Alabama proudly boasts a variety of official state foods from local fruit, like peaches and blackberries, to delicacies like the rich and boozy Lane Cake. In 2023, it added another dessert to the list: The yellowhammer, a sandwich-style cookie featuring a blend of oats and pecans (Alabama's state nut) filled with honey and peanut butter (made of Alabama's state legume). It's named after Alabama itself, nicknamed "The Yellowhammer State" for the uniforms its Confederate soldiers wore. Add the fact that the official state bird is also referred to as a yellowhammer, and you've got a cookie packed with local flavor.

What makes the yellowhammer cookie unique, though, is the sweet story of how it achieved its official designation. The recipe was developed by a fourth grader named Mary Claire Cook, who entered a competition judged by senior students at her school. Its focus on locally sourced ingredients, as well as its delicious flavor, led to the yellowhammer's landslide win. While the goal was to find a cookie that best represented their state, the students took it one step further by requesting that their local representatives make it official. The bill passed unanimously in a historic win for the children and for bake sales across Alabama.

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Not all states have an official state jelly, but Louisiana has two. The first is made of sugar cane, and the other mayhaw, the tart, red fruit of the thorny hawthorn tree. Native to and growing wild across Louisiana, it's easy to see why the hawthorn is Louisiana's official state fruit tree. As ornamental as it is prolific, it has also become a popular landscape tree, loved for its showy white flowers in early March, bright yellow foliage in the fall, and (of course) tasty fruit.

The mayhaw is small and round, comparable to a crabapple in both appearance and flavor. It's typically harvested in May, hence the name, and while it can be eaten raw when fully ripe, it's more often enjoyed in cooked preparations. Mayhaw juice, syrup, or pulp makes a fantastic addition to punch, baked goods, or even barbecue sauce. The most popular way to enjoy mayhaws, though, is in mayhaw jelly, known for its unique aroma and beautiful color that ranges from pale, crystalline yellow to pink to even bright red. Spread some on toast or add a dollop to a slice of cake, and enjoy the sweet, zesty taste of a Louisiana spring.

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If you've ever dined at a restaurant in New Mexico, you've likely been asked, "Red or green?" This official state question (yes, really) refers to chile, a word that refers to either the raw ingredient or the sauce it's turned into. New Mexico is a prolific producer of hot peppers, which grow remarkably well in its rocky soil, and is the self-proclaimed Chile Capital of the World. It is also a pioneer in official state foods, so it's no wonder that the New Mexico Chile has been rightfully claimed.

While the "chile" referred to in the official title doesn't specify which variety, it's commonly presumed to be the Hatch, a green chile named for the valley where it's cultivated. Like wine grapes, chiles are known to be affected by terroir, so those harvested elsewhere are simply not the same. Beloved local favorite dishes, like New Mexican green chili and the regional specialty of green chile burgers prominently feature the Hatch, especially in the fall, when the air fills with the spicy scent of chiles being roasted over an open flame. Grab a bag from one of the many roadside stands, and create your own rendition of a local delicacy.

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Classic apple pie may not be unique to any state in America, but eating a slice in Vermont is a unique experience. Why? The state has regulations that stipulate how its official pie should be enjoyed. In accordance with Vermont state law, whenever apple pie is served, a "good faith" effort must be made to pair it with a glass of cold milk, a slice of cheddar cheese weighing a minimum of ½ oz, or a large scoop of vanilla ice cream. Those are all delicious pairings, thankfully, and there is no punishment for failing to follow the lighthearted law — but that does not make it any less real.

Vermont's apple pie law dates back to 1999, when it was likely written to honor or celebrate the state's rich agricultural heritage. Decades later, the apple remains Vermont's official state fruit, and dairy farming remains an integral part of its economic and cultural landscape. Residents still take pride in introducing visitors to the combination of sweet baked apples and sharp cheddar, reciting a beloved idiom, "Apple pie without cheddar cheese is like a hug without a squeeze."

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Everything's bigger in Texas, including the list of officially recognized state foods. There are at least fifteen, ranging from an official state crustacean (Texas Gulf shrimp) to an official state snack (tortilla chips and salsa) to even an official state cooking implement (the cast iron Dutch oven). If you really want to be Texan about it, you could use that last one to bake up a batch of the official state bread, pan de campo.

Translating to "camp bread" in Spanish, pan de campo is a crumbly, rustic flatbread traditionally cooked in an iron pot. The relaxed preparation ends with the dense slices being served with a rustic campfire stew, or packed up and taken on the next adventure. It was a staple food for vaqueros (cowboys) who ran the cattle roundups of the 1860s, and it remains popular today. The basic recipe for pan de campo calls for common pantry ingredients that can be dressed up with a pinch of orange zest, cinnamon, or raisins if desired. Like all bread, it's especially delicious when eaten warm with a pat of melty butter.

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Move over, mixed nuts. In South Carolina, the official state snack is the Southern delicacy of boiled peanuts; they're easy to make and even easier to find at grocery stores, gas stations, sporting events, and roadside stands. There are even annual celebrations, like the Bluffton Boiled Peanut Festival, and the World's Largest Peanut Boil in Crenshaw County, dedicated entirely to the salty and satisfying bite.

The history of boiled peanuts in the American South goes back to the states' early Colonial days, when the legumes were brought over from Africa by slaves. Peanuts adapted well to South Carolina's climate, and quickly became a widely cultivated crop. During times of hardship, like the days of the Civil War, they were often the only readily available source of nourishment.

To prepare your own boiled peanuts at home, all you really need are peanuts, water, and a lot of salt. However, many connoisseurs like to throw in some additional ingredients for extra flavor. Try jalapeño peppers or Old Bay seasoning, or use broth leftover from another Southern specialty, steamed collard greens. Yum!

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Growing wild in ravines and valleys across North Dakota, chokecherries are the state's official fruit, appropriately named for the highly acidic, astringent taste that deters many humans from eating the fruit fresh. Birds and other wildlife, however, flock to the trees (which can grow to about 20 feet tall) in late July and August, when clusters of chokecherries ripen to deep shades of red or near-black.

While they may not be a common choice for mainstream consumption, chokecherries are an important source of food and medicine for the region's Native American populations. In particular, it's a main ingredient in pemmican, a Native American dish of dried meat, fat, and fruit. The flavor becomes more appealing when chokecherries are cooked down to create syrup, jelly or preserves. If you get your hands on enough to make a couple of cups of juice, you can even make a tasty chokecherry pie. Just remember to avoid the leaves and seeds, as both are poisonous.

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Across the United States, the aptly named fry bread is ubiquitous in Native American cuisine, but it also carries some complicated connotations among tribal communities for whom the food was born of necessity in times of hardship. To pay its respect to the land's rich Sioux heritage, South Dakota declared fry bread its official state bread in 2005. To this day, it remains a popular source of sustenance as well as a symbol of resilience, ingenuity, and pride.

Fry bread can be eaten either sweet or savory, topped with honey and powdered sugar, or used to make an "Indian taco" filled with beans, meat, shredded cheese, and fresh veggies. There are many iterations, including a version of fry bread made from canned biscuits, but South Dakota's fry bread is distinct in its use of yeast instead of the more common baking soda. This method of leavening is what gives the flat, deep-fried dough its uniquely delicious, chewy texture. Fry bread is easy to find around South Dakota, and a staple of cultural gatherings like powwows and traditional music festivals.

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So many states have delicious, official foods worth stopping for, but when you're really hungry, you need to head to Oklahoma where the official state meal consists of a whopping 13 dishes. Yes, you read that right. Oklahoma's official state "food" is actually a staggering combination of chicken-fried steak, barbecued pork, fried okra, squash, cornbread, grits, corn, sausage with biscuits and gravy, black-eyed peas, and both pecan pie and strawberries for dessert.

If that sounds over the top, that's kind of the point. Oklahoma's official state meal (the only one in the country) was designated in 1988 on April 19, which would become "Oklahoma Meal Day," a celebration of the state's unique bounty. Each food on the menu represents an aspect of Oklahoma's agricultural heritage, from its annual harvests to its thriving commercial hog industry. It's meant to be served in large quantities as a show of the American South's abundance. While it may prove difficult to take down the entire meal at once, the foods are well represented individually in diners across Oklahoma. Divide them into breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and you've got a full day of good eating.

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Connecticut might not be the first state you think of when you're craving pizza, but its local government set out to change that in 2024 when it declared New Haven the pizza capital of the U.S. The landmark designation kicked off ongoing celebrations, including the unveiling of The Pizza Capital Trail, which takes hungry slice-hunters past 20 of the area's best pizzerias, and a 9-by-6-foot interactive art installation made entirely of highway signs from "The Pizza State." Faced with such a dazzling display, though, the question remains: What is New Haven-style pizza, anyway?

In Connecticut, it's all about the crust, starting with a dough so wet it's difficult to knead. The hydration, as well as a lengthy fermentation period, meets the extreme heat of a coal-fired oven for a quick-cooking pizza that's exceptionally crispy and always a little charred. The pizza, called apizza (pronounced "ah-beets") by locals, is then simply topped with tomato sauce, pecorino cheese, olive oil, and herbs. That's right — mozzarella is extra. To get the full apizza experience, try yours with a uniquely New Haven topping like clams, thinly sliced potato, or fried eggplant. While those might sound like odd choices, any one of them has the power to convert pizza purists to the New Haven way of eating.

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The largest edible fruit native to North America, the pawpaw appears far more tropical than its roots would indicate. It grows wild in the dense forests of Appalachia, and is a member of the custard apple family, with an appropriately creamy flesh that tastes like a combination of mango, banana, melon, and vanilla. In fact, the pawpaw is commonly referred to as a "poor man's banana" by those who've tried it. What's strange is that those people are few and far between, with many Americans completely unfamiliar with the luscious texture and flavor of the pawpaw, Ohio's official state fruit.

While the pawpaw is sometimes described as the United States' best-kept secret, in Ohio, this native delicacy is loudly celebrated. Each year, the Ohio Pawpaw Festival welcomes thousands of attendees with live entertainment, expert panels, and vendors selling everything from pawpaw cotton candy, to pawpaw curry, to pawpaw chili dogs.

The event was created by local farmers dedicated to cultivating the pawpaw, despite hurdles like a short harvest window and even shorter shelf life. The pawpaw's delicate skin makes it difficult to transport, but the flavor (as well as the fruit's promise as a regenerative crop) might just make it worth the effort. In the meantime, while we wait for pawpaws to make their way into national grocers, those eager for a bite should book a trip to the Buckeye State.

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A simple way to describe Manoomin is to call it wild rice, but this ancient grain is not actually rice at all (and most of it isn't really wild either). It's technically an aquatic grass, native to the Great Lakes region, and the official state grain of Minnesota.

Manoomin, whose name translates to "good berry" in native Ojibwe, has great significance for indigenous populations, who've long harvested the grain for both sustenance and ceremony. Its remarkable ability to be stored indefinitely once dried made manoomin an invaluable source of nutrition, and for a while, Minnesota was the primary source of the world's wild rice. Despite a decline, due in large part to climate change, it remains a major crop today, still harvested in the traditional way, by canoe.

Minnesota's "The Rights of Nature" doctrine, which decrees that ecosystems are entitled to rights, makes the harvesting of manoomin highly regulated. Those interested in picking their own must first obtain a license, similar to a hunting license. Otherwise, you can enjoy manoomin at restaurants in the area, or pick up a bag from the grocery store to make your favorite wild rice recipes at home.

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If you're thinking that you've never heard of kalo, you might know it as taro root, the starchy, turnip-like corm used to make traditional Hawaiian dishes like poi, taro chips, kulolo (a sweet coconut pudding), and laulau (wherein kalo leaves are used to wrap meat before it's steamed). Kalo is the Hawaiian word for the plant, which was made the state's official plant at the start of 2025.

Kalo is believed to have been brought to the Hawaiian Islands by Polynesian voyagers between 1000 and 1200 C.E. and, since then, it's been an important food source for residents of the state. It grows well in the wetlands of Hawaii, where its massive green leaves fill valleys and fields. The highly ornamental nature of the plant makes it a common choice for landscaping as well.

Locals know that kalo must be properly cooked before eating, as it will scratch the mouth and throat if consumed raw. Chefs in Hawaii love to experiment with kalo, creating everything from taro flour to french fries. If you're interested in trying kalo while in Hawaii, start with poi, the sacred Hawaiian dish of mashed and thinned taro that's traditionally served at luaus and eaten with your fingers. It can be messy, sure, but also delicious.