10 of the Best North Carolina Recipes - Big Bear's Wife (2024)

FAQs

What is a famous dish in North Carolina? ›

Traditionally, North Carolina's most popular barbecue dish is whole hog barbecue, though many believe pulled pork is more popular. In North Carolina, people frequently debate the difference between authentic hog barbecue and pulled pork.

The harvests gathered by colonial farmers included an expansive number of crops: beans, squash, peas, okra, pumpkins, peppers, tomatoes, and peanuts. Maize (corn), and later rice and potatoes were grown in place of wheat and barley which were common European crops that did not take readily to eastern American soil.

North Carolina is close to the Gulf Stream, where fisherfolk catch mahi-mahi, tuna, swordfish, and other large migratory species. Coastal species like drum, trout, shrimp, and blue crabs feel at home in the state's extensive network of sounds, rivers, and estuarine environments.

North Carolina likes to get specific when it comes to its state foods. It has a state red berry, the strawberry, and a state blue berry, the blueberry. The Scuppernong grape is also North Carolina's state fruit, the sweet potato is its state vegetable, and milk is its state drink.

Coconut Cake

Yes, that's right. According to this list, North Carolina's favorite dessert is coconut cake.

You may know Pepsi was born in NC, but did you know about the rest of these? Pepsi was created in 1893 by a New Bern pharmacist named Caleb Bradham. He called it “Brad's Drink.” It was eventually renamed for two of its ingredients, pepsin and cola.

(a) The official fruit of the State of North Carolina is the Muscadine grape (Vitis genus). (b) The official red berry of the State is the strawberry (Fragaria genus). (c) The official blue berry of the State is the blueberry (Vaccinium genus).

For most people, breakfast consisted of bread, cornmeal mush and milk, or bread and milk together, and tea. Even the gentry might eat modestly in the morning, although they could afford meat or fish...

Two fishes, the sandhills chub (Semotilus lumbee) and the pinewoods darter (Etheostoma mariae), are endemic to the Carolina Sandhills.

The North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation in 1971 designating channel bass (red drum) as the official state saltwater fish. NCPedia states that newspaper article at the time pointed out the Channel Bass has black spots on its tail, evoking North Carolina's "Tar Heel" nickname.

What is the national fish of North Carolina? ›

Red Bird Puffed Peppermints — Lexington

Named for North Carolina's state bird, the cardinal, these soft, crumbly, melt-in-your-mouth mints have been made by Piedmont Candy Company since 1933, when founder Edward Ebelein revived the brand from his previous business.

Smoky ribs, fresh-caught shrimp and plucked-from-the-tree peaches are just a few of the most-iconic treats that await in North Carolina.

The General Assembly of 1987 adopted milk as the official State Beverage. (Session Laws, 1987, c. 347). In making milk the official state beverage, North Carolina followed many other states including our northern neighbor, Virginia, and Wisconsin, the nation's number one dairy state.

As the birthplace of flying, North Carolina has a special place in aviation history. At Kitty Hawk, a little seaside community on the Outer Banks, Orville and Wilbur Wright accomplished the first powered flight in December 1903.

Philly and parts of Jersey have cheesesteaks, pretzels, water ice, pork roll, scrapple, tomato pie, hoagies, roast pork sandwiches. New York is known for NY style pizza, pastrami, and bagels. New England has clam chowder, lobster rolls. Chicago has Italian beef, Chicago style hot dogs, deep dish pizza.