Traditional Michigan State Foods

Michigan is a great area with the freshest variety of delicious , desserts, & specialty foods.  Its history is full of interesting and delicious foods.

There is nothing that all Michiganders eat in common and that only they eat. Rather, Michigan foods are those of the many communities -- ethnic, occupational , local -- that constitute Michigan. What's more, state boundaries never conform to cultural boundaries. People don't stop eating Upper Peninsula pasties at the Wisconsin border. And, no matter how closely we may associate the pasty with the U.P., it is really a part of the subculture of the mining region that extends into parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

• Mint (use the flavoring to make chocolate mint cookies)
• Cherries Cherry pie/tarts/muffins
  --- Cherry pie/tarts/muffins
• UP Pasties (small, portable pies filled with meat and vegetables)
  ---pastries were introduced by the Welsh who settled in the upper regions to mine the copper.
• Michigan mint (peppermint) is world famous.
• Cold Breakfast Cereals
• Rice Krispies treats
  --- Snap, Crackle & Pop were "born" in Battle Creek, courtesy of Kellogg's.
• Fudge
  ---Mackinac Island is world famous for its delicious fudge.
• Koegel Meats
•  Michigan Corndogs
• Detroit Coneys
• Dearborn Sausage
• Buffalo Burgers
• Pasty ( A Michigan Staple.  Copper mine workers came mainly from Cornwall, Ireland, Canada, Finland, and eastern Europe. The mining families from Cornwall brought their Cornish pasties with them. This meat-and-vegetable combination encased in a pastry could easily be reheated in very cold weather on a "Cornish stove"--a shovel held over a candle down the mine.)
• Fago Feigenson Brother's Bottling Co. in Detroit. Coining the word "pop" ( My own favorite is the venerable RedPop, which was originally Strawberry Soda, renamed as RedPop in the 1960s.)
• Verner's Ginger Ale (Before the Civil War began, James Vernor, a Detroit pharmacist, had concocted a new drink. It was a mix of 19 ingredients, including ginger, vanilla and natural flavorings.)
• 15 Million Spice (blend of Kosher salt, granulated onion, granulated garlic ground celery seed and black pepper)
• Michigan Beans (Michigan leads the nation in the production of dry edible navy beans, black beans, and cranberry beans)