Southern Foods That Are Not Found Up North
I love the North and have a lot of friends up North. But, I must admit, I feel sorry for my Northern friends when it comes to food. Don’t get me wrong, they have great food, just not southern food. This is about Southern foods that are not found up North.
I grew up in the south, and I love just about everything on this list except one… I haven’t had Chitlins, sorry, Salley, SC, Home of The Chitlin Strut. And I don’t plan on eating them anytime soon.
What are Chitlins, you ask?
Get ready… I warned you. Chitlins, also called chitterlings, are the large intestines of swine (hogs) but can also come from calf or veal. They are typically either slow-cooked or fried. But because they are labor-intensive to clean and prepare, chitlins are often reserved for special occasions.
Chitlins aside, I’m pretty proud of most things here, and I think the folks in the North would like some of these things, too.
More Southern Foods Not Found Up North
Let’s start with pimento cheese. It’s the most popular sandwich each year at the Masters, and I’ve eaten pimento cheese my entire life. You can wash it down with a cold can of Cheerwine, a sugar-loaded southern staple since 1917.
Some things we love in the south can usually be found on the side of the road. Like boiled peanuts. Most small stands along the backroads have bags of these for sale next to a huge pot, boiling more for the next customers.
And, we are also good at taking a perfectly good vegetable and figuring out a way it can be bad for us. Usually, we look at most foods and wonder how they would taste fried. One of my favorites is fried okra!
Any well-respected southerner has to have fresh tomatoes in the spring, but someone once took a green tomato and asked, wonder if I can fry this?…. and fried green tomatoes became a thing. Yes, they have a festival for that, too.
Don’t forget chicken and dumplings and also moon pies.
I’m hungry now! Where can I get some boiled peanuts?!