"When I bite into a juicy cob of sweet
corn grown on my parents' farm
in West Central, Minnesota, I taste
America. The corn is home-grown
and home-cooked by a farmer who
provides food to our country."
This quote is from a respondent who was asked if the United States of America has its own unique cuisine. It was published in a white paper by The James Beard Foundation titled, The State of American Cuisine. The paper inspired me to think more locally, and about our cuisine here in Minnesota.
Several regions around the United States are indelibly linked to a cuisine. The Mississippi Delta has Creole and Cajun food, The Carolinas, Texas, and Kansas City boast a unique style of barbecue, mention sea food and many reflexively think of New England. But what about Minnesota? What comes to mind when one thinks of Minnesota food?
Minnesota is fortunate to have some of the most fertile land on the planet, which certainly influences our cuisine. Minnesota is also home to several unique ethnic groups. Northern Europeans brought food traditions with them as they settled the state generations ago. More recently, Minnesota has become home to immigrants from South East Asia, East Africa, and Mexico. All of these cultures bring with them a unique food tradition influenced by religion and culture. With so many varying influences, can we truly say that Minnesota has a unique cuisine?
Answering that question depends a great deal on how one is influenced by some of the factors mentioned above. Personally, as someone who grew up in Southern Minnesota bean walking, corn-detasseling, and working the pea hoppers at the Green Giant plant in Le Sueur summer after summer, I'd have to say that the respondent above nailed it. Corn on the Cob, when the kernels pop as you take a bite and the juice hits the person across the table from you is an essential Minnesota eating experience. Steamed in the husk and dipped in butter, grilled, or boiled, corn on the cob is Minnesota food. Simple? Maybe. Delicious? You Betchya!
A good dish needs not be composed of complex techniques and cooking methods. Sometimes good cooking is using what is already good and practicing a little restraint to allow that inherent goodness to shine.
The arrival of corn on the cob at supermarkets and farmers' markets is an unmistakable reminder that we live in a state that produces great food from the good Earth. Corn on the cob has no labels and no nutrition information smacked on the side. When we see it we buy it and we eat it until there is no more. It's that simple.
The window of time is brief when good corn on the cob is available here in Minnesota. Try buying some from that guy parked in a school parking lot selling it out of the back of his 1987 Ford F-150, and thank him for helping sustain a part of Minnesota's unique cuisine.
What is Minnesota cuisine for you? Leave a comment and share your thoughts.
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