The Heartiness of Indiana Cuisine

Mid western cooking,namely the cooking from Indiana, is one of the most heartiest and most interesting of American cuisine.This is what's called down home cooking, with plates laden with good old fashioned foods.They are hearty and served all year round ,whether they're for Christmas or a summer picnic.They reflect the different groups that settled in the area. The German population in this state was vast.There are even towns where only a 19th Century German dialect is spoken.One of the state's favorites is a pork tenderloin sandwich.This is a variation of weiner schnitzel, deep fried till crispy and then put on a roll.Another sandwich popular around the Southern city of Evansville is pulled pork or as it's locally called a soak. This is a heavenly mixture of shredded pork mixed with a sweet barbecue sauce served on a roll.The lower half of it is saturated hence the name.It is messy ,fun and beyond delicious.Soaks are always served with Coke, hence the famed dish Coke and a soak.Burgos, is another popular Southern Indiana dish.It originates from across the Ohio River, from Kentucky and is a variation of Brunswick stew.This was a pioneer dish and first had any kind of wild game added to it.Early recipes called for possum and skunk and they are used, even today. However restaurants and stands use everything from fowl to beef to pork.Some recipes call for all of these so you get a mélange of flavors.Burgoo needs to be cooked anywhere from four to six hours and should be cooked out doors.Corn bread or corn muffins usually accompany bowls of it to sop up the gravy.The drink of choice is a neat bourbon. Desserts figure hugely too in any Indiana meal.One of the most famous is the cream sugar pie, a variation of the French version.The filling is a flour based filling ,redolent with cream and butter.Maple syrup and /or brown sugar can also be added .Sometimes nutmeg or cinnamon is added instead for a different, more holiday version.Cobbler is another popular Hoosier dessert, thanks to the abundance of peach trees.This is an easy to make dessert, especially if home chefs use Bisquick.It's baked batter and sugar spoon dropped on top.Straight from the oven baked cobbler is wonderful with freshly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream. There's also the different but flavorful soda cracker fudge, a yummy mix of peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff cooked with soda crackers ,milk and butter.The result is a sweet and salty after dinner snack.Another treat is persimmon pudding .This is similar to the English plum pudding, and cooked like it, with it steaming in a hot water bath.Persimmon pudding can be served with apple sauce, creme anglais or just simple ice cream or brandy butter. Midwestern cooking is a mélange of European recipes and American creativity.Thecdishes are interesting with unique. Ingredients such as soda crackers in fudge or bourbon in burgoo.It's tasty and different , but most of all from the heart and truly filling.