MARYLAND — From classic comfort foods to cultural fare handed down over generations, Christmas meals on Maryland dinner tables tend to showcase a variety of robust flavors. According to a new survey, however, it’s these two dishes that are most craved by Marylanders during the holiday season.
Writers at New Jersey-based cabinetmaker Fabuwood recently surveyed 3,000 people to discover the 100 most popular regional Christmas dishes in every state. What it found was the days of sticking to the traditional turkey or ham dinner are long gone.
The most dreamed-about holiday meals in Maryland were crab cakes and sweet potato pie.
While Marylanders may have tried-and-true recipes on hand, here are a few for anyone who may be cooking these dishes for the first time this Christmas:
Ham is the way to go at Christmas in many regions, claiming three of the top 10 spots.
The top 10 regional favorites are, according to the survey:
New York’s cheesecake Idaho’s prime rib Texas’ Texas-style barbecue brisket Kentucky’s bourbon-glazed ham Vermont’s maple-glazed ham Washington’s apple pie Virginia’s southern baked macaroni and cheese Alaska’s snow-crab legs Wisconsin’s honey-glazed ham Nevada’s bone-in rib-eye steak
Here are some other interesting findings on what holiday dishes please Americans’ palates according to where they live:
Southern states dominate the dessert category, with specialties like Mississippi’s mud pie and Alabama’s red velvet cake.Coastal states prefer seafood as the main start of the meal.The Midwest embraces its immigrant heritage with dishes like West Virginia’s pierogies and Wisconsin’s Swedish meatballs.Western states showcase local ingredients (like bison.)
See the full survey online.