A long time ago somebody asked about state foods; I always wanted to do a writeup on them but was inspired last night. Here are the first 25:
State Dishes:
Cuisine in the ASB is as varied as the states that make it up. Every state has its own unique culinary tradition, and a number of dishes that were invented in the state, sometimes available nowhere else. Some states have passed legislation naming a certain dish to be the "state food," which usually has no real legal consequence.
Allegheny - A mixture of Iroquois, Pennamite, French, and mountain traditions give Allegheny a unique, yet familiar flavor. The "three sisters," maize, beans, and squash, while present, is not as ubiquitous as it is in Iroquoia, and they prepare local game such as venison and rabbit more than almost any other state. Their state dish is the "Venison roll," a sweet and savory pastry filled with ground venison and sometimes a vegetable such as squash. Common variants use canned meats, less sweet bread, or are fried.
Arques - Connected as it is to Lower Louisiana, Arques shares many seafood preparations, most often adapted for freshwater dishes like catfish. As the center of rice production in the mainland ASB, Arques also has a unique variety of rice dishes. One such dish is sugar rice, which is a type of porridge eaten as a breakfast food. Arkques-style fried rice is often distinguished from its Chinese counterpart from its use of local spices and sauces.
Assiniboia - As a metis nation, Assiniboia's cuisine is very similar to Metis cuisine elsewhere - buffalo and other game meats, along with local berries for flavor, suitable for a rustic lifestyle in the remote north. The official state dish is Pemmican, which is ground buffalo meat dried and pounded into a coarse powder, then mixed with rendered fat to yield a high-calorie paste. However, Pemmican is rarely eaten today, and many Assiniboians jokingly say their state dish is "Mayo au miel," a sauce made from honey, mayonnaise, and spices that can be put on many different foods.
Bahamas - This island state, predictably, eats a lot of seafood; it is firmly Caribbean when it comes to most of its food, with ingredients such as coconut, cowpea, rice, plantains, fish, pork, goat, and okra. The classic dishes such as Ackee and Saltfish, macaroni pie, coconut black cake, and pelau are all eaten here. However, the Bahamas' claim to fame is its great variety of Conch dishes, often in the form of soups and stews. The other uniquely Bahamian dish is called Fire Engine, and consists of corned or steamed beef heavily seasoned with hot peppers over rice.
Bermuda - Its unique geographic position far from both the mainland and the caribbean gives Bermuda a unique culinary heritage. Many traditional English and Virginian dishes are eaten there, but its claim to fame is seafood; its state dish is Fish Chowder, which is a tomato-based chowder made with local fish, peppers, and rum. "Fried Jellyfish" is sometimes jocularly called the state dish as well - the dish is wholly fictional, invented by a travel magazine writer who had never been to the island, but tourists coming to the island began ordering it. Some restaurants prepare dishes called "fried jellyfish," but they usually do not contain jellyfish at all.
Canada - French Fries have an unknown hotly disputed origin, and its many names show this; different states and countries name them as being from France, Belgium, the Netherlands, New Netherlands Galicia, and, of course, Canada, hence the local name "Pommes de la terre a la Canadienne" or "Pommes Canadiennes" for short. The name of the dish is prescribed by legislation, and any restaurant in Canada serving the dish *must* call it some variant of that name. Since the dish has become so ubiquitous throughout the ASB, Canadiens have more recently taken to calling Poutine, a dish consisting of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, their real state dish.
Carolina - Carolina's official state dish is simply cornbread, but the question of state dish has a history of controversy. In the slavery era, black slaves made their food from the parts and ingredients their white owners didn't want. As a result, their descendent groups eat different dishes. Complicating the matter are the fact that most of these dishes are extremely similar, but have different names, and the fact that the Piedmonters kept their own, separate cuisine. As a compromise, they named the official state dish cornbread, since it was one of the few dishes that had a consistent name and form among all three groups.
Cayman Islands - Tied to Jamaica for much of its history, the Caymans shares several dishes with the larger island, such as Jerk chicken, and curry goat. It also shares many wider caribbean dishes such as Ackee and Saltfish, Johnny Cake, and Coconut Shrimp. The official state dish, however, is Turtle Stew, which is made with turtle meat, cassava, potatoes, onions, and peppers. A popular condiment is chili sauce, of which there are a variety to be used for either seasoning or as marinade before cooking.
Cherokee - Cherokee cuisine draws from its own old history, that of its close neighbors, and from more modern European borrowings. The state dish is Kanuchi, a porridge-like delicacy made from hickory nuts and hominy, though modern recipes use rice instead of hominy. Other common dishes are bean bread, which is corn bread with beans folded into it, and grape dumplings. Many restaurants across the ASB serve grape dumplings as dessert, to the point that most don't realize it was a native invention.
Chickasaw - Like Cherokee, Chicasaw draws from its own tradition, that of its neighbors, and from European dishes. Chickasaw also claims to have invented the grape dumpling, but their state dish is Pashofa, a soup-like dish made from hominy and meat, usually pork, served cold. Other dishes include pastries made from native plants, such as chestnut bread, acorn bread, and molasses bread, which is not an indigenous dish but has become a traditional dessert in the state.
Choctaw - Banaha, sometimes called the Choctaw state dish, is a type of cornbread covered in gravy or other oil, sometimes baked with beans or peas inside. It is eaten widely among all native tribes in the region, often under different names. Other dishes include tamfula, which is a corn mush with berries added, and hunters' stew, which is made with beef, venison, and various vegetables, and is often reserved for holidays.
Christiana - As the sole Commonwealth realm in the ASB, Christiana has its share of unique foods, drawing from both Scandinavian and Russian cuisine. Christiana has no official state dish, but its most well-known invention is probably the Skraddarbulle, or Tailor's Ball, which is a variant of the traditonal swedish meatball containing salted pork, fish, and a variety of spices. The Russian-Christianan community also eats variations of traditional Russian dishes such as beef stroganoff, which in the Christianan style has cheese in its sauce, and pelmeni, a meat dumpling which is in Christiana is usually fried and served with ketchup.
Cuba - Cuba has a rich and unique cuisine all its own, with influences from Spanish, English, and African cuisine. Some of their famous dishes are black bean soup, fried plantains, and mixto, a pressed sandwich with pork, cheese, pickles, and mustard. The state dish, however, is Ropa Vieja, which is made from shredded beef cooked in a tomato-based sauce with bell peppers and other vegetables. Other hispanophone Caribbean states have their own variants of the dish, but the cuban recipe is often considered definitive one.
Dakota - The Sioux have their own unique culinary history, relying heavily on buffalo and other game. As such, the Dakota state dish is Wohanpi, a stew made of buffalo meat, potatoes, and carrots. Natives who migrated from the Mexican deserts also brought their own culinary traditions, often making use of pork and chili peppers, and it's not uncommon to find regional variants of Wohanpi that incorporate these ingredients.
East Acadia - Although seafood features heavily in the East Acadian diet, and the state has abundant shellfish such as lobster, scallops, and oysters, the official state dish is Poutine Rapee, a boiled potato dumpling filled with pork. The dish is usually reserved for special occasions since it takes several hours to prepare. It is often served with maple syrup or blueberry preserves.
East Dominica - East Dominica has much in common with other cuisines in Hispanophone states. However, the dish that it unofficially claims for its own is called "Tres Golpes," or "three hits." It refers to the three staples of cheese, salami, and eggs served over boiled plantain mush. The dish is traditionally eaten by field workers for their lunches. Afro-Dominicans usually call the dish "Mangu," a word borrowed from West African languages to describe a similar dish. However, the cheese, salami, and eggs are a local addition.
East Florida - The states' long connection with Spain and Cuba have given it a culinary culture that is in some ways typically Spanish, but the variety of tropical fruits grown in the state often add sweetness to replace the spiciness of its Caribbean counterparts. It also has influences from its continental neighbors, for example in its Shrimp and Grits dish. Its official dish, however, is called Sopa Menorquina, a tomato-based clam chowder with lime juice and a Caribbean-style assortment of spices. Its name comes from the Minorcan sailors who are said to have invented it in the late 18th century. Sopa Menorquina, despite its official status, is not widely prepared outside the capital of San Agustin.
Huronia - Huronia's cuisine is very similar to that of Canada and the other Francophone states, but with more native influences thanks to the Metis living there. Huronians usually call their food "simpler" than Canadian dishes, relying on fewer imported or expensive ingredients. This is evident in their unofficial state dish, Lard au Mais, which is a cut of thinly-sliced, brine-cured pork loin covered in corn meal and often eaten on a bun.
Illinois - Illinois cuisine has influences from both native and french traditions, and it in the ASB. The state is a major center of agriculture for the whole country, especially when it comes to growing corn and pumkins. Local folklore holds that the natives in this state were the first to discover popcorn, so that is sometimes named as the state dish, but other dishes such as pumpkin bread and kitchiwey, a stew made from beef, vegetables, and pumpkin flesh.
Iroquoia - Iroquois cuisine has had a lasting impact on cuisines throughout the ASB, and many of its dishes have been adopted by other peoples, such as green bean soup, berry bread, and whitecorn pudding. Iroquois claim to have popularized the "three sisters," beans, squash, and maize, and these ingredients make up a good part of Iroquois cuisine. Iroquois grow a special cultivar of white corn that is legally protected such that it cannot be grown commercially elsewhere in the ASB. The state dish is succotash, a simple bean and corn dish which the Iroquois claim to have invented, although this is disputed by the Narragansett.
Labrador - Labrador, as the ASB's sole subarctic territory, features many foods that are not found elsewhere in the country, such as seal and whale meat. Because these ingredients are so rare outside Labrador, they are usually unknown to the ASB at large. The Metis, Inuit, and Innu communities, despite their low populations, maintain distinct culinary traditions. The Metis, descended from whalers and fishermen, tend toward local seafood prepared in a European style, such as seal flipper pie. The Inuit, similarly coastal, use similar ingredients but different techniques; some of there dishes are Aglunak, which is fermented fish, and Akutak, which is an ice cream-like dessert made from berries with a base of rendered fat instead of milk or cream. The Innu, living away from the coasts, heavily use caribou in their dishes; one unique dish they have is called Uimashkatai, which is a soup made from the abdominal lining of Caribou, considered a delicacy.
Lower Connecticut - New England has a rich and celebrated tradition of seafood dishes, such as lobster, oysters, various fish, and clams, and Lower Connecticut is no exception. The unofficial state dish is clam pie, a savory pie made from clams, often with a crispy crust. Lower Connecticut also has influences from neighboring New Netherland, such as the dish hodgepodge, which refers to a potato-and-vegetable mash in Lower Connecticut but a stew in the rest of New England.
Lower Louisiana - Lower Louisiana is famous for its food, and calls itself the gastronomic heart of the country. Etouffee, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and mediatrice, are all dishes that originally come form, or were popularized by, Lower Louisiana. There is no official state dish (rather, the culinary tradition as a whole is officially recognized as a Lower Louisianan cultural treasure), but if you ask anyone in the state they will say it is gombo, a thick soup made with shellfish, tomatoes, vegetables, and roux, with heavy seasonings added. Gombo is wildly popular in the state and central to many of its traditions.
Lower Virginia - In many ways, Lower Virginia has many features typical of English states. Being on the shellfish-rich Chesapeake Bay, Lower Virginians are proud of their seafood, but the official state dish is actually Brunswick Stew, a tomato-based chicken stew that includes corn, beans, and potatoes. The stew is also popular in Carolina, which also claims to have invented the dish. Some Lower Virginians consider Virginian Ham, a ham smoked and dry-cured in salt, sugar, and spices, to be an alternate state dish, although Carolina also claims this dish, albeit without smoking or sugar. The Accomacs, living on the eastern shore of the state, claim oysters as their "county dish," as oysters are more plentiful there than almost anywhere else in the ASB.
Maryland - Marylanders typically consider themselves to be very close to Virginians, both culturally and geographically, and their cuisines are no exception. One can find the same regional dishes in Virginia as in Maryland with very few exceptions, names Blue Crab as its state food, though the specific dish is not specified. Blue crab is often steamed or made into crab cakes, mixed into a creamy dip, or cooked into soup or bisque; Marylanders are proud of both the quality and the variety of their crab dishes. There are other seafood specialties in the state, such as conch fritters and fried shrimp, and non-seafood dishes such as pit beef, which is roast beef grilled at high temperature so as to be rare with a crispy outside.
I love how each state and province in the confederation is culturally unique.