Indian-American TV host and author Padma Lakshmi is getting slammed online after saying that ‘apple pie is not truly American.’ In an interview with The New York Times, Lakshmi said that both the ingredients and traditions behind the famous dessert come from other parts of the world.
“Apple pie isn’t American: not the crust, not the filling, not the spices,” she told the publication while promoting her new CBS cooking show, which will air before Thanksgiving.
This is not the first time Lakshmi has said apple pie isn’t American. In a 2020 interview with Variety, she made the same argument.
“We throw around a lot of platitudes like, ‘nothing’s as American as apple pie.’ Well, apple pie is not American,” she told Variety. “Not one ingredient in apple pie is indigenous to North America. Not even the apple! So what are we talking about here?”
Lakshmi says American food has global roots
Lakshmi explained that many foods Americans think of as national dishes actually come from global traditions and imported ingredients. She said that if people only ate foods native to the US, there would be very little variety.
“If we just ate what was native to the United States, we would be living on desert packrat and ramps,” she said, referring to a desert rodent and a wild vegetable.
Lakshmi, who moved to the US from India as a child, said she is grateful for the opportunities America gave her family. But she also believes immigrants are essential to the country’s success.
“If you take away the immigrants, the country, the food system, the tech arena, Wall Street, and medicine will all come to a standstill,” she told New York Times. She added that America’s strength comes from the hard work and creativity of immigrants.
Lakshmi said her new TV project aims to show the real diversity of American food. “I was looking for something to do in my creative life that would incorporate the crash education I had gotten from immigrants in different parts of our country,” she told New York Times.
“I didn’t want to do a lifestyle show, which is what all the networks wanted. I wasn’t interested in trying to make something that’s fuzzy at the edges. I want it to be real, I want to dress like I really dress and talk like I really talk. Why is it that male chefs get to be swashbuckling on TV, and I have to be at home in the kitchen?” She also said her main point is that classic American dishes, including Thanksgiving favourites, come from a mix of cultures over centuries.
‘She appears to be an import as well’
Netizens on X slammed Padma Lakshmi over this statement. A user noted, “She appears to be an import as well.”
Another added “Apple pie started in Western Europe. Americans perfected it.”
“Do we really have to listen to her? My lifetime it’s been Apple Pie. We may have added a spoonful of Vanilla Ice Cream but yes All American,” wrote another user.
“Oh please give Americans a break,” stated another netizen. ” “Well, based on her name, it certainly sounds like she’s an American,” wrote a user.