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Apple Kuchen – South Dakota State Dessert

South Dakota adopted Kuchen as the state dessert to celebrate the rich cultural heritage and traditional foods of their German ancestors. Kuchen, (pronounced ”koo-kin) is derived from an Old German word for “cake”. The word originated in the 1800s, and it describes various types of coffee cakes made from a sweet dough and a wide variety of fillings.

The idea of a state dessert began when the ECDC president (who is also superintendent of Eureka Public School) saw a school daily trivia question. It asked for the state dessert of Massachusetts. Further research showed that, although South Dakota has many official symbols, dessert was not one of them.

Since kuchen was a favored dessert all across the state, and since it was a state designation that was being sought, it only seemed right that all of South Dakota should have the chance to be involved. Letters were sent to every town in the state asking if they wished to support the bill naming kuchen as the state dessert. Seventeen towns, in addition to Eureka, gave written support for the bill.

It was a sweet Valentine’’s Day when the bill passed the Senate State Affairs Committee by a vote of 8-1. The following day, it passed the Senate by a vote of 19-11. Following a long wait of over a month, supporters of the bill statewide were happy and relieved when the governor signed the bill on March 11.

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