Does Your Region Have A Particular Delicacy Or Meal Associated With It?

[mawnansmiff]

After exchanging casual comments with forum member JPBerg about Wensleydale Cheese on another thread I got to thinking of regional delicacies in general and what my region of Cornwall is famous for.

I came up with five unique treats and considering the size of Cornwall that's a pretty high number.

First off we have the world renowned Cornish Pasty, made only using potatoes, turnip, onions and beef skirt with a little seasoning. Known locally as an 'oggy', a freshly made pasty is truly a meal in itself and if made right is a real treat. Not many folks know that all the ingredients, including the beef skirt are encased in the pastry raw and the pastry shell acts as a steam cooker when it is placed in the oven to cook. My personal favourite pasty shop is in Falmouth and goes by the owner's unfortunate name of Choak's Pasties!



Second up is Stargazy or Starry-Gazey Pie. This is a most unusual dish as it has the heads of the pilchards poking out of the pastry! I seem to recall forum member Chasing Embers had either tried this dish or at least heard of it?

Dating from the 16th century, it is basically a fish and potato pie. It is often made in the fishing village of Mousehole (pronounced 'MOUZEL') on what is known as Tom Bawcock's Eve, 23rd December. Never tried it myself and I doubt I ever will....It just doesn't look right to me!



Thirdly we have Yarg Cheese. This is allegedly a 13th century recipe of a semi hard full fat cow's cheese. Nothing unusual in that I hear you say, well this one is wrapped in nettle leaves which after maturation gives it a lovely edible rind. This is a delight to add to a ploughman's lunch in place of the traditional cheddar cheese. My preferred way is to lightly grill a pitta bread both sides, split the pitta to make a pocket then lightly butter the insides before placing in slices of Yarg afore going back under the grill. Scrumptious!



Next up we have Hevva Cake (sometimes erroneously called Heavy Cake). This light fruit cake dates back to the days when pilchards were caught by their thousands in nets in an operation that required much skill and speed from the fishermen. A 'spotter' or huer would be sat atop the cliffs and when he spotted a shoal of pilchards in the sea below would shout "hevva, hevva" (meaning 'here they are') whilst pointing in the direction of the shoal. If the catch was a good one the wives made Hevva Cake as a celebration!



And finally we have the renowned Cornish Cream Tea. This is quite simply a lightly buttered scone with strawberry jam (jelly in the States) with a good dollop of Cornish Clotted Cream (a delicacy in its own right) sat atop the whole. In the neighbouring county of Devon they have got it all wrong as they put the strawberry jam on top of the cream which is sacrilege . This causes much merriment when the two get together to argue it out!

This is a special treat, often served in summer with a pot of good tea. Unfortunately those such as myself with a moustache are unable to enjoy this treat without getting it all over said furry top lip



So folks, there you have a brief gastronomic tour of the county I live in. Anyone prepared to share what your district or area is famous for in the food stakes? I should imagine there are many things folks outside the area may never have heard of.

Regards,

Jay.

 

[lraisch]

I too think I will pass on the Stargazy pie.

I learned to love a pasty when we had a local restaurant called the Unicorn that served a ploughman's lunch or pasty, peas and chips. Their pasty was available in local supermarkets for awhile, but disappeared after Mad Cow disease turned up in Canada.

I suppose if the Pacific Northwest has a regional dish, it would probably have to be salmon, although geoduck or Dungeness crab might get a mention.

 

[mso489]

Southern (U.S.) cooking in general, and North Carolina cooking in particular are widely recognized and vastly archived subjects with shelves of cookbooks devoted to them. N.C. has at least two separate pork barbecue cultures, the East with its vinegar and red pepper flake basting sauce, and the West with its tomato based sauce, but there are many variations, each with its zealous school of supporters. Collards, mustard, and turnip greens, grits with red-eye gravy and/or butter and pepper are just a few of the featured treats, along with okra cooked in various ways, and a deep array of seafood specialties. I'm a big fan of Bogue Sound clam chowder. My roots go back to my native Illinois, with family ties to Massachusetts, and I have food affinities with both places. But when I married into an extended Southern family, I became a full loyalist of Southern cooking. After being a widower, I married a food writer who worked decades in the NY area and can cook many cuisines, but started in rural Missouri.

 

[Chasing Embers]

I seem to recall forum member Chasing Embers had either tried this dish or at least heard of it?

Yep, when in the UK thirty years ago, I made it a point to try as many local foods as I could, and loved it!


We have a candy store in town that originated here decades ago that presidents, royalty, and foreign diplomats have visited, Ruth Hunt Candies.

 

[Chasing Embers]

And finally we have the renowned Cornish Cream Tea. This is quite simply a lightly buttered scone with strawberry jam (jelly in the States) with a good dollop of Cornish Clotted Cream (a delicacy in its own right) sat atop the whole. In the neighbouring county of Devon they have got it all wrong as they put the strawberry jam on top of the cream which is sacrilege . This causes much merriment when the two get together to argue it out!

Wonder if that was the inspiration for Lilliput and Blefuscu or possibly vice versa?

 

[Old School 3319]

I live in the mid west but i was raised in the deep south. I grew up eating "Soul Food". Most thing make people who are not from the south cringe. Hog jowl, fried cabbage, greens, head cheese, brains and scrabbled eggs and of coarse chitlins

 

[autumnfog]

Smoked eel.

 

[briarbuck]

Cincinnati is a city of contradictions and cultural clashes, managing to combine a small-town sensibility with urban amenities and Southern flair with Midwestern practicality.

That's also a pretty solid description of the city's most famous regional food. Cincinnati chili, the dish spooned up at the wildly popular regional franchise Skyline Chili, is alternately beloved and hated. Sought after by rabid fans and passionately hated by at least one Deadspin reporter, the meat-based chili is sweet, strange, and often served atop a bed of spaghetti.

Despite its fame, Skyline Chili remains something of a mystery. Cincinnati locals fight about its secret ingredient (Bay leaf powder? Cinnamon? Chocolate?), while the rest of the country wonders if it's even chili at all. Let's take a look behind the curtain at one of the country's most notorious regional foods, from its origins as a highly guarded family secret to its unholy rebirth as a craft cocktail.

Chili 4 way, spaghetti, onions and cheese

Cheese coneys with chili, cheese on a hot dog with onions and cheese

 

[Old School 3319]

Smoked eel.

View attachment 35843

Does it taste like smoked herring?

 

[Old School 3319]

There is a town about 30 miles away from me that has a Testicle Festival every year. But it is southern Illinois

 

[workman]

Our specialties here in the Faroe Islands are all very old and have all come to be through various ways of preserving food to last through the winter.
Air dried (cured) sheep meat, whale, cod and seabirds are considered treats. They not only dry, but ferment in the process, giving them a rich, fermented flavor, that is very pleasant to people who have acquired a taste for it.
Salted whale blubber is served to go with dry whale meat and with dry cod or haddock.
Sea birds can be cooked fresh. They are then stuffed with sweet cake dough and boiled. Served with boiled potatoes and often some sauce.
Some seabirds get salted in barrells. They can be cooked or fried. When cooked, they have a thick layer of very salty fat, that gives them a distinct savoryness, you can't eat much of it or you'll get nauseous.
Fermented lamb heads are a treat. Also some people favor heads of large cod that have been fermented by covering them in hay for a couple of weeks. Alas I haven't tried that.
There is more, but it is in the same vein.

 

[autumnfog]

Does it taste like smoked herring?

Well, the smokiness is similar but eel is a lot fatter.

 

[shanez]

Nope. Nothing unique to Vegas.

What we do have, however, is stuff from all over the world offered in 2 ways. Way #1: high end quality dining. Way #2: low budget all-you-can-eat buffet style! ?

 

[mawnansmiff]

"head cheese,"

Sounds absolutely gross! Dare I ask what it is?

Regards,

Jay.?

 

[agnosticpipe]

After moving to the south over 20 years ago, I came across some items I hadn't had before. I've had plenty of peanuts in my life but never boiled peanuts. Here you can make them yourself, which I have done, or find them canned in the grocery store, usually spicy or just salty. I have also had deep fried peanuts in the shell that you eat shell and all often found at gas stations or convenience stores. There are other things common to the south, but for some reason I found these simple snacks the most appealing.

 

[jguss]

Here in NJ we enjoy a traditional dish called Meadowlands Surprise. It’s a puff pastry shell filled with chopped onion, peeled green apple, delicata squash, russet potato, garlic, ginger, curry powder, chicken broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, kosher salt, skinless/boneless Jimmy Hoffa chicken thighs, and a beaten egg.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Our Wild Salmon (mostly Sockeye, Chinook, and Coho) are probably the most world famous. That or our King Crab. However, I would argue that Alaska's most regionally unique cuisine is the various game meats and native foods that are eaten. Not a ton of other places in the world with a diet that can include Moose, Muskox, Seal, Whale, Caribou, Ptarmigan, etc. Not to mention the various wild edibles like blueberries, salmonberries, rhubarb, fiddlehead ferns, rhubarb, morel mushrooms, and more.

Some of the preparations of these meats are done in a world class fashion (Moose Bourguignon, anyone? Perhaps smoked salmon and halibut neopolitan mousse to start? Muskox Carne Asada? Spruce Hen Au Vin? Caribou tenderloin with wild blueberry demi-glace? Panko Asiago crusted stuffed halibut in morel cream sauce? Maybe a little Rhubarb pie for dessert? Or some Fireweed Jalapeno Jelly?)

But as far as global association is concerned, the first words you will likely hear come out of most people's mouth are wild salmon or king crab. Which is just fine.

PS for the OP: Moose pasties are one of my favorite things to make. I have made all kinds of various iterations but the base recipe comes via the UP of Michigan, though it may well have originated in Cornwall generations of miners prior. A simple recipe using moose, potato, rutabaga, onion, and a few seasonings. All encased raw, as you said, and baked inside the pastry.

 

[mawnansmiff]

Moose pasty certainly sounds good to me. Wouldn't be interested in eating seal though ?

Regards,

Jay.?

 

[Richmond B. Funkenhouser]

British food is gross.. I would have starved on my trip to the UK without McDonalds.

Here we have:

boiled peanuts
fried cornbread
fried green tomatoes
iced cane juice
and many other peanut oil fried foods.

 

[alaskanpiper]

Moose pasty certainly sounds good to me. Wouldn't be interested in eating seal though ?

Regards,

Jay.?

They are quite delicious. Seal on the other hand.....seal oil in particular........I've had it once, and that was one too many times. It tastes like fermented fish oil, but meatier, that has been sitting in a bucket for a month at room temperature. It tastes like that because that is exactly what it is. Seal fat that is put into a 5 gallon bucket and allowed to sit until the oil naturally separates from the fat.

For Indigenous people here though, it is an absolute staple. An extremely portable, high fat content food that will keep you going in cold weather, and can be burned for light and heat in small spaces if necessary. It is often used like a condiment, spread over other foods in the same way that one might use a "drizzle of olive oil" to perk up a dish. People that live a subsistence lifestyle here often have to get nearly 70% of their calories from fat to sustain their lifestyle, and seal oil can go a long way in making it possible.