I stumbled across this article about popular cuisine by state today and had to check it out. I’m a South Carolina girl, and Nick is a North Carolina guy. We banter back and forth about who has the better home state. (I know, I know, it’s clearly South Carolina, but some people just will not accept defeat.)
 |
| Fried Green Tomatoes |
It turns out that our home states are pretty similar when it comes to food. Surprise, surprise, Southern food came in as the most popular by far in both states. Southern states like southern food. It makes sense; it’s readily available, it’s what locals grow up eating, and we’re not about to give it up.
I love Southern food. Honestly, I love food. I love trying new foods, creating new recipes, and sometimes ordering things I can’t even pronounce. But Southern food holds a special place for me. It’s comforting and familiar, and it represents home. After visiting any non-southern state, I am always very glad to come home to Southern food and sweet tea.
Here’s the top five for both Carolinas:
North Carolina:
1. Southern (229% higher than the national average)
2. Cheesesteaks
3. Hot Dogs
4. Chicken Wings
5. Soul Food
South Carolina:
1. Southern (327% higher than the national average)
2. Seafood
3. Soul Food
4. Chicken Wings
5. Barbeque
See? They are fairly similar. It looks like North Carolina loves cheesesteaks and hot dogs, and South Carolina loves seafood and barbeque instead. I like how the list works out. There’s a great hotdog place in Nick’s hometown (they might actually be responsible for getting hotdogs on North Carolina’s list) and I always have to get mustard based barbeque when we travel to the lower half of South Carolina.
So what about you? What’s the most popular cuisine in your state? Do you have certain foods that represent home?
I do love fried chicken and I do love sea food. Have to say though, the only cheese steaks I know are PHILADELPHIA cheese steak sandwiches.
ReplyDeleteThe best food always seems to be what you grew up eating. I love pizza, but the further I get from New York/New Jersey the worse it gets. Kinda the same with Chinese food.
If SC and NC food is all you argue about, you have a very good marriage.
Also, hush puppies, not my favorite, but the one time I was in SC I ordered scallops. The first scallop I ate was disgusting. Turns out it was really a hush puppy. When you expect scallop and get hush puppy it will throw you. Once I knew what they were, they were not so bad.
DeleteWe love Southern cooking, and we're not even from the South. Unless you count Southern California (LOL). Connecticut is probably best known for its seafood. I always having good Mexican and Japanese food when I go back "home" to California. :)
ReplyDeleteThat was interesting comparing the 2 states and the favorite foods of each. Not sure what is the favorite food here now in Arizona, but I think in Southern California it might have been Mexican. I'm with you, I pretty much like all food (and that's why I'm 30-50 pounds overweight :)
ReplyDeletebetty
LOL Cheesesteaks for NC?! Really? I don't know that I've seen a single on while living in NC for the last decade. How odd.
ReplyDeleteWell where I am in Australia it's meat pies, pavlova, lamingtons, barbecued prawns and sausage sangers! I'd love to try Southern food :)
ReplyDeleteHere in Pennsylvania Dutch country in Pennsylvania these foods are popular: Pork and Sauerkraut, shoofly pie, warm bacon dressing salad, apple butter, whoopie pies, Chow Chow, pickled beets and eggs. I lived in S.C., though for 12 years and I loved the food... and I love to cook it (BBQ and collard greens, etc.).
ReplyDeleteReading Joeh's comments up there^, what are hush puppies? Here in Australia Hush Puppies was a brand of men's shoes, I worked in the factory that made them.
ReplyDeleteHush puppies, at least in the south, are balls of deep fried cornmeal batter. And they're delicious. We eat them mostly with seafood, but they're also good with burgers, stew, and barbeque. I read in an old cookbook of my grandmother's that way back in the day they were fed to hunting dogs around campfires to keep them quiet, and they were told to "hush puppy" when they were given their treat. I don't know if there's much or any truth to that. but it makes for a good story.
Delete