Official State Foods & Beverages
I thought you might like a look at official state foods and beverages.
Foods: http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_food.htm
Beverages: http://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_beverages.htm
Thanks to the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, and author Liz Williams: http://southernfood.org/okra/?p=711
Notables: Alabama has whisky -- the only state with the gumption to sanction booze.
Indiana -- clean livin' Indianans recognize...WATER!
Nebraska's official soft drink is Kool-Aid.
On a little tangent, but....I see many states have miilk as their official beverage, but that takes on greater significance as a Pennsylvanian Amish dairy farmer is now being prosecuted by the feds for daring to take fresh, unadulterated, safe and wholesome UNPASTEURIZED milk across the state line into Maryland. This food police statism has gotten so disgusting and pathetic!
-
-
Unfortunately, I live in a state with no official food & beverage yet in Arizona we have a state gun (Colt something or other) and state reptile (rattlesnake). I'm not thrilled with the priorities.
I would like to nominate some of our wonderful mescal made with local agave plants. Chips and salsa to accompany the mescal could be our state food choice.
›1 Reply -
LoBrauHouseFrau
May 23, 2011 09:37 AM
They left the official state sandwich of Massachusetts off the list. The Fluffernutter.
-
-
DonShirer
May 22, 2011 03:37 PM
With the states of the union in the shape they are in, you'd think that state legislatures would have more important things to do than choosing state foods, beverages, fruits, (and yes) insects.
I see CT doesn't have a food (though they do have an insect). I hear they favored clam chowder but couldn't bear choosing one labeled Manhattan, Boston or Rhode Island.
›1 Reply-
re: DonShirer
I don't know about other states, but most of the state symbols in North Carolina (my home state) were chosen because they represent significant industries in the state. It may seem silly, but selecting the sweet potato as the official vegetable of NC does contribute a bit to the growth of the sweet potato industry, and it really doesn't take much effort on the part of the legislature. Of course, it's also worth considering that most of these designations were passed during times of prosperity and stability (at least in NC), so it's possible there weren't more important things to do during the 15 minutes it took to vote.
-
-
-
re: monavano
goodhealthgourmet
May 23, 2011 03:23 PM
I mean, come on-- New Jersey has the tomato. How hard was that one?
~~~~~~~~~~
you'd think, right? yet *none* of these sources list it as a state food. meanwhile the blueberry was declared as the official NJ state fruit in 2004...
-
-
LorenM
May 22, 2011 10:31 AM
A little bit tricky but for Colorado the beverage would have to be beer wtih the huge abundance of micro and macro breweries, The Great American Beerfest, etc.
Food is a bit tougher, Buffalo (bison) maybe, Rocky Mountain Oysters (though I don't think all that many people actually eat them much), Colorado Lamb, or maybe Rainbow Trout. or Colorado-style Pork Green Chile. Nothing really stands out as THE State Food here that I can think of. -
-
re: bayoucook
natewrites
May 22, 2011 08:05 AM
Similar here, Bayoucook. Our eastern end of the state is quite different than our western end.
For example, we have "kuchen" and "fry bread" listed. Kuchen clearly represents the white European settlers on the eastern side; whereas the "frybread" represents the Native American population prevalent here on the western side.
I've scarfed down way more Indian fry bread than I have Kuchen, which I don't think I've ever had.
Indian Tacos = YUMMY!
-
-
Hmm Hawaii isn't listed but I'm sure our state food is spam...
Our state drink?? Blue Hawaii or mai tai??
›7 Replies-
re: Mag454
KaimukiMan
May 22, 2011 09:39 AM
spam gets all the attention as a weird food, which may well qualify it, but as Hawaii's rice consumption is almost triple the rest of the country (50 lbs/person/year vs just about 18 lbs), my vote might go there.
For alcololic beverage, you are probably right on target, at least image wise,
for non-alcoholic... Fruit Punch and its cousins (passion orange, pog, guava nectar, etc)-
-
re: KaimukiMan
KaimukiMan
May 22, 2011 04:01 PM
fruit punch is a longtime favorite here in Honolulu, and is available at fast food chains, sold by the can like soda at most convenience stores, by the 6pack in grocery stores, and by the flat at the big box stores, along with the flavor variations above. Not really sure if the syrups were developed for drinking then used for shave ice or vice versa. And while you might find fruit punch in various places on the mainland I've not seen passion-orange, pineapple-orange, guava nectar, etc.
-
-
-
goodhealthgourmet
May 21, 2011 11:24 AM
topic comes up every so often. you might be interested in this article someone linked to in a similar thread:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/60... -
-
-
New Hampshire had no official state fruit until 5-6 years ago. A group of 4th graders proposed the pumpkin as part of a civics lesson on how the government passed bills. When other groups heard of this, especially apple growers, lobby became fierce but the pumpkin won out.
›1 Reply -
bushwickgirl
May 21, 2011 05:20 AM
New York's gotta be apple something or apple everything, cheddar and wine. Forget the milk.
›2 Replies-
re: bushwickgirl
al b. darned
May 21, 2011 08:31 PM
While not official, a recent poll showed New Yorkers prefer corn over onions for a state veg.
-
re: al b. darned
bushwickgirl
May 23, 2011 01:23 PM
Yes, corn, I saw that recently, and apples, which are a fruit. So we have a fruit and a veg. I have no idea why onions would even be considered.
-
-
