Traditional California State Foods
California's lovely San Fransico was once a small town village named Yerba Buena, which translates "good herb," and was named for a local plant with a mint-like flavor. Due to the convergence of Anglo-American, Spanish, Chinese, & Mexican cultures in California ; the choices a foodie has is amazing. One can choose foods that are locally grown, have a historical background like the Gold Rush Era of the 49er's or the California Mission Foods. or even partake of trendy foods from famous restaurant fare like the illustrious Brown Derby, Trader Vic's, or Chez Panisse or famous food companies like Del Monte or Chicken of the Sea.
Official State Foods
California State has only one "official" state food. State symbols are voted on/approved by the state's lawmakers in Sacramento.
- State Fish: The Golden Trout
- Agriculture -- Raisins, Dates, Grapes, & Oranges
- Fishing Industry-- California is one of the top 5 seafood producing states with over 300 species of fish & is on the cutting edge
California Halibut, California Spiny Lobster, Dungeness Crab, Groundfish/rockfish (commonly called Pacific red snapper), Mackeral, Pacific Ocean (pink) Shrimp & prawns, Sablefish (also called black cod), Sardines, Shark, Soles and Sandabs, Squd, Swordfish, Tunas, & White Sea Bass
•California also has several popular foods associated with the state. Some of the most famous are:
- Abalone Steak
- Artichokes
- Burritos
- Chop Suey
- Cobb Salad
- Cream of Artichoke Soup
- Dungeness Crab
- Figs
- Fried Calamari
- Garlic
- Monte Cristo Sandwich
- Pistachios
- Salsa
- Smoothies
- Walnuts
Spanish Introduced Foods: 
Almonds, Apples, Apricots, Bananas, Barley, Beans, Cherries, Chickpeas, Chilies, Citrons, Dates, Figs, Grapes, Lemons, Lentils, Limes, Maize, Olives, Nectarines, Oranges, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Pomegranates, Quinces, Tomatos, Walnuts, & Wheat
Lesser known foods
- Atole & Pazole
- Boboa Tea (a/k/a Bubble Tea)
- Cioppino
- Chinese Chicken Salad
- Coulotte Steaks - Top sirloin cap steaks, versatile and flavorful, well suited for grilling and pan frying. The top sirloin cap steak is lean and tender; and can be served as is or cut for kabobs, stews or stir-fry dishes.
- Fish Tacos
- Frozen Yogurt
- Fruit Gelato
- Pinquito Beans
- Santa Maria Style BBQ
- Sourdough Bread was a staple of the California 49'ers
(If anyone knows of a regional food for this state that I have missed please let me know chstress1@verizon.net)
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Comments: 19
Thanks!
Nice article. I can tell you are proud of your state. : )
VAl, Thank but I have never visited Ca now is it my homw state, I love food & history thoguh and I am undertaking writing a series of these articles, in fact I have already published several to gather , if you are interested please take a look at another one.
Traditional Delaware State Foods
This is making me hungry.
Abalone is definitely an acquired taste.. I have had it once.. and didn't care for it much myself... I suppose that if it were prepared in a different way I may have enjoyed it more.
MMMMM I love Monte Cristo Sandwiches.
Not a fan of fish tacos. Just don't seem right to me.
I always wanted to visit California
I'm flying to California tomorrow! I should bring home some nice fresh avocados~
We are lucky in Ca with all our choices year around. We live on a small city lot and still am able to grow lemons, oranges, persimmons, apricots and even have avocados. We also have a garden year around.
I might add garlic (big in the Gilroy area), olives (California produces over 95% of the olives grown in the US), and the great sourdough bread.
I LOVE that you included Santa Maria BBQ. We live just about a half hour from Santa Maria, so we are into it. The seasoning is the key.
I will have to add garlic and olives thanks
No, thank you for reminding of all of the great things we have in California!
Excellent article April. I dont know if I could dig fish tacos but I wouldnt mind trying a few other foods mentioned above and i would love to go to Trader Vics! And of course having some of that famous sourdough bread would so totally rock!! You earned my 10 on this one. Thanks for the new trivia for my brain..lol
Very informative article
I always thought green salads and sprouts were CA food!
I'll have to do some research on this and add it to my piece.
Thank you for the referral, April, but for a more current portrait of the state of grapes growing in California, and their progress this season, you'll find it here:
Oh, I WILL Have Grapes!
Thanks, I do not know how I missed this one, I will work on changing my referral link tonight so it is more current. I am doing this to make my content more reader friendly and relavant to a broad group of gatehrs, and one way to do that is to highlight great content of other members if it at all related to what you yourself are submitting. It is part of my overall plan to become a more valued member of gather.
I know just what you mean, April.