PA FOOD: How many made-in-PA foods are you familiar with, and how many have you tried?
There’s always someone who likes Scrapple, also known by the Pennsylvania Dutch name pannhaas, which is a traditional mush of fried pork scraps and trimmings combined with cornmeal and wheat flour and spices.
How about a Pittsburgh salad? You know, the kind with meat and fries on top?
Stromboli is also a Pennsylvania creation, coming from Philadelphia in the 1950s, invented by Italian Americans and named after the Stromboli volcano.
A roast pork sandwich — with slow-roasted pork and provolone cheese — is a popular sandwich, but it doesn’t hold a candle to the Philly cheesesteak, “wit or witout” the onions. Cheese Whiz, American cheese or provolone are the choices for cheese in most places.
Pretzels are another Pennsylvania staple, with 80% of the nation’s pretzel supply coming from the Keystone State with brands like Philly Pretzel Factory, Auntie Anne, Synder’s of Hanover, Herr’s and Utz.
How about some shoo-fly pie? The traditional Pennsylvania Dutch dessert has been around since the 1700s, and rumor has it, is so named because the treat is so sweet it draws in the flies, which you will have to shoo away. It has a buttery crust and sweet filling of molasses and brown sugar.
The yummy banana split was invented in Latrobe at Tassel Pharmacy in 1904. Three scoops of ice cream — chocolate, vanilla and strawberry — are drizzled with hot fudge, strawberry and caramel sauce and topped with a split banana, whipped cream, sprinkles, chopped nuts and a cherry.
And don’t forget tomato pie, made up of layers of seasoned tomato paste inside a fluffy dough. This was believed to have come to Philadelphia with Italian immigrants.
