Recently we were playing a food trivia game. The question was what type of muffin is the Minnesota state muffin? Huh? Do we have state muffins? Well the answer was blueberry and no, alas, we do not all have state muffins. Research of state foods turns up some interesting categories, and some states are way more ambitious than others in claiming foodstuffs as their own.
Here in Illinois we have only a state fruit, the apple, but hooray, we claim a state snack food, and its popcorn! (We have lots of great popcorn seasonings but our favorite is Vulcan's Fire Salt.) Some states have a state nut, state fruit and state tree fruit (Alabama), one even has a state pie, Key Lime - guess what state that is? Georgia has a state prepared food, grits, while Louisiana has a state jellie, a state vegetable AND a state meat pie. Texas seems a bit overbearing in claiming nine state foods including a state pepper, the jalapeño, AND a state native pepper, the chiltepin, but you know Texas likes to do things in a big way. Surprisingly Oklahoma outdoes Texas with 13 claims! They seem to have created a category for "state menu item" which claims corn, grits, fried okra, black eyed peas, squash, biscuits and gravy, sausage, chicken fried steak, barbecued pork and pecan pie. Texas, are you paying attention? Oklahoma is succeeding the union with all foods loved in the South! See what your state has to offer.
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