Overview of SC & Southern Foods

Come learn about the traditional cuisines and foods of the American South, especially here in South Carolina.

• Digital Traditions - Foodways
  Meet South Carolinians who are cooking, bottling, barbequing, and making hash.
• Famous Flavors of South Carolina
  Learn to make authentic South Carolina specialties such as she-crab soup, sweet potato pie, and collard greens.
• Southern Food Primer
  Read this informative article on what make a food “southern.”
• Carolina Fish Camps: Good Food at Good Prices
  Have you ever been to a traditional Carolina fish camp restaurant?

South Carolina Food Heritage

• Cherokee Foodways in SC
  What did the Cherokee Indians eat here in South Carolina before the Europeans arrived?
• Rice History
  Rice has been grown in South Carolina since 1685 and was once a major industry.
• Soul Food
  Soul food is African-American cooking that originated in the rural South, often including collard greens, chitterlings, grits, and other local foods.

Specific Foods

Have you tried any of these South Carolina food specialties?

• Hoppin’ John
  Read the history of this southern dish made with peas and rice, traditionally served on New Year’s Day.
• Clemson University Blue Cheese
• Clemson University makes its blue cheese in a tunnel in the mountains.
  High on the Hog
  Learn about barbequing traditions throughout the state.
• South Carolina Hash: By the Light of the Moon
  Read about this typically South Carolina stew, made with meat and vegetables.

Barbecue Map

South Carolina Barbecue Map. Image from South Carolina: The Making of a Landscape by Charles F. Kovacik and John J. Winberry.

This map of South Carolina barbecue regions has been hotly contested since it was published in 1989 in a book on South Carolina geography. What kinds of barbecue do you and your neighbors enjoy?

• Watch a video about BBQ in South Carolina!