Google: the most searched-for recipes in every state

[Jenise]

Over the last year. Some make sense--Louisiana? Gumbo, natch. But why Teriyaki sauce in Oregon? And my state--pork chops? New York--chicken cutlets? Jeff, what the heck is going on over there?

Alabama: Broccoli salad
Alaska: Halibut
Arizona: Spanish rice
Arkansas: Potato soup
California: Quinoa
Colorado: Spaghetti squash
Connecticut: Quiche
Delaware: Baked salmon
District of Columbia: Crab cake
Florida: Ceviche
Georgia: Squash casserole
Hawaii: Shoyu chicken
Idaho: Crepe recipe
Illinois: Italian beef
Indiana: Buckeye recipe
Iowa: Hamburger
Kansas: Meatball recipe
Kentucky: Vegetable soup
Louisiana: Gumbo
Maine: Apple pie
Maryland: Crab dip
Massachusetts: Haddock
Michigan: Goulash
Minnesota: Sloppy joe
Mississippi: Taco soup
Missouri: Hamburger
Montana: Chili
Nebraska: Taco seasoning
Nevada: Chicken adobo
New Hampshire: Apple crisps
New Jersey: Flounder
New Mexico: Pozole
New York: Chicken cutlet
North Carolina: Snow cream
North Dakota: Hamburger
Ohio: Sausage gravy
Oklahoma: Hamburger meat
Oregon: Teriyaki sauce
Pennsylvania: Asparagus
Rhode Island: Chicken parm
South Carolina: Chicken bog
South Dakota: Hamburger
Tennessee: Hashbrown casserole
Texas: Tortilla soup
Utah: Zucchini bread
Vermont: Waffle
Virginia: Salmon cake
Washington: Pork chop
West Virginia: Meatloaf
Wisconsin: Meatloaf
Wyoming: Banana bread
Puerto Rico: Receta de tembleque
Guam: Fried chicken
Northern Mariana Islands: Orange chicken
U.S. Virgin Islands: Johnny cake
American Samoa: Pizza dough

Jenise, that is both fascinating and weird! Most of them make sense, eg quinoa for Ca well it is a fashionable ‘super food’, ceviche is a natural fit for Florida

But... snow cream? Squash casserole? Chicken bog?

I do like this sort off random trivia.

Maybe it is connected to tourists and immigrants: a chicken cutlet can be used in a wide variety of dishes... schnitzel, satsivi, milanese, shashlik, fried chicken....

Quinoa. Sheesh. It figures, I guess.

Indiana's pretty weird - what would anyone want out of a "buckeye recipe? And are the folks in Mississippi just figuring that anything Mexican involves tacos, so it must be taco soup rather than tortilla soup? (I suppose a "taco soup" probably exists but you'd never know that from every Mexican food place I've ever been to.)

[Jenise]

Mike, I googled Tennesses's "hashbrown casserole". Best I can tell, the Cracker Barrel restaurant chain which are everywhere down there serve a very popular potato dish made with frozen hash browns and sour cream, and a copycat recipe spread like wildfire recently. A similar scenario might explain other surges in popularity like the Taco Soup.

This was interesting, but seemed impossible to me. And it was.
I had trouble believing any state's most searched recipe was buckeyes (some kind of chocolate peanut butter balls), ceviche, spaghetti squash, etc. Even in CA quinoa couldn't be #1. But what really convinced me was snow cream in NC. I grew up in NC. And as a child I've had southern snow cream (on the RARE occasions there's real snowfall, folks mix fresh snow with condensed milk, vsnilla, and/or chocolate syrup- no one bothers in places where snow is more common). It's a useless recipe 362+ days a year, so a flatout impossibility.
Couldn't find any actual report from Google, just newspaper articles.
So I went to Google trends. I did a few searches, and for instance snow cream is a rarely searched term, that had a HUGE spike in what looks like early Jan 2018. NC ranked 100 (top possiblility) - in the spike. Where areas like Wilmington which almost never get snow got several inches. But those spikes are not "most searched" but biggest spikes. Jenise accurately reported what multiple outlets said, it's just poor reporting.
My guess is that all of these represent the state where there was the biggest spike in searches, probably based on news stories

to add, just searched snow cream
lo and behold, an article in the Raleigh News and Observer in Jan
https://www.newsobserver.com/living/foo ... 19534.html

[Jenise]

Dale, thanks for the research. Who'd have guessed?

"To make snow cream, find a patch of snow you know to be undisturbed: the tops of cars, a pristine patch of the yard with several inches of snow on top of the grass. We don’t need to remind anyone about eating snow that’s any other color than white, but also look out for tracks. Squirrels are famous for their indiscretion."

Well, I wondered what snow cream was when I read the list. I can see the novelty value - at least, in terms of looking up how you make it. Eating it, less so. But hey, snow isn't something I know much about.

Thanks Dale. I've been in NC for 5 years and never heard of snow cream!