Thank You, New York, For Hash Browns

While New York can't take credit for creating the breakfast staple we know it to be today, New York can absolutely take credit for popularizing the hash brown.

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The first known mention of the hash brown was in a cookbook by American food author Maria Parloa in her 1887 cookbook called, 'Kitchen Companion.'

In the cookbook, hash browns were actually called "hashed brown potatoes" and to make them Parloa said that potatoes needed to be hashed and browned and then fried before being folded "like an omelet" and served.

Although Parloa introduced the idea of hash browns in 1887, it was New York that started to introduce them in breakfast menus and as they say, "the rest is history." New Yorkers liked what they tasted and we've been enjoying them ever since.

According to BarryPopik, the name "hashed brown potatoes" was shortened to "hash browns" around 1911 as "part of lunch counter slang."

Hashed brown potatoes, or hash browns became so popular so quickly that according to the Old Foodie, the Oxford English Dictionary added "hashed brown potatoes" in 1900 and "hash browns" in 1917.

Would the hash brown have become what it is today had it not been for New York dining establishments adding it to their menu? Perhaps, but we're betting it would have taken much longer to become as popular as it has.

While New York can't lay claim to creating hash browns, there is a slew of other delicious foods that we absolutely invented. Foods and dishes such as eggs Benedict, chicken and waffles, and even baked Alaska.