What makes Georgia food Georgia food?

[fields32]

Sometimes i wonder, what is georgia food? Is peaches and pecans all you see? Does the state have the same greens and biscuits that everyone else has? So far lots of questions no answers. Just wondering if any of you could give me any answers.

[joiei]

Something that might be considered Georgian is Brunswick Stew. Peaches are all over the south and west and pecans are a major crop for many places outside of Georgia, pecans are one of the major crops for Oklahoma for example and Chilton

County peaches from Alabama have a major reputation of excellence as do the ones from Porter, Oklahoma.

[Lan4Dawg]

Aaahhh, but how many of those states have a Peach County? Unlike Bacon County and Coffee County, --which were named for people--Peach County was named for that luscious fruit. Just like oranges are grown in places besides Florida when you mention oranges I imagine most of us think of the "Sunshine State". The same applies to dairy products and Wisconsin.

Peaches, pecans, chickens, soy beans, okra, collards, Vidalia onions (truly a Georgia original), figs, tomatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes ("as God is my witness!"), pole beans, peanuts, & so on.....

There are not a lot of foods named after places in Georgia if that is what you mean--Vidalia Onions and Brunswick stew (although there is a major argument w/ some folks in Virginia about that one) are two of the few I can recall immediately. Of course there is nothing that says Georgia more than an ice cold Coca-Cola or perhaps an "ARAH SEE" (RC Cola for those who do not know any better. I do believe there is a state law that you may not consume an "Arah See" w/o also having a Moon Pie in hand--and note Moon Pies come fr/ just across the border in Chat-noogie.)

The state Department of Agriculture (Tommy Irvin, commissioner) published a cook book a few years back that was dedicated to Georgia foods. It is actually a pretty decent book and has a lot of receipts that I use quite often. If you are interested you might peruse a copy of that. I believe it is still available fr/ the DoA. You might also ask them to send a copy of the "Farmer & Consumer's Market Bulletin" as that includes lots of Georgia products.

[pistolabella]

Aaahhh, but how many of those states have a Peach County?  Unlike Bacon County and Coffee County, --which were named for people--Peach County was named for that luscious fruit.  Just like oranges are grown in places besides Florida when you mention oranges I imagine most of us think of the "Sunshine State".  The same applies to dairy products and Wisconsin. 

Peaches, pecans, chickens, soy beans, okra, collards, Vidalia onions (truly a Georgia original), figs, tomatoes, turnips, sweet potatoes ("as God is my witness!"), pole beans, peanuts, & so on.....

There are not a lot of foods named after places in Georgia if that is what you mean--Vidalia Onions and Brunswick stew (although there is a major argument w/ some folks in Virginia about that one) are two of the few I can recall immediately.  Of course there is nothing that says Georgia more than an ice cold Coca-Cola or perhaps an "ARAH SEE" (RC Cola for those who do not know any better.  I do believe there is a state law that you may not consume an "Arah See" w/o also having a Moon Pie in hand--and note Moon Pies come fr/ just across the border in Chat-noogie.)   

The state Department of Agriculture (Tommy Irvin, commissioner) published a cook book a few years back that was dedicated to Georgia foods.  It is actually a pretty decent book and has a lot of receipts that I use quite often.  If you are interested you might peruse a copy of that.  I believe it is still available fr/ the DoA.  You might also ask them to send a copy of the "Farmer & Consumer's Market Bulletin" as that includes lots of Georgia products.

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RC and moonpies....did anyone ever put the moonpie in the microwave as a kid to see what would happen? (I'll save you the suspence; i becomes huge and lopsided before eventually exploding). There are restaurants in Knoxville where only RC products are sold. by the liter.

I always associate Georgia w/ peaches simply because its impossible not to pass a road-side peach stand in the summer. and of course because they're delicious.

Edited May 12, 2008 by pistolabella (log)

[NYC Mike]

Sometimes i wonder, what is georgia food? Is peaches and pecans all you see? Does the state have the same greens and biscuits that everyone else has? So far lots of questions no answers. Just wondering if any of you could give me any answers.

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Country Captain is a Savannah original and a must try if you haven't had it yet!!

-Mike

[Doodad]

Vidalias and Brunswick Stew. Oh, and little drink called Coke.

Edited May 23, 2008 by Doodad (log)

[Lan4Dawg]

Sometimes i wonder, what is georgia food? Is peaches and pecans all you see? Does the state have the same greens and biscuits that everyone else has? So far lots of questions no answers. Just wondering if any of you could give me any answers.

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Country Captain is a Savannah original and a must try if you haven't had it yet!!

-Mike

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How could I forget about "Country Captain"? It was Franklin Roosevelt's favorite dish when he came to Warm Springs. Some where I have the receipt his cook used.

[R.E. Turner]

The ultimate in "Georgia foods" might be roasted peanuts dumped into a Co-Cola. Salty/sweet/carbonated goodness, TYVM! (And, of course, many people will chime in that the Coke should be a Pepsi or an RC, but we're talking GEORGIA here, folks... Not that RCs or Pepsis are less tasty with salty, roasted peanuts floating in the cola, but they aren't quite as "Georgia.")

Like most geographic areas, though, Georgia's traditional foodways are rooted in whatever grows or is harvested well in this area. Vidalia onions? Certainly! Peaches and pecans? Of course! However, as a native to a town just minutes from Vidalia and onion country, none of the traditional representative menus that bring me back to my roots even begin to involve the ubiquitous onion. If I were planning an ideal meal, my requests would include my grandma's snap beans & new potatoes cooked in milk and butter, Grandmother's collard soup (in a cream and cornmeal base, with smoked pork -- sounds weird, tastes great,) Granddaddy's homemade peach ice cream, fried pork chops (tenderized with buttermilk, and then breaded in flour and pan-fried,) and my mother's homemade biscuits or cornbread. Maybe add a nice yellow-fleshed watermelon picked from Grandpa's garden. And/or fried okra that my great-grandmother cut from the garden right after the dew evaporated. It's really all about the very specific locale in Georgia that one is rooted in. (And Coastal Georgia cooking is different from Wiregrass Georgia cooking is different from North Georgia/Mountain Georgia cooking. It's a reasonably large state, with very different specialties. My former sis-in-law - from Georgia's Appalachian region - has more in common with my West Virginia relatives' foodways than she does with my Coastal Georgia relatives.)

In general, I find that my coastal relatives use more "sophisticated" ingredients -- especially spices -- that wouldn't have been quite so easily available to inland/upstate cooks in years past. Naturally, relatives who lived on farms used ingredients that were/are readily grown in their own back yards. And there was a serious dividing line between the "haves" and the "have-nots," even within recent memory. My father's family was far poorer than my mother's, and the cooking definitely reflects that (i.e. My maternal great-grandmother, though not rich, thought it normal to prepare anise cookies for the holiday season. My paternal grandmother went to her grave having never heard of anise, even though she was a reasonably well-read woman.)

It occurs to me, though, that most Georgia cooking revolves around two animal proteins (pork and chicken,) plus whatever you can grow in your garden.

[Lan4Dawg]

The ultimate in "Georgia foods" might be roasted peanuts dumped into a Co-Cola.  Salty/sweet/carbonated goodness, TYVM!  (And, of course, many people will chime in that the Coke should be a Pepsi or an RC, but we're talking GEORGIA here, folks... Not that RCs or Pepsis are less tasty with salty, roasted peanuts floating in the cola, but they aren't quite as "Georgia.")

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er....RE.....arah see is fr/ Columbus, GA. (sorry I could not pass on the alliteration). Granted it is now owned by an int'l corporate beverage maker but Claude Hatcher blended Chero-cola--soon to be Royal Crown Cola--in 1905 in Columbus, GA.

Now Pepsi on the other hand.....interestingly enough it was "invented" in North Carolina but for some reason Coca-Cola seems more Southern than Pepsi. It is definitely more Georgia than Pepsi.

[John DePaula]

Sweet Tea, Sugah-Pie.

[onrushpam]

Field peas of all sorts... white acres, lady peas, cream peas, butter beans, pink eyes. I love them all! Other than butter beans, I had never experienced any of these growing up in the Ozarks. We bought some white acres at the farmers' market our first summer here and have been HUGE field pea consumers ever since.

We are starting to get a few from Florida now. But, the REAL good stuff will start next month, along with the sweet corn. I can't wait!

[joiei]

The ultimate in "Georgia foods" might be roasted peanuts dumped into a Co-Cola.  Salty/sweet/carbonated goodness, TYVM!  (And, of course, many people will chime in that the Coke should be a Pepsi or an RC, but we're talking GEORGIA here, folks... Not that RCs or Pepsis are less tasty with salty, roasted peanuts floating in the cola, but they aren't quite as "Georgia.")

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er....RE.....arah see is fr/ Columbus, GA. (sorry I could not pass on the alliteration). Granted it is now owned by an int'l corporate beverage maker but Claude Hatcher blended Chero-cola--soon to be Royal Crown Cola--in 1905 in Columbus, GA.

Now Pepsi on the other hand.....interestingly enough it was "invented" in North Carolina but for some reason Coca-Cola seems more Southern than Pepsi. It is definitely more Georgia than Pepsi.

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I never knew you could put peanuts in anything except a tall RC unless it was a Nehi grape which was made by the same company as RC's. I loved Nehi bellywashers.

[Jakea222]

See this is why I like this place - let me run this by you - new menu item I am working out the kinks

The Georgia PEach Melba Salad

Grilled Georgia Peaches with Spicey candied pecans on top of local greens and dizzed (hate the word) with a hause made melba sauce!

Additional charge to add chix and shrimp!

How that - ,ale my mouth wather especially since the melba vin. came out unreal!

[RAHiggins1]

Y'all are forgetting the fruit of the "Okefenokee", the Mayhaw. Its luscious juices turn into the most amazing jelly.

[annecros]

Then there is the "Georgia Rattlesnake" watermelon. Open truckloads of them should be appearing on I-75 within the next month or so.

Summer squash all summer. Smothered in onion and browned in bacon fat. Cane syrup. Turnips and mustard, smoked sausage. Those field peas are wonderful too - everyone thinks that the Blackeye is the common pea in the south, but the lady peas, crowders and creamers rule the kitchen in SOWEGA where I was raised. A sliced fresh tomato on the side.

Cucumber/onion salad. A vast array of pickles and relishes.

7 layer caramel cake - my Aunt Grace makes the best one in existence, and she uses an old coffee cup as a measure.

[RAHiggins1]

Then there is the "Georgia Rattlesnake" watermelon. Open truckloads of them should be appearing on I-75 within the next month or so.

Summer squash all summer. Smothered in onion and browned in bacon fat. Cane syrup. Turnips and mustard, smoked sausage. Those field peas are wonderful too - everyone thinks that the Blackeye is the common pea in the south, but the lady peas, crowders and creamers rule the kitchen in SOWEGA where I was raised. A sliced fresh tomato on the side.

Cucumber/onion salad. A vast array of pickles and relishes.

7 layer caramel cake - my Aunt Grace makes the best one in existence, and she uses an old coffee cup as a measure.

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I like tomatos with my cukes and onions, coated with olive oil and balsamic. I put ripe olives in as well. Its great served cold on a hot summer day and has a nice mediterranean feel to it.

[Lan4Dawg]

Then there is the "Georgia Rattlesnake" watermelon. Open truckloads of them should be appearing on I-75 within the next month or so.

Summer squash all summer. Smothered in onion and browned in bacon fat. Cane syrup. Turnips and mustard, smoked sausage. Those field peas are wonderful too - everyone thinks that the Blackeye is the common pea in the south, but the lady peas, crowders and creamers rule the kitchen in SOWEGA where I was raised. A sliced fresh tomato on the side.

Cucumber/onion salad. A vast array of pickles and relishes.

7 layer caramel cake - my Aunt Grace makes the best one in existence, and she uses an old coffee cup as a measure.

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[maf]

I'd add low country boil and roasted oysters to the list. It's the most ubiquitous communal food in the coastal area.

Seminole peas, formerly grown on the coastal islands and until recently believed extinct, are also making a comeback.

Hoppin John on New Years.