America's history and culture are intertwined with its food, and there are some delicious stories, traditions, and culinary customs across the country. From quirky laws on butter and potatoes to unexpected food inventions that have changed the way we eat today, we’ve rounded up the most incredible food facts from every US state.

Click or scroll through our gallery to discover the amazing foodie fact that's unique to your state.

Although most barbecue sauce tends to be tomato-based, they blend it a little differently in Alabama – tomatoes are out, while white barbecue sauce is in. The state’s tangy condiment is made with mayonnaise, vinegar, horseradish, and black pepper, and was invented in 1925 by Robert Gibson of Big Bob Gibson's Bar-B-Q in Decatur.

When in Alaska, one of the more unusual treats to try is akutaq. The dessert, which translates as ‘mix them together,’ is an indigenous recipe made with animal fats and seal oil, whipped up and mixed with snow, berries, sugar, and sometimes fish. The dish resembles ice cream (and is often called 'Eskimo ice cream') and was originally used for survival, but nowadays it’s a traditional recipe passed down from generation to generation.

We have Arizona to thank for the world’s first McDonald’s drive-thru, which was installed in Sierra Vista in 1975. It was originally built so that soldiers at a nearby army base, who at the time weren’t allowed to leave their vehicles while in uniform, were able to grab some hot lunch on the go.

Mulberry, Arkansas has a surprising selling point: it's known as the edamame capital of the US. There are countless edamame farms where the immature soy beans are harvested and, at one point, there was even an entire festival dedicated to the popular snack.

It turns out that the fortune cookies you get with a Chinese meal were actually invented in California. While the origins of the sweet treats are believed to lie in ancient Japan, the modern fortune cookie and its signature shape emerged in the Chinese restaurants of California around the time of the Second World War. In 1974 Edwards Louie, owner of the Lotus Fortune Cookie Company in San Francisco, invented a machine to insert the fortune and fold the cookie.

Beer fans, you need to book your ticket to Denver as soon as possible. Coloradans are huge craft beer lovers and every autumn they celebrate this love via the Great American Beer Festival. The event has been running since 1982 and brings hundreds of breweries together, with tastings and food-and-beer pairing experiences offering the largest selection of US beer you'll find served in one spot. 

The first hamburger in the US was cooked, flipped, and served in Connecticut and, if you’re looking for a bite of history, you’ll be happy to know that you can still eat at the original restaurant where it happened. Louis’ Lunch in New Haven – recognized by the Library of Congress as the birthplace of the hamburger sandwich – has been serving them up since 1900, when Louis Lassen stuffed his blend of ground steak between two slices of bread for a customer who wanted a quick lunch to go. 

The tiny state of Delaware has become well-known for two facts: being the home state of US President Joe Biden, and having 609 times more chickens than people, according to a 2021 article in The Washington Post. The state even got its nickname thanks to a chicken: it's known as the Blue Hen State after the official bird of Delaware, the Blue Hen Chicken.  

Avocado toast is now a mainstay on breakfast menus across the US, but did you know the first avocado tree in the country was imported from South America (where they’re native) and planted in Florida in 1833? Now, around 90% of avocado production in the US happens in California, while the remaining 10% is produced in Florida and Hawaii.

Georgia is not only home to the most delicious peaches – it’s also the birthplace of the most popular soft drink ever created, Coca-Cola. Everyone’s (or, at least, many people's) favorite soda was invented in Atlanta in 1886 by pharmacist John Pemberton. The beverage has come a long way since it was sold for five cents a glass at Jacob's Pharmacy, with an early advert in The Atlanta Journal inviting thirsty locals to come and sample the new taste. 

Are coconuts the new postcards? This seems to be the case in Hawaii, where you can mail a personalized coconut to a loved one anywhere in the world. Since 1991 the Hoolehua Post Office (pictured) on the island of Molokai has offered a Post-a-Nut service, mailing out thousands each year. The freshly fallen coconuts on the island are used for the service and scanned before sending to prevent exporting illnesses or bugs.

Everyone knows Idaho produces world-famous potatoes, but that reputation comes with a price – growing potatoes is serious business and, as such, standards can never fall short. The law dictates that selling an Idaho Deluxe potato that’s rotten, cracked, or sunburnt is an offense that could land the seller six months in prison.

In Illinois, you might catch a whiff of the largest bakery in the world. Food giant Nabisco, which owns popular brands Oreo, Graham Crackers, Chips Ahoy!, and Ritz, is based in Chicago. The company's headquarters are roughly 1,800,000 square feet (170,000sqm) in size, employing more than 1,400 people. It produces billions of America's favorite biscuits every year and some of the ovens used are so big that they have been turned into apartments.

Would you like to live in popcorn? Well, in Indiana you can, sort of. There’s a town called Popcorn, whose name inspired snack brand Popcorn Indiana (which, confusingly, is based in Cleveland, Ohio). The whole state is truly full of popcorn, with several big brands producing the crunchy snack here, and there’s even an annual popcorn festival – not in Popcorn, but in Valparaiso. In 2021, Indiana-grown popcorn became the state's official snack. 

The great thing that all subsequent great things are compared to – sliced bread – originated, in a way, in Iowa. We owe the invention of the bread-slicing machine to Iowa-born Otto Frederick Rohwedder. He was based in Missouri at the time but introduced his creation to the world in Davenport, Iowa in 1928, changing our lives (and sandwiches and toast) forever.

Kansas is now home to more than six million cows and a little under three million people, which means that, in this state, cows outnumber people two-to-one. The state's semi-arid environment makes it ideal for grazing, and it's considered the best state for raising cattle thanks to its tens of millions of acres of prime pasture.

Kansas has cows, and Kentucky has bourbon. This state produces more than 95% of the world’s bourbon supply. As of 2023, there were 12.6 million barrels of bourbon aging in the state – nearly three times the human population. Kentucky's bourbon industry generates more than 20,000 jobs, so you could say the state runs on the stuff.

Often called ‘America’s First Cocktail,’ the Sazerac was invented in New Orleans in the 1830s. There are various stories of origin, but the most commonly accepted is that Antoine Peychaud created the drink at his French Quarter pharmacy. The name comes from the brand of cognac he used to make it, Sazerac de Forge et Fils, though brandy was later switched for rye-whiskey. There's now a New Orleans museum, The Sazerac House, dedicated to the concoction.

One of the cleverest food inventions of recent times was discovered in Maine: the donut hole. Maine ship captain Hanson Gregory came up with a smart solution to a cooking dilemma of the time – how to fry donuts evenly to deliver a great taste. Before that, donuts were cut into diamonds or twists, but that didn’t yield the same results.

This tantalizing seasoning, which upgrades pretty much any meal, comes from Maryland. It was invented by Jewish immigrant Gustav Brunn, who started the Baltimore Spice Company after fleeing Nazi Germany in 1939. Made using 18 different herbs and spices, the seasoning found its way into America’s cuisine and quickly became a food icon, selling more than eight million units per year.

Can you imagine a world without chocolate chip cookies? Luckily, we have chef Ruth Wakefield to thank for the sweet treat. She created the cookie in the late 1930s at the Toll House Inn, which she owned with her husband, near Whitman, Massachusetts. Some claim it was an accidental discovery. If so, it was the greatest baking mistake in history. Wakefield managed to strike a deal with Nestlé, who printed and popularized the recipe, and in exchange she received a lifetime supply of chocolate.

Do you fancy a visit to the cereal capital of the world? Then head on down to Battle Creek, which is the hometown of Kellogg’s and Post, two of the largest cereal manufacturers in the world, and where the first-ever bowl of Corn Flakes was produced. In 1998, Kellogg’s opened Cereal City, a tourist attraction that included a simulated tour of the Kellogg's Corn Flakes production line, Fruit Loops sundaes, a cereal museum, and personalized cereal boxes. Unfortunately, it had to close its doors in 2007 due to a lack of attendance. 

It seems like there’s a state for every meat and Minnesota’s specialty is turkey. Around 40 million turkeys are produced in the state every year, which is seven times the number of Minnesota residents. One in five of the country's turkeys comes from Minnesota, meaning a lot of Americans have the state to thank for their Thanksgiving dinners.

Belzoni, Mississippi claims to be the 'catfish capital of the world' and the city takes the role seriously, with a museum celebrating the whiskered fish and a 40-foot (12m) tall sculpture known as King Cat. For one day each April, the city's catfish passion steps up a gear for the World Catfish Festival. Delta blues musicians provide the soundtrack, and there's even a Miss Catfish pageant (for humans).

Missouri is claimed to be home to the world’s first edible ice cream cone, popularized at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis, where they were known as ice cream cornucopias. The reality is that the origin of the first waffle cone is hotly debated and the history behind the invention is a little more complex, but its presence at the historic World’s Fair certainly launched this iconic food innovation to the wider public.

Montana is known for its delicious huckleberries, though they're not easy to get hold of. Huckleberries remain wild as they resist cultivation, must be gathered by hand, and pickers have to compete with bears, coyotes, deer, and birds for the sweet berries. It means you'll pay a pricey premium to enjoy Montana's official state fruit. 

In 1910, in a considerate yet rather extreme move, the city of Waterloo passed an ordinance that stated barbers were forbidden from eating onions during working hours to spare barbershop patrons the smell of bad breath. 'A violation of any of the provisions shall subject the barber to arrest and a fine of not less than $5 for each and every offense,' reads the ordinance – equivalent to approximately $160 today. The law is not strictly upheld today, but it does remain in the books.

The Heart Attack Grill restaurant challenges customers to try its Octuple Bypass Burger, which clocks in at nearly 20,000 calories. It contains a staggering 8.5 beef patties, 40 slices of bacon, and 16 slices of cheese. In 2021, a man called Matt Stonie somehow managed to eat the entire thing in just four minutes and 10 seconds. A video of his achievement has amassed over 23 million views on YouTube. 

Where would our leftovers live without our beloved Tupperware? The first Tupperware was invented in New Hampshire in 1938 by Berlin, New Hampshire citizen Earl Tupper, and it changed the way our kitchens look and function. Brownie Wise, a sales representative for the company, pioneered the famous Tupperware parties in the 1950s, which helped sales to surge as housewives hawked the plastic goods in their homes. 

If you love diners, then you'll adore New Jersey, known as the 'diner capital of the world.' Here, you'll find more diners than any other US state – around 500 of them. Several NJ diners have made it into TV shows and movies, including Holsten's, Bloomfield, where the final scene of The Sopranos was shot. In early 2024, co-owner Chris Carley auctioned off the booth where James Gandolfini sat, raising $82,600. 

Just imagine the amount of work it took to cook the largest Navajo taco – made with fry bread instead of tortillas – which put the New Mexico city of Gallup on the map in 2011. They were the first to attempt the record, so the bar wasn't set too high, but they still created a monster taco, more than three meters (10ft) in diameter.

Don't let the name fool you – English muffins were actually invented in New York. Samuel Thomas, an English baker who had moved to the Big Apple to open a bakery, was trying to recreate English crumpets but ended up inventing English muffins instead. Their popularity soared with the creation of eggs Benedict (another classic New York dish).

The iconic Pepsi-Cola brand originated in New Bern, North Carolina, created in 1898 by pharmacist Caleb Bradham. Much like its competitor Coca-Cola, Pepsi was originally intended to aid digestion. Today, you can visit the first ever Pepsi store for a taste of this famous drink’s humble beginnings.

For many years North Dakota was home to a delicious world food record: the world's largest hamburger, created in the tiny town of Rutland in 1982. More than 8,000 people came to witness the 3,591lb (1,629kg) patty cooked and flipped on a single grill. The town may no longer hold the record (that was broken in Germany in 2017), but a sign marks the spot of this great achievement and part of the grill can still be seen.

There’s a lot we need to thank Ohio for on the food side of things. Not only did it give the world chewing gum, with an Ohio dentist patenting the sticky stuff in 1869, it was also the home of Harry Stevens, the man often credited with creating the hot dog. On top of that, it's also the birthplace of the candy brand Life Savers, launched in 1912.

The shopping cart was first invented and used in Oklahoma, in arguably one of the most successful marketing moves ever. Sylvan Goldman, who owned the Humpty Dumpty supermarket chain in Oklahoma City, thought a cart would be a great way to help customers buy more and, as we all know, it worked.

Oregon’s official state nut is the hazelnut, the ingredient responsible for the delicious depths in some of the world’s best chocolate spreads. Thanks to an ideal climate, the nuts are so abundant in Oregon that they make up 99% of all commercial hazelnuts cultivated in the United States.

More mushrooms are grown in Pennsylvania than in any other US state. In fact, according to the American Mushroom Institute, more than 60% of the mushrooms produced in the US are grown in the Pennsylvania borough of Kennett Square. No surprise then, that it's known as the 'Mushroom Capital of the World.' With mushrooms increasingly used in plant-based foods and meat alternatives, Pennsylvania is on to a winner.

The White Horse Tavern, is located in Rhode Island was built in 1673 and is listed on the National Historic Register. Having survived many difficult moments in history with a scratch or two, the tavern was renovated in 1957 by the Preservation Society of Newport County and recognized as a National Historic Landmark in 1972. Today, it's considered one of Newport’s finest restaurants and, as tour guides will tell you, probably home to a drunk ghost or two.

Tea has played quite the part in American history but the cilmate means tea crops have never had a big presence in the US. However, the first tea farm in the country opened in 1890 near Summerville, South Carolina. With time, sweet iced tea became a local favorite to quench people’s thirst during the South’s hot summers.

South Dakota is home to the world’s only corn palace, which attracts more than half a million visitors each year. The Corn Palace in Mitchell was built in 1892 and boasts a multicolored corn mural every fall. The palace is designed to be an ode to South Dakota’s agriculture.

Tennessee is home to one sweet invention. Dentist William Morrison and candymaker John C. Wharton became famous for inventing the cotton candy machine in Nashville in 1897. Some theorize that this was a plot by Morrison to garner more clients by causing customers to have cavities. While we'll never know if these were his true intentions, he was a pioneer in the candy industry.

Texas is home to the oldest soft drink manufactured in the US: Dr Pepper. It was invented and launched by Charles Alderton in 1885 in Waco, Texas and quickly became one of the favorite soft drinks in the US. Its rival Coca-Cola was introduced into the market not long after in 1886. Today, Dr Pepper is the fourth bestselling soda in the US behind Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Light, and Pepsi.

According to producer of the wobbly stuff, Kraft Foods, Utah is Jell-O’s biggest fan, consuming more of the candy than any other US state. In 2001, the Utah State Legislature named Jell-O its official state snack. The state’s obsession has been linked to its large Mormon population – according to a 2023 study published in the Journal of Religion and Demography, 42% of people living in Utah identify as part of this religious group – due to Jell-O’s marketing as a perfect dish for big church gatherings.

Vermont has many foodie claims to fame: its high standards when it comes to maple syrup, being the home of iconic ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, and producing artisan cheeses. However, perhaps its most surprising food fact is that Montpelier, Vermont’s capital, is the only state capital in the US that doesn’t have a McDonald’s within the city limits. No Golden Arches, but plenty of ice cream cones.

Peanut butter and jelly (or PB&J) is such an iconic American combination that it’s easy to forget that peanuts are not native to the US. The first peanuts grown in America were in Virginia and they transformed the state’s economy as a whole. Peanuts are still one of Virginia’s strongest crops and there's even a variety named after the state. 

Washington may not be known as ‘The Big Apple,’ but it could easily be. Besides being the number-one producer of sweet cherries, red raspberries, and pears, it also produces most of the apples in the US. The state grows over 130 million boxes of apples per year, according to The Washington State Tree Fruit Association.

Which state is the best for shopping locally? West Virginia must be one of the top-ranking ones considering that it has the highest percentage of family-owned farms in the country, making it a great destination for farmers' markets. baked goods, crafts, jams, vegetables, cheeses, meat, and eggs.

There’s no other state that takes dairy as seriously as Wisconsin does. From 1895-1967 a law prohibited the sale and use of margarine as it was considered a poor substitute for butter. This ban is no longer in existence but butter is still fiercely protected, and it's still illegal for restaurants to substitute butter for margarine unless requested to do so by the customer.

The least populated state in the US and the last state alphabetically, Wyoming was also the last American state to raise its drinking age from 19 to 21 (much to many teenagers' despair). The change was finally made in 1988, four years after Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act into law.

Now read about other unbelievably true food facts

Last updated by Clare Thorp.