Today’s Wonder of the Day was inspired by Ian. Ian Wonders, “When was fried chicken made?” Thanks for WONDERing with us, Ian!

What’s your favorite meal? Do you like dim sum? How about couscous? Some people like to cook fresh fruits and vegetables. Many people in the American South might say their favorite meal includes mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits. And of course, they’d include the dish at the center of any southern meal: fried chicken.

Have you ever bitten into a crispy, juicy, fried piece of chicken? Many say it’s a joy like no other. Fried chicken comes in many forms. There are legs, wings, and nuggets, just to name a few! But have you ever stopped and WONDERed who invented fried chicken?

Fried chicken doesn’t have any one inventor. And it’s much older than you may think! English cook Hannah Glasse had the first published fried chicken recipe in 1747. However, the earliest stories of fried chicken are thousands of years old. They come from China, the Middle East, and West Africa. However, the dish has changed a lot over the years.

American-style fried chicken started in the American South. Some people think the recipe came from Scottish immigrants. However, many believe it was brought from Africa.

We’ll likely never know who made the first American fried chicken. However, there’s no doubt that African people who were enslaved in the US made the dish what it is today. They used West African spices in the breading mixture. This created a taste that was new to the Southern US. The dish quickly gained fame.

African American entrepreneurs, many of them women, started selling fried chicken as early as the 1730s. Later, other people did the same. Have you ever heard of Kentucky Fried Chicken? How about Popeyes? Fast-food restaurants selling fried chicken started opening up in the 1950s. Many of them are still around today.

Fried chicken has also continued to change. Nashville hot chicken, chicken and waffles, and Buffalo wings are just a few modern takes on the classic food. Some people even eat fried chicken wings dipped in gold!

People all over the world make versions of fried chicken. Some of them are similar to American fried chicken, and many of them are not. If you’re looking for some tasty varieties of the dish, order it in South Korea, Senegal, or Japan.

What kind of fried chicken do you like? Or do you eat it at all? Some people prefer grilled chicken or even fried tofu. With its long history, fried chicken is a traditional dish for many families around the world.

Standards: C3.D2.His.2, CCRA.L.3, CCRA.L.6, CCRA.R.1, CCRA.R.2, CCRA.R.4, CCRA.R.10, CCRA.W.2, CCRA.W.4, CCRA.W.9, CCRA.L.1, CCRA.L.2, CCRA.SL.1

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