Carolina Reaper pepper? Does it have to specify North or South Carolina to qualify?
Rhode Island clam chowder (different from Mew England or Manhattan)
Being as how NJ is my adoptive* state, is New Jersey Salt Water Taffy a common enough construction/descriptor to count?
j
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- as in, it adopted me. I’m not crazy, y’know.
Maryland Fried Chicken (take that, Kentucky!)
My understanding is that it used to be a chain, but that apparently was decades ago. But there are still a number of Maryland Fried Chicken locations, operating independently, scattered across the Southeast. There’s one in Plant City, FL where my in-laws live, and it’s got damned good fried chicken.
What happened to Virginia ham?
Tennessee whiskey is a real thing, defined by state law. (It has to be filtered or steeped in charcoal.) Aside from Jack Daniel’s, the other big brand is George Dickel, owned by Diageo. There are a handful of other small-time distillers that make it.
Michigan Blueberries
Dork Vader mentioned Wisconsin cheese. I think it counts if you specify Wisconsin cheddar.
I guess if Hawaiian pizza doesn’t count then neither does Hawaiian Punch? :o
Arizona Iced Tea?
If so, American cheese.
Maine actually does produce a lot of maple syrup. In fact Somerset County, Maine produces more than any other county in the nation.
Rhode Island clam chowder
It’s a version of chowder without cream or milk, just clams, potatoes and some veg in a briney broth.
From NYT Cooking
Rhode Island Clam Chowder
by SAM SIFTON
Time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
INGREDIENTS
24 medium-size quahog clams, usually rated ‘‘top neck’’
or ‘‘cherrystone,’’ rinsed
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 pound slab bacon or salt pork, diced
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 large ribs celery, cleaned and diced
12 red bliss potatoes, cubed
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped parsley.
Download The New York Times Cooking App on the App Store.
Oregonzola: An award-winning bleu cheese made by Rogue Creamery. It’s well known in the cheese world.
That could be Rhode Island Red Chowder, quite different from that swill known as Manhattan Clam Chowder. There are some that use the term Rhode Island Clam Chowder for a clear chowder with no cream or tomato sauce. White Chowder, as it’s known around here is the same as typical New England Clam Chowders.
Do not use New York Times recipes for Rhode Island dishes. That doesn’t resemble Rhode Island Red Chowder at all. I know of what I speak, I have won awards for my chowder.
(missed edit window)
I note the above is for Clear Chowder, not Red, but also an abomination.
Here is a recipe for actual Rhode Island Red of the award winning variety. The clear variety is about the same without the tomato sauce.
Doesn’t have anything to do with the state- it’s “colorado” as translated as “colored”, meaning that it’s made with a bunch of chiles that are brightly colored.
Arizona tea, AFAICT, is just some marketing BS that some guy in New York came up with to popularize his canned tea. Again, nothing to do with the actual state.
I’d vote that marketing-related state foods don’t count; Idaho potatoes and Arkansas rice are both totally marketing related- there’s no actual indication of quality with either of these- they’re both just major producers of potatoes and rice, respectively. Same with say… Wisconsin cheese, California cheese, Florida oranges- they’re all generic attempts at differentiating themselves from all the other exactly identical versions of their product/produce.
I mean, can you tell without looking at the label if a french fry came from an Idaho or a Maine potato? Or if your orange juice is from Florida, Arizona, Texas, Brazil or all four at the same time? Or if that shredded cheese on your taco is from California, Oregon or Wisconsin? Or if your maple syrup is from Vermont, NY, Ontario, Maine, Quebec or New Brunswick?
Picky, picky, picky…
~VOW
The same is true for New York pizza.
There are Michigan hot dogs. But they’re actually a regional specialty in northern New York.