11 Foods Every West Virginian Craves When They Leave West Virginia
An important aspect of any city or state is their food culture. While many foods are more or less universal – pizza, burgers, hot dogs – some are much more localized to a particular region. While the foods on this list may not be wholly exclusive to West Virginia, they are staples of the West Virginian diet that you may not find in another region.
Ramps are a type of wild onion popular in the spring. Coveted by chefs and non-chefs alike, ramps are especially good fried up with potatoes.
Cornbread cooked in a cast Iron skillet is pretty good; the only thing is that you cannot cook anything but cornbread for the entire life of the skillet. But if it is a favorite of yours, that shouldn't be a problem.
For this one, you basically slow cook pinto beans in a pot of water for several hours, seasoned with salt and ham. Simple and delicious. This one is great with cornbread and sprinkled with sweet vidalia onions.
This is a typical hot dog, but instead of mustard and onions, we put chili sauce and coleslaw on our hot dogs. Sounds a bit strange to outsiders, but it is delicious to us.
This recipe has the Golden Delicious apple as its base, a type of apple that originated here in the Mountain State. There are many recipes made from the golden apple, but dumplings are a favorite. Try going to Apple Annie's in Morgantown for some really great dumplings.
A slight variation on the traditional pancake, buckwheat pancakes are little more wholesome and fluffier. They are often served simply with butter and syrup. Hearty and delicious.
When hunting season rolls around, the deer population has a tendency to drop. The meat cut from the animal, venison, is similar to beef, but with a mild, slightly gamier flavor.
Like ramps, this seasonal food makes for a great side dish fried in butter, but is also served in pastas, sauces and soups. There is only a short time each year (we are talking weeks) that they grow, so they are highly sought after during that period.
A fairly basic, but delicious snack. The pepperoni is baked inside the roll, and unless you see the package they came in or saw them being baked, they just look like normal rolls until you take a bite.
West Virginia's staple breakfast food, biscuits and gravy, is loved statewide. The sausage-filled gravy is poured over the biscuits, and that's all there is to it. This is such a popular dish that there is a chain of restaurants based on it called Tudor's Biscuit World. They are like the Starbucks of West Virginia - you see them everywhere.
Oddly, this not a butter at all, but an apple based spread similar to jam, only smoother and less gelatinous. As long as you like apples, you will love this stuff. Spread over toast, muffins or biscuits.
Which of these foods are your personal favorite? What foods would you add to this list? Feel free to comment below and join the discussion.
Let’s not forget West Virginia’s great restaurants. Check out these 17 wildly famous restaurants that are totally worth the Hullabaloo.
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