My region: the produce & dishes

caseydog said:
See my reply to The Late Night Gourmet above. Chicken Fried Steak is believed to be a spin off of schnitzel. Texas had a huge German influx of immigrants in the 1800s.

Schnitzel often uses bread crumbs for the top coating. Chicken Fried Steak does not. The white gravy is more of a Texas thing, too.

CD
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Yeah I knew that, I just don't get your gravy as opposed to ours. Complete different.

Russ
 
caseydog said:
See my reply to The Late Night Gourmet above. Chicken Fried Steak is believed to be a spin off of schnitzel. Texas had a huge German influx of immigrants in the 1800s.

Schnitzel often uses bread crumbs for the top coating. Chicken Fried Steak does not. The white gravy is more of a Texas thing, too.

CD
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This makes a lot of sense, now that you mention it. I think you’ll see that this happens a lot throughout history: as people relocate, they bring their traditions with them, but they are also affected by the traditions of their new homes.
 
TastyReuben said:
@WhatsCookingMama - I have a can of boiled peanuts in my cupboard right now, but nothing beats fresh.

Funny thing - used to only see those in the southeast (Florida, Georgia), but now, nearly every quickie-mart fuel stop around me in Ohio has a slow cooker full of peanuts.

@The Late Night Gourmet - I think you all grow a lot of blueberries in Michigan as well, and Frankenmuth has its own style of chicken. I can't remember if it's baked, fried, or broiled, though, but it has a distinctive coating.
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Thanks for the reminder! Yes, blueberries here are amazing, but cherries are the state fruit, if there is such a thing.

I was surprised as I drove back from Washington DC that I saw signs for Frankenmuth in Ohio. But, then again, I suppose it’s a bit like when people from Michigan go to Sandusky. It’s worth driving a couple hours to get there.

Frankenmuth is famous for broasted chicken, but I didn’t realize the fame extended past the border.

Broasting is preparation I’ve never tried making myself, but apparently the chicken is battered and deep-fried in a pressure cooker. This makes the chicken incredibly juicy, but still with a crispy exterior.
 
@MypinchofItaly: as I read your regional dishes, I’m reminded that regions near other countries tend to be influenced by those countries.

My dad was from the Trieste region, and he would sometimes prepare Jota Triestina, a sort of stew with beans, potatoes, and sauerkraut. I thought it was a German dish, but it’s actually from his region (though there’s no doubt that German cuisine influenced it’s creation).
 
Pea pie and pud here tomorrow. Prolly not a murican thing. It's a beef mince pie with mashed potato on top, with peas on top of that then few slices of Beetroot and slices of onion as well. I grew up with cheap foods. I still love this, smothered in Worcester and tomato sauce.

Russ
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
@MypinchofItaly: as I read your regional dishes, I’m reminded that regions near other countries tend to be influenced by those countries.

My dad was from the Trieste region, and he would sometimes prepare Jota Triestina, a sort of stew with beans, potatoes, and sauerkraut. I thought it was a German dish, but it’s actually from his region (though there’s no doubt that German cuisine influenced it’s creation).
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Friuli-Venezia Giulia has lots of german influences because of borders, that's right. I think I ate jota many years ago in Trieste (a stunning City, by the way).
It's like in Val D'Aosta - and even a bit in Piedmont region - the cuisine has been a bit influenced by France because of border (and viceversa), as well as Sicily for the African Continent.
Some parts of Molise and Northern Apulia have been influenced by Albany cuisine. Fascinating.
 
The Late Night Gourmet said:
This makes a lot of sense, now that you mention it. I think you’ll see that this happens a lot throughout history: as people relocate, they bring their traditions with them, but they are also affected by the traditions of their new homes.
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In addition to chicken fried steak, Texas BBQ has its roots in German immigrants. Some of the legendary BBQ joints in Texas started as German meat markets. The meat market owners were looking for new ways to "preserve" the abundance of beef available, and smoking the meat did the job -- and people loved it. If you go to Louis Muller's, or Kreuz Market today, they were once meat markets opened by German immigrants. Brisket and sausage rules Texas BBQ.

Italian food in the US is different from Italian food in Italy. It all goes back to Italian immigrants, like my great-grandparents, who came the the US and found that different foods were readily available here, like fresh meats. They adapted their old recipes to use what was cheap and available in their new home.

In Louisiana, Creole food to the East is based on African and Caribbean flavors brought here by the slave trade. Cajun food is French Acadian food adapted to what was available to poor folk who migrated from Canada to Western Louisiana.

The USA really is a "melting pot." Some "Mercans" don't like that, but they sure like the foods.

CD
 
Our province is Zuid Holland (South of Holland) and we're most well known internationally for our herring. Every year there is an auction for the newly caught herring and it's a big event. A History Of Raw Herring As A Dutch Delicacy, In One Minute . I personally don't like herring even though I like a lot of other (raw) fish so I'm not very fond of the tradition but definitely most Dutch people are.

Aside from that the Goudse Stroopwafel is also very popular and from my region. It's a spiced caramel wafer that's made fresh on our markets or sold pre packaged in supermarkets. Stroopwafel - Wikipedia . It's exported a lot to other countries, so I'm pretty sure you've eaten one or two.

And Gouda cheese is another one, obviously Goudse means it's from Gouda. I love fresh farmer's Gouda cheese, but that's hard to get outside of the Netherlands. Most Gouda cheese that is exported is made on an industrial scale and therefore less prolific in flavor. I still recommend trying it if you get a chance though. Gouda cheese - Wikipedia

To finish off I want to add Haagse Hopjes to the list, a type of candy specific to the town I live in. It is a coffee flavoured kind of hard candy, produced only in this city since 1880 . Hopje - Wikipedia .

This is just the top of the iceberg, there is in fact very much local produce in this small country. The Dutch have a reputation for being sub-par in the culinary department, but that's only true when you ignore traditions like this.
 
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