6. (And while we’re at it…) Doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, and pretzels

If you were paleo in New Amsterdam you were in trouble. The Dutch loved their baked goods. Back in 1989, a food historian and Dutch immigrant, Peter G. Rose, translated a 17th century Dutch cookbook called The Sensible Cook. In it she discovered the primer for what would become the standard American cheat day. As the New York Times reported right before the cookbook’s publication: “Ms. Rose believes that several of the mainstays of the American diet were brought to the New World by the Dutch, including pancakes, waffles, doughnuts… and pretzels. Ship inventories show that many Dutch settlers brought waffle irons with them to this country.”