Top Tastes Worth RVing to Pennsylvania for ~ Part Two

Top Tastes of Pennsylvania Part Two

Here is Part Two as we continue our tasty tour of Pennsylvania and take a look at more foods that have their start or significant history in Pennsylvania. If you haven't checked to out, start with Part One. We'd love to hear about your favorites, or maybe a taste we forgot to add - or we have not had yet. Let us know in the comments section at the end of this post. If you've already read Part One, let's continue our foodie tour of Pennsylvania.

Hoagie 

Primo Italian Hoagie

The term "hoagie" originated in the Philadelphia area. In 1953 the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin reported that Italians immigrants working at the World War I era shipyard in Philadelphia,called Hog Island, introduced the sandwich.  By putting various meats, cheeses, and lettuce between two slices of bread. this meal became known as the "Hog Island" sandwich; which shortened to "Hoggies", then finally to the sandwich we love - "hoagie".
Hoagies consist of a long crust roll, filled with cold cuts, and cheese, topped with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, oregano, salt, and pepper. Depending on preference they also include a dressing of oil, vinegar, or mayo. The individuality of the sandwich comes from the variety of meats, cheeses and condiments used. No two hoagie shops make them the same. And each hoagie is a personal foodie work of art. The favorite places to order a hoagie for the RoadAbode Crew are:
Wawa - a chain of regional convenience stores that makes a good, quick hoagie. They use touch screens during the order process so you can personalize exactly what meats, cheeses and toppings are on your sandwich.
Primo Hoagie - this sandwich shop with multiple locations uses a delicious sesame seeded roll.
Lee's Hoagie House - Another local chain that features a unique hot pepper spread.
Many people forgo the chains and prefer the personality and nuances of their neighborhood mom and pop sandwich shops.
Check this comprehensive list of hoagie shops in the Philadelphia region.

Hershey Chocolate

Hershey bar by The Hershey Company

It's true, you don't have to go to Pennsylvania to get the milk chocolate goodness of this candy maker known around the world. But something special can happen if you point your RV toward Hershey Pennsylvania and stay a few days in the town where it all began. The story of "Chocolate town, USA"  has it's beginning in the humble man that the town and company are named for. Milton Hershey's legacy needs to be experienced to truly understand what he did for this Pennsylvania region as the "King of Chocolate". Besides candy, why not try a Chocolate Martini? How about experiment in the Chocolate Lab and make some of your own chocolate masterpieces? Or, you can quite literally be immersed in chocolate at the Spa in Hershey PA. We've been asked to be a guest blogger for the near future on an RV industry blog with tips about RVing to Hershey - we'll let you know when that's posted! Till that happens, to learn more about Hershey, check into The Sweetest Place on Earth. 

Pepper Pot Soup

Campbell’s Can 1962, Warhol

From its fabled roots in the American Revolution, the Pennsylvania pepper pot is not as well know but still is a long-standing tradition in the region. The main ingredient is beef tripe, which is the inner lining of the stomach chambers of a cow. Originally made by farmers frugal "waste not, want not" mentality, this beef tripe and vegetable stew is flavored with root vegetables and a lot of pepper. Often it has a tomato base to the broth. Farmers sold the pepper pots to the Revolutionary War soldiers from street carts as a way to make some extra money. Philadelphia Pepper Pot soup was served and enjoyed by President Kennedy when he attended the Army Navy Game in 1961. It's popularity soared and was made into a canned soup by the Campbell Soup Company. Andy Warhol lampooned the canned soup in his piece Small Torn Campbell’s Soup Can (Pepper Pot).

Tastykake

Growing up in grade school in Philadelphia, we'd hum the jingle "Nobody bakes a cake as tasty as a Tastykake" because we heard it so many times during our favorite Saturday morning cartoons. Established in 1914 by Philip J. Baur and Herbert T. Morris and originally selling its goods only in the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the company now distributes its products up and down the East Coast, south to Florida, and is expanding it's cakey goodness across the United States.
Tasty Baking Company may be a baker of mass produced goods created in a factory, but they are still delicious.  For over 100 years they have provided some unique dessert items that both kids and adults love. Butterscotch Krimpets are white cake with a thick layer of butterscotch icing. Tandykakes had the tri-force flavors of chocolate, peanut-butter and firm buttery cake. Coffecake had a crumbly topping. Jelly Krimpets and filled cupcakes had sugary fillings injected into their middles. Mini single-serving pies (Which they make over 250,000 daily) are one of my favorites. Besides these staples, Tastykake also creates seasonal goods, and family packs of donuts and other goodies.
Check out www.tastykake.com for more information.

Water Ice

"Wooder Ice" in Philadelphian parlance is a flavorful concoction of various flavored ice and sugar. It is made similarly to how ice cream is made by freezing the ingredients as they are being mixed. It's consistency is of fine ice crystals rather than the larger rough crystals of a of a slush puppie or slurpee. The consistency is also different than shaved ice or a snow cone. Traditional Water Ice has fruit flavors, with a few  places that will have root beer, chocolate, or bubble gum in their taste repertoire.
One company is the "big name" in water ice and has changed the idea of a neighborhood water ice stand forever, giving customers a whole new experience. Former Philadelphia firefighter Bob Tumolo founded Rita's Water Ice in 1984. Tumolo purchased the initial recipe from an elderly neighbor, and started experimenting and enhancing the recipe with different flavors, and real fruit.The success of the business allowed Tumolo to open another location within three years, and soon after he and his family decided to franchise the company. Rita's Water ice now includes partnerships with candy makers that allow new flavors like Swedish fish or sour patch kids. Local franchisees continue to support local non-profit organizations and charities by working with the organizations and having a special day or time frame they donate a percentage of the sales.
Click here for for information and locations of Rita's Water Ice
For one of the neighborhood places to get "wooder ice", check this comprehensive list of Philly favorites.

 Happy RVing! Be sure to check part one for more of our favorite foods of Pennsylvania. Did we miss your favorite Pennsylvania foods, flavors, or place to grab a bite? Have tips to share? The RoadAbode Crew would love to hear your best spots for good food in the State. Here are some recent RoadAbode Posts about Pennsylvania

Top Tastes Worth RVing to Pennsylvania for ~ Part One

Top Tastes of Pennsylvania Part One

Pennsylvania’s long history has allowed for the formation of many local traditions. The word Pennsylvania translates to mean "Penn's Woods". We have Quaker William Penn to thank for the naming of the state. He received what was then a proprietary colony (meaning the King had the right to divide land) way back in 1681.
The first paragraph in Penn's charter or the land states "The country itself in its soil, air, water, seasons, and produce, both natural and artificial, is not to be despised. The land contains divers ('Divers' is the Old English spelling for 'diverse' meaning many and varied places, or a lot of different places) sorts of earth, as sand, yellow and black, poor and rich; also gravel, both loamy and dusty; and in some places a fast fat earth."
I wonder if Penn's vision of this divers place, could have foretold the many immigrants from varying cultures that settled in Pennsylvania. German, Italian, English, Irish Dutch, Polish and more have contributed to the popular foods that have become the regions traditional favorites. Here is part one of the RoadAbode Crew's Top Pennsylvania Foods ~ and a little bit about some of these delicious edibles interesting backgrounds.

Soft and Hard Pretzels 

Soft Pretzels from the Philly Pretzel Factory ~ Philadelphia, PA

The first pretzels, according to lore were created in Europe as a reward for children learning Bible verses by either French, Italian, or German monks. These hand twisted doughy treats were said to resemble children praying with their hands folded over their chest. The Pennsylvania tradition of pretzels started in the late 18th century, when southern German immigrants introduced the pretzel to the region. The immigrants became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch or Amish, and in time, many handmade pretzel bakeries populated the central Pennsylvania countryside, and the pretzel's popularity spread. There are two basic types of pretzels found in Pennsylvania  - hard and soft.
The story of hard pretzels states they were accidentally invented in the late 1600s. An inattentive apprentice in a Pennsylvania bakery accidentally over-baked his pretzels, creating crunchy, seemingly inedible, knots. His job was spared when the master baker, took an angry bite out of one ~ and loved it. Pennsylvania took the lead of pretzel baking when Julius Sturgis, a baker, fed a homeless man looking for a meal and a job. Sturgis had no job to offer, but did invite the man to stay for dinner. As a thank you from the down-on-his-luck job seeker, he gave Sturgis a pretzel recipe after the meal. By 1861 the recipe had proven to be so popular that Julius changed over his bakery to just making pretzels. This was the start of the first commercial pretzel business in the United States. Today, 80% of America’s twisty treats are still produced inside the Keystone State.
Philadelphia traditional soft pretzels are distinguished  by their shape, a long figure-8, not looped with a thick center and thinner ends like their Lancastor County counterparts. They also have a softer, chewy texture. Soft pretzels can be bought lightly salted, or, on request, as “baldies" - meaning no salt. For many years pretzels were bought mostly from street-side vendors or corner newsstands. I can still remember in the 1970s as a boy buying pretzels from "Pretzel Pete", an immigrant pretzel vendor of indeterminate ethnic origin. Four for a dollar (or five if Pete like you) for a salty doughy treat after school, that would keep you and three friends going until dinnertime. Though they are still sold by street corner vendors, Philadelphia pretzels are  also sold from storefronts, convenience stores, and even specialty soft pretzel "botique" shops.
The term Pretzelphyte is the name for a lover of pretzels. If you are one, or just want more info on these tasty baked morsels, check these links:
http://www.juliussturgis.com - Legend places this as where it started in Lititz, Pennsylvania. Cool Tour!
http://www.intercoursepretzelfactory.com - The Soft Pretzel,  Lancaster Style
http://www.snydersofhanover.com/about-us/bakery-tour-info.html Tour of a mechanized Hard Pretzel Bakery
http://phillypretzelfactory.com/about/factory-facts - Can see soft pretzels hand-made in each store location

Cheesesteak

Philadelphia Cheesesteak

 According to a 1987 exhibition catalog published by the Library Company of Philadelphia, the cheesesteak was created in the early 20th century "by combining frizzled beef, onions, and cheese in a small loaf of bread," These days these deliciously messy sandwiches include thinly sliced sautéed ribeye beef and a variety of melted cheese choices. According to legend, in 1930  Pat Olivieri, a South Philadelphia hot dog vendor, one day decided to put some beef from the butcher on his grill for his lunchtime sandwich. A passing taxicab driver noticed the alluring aroma and asked what Olivieri was making, and could he make a sandwich for the driver too. As the story goes, within a day rumor of the delicious lunch had spread, and cabbies around the city came to Olivieri demanding steak sandwiches.
Often imitated but not duplicated by the major food chains, this sandwich is unique to the mom and pop shops in the Philadelphia region. Check this link by "Visit Philly" to see a list of the best places to get a cheeseteak. The RoadAbode Crew and Jimmy Fallon of the Tonight Show are partial to #8 . Personally, I love them with hot peppers, provolone, fried onions, and mushrooms. No "Cheeze Whiz" for me, thanks.

Scrapple

Scrapple is made from pork. To put it delicately, parts of the pig (like head, heart, liver, and other trimmings) that would otherwise go unused. It's tradition comes from Amish farming families wanting nothing to go to waste.The meat is cooked (sometimes the whole hog head is cooked), then finely minced. The meat is returned to the pot and seasonings, typically sage, thyme, savory, black pepper, and others are added. The mush that is created is formed into loaves and allowed to cool thoroughly until set.The meat is formed in a similar way to meatloaf, then cut into slices and fried. This dish is a specialtiy to the Philadelphia and Lancaster County region, and is not found readily nationwide. Scrapple is often eaten for breakfast, sometimes as a sandwich or with eggs. Stop in a local Pennsylvania diner or breakfast restaurant, and you will find scrapple.

Plate of Scrapple

Shoo-fly pie

Most of the Lancaster area restaurants and bakeries sell this popular dessert. A treat originating from Pennsylvania Dutch households, the pie is so named because the sweet molasses which could pool as the pie was left to cool, attracted flies that must be "shooed" away.
The shoo-fly pie's origins may come from the  treacle tart (coincidentally Harry Potter's favorite dessert) with the primary difference being the use of molasses than treacle. The crust is dry topped with a sugar, flour, and butter crumble, while the bottom of the pie can be thick with molasses or just barely visible and is referred to as either "wet bottom" or a "dry bottom." pie. Check in here for where the RoadAbode Crew likes to grab a slice, or a whole pie!

Wet Bottom Shoo-fly Pie

Lebanon bologna

 Lebanon Bologna appears like a darker version of salami, with a unique tangy flavor. This flavorful meat's seasoning  process includes being slow cold smoked at a temperature below 120 °F (49 °C). The adding of curing salts to control microbial growth during processing was developed in the 19th century by the Pennsylvania Dutch of Lebanon County, Pennsylvania.

Seltzer's Lebanon Bologna

This Pennsylvania favorite reflects the slow-cured and smoked sausage traditions brought from northern Europe. There are several versions available like original, sweet, honey smoked, or double smoked, and quite often is served as sliced lunch meat. Lebanon bologna also is a great appetizer, cubed or thickly sliced with seasoned crackers and artisan cheeses. Check out Seltzer's Lebanon Bologna who have been doing it right for over 110 years.

What's your Favorite Taste of Pennsylvania?

While writing and researching the history of these foods, I was reminded how thankful I am to have been raised in Philadelphia, and how much I love the special tastes unique to this region of the United States.The foods in this two part article are some of my "comfort foods" - foods that remind me of home and just have a special place in my heart. I don't eat as many Cheesesteaks as I use to, but still do have a hoagie  and soft pretzels every few weeks. What foods remind you of home, or are your "go to" comfort foods? We'd love to hear! Happy RVing! Be sure to check part two for more of our favorite foods of Pennsylvania.  Is you mouth watering yet?