The culinary styles of Pennsylvania are uniquely diverse, with international influences from English, German, French, West Indian, Italian, Polish, and Pennsylvania Dutch cultures. The commonwealth offers a variety of traditional cuisines, many of which originate from the recipes of the nation's founding fathers, and have been passed along and adapted over several generations. Pennsylvania is famous for a number of foods which include sweets, sandwiches and more.
Many American favorites began as regional specialties in Pennsylvania, including a number of desserts and sweets. Ice cream and cinnamon sticky buns are a couple of desserts attributed to the commonwealth. Peach pies and tarts were also one of the commonwealth's early sweet specialties, first baked by Quaker housewives in Philadelphia. For sustenance, early colonists dined on hearty stews and soups, one of the most famous being the Philadelphia Snapper Soup made from the snapping turtle found in the Delaware River.
Sweet Tooth
Shoofly Pie
The history of shoofly pie is just as unique and interesting as the name of this sugary sweet dessert. Shoofly pie has been attributed to the Pennsylvania Dutch by many food history books. But taking a closer look into the history of this tantalizing dessert reveals evidence that the Pennsylvania Dutch may only be responsible for naming this sweet treat. Sugar-filled pastries, like the resilient recipe of shoofly pie, most likely originated in the Ancient Middle East and have adapted throughout history. In Medieval Europe, treacle pies (pies made with a'golden' mild mixture of molasses, grain syrup, and other ingredients) were very popular. European settlers from various nations brought these recipes to America, where colonial recipes often used molasses instead of treacle.
According to one source of food history, Pennsylvania's shoofly pie came about in late winter when a group of Pennsylvania Dutch were short of baking supplies. With only flour, lard, and molasses, they created shoofly pie. The pie was so popular with their families that it became a year-round favorite treat. It's widely believed that the name shoofly pie sprung from the fact that when the pies were cooling, the sticky sweet molasses that formed at the top of the pies attracted flies. However, it's also possible that the word shoofly is a derivative of an unidentified German word, since the dessert came from the Pennsylvania Dutch culture.
Shoofly pie in present-day American cuisine is a tart made with molasses or brown sugar, topped with sugar, flour, and butter crumble. Pennsylvania's "Dutch Country" of Lancaster County is particularly well-known for its shoofly pie, which has a distinctive flavor and texture that is a major tourist draw to the area.
A.P Cookies
There are a number of theories about the name of the A.P. cookie., a German sweet that was popular in Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Dutch country. A.P. cookies, also called "apee," "apea," and "eepies" (plural), are a spiced butter cookie, or form of gingerbread. Some sources say the name of the cookie came from the name of a Philadelphia cook named Ann Page, who carved her initials in the top of the sweet.
Others say that because the cookies were a form of Anis Platchn (anise cookies), they were stamped with A.P. to distinguish them from caraway, or seed cake, cookies. Either way, A.P. cookies were especially pitched at children by bakers like Ann Page, and the stamp became associated with her name.
Hershey's Chocolate
Throughout the history of American sweets, Hershey has been a household name identified with delicious chocolate products, which have gained both national and worldwide accolade. Company founder Milton S. Hershey began his sweet endeavors as an apprentice with a Lancaster candy maker. He established his own, first candy-making business in Philadelphia, but that enterprise failed, along with his next two attempts in New York and Chicago.
In 1883, Hershey returned to Lancaster and established the Lancaster Caramel Company, which was an almost instant success. His love for chocolate began when he visited the German chocolate-making exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. After purchasing the necessary chocolate-making machinery, he sold his Lancaster Caramel Company for one million dollars, and began exclusively focusing on his chocolate business. Hershey was determined to come up with a recipe for milk chocolate, a luxury product at the time, that he could market to the American people. He completed construction of the world's largest chocolate manufacturing plant in 1905, and Hershey's milk chocolate soon became the first nationally marketed product of its kind.
A philanthropist, Hershey built a model town and community for his factory workers, which included houses, public transportation, quality public schools, and even an amusement park. Today the town of Hershey, Pennsylvania still thrives from the legacy of Milton Hershey. The Hersheypark amusement park is celebrating over 100 years of entertainment and fun, and a number of fine Hershey resorts offer vacation accommodations close to all the action.
Philly Cheese Steak
Perhaps one of the most well-known specialties of Pennsylvania is the Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich. Though there is some controversy over exactly where the sandwich originated, most agree that it was at Pat's King of Steaks in the Italian immigrant section of South Philadelphia in 1930. Served on crisp Italian-style bread, the sandwich is made from thin shavings of beef topped with cheese, traditionally provolone or mozzarella, plus sauteed onions and sometimes other veggies like green peppers and mushrooms. These sandwiches can be enjoyed at local delis, sandwich shops, and street vendors almost anywhere in the city of Philadelphia.
Other Pennsylvanian Fare
City chicken, also known as mock chicken, doesn't call for chicken at all. The western Pennsylvanian dish is made from pork and veal cubes on a skewer, dipped in eggs, and then rolled in bread crumbs and sauteed. First accounts of the recipe date back to 1936.
Another state specialty is Lebanon bologna, a semi-dry sausage similar in appearance to salami. Made from salted beef, its curing process and 10 day aging period imparts it with a very distinctive, smoky taste. Most likely named for the Lebanon Valley, this luncheon meat is widely available in south-central Pennsylvania.
Along with the aforementioned regional fare, vacationers will find that Pennsylvania offers a wide selection of dining options throughout the commonwealth. The culinary options available during your stay are virtually unlimited, so you can make dining an delicious and exciting part of your getaway.
