Fortune Cookies Came From Where? I Was Surprised!

Fortune Cookies Came From Where?  I was surprised 

Yesterday I talked about my last ten fortunes from Pearl Garden in Northport, Alabama.  Check it out below or click here.  What is surprising that some of the fortunes have already come true!  Well, that story got me thinking about where did the concept of fortune cookies come from?  According to the National Museum of American History, “you might be surprised to discover that fortune cookies are not a Chinese creation but rather an American one by way of Japan.”  What???? My mind is blown on this one.  Listen, it gets better.  Here is a snapshot of how it all went down; Suyeichi Okamura started a Japanese candy store in San Francisco in 1906 named Benkyodo (which is still open).  It supplied fortune cookies to the San Francisco Japanese Tea Garden (which still exists) until World War II.  As the story unfolds, the National Museum of American History notes that “when Japanese Americans in California were sent to internment camps. Chinese businessmen used the opportunity and started to produce their own fortune cookies, selling them to Chinese restaurants, and setting in motion an association between cookie and restaurant that continues today.”  So there is a little bit of history for you to have the next time you are dining out or enjoying Chinese take-out.  I totally recommend Pearl Garden in Northport, Alabama.  If you have a favorite Chinese restaurant in West Alabama, please let me know.  I would love to check it out!  You can message me on Facebook @MaryKRadio

(Source) To check out Pearl Garden in Northport, click here. For more from the National Museum of American History, click here.  For more about Benkyodo, click here.  For more about the Japanese Tea Garden, click here.