Regional Favorites

[PTree15]

I have always been adventurous when it comes to trying new foods. When I became vegetarian as a teenager, that sense of adventure was shifted to new and diverse vegetarian fare from different cultures. What I am interested to know are the foods unique to the state, country or region where you live, food you might take for granted that the rest of us might not have tried. And if they are not inherently veg*n, what are recipes or alternatives have found to make them so?

In New Hampshire, where I live, I only recently learned that the very popular black raspberry ice cream is not common outside my region. The same is true of Fluffernutter sandwiches, which consist of bread, peanut butter and marshmallow fluff (marshmallow creme). There is a company that makes vegan ricemallow creme, so I am able to re-live this childhood treat as a veg*n adult, if I so choose. I have yet to see a vegan black raspberry ice cream locally, although I am sure some independent vegan scoop shops in other parts of the country may have concocted something equivalent.

I invite you all to share and swap ideas for your own regional favorites!

OMG, I so miss black raspberry ice cream. That is/was a regular flavor in the neck of the woods (Rhode Island) where I grew up. I, too, have not found a vegan version. We, too, had many a Fluffernutter sandwich.

Another local favorite is/was coffee milk, which is like chocolate milk only coffee-flavored. You just pour the coffee syrup into the milk to get it as dark and sweet as you like. The brand we grew up with is called Autocrat. There is also one called Eclipse, but we always had Autocrat.


Some people would put it on ice cream, but it's not very thick, so I only ever put it in milk. I put it in almond milk now, and it's quite tasty. And it's good in iced coffee, as a liquid sweetener seems to mix better than granular sugar in drinks.

 

[Second Summer]

From my beloved homeland, Norway:
- lefse: world-famous potato-based wraps! Typically used for wrapping around hot dogs.
- rhubarb soup and rhubarb porridge: Requires a lot of sugar, have not tried to make it vegan, but should be straightforward.
- rice cream with raspberry or blackcurrant sauce: The rice cream is made from a mix of rice porridge and whipped cream. Easily veganised.
- bacalao: originally a Portuguese and Spanish dish made with dried fish, but I have made up a vegan version, you can find the recipe on VV if you search for it. Fun fact: there is a "bacalao island" off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada whose name can be traced back to pre-Columbian maps of the New World!
- various Yule cookies: hjorthorn, fattigmann, pepperkaker, kakemenn, krumkaker etc. most of which have been successfully veganised, but making these, vegan or not, requires a lot of effort

 

[shyvas]

Gypsy tart - a traditional Kentish dessert.

Recipe: Gypsy tart | Sainsbury's

 

[GingerFoxx]

OMG, I so miss black raspberry ice cream. That is/was a regular flavor in the neck of the woods (Rhode Island) where I grew up. I, too, have not found a vegan version. We, too, had many a Fluffernutter sandwich.

Another local favorite is/was coffee milk, which is like chocolate milk only coffee-flavored. You just pour the coffee syrup into the milk to get it as dark and sweet as you like. The brand we grew up with is called Autocrat. There is also one called Eclipse, but we always had Autocrat.
View attachment 12213

Some people would put it on ice cream, but it's not very thick, so I only ever put it in milk. I put it in almond milk now, and it's quite tasty. And it's good in iced coffee, as a liquid sweetener seems to mix better than granular sugar in drinks.

Isn't coffee milk the official drink of Rhode Island? My brother lived there for a spell and he said it's a BIG DEAL there, to a degree most folks wouldn't expect.

Speaking of syrup, New Englanders swear by their authentic maple syrup. The idea of golden pancake syrup is something just short of blasphemy.

 

[PTree15]

Isn't coffee milk the official drink of Rhode Island? My brother lived there for a spell and he said it's a BIG DEAL there, to a degree most folks wouldn't expect.

Speaking of syrup, New Englanders swear by their authentic maple syrup. The idea of golden pancake syrup is something just short of blasphemy.

Yes, it's a very big deal. It's even on menus in various restaurants (lots of breakfast places, for example). When I initially moved to Connecticut, I assumed Autocrat was available everywhere. It never occurred to me that it was such a regional thing, lol. I remember asking a cashier at the grocery store where the coffee syrup was, and he looked at me as if I had three heads. Needless to say, I picked up a bottle on my next visit to the family in Rhode Island.

ETA: Oh, and your are so right about maple syrup! None of that stuff that is supposed to pass as syrup. Blech, lol.

 

[Calliegirl]

One thing I learned watching the Harry Potter movies: Pasty is pronounced pAHsty, not pAYsty.

I read elsewhere that the pasty was brought to northern Michigan by Welsh miners. I'll bet most Americans who think of the pasty as strictly British don't even know they can find pasties in Michigan.

As for regional Southern California food, I can't think of anything, really.

I was thinking the same thing so I looked it up.
These 9 Iconic Foods In Southern California Will Have Your Mouth Watering
10 Signs You Grew Up Eating Food in Southern California

It looks like our thing is In-n-Out and Pinks. I've never tried Horchata although I see it everywhere. Has anyone tried it?

 

[silva]

I want to try coffee syrup! Is it plain, or sweet? Can you make it?
I keep a jar of instant and dissolve a heaping teaspoon in hot water and mix with chocolate almond, or even better, chocolate cashew milk- iced

 

[PTree15]

I want to try coffee syrup! Is it plain, or sweet? Can you make it?
I keep a jar of instant and dissolve a heaping teaspoon in hot water and mix with chocolate almond, or even better, chocolate cashew milk- iced

It's sweet. It's liquid sugar and coffee flavor, basically.

 

[Second Summer]

I've never tried Horchata although I see it everywhere. Has anyone tried it?

I have It was alright, but nothing mind-blowing.

 

[Moll Flanders]

I was talking online to people about camp coffee the other day, it's a coffee substitute. My Mum used to buy it and make herself iced coffee.Camp Coffee - Wikipedia

 

[GingerFoxx]

Oh, and your are so right about maple syrup! None of that stuff that is supposed to pass as syrup. Blech, lol.

I recall my brother being stunned to learn that a friend who was born and raised in the South had no idea there was even a difference between maple and pancake syrups. Like she couldn't understand why he was emphasizing the word "real" and remarked something to the effect of "What, as opposed to FAKE syrup" to which he replied with a resounding "Yes!" and so the conversation developed from there.

 

[Amy SF]

I recall my brother being stunned to learn that a friend who was born and raised in the South had no idea there was even a difference between maple and pancake syrups. Like she couldn't understand why he was emphasizing the word "real" and remarked something to the effect of "What, as opposed to FAKE syrup" to which he replied with a resounding "Yes!" and so the conversation developed from there.

My mother liked authenticity, so we always had real maple syrup from New England, and she dismissed anything that wasn't real maple syrup. I think it's because she grew up in New Jersey and undoubtedly had tried real maple syrup as a kid. In fact, a friend of hers from back home once sent us a genuine New England treat: Maple sugar candy. I loved it and have wanted to try it again ever since.

(Same thing with salt water taffy from the Atlantic City Boardwalk.)

 

[PTree15]

My mother liked authenticity, so we always had real maple syrup from New England, and she dismissed anything that wasn't real maple syrup. I think it's because she grew up in New Jersey and undoubtedly had tried real maple syrup as a kid. In fact, a friend of hers from back home once sent us a genuine New England treat: Maple sugar candy. I loved it and have wanted to try it again ever since.

(Same thing with salt water taffy from the Atlantic City Boardwalk.)

I LOVE maple sugar candy.

 

[SuicideBlonde]

Apparently boiled peanuts is a southern thing. MMMMM.

 

[GingerFoxx]

Apparently boiled peanuts is a southern thing. MMMMM.

They are. I tried some for the first time on a family roadtrip to Florida to visit relatives in my youth. They seem to not exist north of the Carolinas. I loved them, and it became a treat I had to take advantage of any time I was in the region. Which, come to think of it, has not been for a long time. Good call!

 

[Andy_T]

I finally managed to make a vegan version of a very famous Austrian dish called Palatschinke.

If you say "what???" upon hearing the name, that would not surprise me.

It is actually the normal reaction from most people from Germany, who do speak German but do not regularly encounter such local specialties. You would pronounce it very similar to the Japanese game "pachinko", only with an extra "la" in the middle. The reason why it does have such a strange name, is, that it - like most other famous Austrian dishes - actually comes from Eastern Europe, Chech or Hungarian.

Not about the vegan version, but otherwise great explanation!

It is a thin, crispy pancake, more like a crepe than a typical pancake. The idea is to make it as thin as possible by putting a ladle of the batter into a heated pan and then dipping the pan to all side until the (slightly liquid) batter covers the whole of the pan. But while a crepe is soft, the palachinka would normally be flipped in the pan and also fried on the other side with a bit of oil, so that it gets crispy on one side. This is a traditional dish of a group called "Mehlspeisen" (can be translated as "flour dishes"), which there is a long history of in Austria to use cheap ingredients like flour, sugar, milk and eggs to make sweet, filling food that are not just a dessert, but actually serve as main dish.

In the past, when I was vegetarian, there were a lot of traditional Austrian dishes like that which I could make, when I turned vegan, I realized that veganism is not very deeply rooted in my countries history. It seems that a dish is not complete until you at least add some eggs or milk to it, if you don't use dead animals to begin with.

During my vegetarian time, I often made this dish, especially as breakfast on weekends - I would make a batch of these, and then my wife and I would eat them with different jams/marmalades, or - even more decadent - with sugar and a few drops of sweet alcohol. Since I went vegan, only my wife is making these now and then for herself and our kids, but I had to forego this dish for a long time.

However, I have now managed to reconstruct it with aquafaba and soymilk, and even a pinch of kala namak to give it a slightly "eggy" taste, and was quite happy with the results.

 

[Amy SF]

I think it's funny and interesting that some of us are raving about regional specialties from regions other than our own.

 

[Andy_T]

Hi @Amy SF , am not exactly sure which post you are referring to, but as I am originally from Vienna, I still do fondly remember some of the foods of my youth

 

[Amy SF]

Hi @Amy SF , am not exactly sure which post you are referring to, but as I am originally from Vienna, I still do fondly remember some of the foods of my youth

Not your post, of course. Some of the others.

 

[Andy_T]

Hehe, but I also do rave about regional favourites from other regions now and then! Especially Asian food.