Which NC products made Southern Living’s Food Hall of Fame? Here’s the list
North Carolina has long been home to some iconic foods, and now six homegrown favorites are getting their moment in the spotlight.
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In its Food Hall of Fame voted on by readers, Southern Living recognized 28 products that have earned a permanent place in Southern kitchens, including must-haves from cherry soda to peanut butter crackers.
Here are the North Carolina products that made the list:
Raleigh real estate appraiser Phil Ford created Bone Suckin’ Sauce while trying to recreate his mother’s western North Carolina barbecue sauce recipe. The result was a blend of tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, honey, molasses, mustard, horseradish, lemon juice, onions, garlic, peppers, hickory smoke, spices and salt.
The sauce lineup, now sold nationwide, also includes Bone Suckin’ Mustard, which Forbes called “Intriguingly lively and sweet on entry” and said it “finishes with a crisp, fresh kick from chopped jalapenos that prime you for the next bite.”
Before Cherry Coke or Pepsi Wild Cherry came along, there was Cheerwine. Born in Salisbury, the cherry-flavored soft drink has been quenching thirst since 1917, with its name combining the “cheer” it brings and the deep red “wine” color that inspired it.
The soda has inspired a few North Carolina collaborations over the years, including Cook Out’s popular Cheerwine Float and NoDa Brewing’s Cheerwine Ale.
Lance got its start by roasting and selling surplus peanuts, but its most famous snack came later. The Charlotte-based company’s classic peanut butter crackers were born when founder Philip L. Lance’s wife and daughters sandwiched peanut butter between two crackers, creating an after-school favorite that’s still going strong today. (Does anyone else remember the “I got Lance in my pants” radio jingle from the early 2000s?)
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Mrs. Campbell’s Chow Chow, a tangy Southern relish founded in Winston-Salem, became a household favorite after Tony Golding purchased the brand in 1972. What began with Golding personally delivering jars in his pickup eventually grew into a product now found on grocery store shelves throughout the South.
What started as a way to use up an overabundance of cucumbers has grown into the nation’s largest privately held pickle company. Founded in the 1920s by Shikrey Baddour and George Moore, Mt. Olive Pickles has become a favorite on sandwiches, burgers and cookout plates across the country.
The brand even throws one of North Carolina’s quirkiest New Year’s Eve celebrations each year, when a three-and-a-half-foot pickle drops at the company’s pickle plant at the corner of Cucumber and Vine streets in Mount Olive to ring in the new year.
Despite the Lone Star-inspired name, Texas Pete has always called North Carolina home. Founded in Winston-Salem, the simple blend of green tabasco peppers, vinegar and salt has become a Southern staple, especially for adding a kick to a pot of collard greens.
According to historians, the name “Texas Pete” was chosen to evoke the bold, spicy spirit of Southwestern cooking, with “Pete” coming from a family nickname.
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