By Laura Fieselman There is a front porch, rocking chairs, and a wood-burning cookstove. But look closely and you will see there are also blowtorches, an electric food processor, and plastic mixing bowls. It is the Pioneer Cabin at the Green River Preserve, a summer camp for the bright, curious, and creative in Cedar Mountain,… Read More →
Chicharron Gorditas
by Elijah Gaddis By way of introduction, to me and to this post, I should confess something that all of my friends know: I became a folklorist in part because it allows me to eat. Seeking out legendary barbecue places, hole in the wall taquerias, and roadside vendors all falls under the guise of what… Read More →
Festival of the Peach: Candor Is the Scene
by Ray Linville Communities that spread over a multi-county area often unite each year for a common celebration. For the N.C. peach community, that event occurs on the third Saturday in July in Candor, a small town in Montgomery County that brings everyone in the peach-growing Sandhills region together. Although Candor is the home of… Read More →
Hiffikickles
By Deborah Miller It takes little more than a hot July day to take me back to one of my favorite summer memories when my Grandmother would bring a pot of water to boil before telling us to run out to the garden for some “roasting ears.” My younger sister misheard that as “rosemarys” and… Read More →
Heirloom Seeds and Plants: Preserving State Food Traditions
by Ray Linville Do you wish that you could grow the same vegetables that Grandma grew? The flavors that she tasted and the nutrients that she enjoyed are legendary, and many of us reminisce about how we miss the flavors of yesteryear. Because this desire to appreciate traditional foods is growing, a cultural movement to… Read More →
Sonker & Stack Pie
by Deborah Miller You may have heard of stack cake from the mountains … you may know that mullet roe is from eastern NC … but stack pie and sonker? Here are two recent media recognitions by The New York Times on dishes specific to certain areas of our state. North Carolina Public Radio –… Read More →
French Broad Chocolate Lounge
by Matt Lardie French Broad Chocolates is part of the exploding craft food movement that reminds us of an overlooked aspect of US material culture – the long tradition of artisan food production. Thank you, Matt, for driving west and sharing your experience. ~ Deborah Miller, NC Food editor. This past January I shot up… Read More →
Finding the Source of Your Food
by Ray Linville When you eat in a restaurant, do you think about the farms that provide your meal? An excellent way to visit the source of your food is the annual farm tours conducted in our state. Earlier this year I explored several farms as part of the Piedmont Farm Tour, held on the… Read More →
June is North Carolina Blueberry Month
By Frances Dowell The civilized blueberry moved to North Carolina in the early half of the 20th century. Wild blueberries have been growing in the piney woods of the eastern shores since the beginning of time (or thereabouts), but it wasn’t until one Harold Huntington of Montclair, NJ, cleared a thousand acres in Pender County… Read More →
Dan Dunkel’s First Brunswick Stew
by Joy Salyers On May 19, my family and I headed up to Person County to the 125th anniversary of Berry’s Grove Baptist Church. Berry’s Grove is on Berry Road, in what is either Timberlake or Little River, depending on whether you’re trying to mail something there or drive to it. Being… Read More →