Aren’t Dakota figs better known? But then you still have the North/South divide to contend with.
Oops! Kadota. My bad. ROFL!
How about States (in the political science sense) with Food Names?
Brazil (Brazil) was named for the tree, not the other way around.
(Okay, the it was the brazilwood tree, valued for its wood — good for burning, hence “brazil,” same root as “brazen” and “brazier” — which might not be the same tree as the brazil nut. Okay, I tried. Maybe there’s a better example somewhere in the world?)
According to the fascinating map Atlas of True Names, China means “Rice”. Yes, the Chinese word for China means “Middle Kingdom,” and the word “China” comes from the Qin Dynasty’s family name, but “Qin” referred to a species of rice originally, according to the map’s editors (Kalmedia, a German company).
Another contender from the map is “Cameroon,” which means “shrimp” in Portuguese/French dialects.
I picked the two examples where the plant or animal is generally considered mainly as a food. So, no Spain (“Rabbits”) or Panama (“Many Fish”).
Somalia works, though! (“Go and Milk!”).
Well, that’s one theory. It actually had another name, Ilha de Vera Cruz, which was used on land for many years ( it was believed to be an island for quite some time.). But the sailors who first found it, called it Hy-Brazil. This was because they pulled in through a fog, and the land appeared as if through a mist. This put them in mind of the Celtic legend of Hy-Brazil, which all sailor’s lore at the time included. It’s like mermaids or krakens, they all knew the stories of the island that appeared and disappeared, and where one might live forever young with the fairies.
Anyway, despite the name used officially and on land it was called Hy-Brazil or just Brazil on most navigational charts, and eventually that name stuck.
I suspect the truth is that it was the combination of these two which overwhelmed the use of the other name.
Here’s a site which includes both:
https://www.brazil.org.za/etymology.html
Good point. It’s rather like the etymology of “OK” — it took a pre-existing but limited usage (a jokey “oll korrect”) AND a spark of new publicity with different roots (Martin Van Buren’s nickname, “Old Kinderhook,” referring to his hometown), to make the expression popular and durable.
This may be DQ’d on a technicality.
Hoosier Pie (Indiana)
It’s also known as Sugar Cream pie, and it’s dreadfully bland and has an awful, mushy and slimy texture.
I had never heard of it before I moved here full time. My parents grew up in Indiana and had never heard of it, either. There’s a company that makes frozen ones to sell in stores all over the city. I don’t know why thee are so popular, or why they are the state pie when they could have gone with rhubarb.
Wow, a custard pie with no eggs in it? When they say “sugar cream pie” they are giving you the recipe!
I love cream and I love vanilla; I love pastry and I love custard. But somehow I think I might not like this pie.