The Weirdest Foods From Each State Will Make You Want To Go On A Cross-Country Culinary Road Trip
One of the great things about America is that from coast to coast, and even across state lines, we're all so different. One of the easiest ways to tell where someone is from is to find out what weird food they love. I bet someone from New Jersey would have never tried scrapple.
These weird foods from each state can sound gross, unusual, or weirdly amazing. Some of the dishes from states like Texas and Maine have even found their way into diets across America. Check out all the strange and delicious foods that each state is known for, and see if your state's food can compete.
Oklahoma's Fried Rattlesnake Tastes Like Chicken
I'm not sure what to believe when it comes to how a rattlesnake tastes. It's a regional delicacy in Oklahoma and across the Midwest. Some people say it tastes just like chicken, but others say it tastes closer to a fish like a tilapia.
Either way, you probably can't tell if it were deep-fried and dipped in sauce.
Who Let New Jersey Make Tomato Pie A Thing?
First New Jersey brings us Jersey Shore, and now I find out they make a thing called tomato pie. Tomato pie has many good things like tomatoes, basil, onions, and cheese. But then they top it all with mayonnaise.
This is what happens when Italian immigrants started visiting the Midwest.
Bless Texas For The Frito Pie
If you haven't heard of the Frito Pie, then you've been missing out. You basically rip open a bag of Frito chips and top it with chili, cheese, and whatever other Southwest ingredients you love. There is nothing bad about the Frito Pie.
People From Washington Say Green Tea And Pea Soup Is Refreshing
Green tea and peas don't sound like something that should be turned into liquid and served as soup, but people swear it's amazing. The soup is served cold and topped with cucumbers, green onions, or roasted red peppers.
I like all those things on their own, so I'd be interested in trying them combined.
Utah Is Living In The 1950s With Their Jell-O Salad
It makes sense why Utah has kept up with the 1950s tradition of making Jell-O into everything. Jell-O has always been a favorite pot-luck food for church-goers at picnics and funerals, and Utah is the birth of Mormonism.
You can find dozens of recipes online that call Jell-O salad an essential Mormon food.
Delaware Took All The Parts Of The Pig Even Hot Dogs Didn't Want
If you were one of those people instantly turned off of meat when you finally learned what's in a hot dog, then you probably won't want to eat scrapple. Scrapple is native to Delaware and is basically a mixture of every part of a pig that's leftover after you're done making hot dogs.
Kool-Aid Pickles Are A Staple At Mississippi State Fairs
I don't like regular pickles, so it's hard for me to wrap my mind around the idea of soaking a salty dill pickle in a jar of sweet Kool-Aid. You can find these sugary pickles at ballparks and fairs across Mississippi.
If that's not strange enough, you can even choose what flavor you want.
Only Alabama Could Make Something As Strange As Ambrosia Salad
Take a fruit salad, and ruin it, and you have Alabama's ambrosia salad. It starts out normal with some mandarin oranges, pineapple, and cherries. Then somewhere along the way, someone thought it would be a good idea to add mini marshmallows and whipped topping.
My sweet tooth is throbbing just thinking about it.
Florida Fries Their Football Mascot
Florida is all about their alligators. They score touchdowns, scare people on golf courses, and get fried into little bite-size pieces. I can only assume gator has a slightly-fishy taste like rattlesnake. It looks like popcorn chicken, so I'd be down to try it.
Hawaii Loves Spam So Much They Turned It Into Sushi
This popular snack in Hawaii is called "Spam musubi." It's a slice of grilled Spam on top of boiled sushi rice, wrapped in Nori.
Spam musubi is exactly what you get when you're an island close to East Asia, but you're technically part of America.
Akutaq Is The Alaskan Version Of Frozen Yogurt
At first glance, this looks like delicious frozen berry yogurt. But look again. Instead of a dairy base, akutaq is a whale blubber based dessert. The word comes from the Yup'ik word for "something mixed."
And that's precisely what it is. You mix whale blubber with fresh berries and voilà! Instant Alaskan ice cream.
We Get It, Idaho, You Like Your Potatoes
The famous Idaho ice cream potato looks like a baked potato stuffed with ice cream. But don't worry, it's just vanilla ice cream in the shape of a spud with cocoa powder "skin" and whipped "sour cream." If you're lucky, you'll get one with chocolate "gravy."
What Did Doves Ever Do To You, Kentucky?
For a society that has no problem eating chickens, turkey, and ducks, there is something weird about eating a dove. When people think of doves, they think of beautiful white birds released on a wedding day.
When Kentucky thinks of doves, they think of them bacon-wrapped and nicely charred on a barbecue.
Pemmican Has Native American Origins In Montana
Montana also loves Kool-Aid pickles, but they really dig their pemmican. Pemmican is a meat and fat mixture that Native Americans ate frequently. There's no real recipe since Native Americans traditionally just used whatever meat they could get their hands on.
This person used pemmican as a burrito bowl base instead of beef.
Maine Does Lobster Everything
Maine is a fishing state that loves fresh lobster, so we can't blame them for putting it on everything. The lobster poutine here looks better than regular poutine. Lobster mac'n'cheese, lobster donuts, lobster bruschetta, do I need to go on? I'd try it all.
Sauerkraut Balls Is The Epitome Of Midwest America
The only thing more Midwest than Jell-O salad for churchgoers is deep-frying traditional German food. Sauerkraut balls are a favorite food in Indiana for all the right reasons.
Traditional German sauerkraut is the perfect mix of sour and savory, and deep frying it is only guaranteed to make it more delicious. The balls here are served with hot dijon mustard.
Meat + Grain = Goetta
Goetta is another German creation, this time cultivated in Ohio. It is usually a mixture of ground beef, oats, and spices. They get shaped into small patties and fried in as much butter as possible.
Most often, it is a side dish for breakfast, but you can find goetta sandwiches too. People often compare it to scrapple.
Nevada Gets Fancy With Their Chateaubriand Steak
Chateaubriand steak is a thick cut of beef that is cooked with two thinner cuts of beef around it. Then after you've finished grilling, you throw the thin pieces away. Apparently, this allows the steak to have an ever rare cook throughout.
It became popular in Nevada thanks to a flood of Basque people from France and Spain that arrived for the gold rush.
Hog Maw Is The Haggis Of Pennsylvania
You don't have to go across the Atlantic ocean to try the delicacies of an animal stomach. Hog maw is the muscular wall of a pig's stomach that can be fried, baked, or broiled.
Most Pennsylvania Dutch people would stuff the stomach with pork sausage and potatoes. Then they cut the hog maw into slices and serve with horseradish. Even I'm not this adventurous.
South Dakota Bean Bread Can Go One Of Two Ways
I like bread, I like beans, but I'm not sure why someone decided to bake beans directly into bread. From what I can tell, it's a great way to pack protein into something easy to cook.
Bean bread was a Cherokee favorite, but has since become very popular among all people in South Dakota and, believe it or not, Asian bakeries.
