude's editing style. Keep it up! 😊
@SeaBassTian Жыл бұрын
JJ really went "balls to the wall" with the research for this clip. I love that the original aristocrat sandwiches resemble our modern low-end options. Well done!
@levinsimon1052 Жыл бұрын
I really liked the editing in this video
@52max Жыл бұрын
I had a chuckle when you said all the newfangled apples were all bred in the last decade. Only 2 of the 5 were, for the others it's been nearly 3 decades! This is a thing I noticed a lot lately, where somehow in our minds it's still just the turn of the century but it's already been 23 years...
@BalmBeach8 ай бұрын
Amazing video! Thank you for all the work you've done. I love your presentation and pace. I had no idea that honey crisp apples are a recent thing. I assumed they had been around a long time. I just vacationed in Austria and there bread (brot) means the same thing as what we would call "artisanal bread" here in Canada. The best sandwiches of my life were commonplace there at every cafe and corner store. They have square, sliced factory bread sold on shelves in plastic bags, but it's called "American toast brot" but it's not brot. It's a novelty ingredient in the equally American PBJ.
@arthuruppiano3211 Жыл бұрын
Living all my life in the main apple producing state in the union has given me a special love for and appreciation of this particular fruit. Some of my fondest childhood memories are going with my family to Cloud Mountain Farms, a local orchard, for their annual tasting day, where we would sample dozens of different cultivars of apple, among other fruits. The different varieties of apple would be served in slices on little plates, with a small placard next to each one describing where and when it was first cultivated. Obviously, this included a lot of extremely sweet novelties like the Honeycrisp, but also some surprisingly delicious varieties that were said to have originated in the early 19th or even late 18th Century; naturally, these were a lot closer in flavor and appearance to crab apples. Incidentally, I also have a particular fondness for those "aggressively Anglophile" high teas you mentioned, because an old family friend--who was like an aunt or grandmother to me--would on occasion treat me to tea at a local tea shop. She passed her appreciation for such things onto me, which has shaped my personality to a significant degree.
@aveuch Жыл бұрын
Cool retro shirt. Also, your backdrop finally feels more lived in. Well done.
@FullOfMalarky Жыл бұрын
JJ got that Sopranos fit
@lochlandean7518 Жыл бұрын
i WATCHED THIS video while high and it was so cool! Really enjoy this anthropological look on certain aspects through time
@gerardacronin334 Жыл бұрын
Two thoughts. 1. What about the tomato? Surely it’s a key fruit in North American culture, even if McDonalds didn’t make a tomato toy. 2. These four foods are not just staples in North America, but in Western Europe too. For example, growing up in Ireland, I never understood the saying “as American as apple pie” because apple pie, apple cake, apple sauce and tasty edible apples were everyday foods there. My uncle was a milkman and every morning left 3 pints of milk at our door. And a half pint of cream on Saturday, to serve whipped cream with Mom’s apple pie (made with Bramley apples) that we had for dessert on Sunday.
@Nifirin Жыл бұрын
Tomatoes are interesting because they went from being regarded as nothing more than a poisonous decoration to a key component of one of (if not the most) eaten dish in the world. The story involving a lot of interplay between the New and Old Worlds.
@LeoMidori Жыл бұрын
As with other new world foods tomatoes have a long, interesting history! They were primarily grown in Mexico and then imported to Europe where they tended to get along well with Mediterranean climates. Most early tomatoes were small, similar to cherry and grape tomatoes of today, and a lot of work has gone into making larger and better tasting varieties.
@gerardacronin334 Жыл бұрын
Yes, interestingly, tomatoes are not native to Italy. They were imported from the Americas and the Italians incorporated them into their cuisine. Prior to the 1600s they didn’t have any tomato sauces for their pasta and pizza. Max of Tasting History has done an interesting episode on this.
@JBaum55 Жыл бұрын
In fairness for not including tomatoes (Besides it not being featured as a McDonald's toy), while they are often a big feature for many American dishes and foodstuffs (Italian-American cuisine, ketchup, salads, etc.), they aren't often a "main" staple food like those others? Similar to what he mentioned about bread, tomatoes are more often components for a dish than a main star, outside of ketchup which is a condiment. They definitely are an important and unique crop, though, and worthy of their own discussion.
@gerardacronin334 Жыл бұрын
Sure, but the same can be said of apples!
@abbyshrimpburger80207 ай бұрын
6:12 Going on the topic of meat production in the Midwest. It's a good time to also mention the book The Jungle which details what the working conditions were like in Chicago meat processing plants in the early 20th century. It helped Kickstart the Food and Drug Administration and more safety laws about cleanliness while packing food. The author of the book did not mean for people to focus on the meat he meant for people to focus on the workers, mostly European immigrants. He was quoted as saying “I meant to hit them in the heart but got them in the stomach”. It's a very influential book in American culture that is talked about a lot even today when talking about packaging food.
@krgoodrich1 Жыл бұрын
That was very thorough video! While I knew about the existence of alcoholic cider, I didn’t know anything about the importance of alcohol in the history of apples. Love the graphics! I live in a dairy rich area of the US and I think that dairies get an unfair bad rap based in many ways on the deserved bad reputation of the 19th century urban dairies. According to childhood history classes, milk played a pivotal, if not happy, historical role in the development of my state’s most celebrated resident, Abe Lincoln, whose mother died from milk sickness.
@dersitzpinkler2027 Жыл бұрын
All the sandwiches you were throwing around gave me a laugh. I appreciated the commitment to showing all the foods on camera
@coffeegator6033 Жыл бұрын
The two-week format seems good. I liked the animations. The shrimp and sardine sandwich construction segment had me cracking up. It looked very....tidy....and British. lol
@samuelwilkinson7524 Жыл бұрын
My son loves sad thing JJ on the tv so much so he waves when jj says hello friends and wakes me up with that every morning
@erichatch912 Жыл бұрын
Really, thanks, JJ… you always give your “friends” a great context to culture. It amazes me how you use old obscure toys, etc. to challenge us to think about how/why we got here as a “society writ large”. God bless you this Labour/Labor Day… and always!
@zardiatmeb Жыл бұрын
Love the animation in the sandwich part.
@UnicornsForSale Жыл бұрын
My kindergarten in Kansas featured a unit on apples. We learned about wholesome Mr. Johnny Appleseed, drew pictures of him dropping seeds throughout the countryside, and we held a tasting of red delicious, yellow delicious, and granny smith apples. This video is the first time I've learned of the more adult side of John Chapman 😂
@jljordan19 ай бұрын
We did the same thing in Wichita. Our class made a cookbook for different apple recipes.
@hughsalter7769 Жыл бұрын
thanks for your transmission
@williamjongeward8672 Жыл бұрын
The difference between the apples I grew up with and the apples I eat today is why I love modernity so much
@Kuwaiden Жыл бұрын
idk why, but your stock sound effect for [Industrialization] always makes me chuckle
@The_Libationist Жыл бұрын
As someone who is really into cider and cider brewing. It is quite sad to hear about the fate of the American cider culture. We could have had our own rich cider culture to equal Somerset or Normandy, but no, we’re just now seeing a comeback. I hope to do my part.
@ToastieBRRRN Жыл бұрын
Hopefully it becomes more of a fad similar to how gin and tonics got popular. Tbh, might be harder to compete when you have other fruit cidres like kiwi etc.
@minuteman4199 Жыл бұрын
I'm an apple grower (I have two very productive trees in my garden) and a cider drinker, but I haven't made my own cider. Just like craft beer has taken off over the last 30 years, in Canada at least cider has as well. When I was young you could get imported English Strongbow cider, and that was about it. Now there is a huge selection of cider being produced in Ontario at least, available at every wine store and most bars and restaurants.
@The_Libationist Жыл бұрын
@@minuteman4199 yeah I’m in Virginia and it’s one of the big centres of the cider renaissance along with Washington and New York. It’s been great to see more cider on the shelves even if it’s still nothing compared to beer or wine
@corruptedcola393 Жыл бұрын
West country cider and scrumpy is unrivaled in my definitely not unbiased opinion...
@davidsradioroom9678 Жыл бұрын
Most interesting. Thanks!
@saboorazad9835 Жыл бұрын
Such a avid viewer of your amazing content often the first JJ.
@nyoom9814 Жыл бұрын
lot's of creative shots and things in this video :^ ) I liked all the hand crafted logos for the sandwich ingredients and the close up shot of the apples created this last decade
@nyoom9814 Жыл бұрын
Also I love the versatility of sandwiches. Definitely my favorite. I loved learning about how common sandwich ingredients came about just because they were what was around that could be put between 2 slices of bread
@ghostophelia2245 Жыл бұрын
The boyish smile he had after throwing the apples made me smile
@thebionicledude Жыл бұрын
Your videos are the absolute best j.j thanks for making some of my favorite entertainment
@m2pt5 Жыл бұрын
Sandwiches are super fun because every single component is endlessly variable, but the result is still "a sandwich". That said, if a sub/hoagie/grinder/etc. can be considered a sandwich, so can a hot dog.
@hagan311 Жыл бұрын
This video was one of your best.
@nelly5954 Жыл бұрын
Could you do a video on the most popular modern dinosaurs? e.g. tyrannosaurus, stegosaurus, triceratops, brachiosaurus, and pterodactyls (not actually dinosaurs). Why did those in particular end up in the plastic-toy bucket?
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
That’s a fun idea
@Funhaus_Fr34k Жыл бұрын
Very well made video, many little details in how they're made that make me enjoy these videos just a bit more :)
@frogonhead Жыл бұрын
Only a minute in, and JJ already throws in an Ace of Base jump-scare
@maxmetodiev641 Жыл бұрын
I love I saw the signs
@mattcelder Жыл бұрын
Clearly you didn’t see the signs
@frogonhead Жыл бұрын
@@mattcelder well, at least now it’s opened up my eyes…
@ivodamjanovski7567 Жыл бұрын
This should be your actually award winning video. The 2 week effort shows
@coleburnett9101 Жыл бұрын
I would love an exploration of chicken, its become a staple food of America almost as big as these 4. Anyways keep up the good work!
@halfsourlizard9319 Жыл бұрын
The transition from 'special thing reserved for Sunday dinner' to the cheapest, most-generic thing that 'evereything tastes like' is, indeed, fascinating!
@xannymanny9754Ай бұрын
Sandwiches are honestly some of the most simple yet satisfying foods ever made. A good sandwich is never too hard to make and never ceases to make me a little bit happier after eating one
@xicanosfxicanosf4433 Жыл бұрын
Watching this while eating an apple “salad”-pink lady, ambrosia, gala, honey crisp-all mixed up. So delicious! How did I even tolerate Red Delicious apples-a misnomer if there ever was one-as a kid? When I got those Red Delicious apples while trick or treatin’-it was an immediate toss across the street! 😂 Now they hand out Honey and Cosmic Crisps! These kids don’t know how good they got it! 😂
@spadinnerxylaphone2622 Жыл бұрын
I love this type of niche information content. Symbols I took for granted my whole life being explained and broken down.
@ow4744 Жыл бұрын
I know you've said before that you dont like to cook JJ, but my god man, that kitchen needs some love 😂
@hongxu9893 Жыл бұрын
Love it! Good job
@StephanieJeanne Жыл бұрын
"Milk...it does a body good" the old slogan. Great in-depth dive into these 4 foods! I definitely remember my lunchbox often having pretty much all four at a time, except my "steak" was bologna. Ironically, now I'm 99% vegan. I loved the parts in the kitchen, too! 😁 Thanks for another award-winning video, J.J!🤩
@randomations11 Жыл бұрын
This is the first time I've heard someone refer to bread as "hardened goo," and I'm so glad it was JJ who said it. 11/10 video as usual, certainly award winning!
@PyrotechNick77 Жыл бұрын
Not me rocking to "The Sign" by Ace of Base at this exact moment
@pinkpools Жыл бұрын
yes we thought Ace of Base was good because they were!
@sixty2612 Жыл бұрын
The aesthetic juxtaposition of your filming room to your kitchen is funny
@lainnorcal Жыл бұрын
Speaking of food, have you ever done a video on GMO'S? That would be an interesting video due to its controversy and how much its been used etc. Awesome content, keep it up. 🙂👍
@manipulatortrash Жыл бұрын
YES!!! A half hour video from my favorite explainer of random things.
@Hungry4Brussels Жыл бұрын
Does anyone here have recommendations as to other channels which “cultural education” KZbin channels like this? JJ is absolutely brilliant, but I can watch much faster than one man can produce.
@JJMcCullough Жыл бұрын
I can name two that are very similar to me: Phil Edwards and Linus Boman
@neatoman5367 Жыл бұрын
Thank you JJ! The ending of the video made me quite emotional, I never put much thought in the fact that regardless of where you are in America, everyone is able to enjoy and experience the joys of these four types of food. Made me proud of this place I call home!