Everyone in Utah Absolutely Loves These 9 Foods and Drinks
Ok, not EVERYONE loves all of these things. But if you live in Utah, you probably love at least a few of these 9 foods and drinks.
Let’s just get this one out of the way right at the beginning of the list. Fry sauce was invented by Don Carlos Edwards, the owner of Arctic Circle, in the 1940s. The restaurant has expanded to include seven Western states, so now others get to enjoy fry sauce too! People from out of town don’t get it and some even think it’s gross. Who are these people?
Green Jello salad is Utah’s joke food. I don’t personally know anyone who eats the stuff, but it’s prevalent enough that, during the 2002 Winter Olympics, we had a Green Jello pin. Apparently, once you add canned pineapple or some shredded carrots to it, it’s a "salad." Like health food. Only not.
You certainly don’t need to wait for a loved one to die to enjoy funeral potatoes! Of course, they’re so unhealthy that they’ll contribute heavily to your own demise. Recipes vary, but the basics include a bag of frozen hash brown potatoes, cream of chicken soup, sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and crumbled potato chips or corn flakes. You basically mix it all together and put it in the oven like a casserole. It’s really heaven on a spoon. Fattening, calorie-laden heaven.
Our state symbol is the beehive, so of course Utahns love honey. Honey tastes slightly different from each hive -- depending on the bees’ sources of nectar. So, while honey is something people in every state love, Utahns have access to our own unique honey. In addition to a long history of honey production (Cox Honey in Logan is just one example), there’s a new trend of backyard beekeeping, in Utah too.
Mormons don’t drink coffee (or at least most of them don’t and we’re not about to "out" those who do). But a nice, hot drink on a cold, Utah winter morning sure hits the spot. Hot chocolate is kind of girly, right? Postum to the rescue! How to describe it? I don’t know because I’ve never tasted it. The company says, "It’s still made from simple, natural ingredients: wheat grain and molasses." It doesn’t have any caffeine.
Did you know we have a "State Cooking Pot?" Well, we do, and it’s the dutch oven. Pioneers cooked with dutch ovens, and every modern boy scout in the country is familiar with them, but Utah really goes all out for this cast-iron cookware. The International Dutch Oven Society headquarters are in Salt Lake City and you’ll find dutch oven events all over the state -- including the World Championship Dutch Oven Cook-Off.
BYU and Utah State both have creameries, but Utah State’s Aggie Blue Mint Ice Cream is a flavor you’ll never find anywhere else. The blue ice cream has mint flavoring, bits of Oreos and white chocolate chips.
Yes, scones are available all over the world. They’re those little biscuits that you eat with your tea. Utahns think scones are something else entirely. They’re dinner plate-sized fried dough slathered in honey butter. Yum! This delicacy is available in the rest of the country, but it’s typically called Navajo Fry Bread, and people in other states usually only eat it at the fair. We make 'em for breakfast!
Utah beer fans love Wasatch, Epic, Uintah and more. We have plenty of talented micro brewers doing their thing in this state, and they’ve all got a loyal following. In addition to microbrew beers, Utah has several distilleries, including High West in Park City and Five Wives in Ogden.
Do you have a favorite Utah food or drink?
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