Food and drink

by Samford, Dr. Patricia M. American Indian Food Originally published as "Discovering What Native North Carolinians Ate" By Dr. Patricia M. Samford Reprinted with permission from Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Castle, Sheri. Apples Originally published as "Take Your Pick of North Carolina Apples" By Sheri Castle Reprinted with permission from Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 2007. Tar Heel Junior Historian [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Cecelski, David S. I had been hearing about Ben Averett's annual Brunswick stew for years. Every October since 1967, Averett has scrubbed out a 25-gallon black iron wash pot, built a hardwood fire under it and prepared [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Cecelski, David S. I visited Maude Ballance on Ocracoke Island to talk about history and food. Born on Ocracoke in 1932, she is one of the island's finest cooks, and, in my experience, there is no better way to [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Dough, Wynne. Barbecue is one of North Carolina's most popular foods as well as a beloved cultural icon. The word is thought to have entered the English language through the Spanish, who encountered in the West [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Graham, Nicholas. Barbecue by Nicholas Graham NC Digital Heritage Center, 2010. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries. See also: Hush Puppies; Barbecue (Encyclopedia of North [...] (from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries.)

by LeClaire, Bryan. During the last half of the nineteenth century, an influx of German immigrants brought lager beer with them to many parts of the United States. The American taste for beer grew steadily during this [...] (from NCpedia.)

by Campbell, Karl E. The brewing of beer in the region that would become North Carolina began long before the first Europeans arrived. According to John Lawson's A New Voyage to Carolina (1709), Native Americans made [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kemp, Amy. The Biscuitville franchise began in Graham, North Carolina in 1966 when baker Maurice Jennings opened Mountainbrook Fresh Bread and Milk stores. Noticing the increasing take-out pizza [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Zimmerman, Carmena B. A black-eyed pea is a small, cream-colored, kidney-shaped legume with a black "eye" (hilum) at its inner curve. It is also known as a cow pea or field pea. Under the "southern peas" classification, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Murray, Elizabeth D. R., Farnham, Thomas J. Blakeley Silver Service by Thomas J. Farnham, 2006 Additional research provided by Elizabeth Reid Murray. See also: Wasp. Word that Captain Johnston Blakeley and the men of the U.S. [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. "Blind tiger" was a term of unknown origin applied to establishments that sold liquor during Prohibition. Newspapers and other publications in North Carolina in the 1920s used it as a synonym for [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Agan, Kelly. Unfortunately, the Sunny's did not do very well. Then Fulk and Thomas met and decided to invest and join together in a new restaurant venture in Charlotte. On July 6,1977, Fulk and Thomas opened [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Fick, Virginia Gunn. Box Suppers by Virginia Gunn Fick, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Copeland, Elizabeth H. Caleb Davis Bradham, founder of Pepsi-Cola, pharmacist, and Shriner, was born at Chinquapin, Duplin County, the son of George Washington and Julia McCann Bradham. He was of English and Scot-Irish [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Norris, David A., Mills, Jerry Leath, Wright, Marilyn. Breads of various types have been essential elements of the foodways of North Carolinians since long before European settlement. Corn was the base ingredient for North Carolina's earliest Indian [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Masci, Athena. Buttermilk, the liquid left when milk or cream is churned into butter, has long added to the richness of North Carolina cuisine. It is the essential ingredient in the buttermilk biscuit-a southern [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Barefoot, Daniel W. Calabash is a fishing and resort town situated on the Calabash River in southwestern Brunswick County. Dubbed the "Seafood Capital of the World" by a food editor of the New York Times, the small town [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kemp, Amy. 'Carolina Style' is an assortment of condiments added to hamburgers or hot dogs, originating in the Piedmont of North Carolina. The traditional condiment combination for Carolina Style is chili and [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by McGrath, Eileen. In 1913 L. D. Peeler and several other investors in Salisbury purchased stock in the Kentucky-based Mint-Cola Bottling Company, and Peeler started the local bottling franchise of the company. When [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Southern, David. Chinquapin, or "chinkapin," is a diminutive cousin of the American chestnut. Although their name derives from eastern-dwelling Algonquian Indian language, chinquapin trees are known as far west as [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stoesen, Alexander R. Church homecomings have been held in North Carolina since colonial times, offering people a sense of communal pride, renewal, shared history, and fellowship with other church members and with God. [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Albright, Alex. Collards, also called collard greens or simply "greens," grow throughout the South and probably as much as any food delineate the culinary boundaries of the Mason-Dixon Line. Sometimes defined as [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . Food, next to water, is the most important need to support human life. Modern American society has grown comfortable with the ease of obtaining food; it has forgotten the long history of food [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Stick, David, Carter, Kathy. Fishing for both finfish and shellfish has long been an important source of income throughout the coastal area of North Carolina. The state's relative isolation from major markets, the absence of [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Hybarger, Courtney. Cooking in the 1800s Originally published as "When Dinner Wasn’t Quick and Easy" By Courtney Hybarger Reprinted with permission from Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 2007. Tar Heel Junior [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Williams, Wiley J. Country ham—cured for around 40 days with salt, a pinch of saltpeter, and individual spices; aged at least 25 days; and often smoked—was a popular export of North Carolina to England during colonial [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stonestreet, O. C., III. Dinner on the grounds, a quintessential North Carolina and southern ritual, is a covered-dish meal following the last Sunday morning worship service of many Christian congregations. "Grounds" refers [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Rankin, Richard. Dope wagons were carts laden with snacks and soft drinks that circulated through North Carolina and other southern textile mills to provide workers with food and beverages. The dope wagon's name was [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Norris, David A. Drugstores, or apothecary shops, were scarce in eighteenth-century North Carolina. Solomon Halling and Henry Tooley advertised their New Bern shops in the North-Carolina Gazette in 1784 and 1793, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by . El festival oficial de comida de la región Piedmont Triad Extraído de Libro de hechos de El Viejo Estado del Norte. La propiedad literaria 2011 por la Oficina de Archivos e [...] (from NC Office of Archives and History.)

by Williams, Wiley J. Fatback, the fatty meat from the back of a hog that is usually dry-cured with salt, has been a staple ingredient in North Carolina and southern cooking since colonial times. Through the years certain [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Sparrow, W. Keats. Fish stews are more than eastern North Carolina folk meals; like their cousin the pig pickin', they are highly ritualized and symbolic social events representing a celebration of the cornucopia of a [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I visited Alfred Fisher in Pamlico County, three hours east of Raleigh. Now retired from his job as a chemist at a Weyerhaeuser pulp mill, he is active in the county historical society and has been [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Mewborn, Suzanne. Food and Faith By Suzanne Mewborn Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 2007. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of History Related entry: [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Vincent, Thomas. Shortages, Substitutes, and Salt: Food during the Civil War in North Carolina By Thomas Vincent Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 2007. Tar Heel Junior [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Finley, Terrell. Food Preservation Put Up, Holed In, and Salted Down By Terrell Finley Reprinted with permission from Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 2007. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Rogers, Amy. Foodways North Carolina: A Culinary Crossroads By Amy Rogers Reprinted with permission from the Tar Heel Junior Historian, Spring 2007. Tar Heel Junior Historian Association, NC Museum of [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Simpson, Bland. Fox Grape by Bland Simpson, 2006 See also: Fruit, Scuppernong grape (Government & Heritage Library); Scuppernong Grape Fox grape (Vitis labrusca) thrives in North Carolina's piedmont [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Garrett, Paul by William S. Powell, 1986 3 Nov. 1863–18 Mar. 1940 Paul Garrett, wine producer, was born in Edgecombe County, the son of Dr. Francis Marion Garrett, a Confederate surgeon, and [...] (from Dictionary of North Carolina Biography, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Compton, Stephen C. American ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) grows wild in the deciduous forests of North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains as well as in the upper Piedmont. Often found on the north slopes of heavily [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, Joey, Popovic, Natalie. Gristmills used to grind corn, wheat, and other grains into flour and meal were a common sight in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century North Carolina. The first recorded North American gristmill was [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Wright, Marilyn. Grits, a staple in North Carolina homes and restaurants, are a simple, nutritious dish made from the rougher bits of grain and husk left over after the miller grinds corn for meal. Grits have [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Williams, Wiley J., Coclanis, Peter A., Elam, Sonya, Joyner, Gail B. Grocery Stores by Peter A. Coclanis, 2006 Additional research provided by Sonya Elam, Gail B. Joyner, and Wiley J. Williams. North Carolina is home to one of the nation's largest [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Farnham, Thomas J. Hardee's restaurants began in Greenville in September 1960, when Wilber Hardee opened a restaurant featuring a limited menu, fast service, and low prices. Hardee had recently visited the McDonald's [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Middlesworth, Chester Paul. Herbs and their use as medicines date back to the earliest recorded history of the region that became North Carolina. Native Americans, under the direction of tribal medicine men, established many [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Moss, Kay K. Way back before 1492, before the Old World met the New World, your human ancestors’ dinners would have been different from yours. Do you know what happened in 1492 that changed dinner? No matter [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Moskop, Ruth M. W., Nasea, Melissa M. Until the 1900s, an infant’s health and survival depended largely on having its mother’s milk to drink. Doctors still recommend mother’s milk as the best food for babies. Modern, scientifically [...] (from Tar Heel Junior Historian, NC Museum of History.)

by Powell, William S. Hog killing in rural North Carolina was traditionally initiated on the first autumn or winter day after the weather had turned frigid. Neighbors often shared in the labor, when perhaps as many as 100 [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I recently visited Helen Hoggard to learn about old-fashioned hog killings. Born in 1917, she grew up on a farm in Bertie County, 120 miles east of Raleigh. Pork was the cornerstone of Southern [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Dough, Wynne. Hush puppies in North Carolina and other southern states are pieces of deep-fried cornbread that may contain egg, leavening, salt, pepper, onion, sugar, or wheat flour. Elsewhere, the term can also [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Colomb, Nayda Swonger. Iced tea, lovingly nicknamed the "Table Wine of the South," is the quintessential southern beverage, enjoyed by North Carolinians and other southerners year-round and served in virtually every [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cross, Jerry L., Mitchell, Thornton W., Mills, Jerry Leath, Barefoot, Daniel W., Lewis, Johanna Miller. Inns and Taverns by Johanna Miller Lewis, 2006; Revised October 2022. Additional research provided by Daniel W. Barefoot, Jerry L. Cross, Jerry Leath Mills, and Thornton W. Mitchell. See [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Mazzocchi, Jay. Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation was founded in Winston-Salem in 1937 by Vernon Rudolph. A few years earlier Rudolph’s uncle, a Paducah, Ky., storeowner, had purchased a secret yeast-raised doughnut [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Coffin, Alex. Lance, Inc., a major producer of packaged crackers, potato chips, cookies, nuts, and other snacks, started in 1913 when Philip L. Lance, a Charlotte coffee salesman, purchased 500 pounds of Virginia [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Towles, Louis P. Love feasts, or "agape meals," are simple communal meals and services that are intended to promote fellowship, brotherhood, unity, and Christian love among participants. Love feasts originated in the [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Maple syrup and maple sugar, usually associated with Vermont and other parts of New England, began to be produced by Moravian settlers in Piedmont North Carolina soon after they arrived in the [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Spencer, R. S., Jr. Mattamuskeet apples are named for Lake Mattamuskeet, in North Carolina's coastal Hyde County, where the apples originated. Ranging from medium to large in size, the apples have a yellow flesh covered [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Powell, William S. Mealtimes by William S. Powell, 2006 Mealtimes in North Carolina were long set to accommodate those engaged in manual labor, particularly field workers in planting and harvesting. Farms and [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. E.R. "Mitch" Mitchell is the proprietor of Mitchell's Barbecue Restaurant in Wilson. Barbecue is one of the most cherished of all Southern foods, and Mitchell's is one of the few places that still [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Simpson, Bland, Yancey, Noel, Hewitt, Kimberly. Moonshine by Bland Simpson, 2006 Additional research provided by Kimberly Hewitt and Noel Yancey. See also: Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission; Brown Bagging; Beer and Breweries; Beer; [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Kemp, Amy. One of the most famed historic Moravian culinary treats is the spice cookie. The cookie is extremely thin, usually around one millimeter in height, and is traditionally circular and about two inches [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Kemp, Amy. In the early 1920’s, Lebanese immigrant Shirkrey Baddour bought cucumbers from local farmers during a cucumber surplus. He intended to brine them and sell them to other pickle firms, but could not [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Kemp, Amy. Neese’s Country Sausage is a pork product company based out of Greensboro, North Carolina. The Neese family has been making homemade sausage since the 1800’s, though until the twentieth century it [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Powell, William S. Okra, a popular vegetable of the mallow family grown in North Carolina and elsewhere in the South, is believed to be named for the town of Accra, Ghana, in West Africa. From there in the eighteenth [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Dough, Wynne. Opossums (from the Powhatan Indian word aposoun) are the only marsupials indigenous to North Carolina and the United States. Formerly trapped in great numbers for their fur, which was used for [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Dough, Wynne. Pepsi-Cola, advertised as the "Taste Born in the Carolinas," is one of many carbonated soft drinks invented in the South between the Civil War and World War I, when the temperance movement, poverty, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Jones, Lu Ann. Once ubiquitous on North Carolina farms, the practice of keeping domesticated birds for eggs or meat evolved into a specialized billion-dollar industry in the latter half of the twentieth century. In [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by McGee, Barry. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company began as Reynolds Industries, a small tobacco company in what is now Winston-Salem. Twenty-four-year-old Richard Joshua Reynolds moved from Virginia to [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Tetterton, Beverly. Ramps (Allium tricoccum) are wild leeks or onions found in eastern North America. They grow wild high in the Great Smoky Mountains. Related to the ramson, a kind of garlic with broad leaves, the ramp [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Williams, Wiley J. The Royal Cake Company, one of the oldest and largest bakeries in the United States, was established in Winston-Salem in 1925 as Easley Cookie Company, with David W. Easley as owner. Gray G. Welch [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Surratt, Jerry L. Salem Tavern by Jerry L. Surratt, 2006 Salem Tavern, established in Salem in 1772 and today part of the Old Salem Historic District in Winston-Salem, likely offered the finest hospitality [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Simpson, Bland. Scuppernong Grape by Bland Simpson, 2006 See also: Fruit, Scuppernong grape (Government & Heritage Library); Fox Grape Scuppernong grape, named the state fruit of North Carolina in [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Ansley, John F. Large amounts of discarded shells, left in mounds along the coast by early Indian communities, often provide clear evidence of the people who once inhabited the region that became North Carolina. [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Stick, David, Stevenson, George, Jr., Carter, Kathy. Shellfish by Kathy Carter, 2006 Additional research provided by George Stevenson and David Stick. See also: Oyster War; Commercial Fishing; Wildlife overview Shellfish is the [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Childs, T. Mike. Slow Poke the Possum By T. Mike Childs and Kelly Agan, 2012, 2019; SLNC Government & Heritage Library, May 2023 See also: Heidi the Cross-Eyed Opossum; Possum [...] (from Government & Heritage Library, State Library of North Carolina.)

by Bullard, Brian. Smokehouses by Brian Bullard, 2006 See also: Women of Somerset Place; Somerset Place Smokehouses, sometimes called meat houses, have been used in North Carolina since the early 1700s as a [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Williams, Wiley J. "Sweet milk" is a southern term referring to fresh, unprocessed whole milk. The term has been used less and less as the regional differences between the South and other areas of the United States [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Weaver, Ardath Goldstein. Texas Pete Hot Sauce, TW Garner Company, Winston-Salem  by Ardath Weaver, North Carolina Arts Council, 2016 Republished with permission from This Day in North Carolina History, North [...] (from North Carolina Arts Council.)

by Wright, Marilyn. Tomato clubs, promoting the involvement of young girls in finding ways to increase the production of agricultural crops, were started by the North Carolina Department of Agriculture in 1911 at the [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Middlesworth, Chester Paul. Whiskey-making and distribution has been part of North Carolina's commerce and culture from the beginning of European settlement. Whiskies in North America are made from a mash of rye, corn, barley, [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Cecelski, David S. I visited Nancy Grady Wilson at her home in the Wesley Chapel community, in Duplin County, 80 miles southeast of Raleigh. A retired elementary school teacher, she is legendary there for making [...] (from Listening to History, News and Observer.)

by Glynn, Elizabeth Scheld. North Carolina is home to the nation's first cultivated wine grape, the scuppernong, which is a variety of the muscadine grape (Vitis rotundifolia) and grows in abundance from the coast to the [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)

by Dough, Wynne. Yaupon (from the Catawba Indian word yop, meaning "tree"), an evergreen shrub or small tree found on the coastal plain from Virginia to Texas and up the Mississippi Valley to Arkansas, made a popular [...] (from Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press.)