Walnuts courtesy of GimmeFood /Flickr 2011

Official State Nut of Missouri:Eastern Black Walnut

Missouri named the Eastern Black Walnut the official state nut on July 9, 1990. The Eastern Black Walnut is often used in various candies, ice cream, and baked goods.

The Eastern black walnut shell (J. nigra) is the hardest of the walnut shells, and it is therefore ideal for polishing: clean soft metals, fiberglass, plastics, wood and stone. It is also used for a paint thickener for a “plaster effect,” in explosives as a filler in dynamite, and in cosmetics as soap and exfoliating cleansers.(Wikipedia)

Important California Agricultural Product

The Difference between California Walnuts and Missouri Black Walnuts

The black walnut is a Native American species. Currently the black walnut is used mainly as a rootstock for English walnuts. The meats are tasty but thanks to a very thick shell, they are a lot of work to crack and remove from the shell. Nutritionally speaking black walnuts contain approximately 10% less total fat and approximately 80% less omega-3 fatty acids (ALA) per serving than English walnuts.

Source: California Walnut Commission

History of the Walnut

Walnuts are the oldest tree food known to man, dating back to 7000 B.C. The Romans called walnuts Juglans regia, “Jupiter’s royal acorn.” Early history indicates that English walnuts came from ancient Persia, where they were reserved for royalty. Thus, the walnut is often known as the “Persian Walnut.” Walnuts were traded along the Silk Road route between Asia and the Middle East. Caravans carried walnuts to far off lands and eventually through sea trade, spreading the popularity of the walnut around the world. English merchant marines transported the product for trade to ports around the world and they became known as “English Walnuts.” England, in fact, never grew walnuts commercially. The outer shell provided a natural protective layer helping to maintain the quality of the nut. Today the nut trade continues to be a well-established, ordered, and structured business, and the California walnut is well known as the top quality walnut for the world.

Black Walnuts in Art

Recipe for Walnut Butter

• 2 cups walnuts
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons walnut or vegetable oil (or as needed)

Optional, to taste:

• A little honey
• A little cinnamon

**Yields 1 Cup, 8 servings

Directions for Walnut Butter
You can make walnut butter using raw, soaked or toasted walnuts. Here’s how to do all three, and why they’re different.

Raw walnuts:
Use raw walnuts for a very creamy and smooth texture that tastes like a just shelled walnut.

Soaked walnuts:
This method will remove some of the tannin from the walnut skin, and offer a more textured walnut butter. Soak walnuts overnight, drain and discard the water. Then, toast the walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350°F for up to 15 minutes to dry them out (don’t let them get dark!). Cool the walnuts before making them into butter.

Toasted walnuts:
To enhance the sweet, nutty flavor of walnuts, toast them before making them into butter. Walnut butter with toasted walnuts will provide a coarse textured finished product. Toast walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet at 350°F for 8 to 10, or until fragrant. Cool the walnuts before making them into butter.

To make the butter:
Make walnut butter by putting the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor and grinding them until they become sticky or paste-like. Add the salt. Add the oil, a little bit at a time until the walnut butter binds together. If you like, add small touches of honey and/or cinnamon to taste.

Source: Recipe courtesy of the California Walnut Commission

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Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant - photo by USFWS

Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant
State Bird of South Dakota

Chinese Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) is the State Bird of South Dakota.

According to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection:

The ring-necked pheasant was introduced in the United States nearly two centuries ago, but its first successful introduction was in 1881 in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. Imported from its native range in Asia and China, today’s pheasant is actually a hybrid, resulting from crossbreeding between the English, Mongolian, Chinese, and Japanese varieties.

The Chinese ring-necked pheasant, celebrated its 100th anniversary in the state of South Dakota in 2008. The term “Chinese ring-necked” is not a reference to a particular subspecies. The term refers to the colloquial name commonly given to the wild pheasants. A native of Asia, pheasants came to South Dakota in 1908 when three Spink County farmers released three pairs of the birds, according to The South Dakota State Historical Society.

Recipe for Simple Pheasant

• ½ cup bread crumbs
• ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbsp Parsley
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 egg
• 4 boneless Pheasant breasts
• 3 Tbsp butter
• 2 cups Marinara/Salsa Sauce
• 4 slices provolone cheese

Directions for Simple Pheasant

1. Combine bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Parsley and garlic powder.
2. Dip breasts in egg and coat with bread crumbs.
3. Cook breaded Pheasant in butter in a non-stick skillet 6-8 minutes, turning once.
4. Pour Marinara/Salsa around Pheasant, top each breast with provolone cheese.
5. Cover and cook 4-5 minutes (Until sauce is warm and cheese melted).

Recipe courtesy of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources

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Background on the Sweet Potato – State Vegetable of North Carolina

Students at a Wilson County school petitioned the North Carolina General Assembly for the establishment of the sweet potato as the Official State Vegetable. Their assignment lead to the creation of the newest state symbol.

North Carolina is the largest producer of sweet potatoes in the nation harvesting over four billion pounds of the vegetable in 1989. The sweet potato is high in vitamins A and C and low in fat and was grown in North Carolina before the European colonization of North America.

The sweet potato was officially designated the State Vegetable by the General Assembly of 1995. (Session Laws, 1995, c. 521).

-North Carolina Secretary of State

Background on Laura Bush

White House Recipe

Laura Bush’s
Recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients for Sweet Potato Casserole
Serves 6 people

• 8 medium sized sweet potatoes,
  roasted, peeled and passed through
  a fine mesh sieve
• 3 whole eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup half and half
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ bag miniature marshmallows
• cooking spray

Directions for Sweet Potato Casserole

Sweet Potato Casserole by Ben Garney/Flickr CC2.0

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, lightly mix all the ingredients except the marshmallows.
3. Spray a 9 inch casserole dish with cooking spray.
4. Pour the custard and top with a half bag of mini marshmallows.
5. Bake for about a half hour.
6. Keep warm for service.

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History & Legislation of the Boston Cream Donut

Massachusetts State Donut

Section 51. The Boston Cream Donut shall be the official donut of the commonwealth.
Approved January 1, 2003.

To read a wonderful musing about the donut, try Happy National Donut Day by the Food Muse.

How to Make a Boston Cream Donut

Boston Scream (web-design on a Boston Cream Donut) photo by James Lee

Yield: 12-14 donuts
Difficulty: Advanced

Vanilla Pastry Cream Filling:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3/4 cup warm milk (105° to 115ºF.)
• 1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons)
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 3-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 4 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

• 2 bars (1.5 ounces each) Godiva® Dark Chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 teaspoons light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1. Place sugar and 1 cup milk in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat until mixture boils.
2. Place cornstarch in medium bowl. Using wire whisk, gradually whisk in remaining milk and whisk until mixture is smooth. Add yolks and whisk until well blended.
3. Slowly pour 1/3 cup hot milk into yolk mixture, whisking constantly. Gradually whisk in remaining hot milk. Return milk-yolk mixture to saucepan and heat to a boil over medium heat. Boil 1 minute, stirring constantly.
4. Remove from heat and whisk in butter and vanilla. (If pastry cream is lumpy, pass it through a sieve.) Transfer pastry cream to a nonreactive bowl. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly onto surface of cream to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until cold.

1. Place warm milk, yeast and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in bowl of electric mixer. Using a wire whisk, stir mixture until yeast granules are evenly dispersed. Let stand for 3 minutes until yeast is dissolved and mixture begins to foam.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups flour to yeast mixture. Using paddle attachment, beat on low speed 2 minutes. Remove paddle attachment and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let stand at room temperature 45 minutes. Sponge will have increased in volume.
3. Thoroughly grease a large bowl with 1 tablespoon room temperature butter. To sponge, add remaining butter and sugar, yolks, salt, cardamom and nutmeg. Mix on low speed until blended. Add 1 1/2 cups remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Beat dough on medium speed 5 minutes. Dough will not form a ball – it will be soft and part of it will wrap itself around paddle. If dough is very sticky, add remaining flour 1 tablespoon at a time, as necessary.
4. Scrape dough into prepared bowl, turning over dough so that top is greased. Cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature about 2 hours, or until it has slightly more than doubled in volume. (Rising time will depend upon room temperature.)
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and evenly dust with flour. Dust a clean work surface with flour. Turn out risen dough onto surface and gently press down on it to deflate. With your hands, flatten dough into a rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let dough rest 5 minutes.
6. Using a floured 2 1/2-inch round biscuit or cookie cutter, cut out about 12 to 14 rounds of dough. With a floured spatula, gently transfer rounds to prepared baking sheet, reshaping them if necessary. Leave at least 1-inch between doughnuts to allow for expansion. Let doughnuts rise for about 20 minutes, or until almost doubled in size.

1. Pour enough oil in a deep-fat fryer or large straight-sided saucepan to come halfway up sides. Oil should be a depth of 2 to 3 inches. Heat oil to 365ºF. Line a baking sheet with paper towels.
2. Dip a spatula in hot oil and use it to transfer doughnuts from baking sheet to oil. Fry doughnuts, 3 or 4 at a time, for 1 to 1 minute 30 seconds or until golden brown. (The midline of the doughnut will be lighter than the rest of it, which is characteristic.) Remove doughnuts from hot oil using a slotted spoon and transfer them to paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain and cool. When cool enough to handle, use a long, plain pastry tip to poke a hole through the midline of each doughnut. Let cool completely before filling.

1. Cook water, corn syrup and sugar in a heavy-bottomed medium saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat until mixture boils.
2. Remove from heat and add chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes. Whisk in butter until mixture is smooth.

1. Remove pastry cream from refrigerator and whisk cream until it is smooth. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain 1/4-inch round tip with pastry cream. Pipe pastry cream into hole in middle of each doughnut until pastry cream bulges out and doughnut feels full. Wipe off any excess cream. Place filled doughnuts on rack after they are filled.
2. Dip top of each filled doughnut into bowl of warm chocolate glaze, letting excess glaze drip back into bowl. Place glazed doughnuts back onto rack to set. The doughnuts are best when prepared and served on the same day.

-recipe courtesy of Godiva Chocolate

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Alternate Names for Indiana State Pie

Sugar Cream Pie - photo courtesy of Mrs. Wicks Pies. Learn more about Mrs. Wicks Pies below.

How to Make a Sugar Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 1 cup lightly-packed brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2-1/2 cups cream (heavy cream, whipping cream or heavy whipping cream)
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 unbaked pie shell

Directions

1. Cream together butter, brown sugar, salt, and flour and spread into the prepared unbaked pie crust.
2. Pour throughly beaten mixture of cream and vanilla into unbaked pie shell.
3. Sprinkle nutmeg on top of the pie mixture.
4. Bake for 10 minutes at 450 degrees F. and then at 325 degrees F. for 35 minutes.

Indiana State Pie- History and Legislation

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION urging the adoption of the sugar cream pie as Indiana’s official state pie.

• SECTION 1. That the Indiana General Assembly urges the adoption of the sugar cream pie as the official pie of the state of Indiana and its renaming as the Hoosier Pie.
• SECTION 2. That copies of this resolution be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Indiana Foodways Alliance.

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The History of Popcorn

Popcorn by Alan Cleaver (alancleaver_2000/Flickr)

Popcorn was not mentioned in early farm papers and seed trade catalogs until around 1880, but once the American public discovered it, popcorn’s popularity quickly grew. Nearly all of the world’s popcorn production is in the United States, with 25 states growing the crop. Over one fourth of the national production is in Nebraska, and Indiana produces only slightly less. Other major popcorn-producing states are Illinois, Ohio, and Missouri. Scholars agree that corn, and popcorn, originated in the Americas. Precisely how it originated, however, is a topic of debate.

Interesting Popcorn Facts

• The oldest ears of popcorn ever found were discovered in the Bat Cave of west central New Mexico in 1948 and 1950. Ranging from smaller than a penny to about 2 inches, the oldest Bat Cave ears are about 4,000 years old.
• In tombs on the east coast of Peru, researchers have found grains of popcorn perhaps 1,000 years old. These grains have been so well-preserved that they will still pop.
• In 1519, Cortes got his first sight of popcorn when he invaded Mexico and came into contact with the Aztecs. Popcorn was an important food for the Aztec Indians, who also used popcorn as decoration for ceremonial headdresses, necklaces and ornaments on statues of their gods, including Tlaloc, the god of rain and fertility.
• An early Spanish account of a ceremony honoring the Aztec gods who watched over fishermen reads: “They scattered before him parched corn, called momochitl, a kind of corn which bursts when parched and discloses its contents and makes itself look like a very white flower; they said these were hailstones given to the god of water.”
• Writing of Peruvian Indians in 1650, the Spaniard Cobo says, “They toast a certain kind of corn until it bursts. They call it pisancalla, and they use it as a confection.”
• In southwestern Utah, a 1,000-year-old popped kernel of popcorn was found in a dry cave inhabited by predecessors of the Pueblo Indians.

Legislative Resolution

Illinois Official Snack Food – Popcorn

detail of Popcorn by Janet Hudson

How to Make Perfect Popcorn

1. 3 tablespoons peanut oil
2. 3 ounces popcorn kernels, approximately 1/2 cup
3. 1/2 teaspoon popcorn salt
4. 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Directions

1. Place the oil, popcorn and salt in a large, 6-quart, metal mixing bowl. Cover with heavy-duty aluminum foil and poke 10 slits in the top with a knife.
2. Place the bowl over medium heat and shake constantly using a pair of tongs to hold the bowl. Continue shaking until the popcorn finishes popping, approximately 3 minutes.
3. Remove the bowl from the heat and carefully remove the foil. Stir in any salt that is on the side of the bowl.
4. Melt the butter in the microwave. Slowly drizzle over the popcorn, while spinning the bowl. Serve immediately.

Recipes courtesy of Alton Brown of the Food Network

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History of Florida’s Official State Pie:

The Key Lime Pie

The 2006 Florida Legislature designated key lime pie as the official state pie. The key limes (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle) used to make this dessert are named after the Florida Keys where the key limes originated in the United States. The first key lime pie was created in the 1850s in south Florida. The recipe became popular in early Florida because it was made using key limes and sweetened condensed milk and did not require refrigeration.

Key Lime Pie - photo by Ann Gav

How to Make a Florida Key Lime Pie

• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (12 to 15 key limes or 3 to 4 common limes)
• 4 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
• 12 graham crackers
• 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Directions for Florida Key Lime Pie

1. Zest the limes.
2. Cut the limes in half and juice them. Be sure to remove any pits.
3. Put the butter in the microwave for about 1 minute to melt, and put it to the side.
4. Whisk the egg yolks and lime zest together in a bowl until tinted light green. This takes about 2 minutes
5. Beat in the milk, then the lime juice you squeezed earlier, and set aside at room temperature till it thickens.
6. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
7. Crush your graham crackers or put them in a food processor, until they are crumbs.
8. Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar in another bowl.
9. Add melted butter and stir with a fork until well blended.
10. Pour this mixture into a 9-inch pie pan and press over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Try using the bottom of a measuring cup to make sure the graham cracker mixture forms a firm crust on the bottom of the pie pan.
11. Bake on the center rack for about 15 minutes until the crust is lightly brown, remove and let cool to room temperature.
12. Pour the lime filling into crust, spread evenly, and then bake for 15 minutes until the center sets, but still wiggles when shaken.
13. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature.
14. Refrigerate for at least three hours until well chilled.
15. Top with whipped cream, if desired.

-recipe from the Reluctant Gourmet

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History of the Cranberry

Massachusetts Cranberry Shortbread Cookie - photo by Deborah Austin

The cranberry, along with the blueberry and Concord grape, is one of North America’s three native fruits that are commercially grown. Cranberries were first used by Native Americans, who discovered the wild berry’s versatility as a food, fabric dye and healing agent. Today, cranberries are commercially grown throughout the northern part of the United States and are available in both fresh and processed forms.

The name “cranberry” derives from the Pilgrim name for the fruit, “craneberry”, so called because the small, pink blossoms that appear in the spring resemble the head and bill of a Sandhill crane. European settlers adopted the Native American uses for the fruit and found the berry a valuable bartering tool.

American whalers and mariners carried cranberries on their voyages to prevent scurvy. In 1816, Captain Henry Hall became the first to successfully cultivate cranberries. By 1871, the first association of cranberry growers in the United States had formed, and now, U.S. farmers harvest approximately 40,000 acres of cranberries each year.

Source: Cape Cod Cranberry Growers Association

Adoption of the Massachusetts State Berry

Ingredients for Cranberry Filled Cookies

• 1 cup Sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 4 cups Fresh or Frozen Cranberries
• 1 (3”) Cinnamon Stick
• 1 tablespoon Lavender
• 1 teaspoon Cardamom, ground
• 2 pkg. Pre-made Sugar Cookie Dough

Directions for Cranberry Filled Cookies

1. Combine cranberries, sugar, lavender, cardamom, and cinnamon stick in a saucepan and bring to a boil over moderately high heat, stirring.
2. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have burst, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove and discard cinnamon stick, then carefully transfer the cranberry mixture to a blender and puree until smooth (use caution when blending hot mixtures).
4. Cool the mixture in the refrigerator until completely cold.
5. Roll out 1 log of cookie dough until 1/4” thickness is achieved consistently.
6. Using a small round cookie cutter, cut out dough and transfer to a baking sheet, leaving 1/2” space between each cookie.
7. Place 1-2 t of the cranberry mixture in the center of each cookie.
8. Place another piece of round dough on top of the mixture and pinch the edges of the cookie together. (center of top piece can be cut out in a shape, if you choose.)
9. At this point the cookies may either be frozen to be baked at a later date, or bake in a 350*F oven for about 10-15 minutes or until a light golden brown.

Yield:
25-35 servings

Source: Jessica Drakulich, Johnson & Wales University

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Cranberry Sauce - image courtesy of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers' Association

Cranberry Juice was also adopted as the official State Beverage of the Commonwealth on May 4, 1970.

Ingredients for 5-Minute Cranberry:

• 3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• ¼ cup water
• 2 cups sugar
• fresh lemon juice (1/4 lemon)

Directions for 5-Minute Cranberry:

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Place cranberries in a saucepan with ¼ cup of water and cook over low heat until cranberries are soft and begin to pop.
3. Add the sugar and mix well.
4. Let simmer until mixture begins to thicken.
5. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
6. Place in serving dish, cover with plastic wrap and let cool.
7. Serve cold.

Source: Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association

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State History of the Vidalia Onion

Georgia farmers united in the mid-1980’s to seek both state and federal protection of the growing region and the Vidalia brand name. The following legislation was passed during this historical time:

1986 – Georgia’s state legislature gave the Vidalia onion legal status and defined the 20-county production area.

1989 – Vidalia onion producers established Federal Marketing Order No. 955 for the crop. This USDA program created the Vidalia Onion Committee and extended the definition of a Vidalia onion to the federal level.

1990 – The Vidalia onion was named Georgia’s Official State Vegetable. The name “Vidalia” had also been trademarked and is still owned by the Georgia Department of Agriculture.

Ingredients for Spicy Vidalia Onion Rings

• 1/2 cup White Lily Self-Rising Cornmeal Mix
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 3 large Vidalia Onions sliced into 1/4 inch rings
• 1/4 cup milk
• 2 to 3 tablespoons butter, melted, or non-stick cooking spray
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions for Spicy Vidalia Onion Rings

Onion Rings - photo by Kate Ter Haar/Flickr CC2.0

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Grease baking sheet with spray.
3. Combine meal, pepper, paprika in a large zip lock plastic bag.
4. Dip Vidalia Onion slices in milk and place in the plastic bag with mixture. Seal and shake until well-coated.
5. Place in a single layer on the pan.
6. Drizzle with melted butter or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
7. Bake for 10 minutes.
8. Remove from oven and turn slices over with spatula. Return to the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until browned and crisp.
9. Drain on paper towels.
10. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

Source: The Vidalia® Onion Committee

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