During the Antiques Roadshow stop in Raleigh last June, an unidentified Eastern North Carolinian made big headlines when it was discovered that she was the owner of the highest appraised antique ever found on the show. Show publicist Erika Denn said the collection of Chinese jade from the period of 1736 to 1795 was valued at $710,000 to $1.07 million. That breaks the previous record of $500,000 set last year in Palm Springs, Calif., for a painting by abstract expressionist Clyfford Still.

The precious family heirloom that’s been passed down, or the one-of-a-kind collector’s item picked up on a family road trip might not be worth millions, but all collectors will verify that everything has a story behind it.

Cumberland County Farm Bureau member Andrew Gillis and his family have been collecting antiques as a way to preserve their family’s history and use it to educate others about what life was like in earlier days. The Gillis Hill Farm has been in the Gillis family since the 1700s. Through the process of restoring some of the original buildings, the Gillis family thought that others, particularly local school children, might be able to learn something from their family history, and they decided to open the farm to the public.

“We wanted to share our history with everyone around us,” Gillis says.

The family offers tours from April to November for schools and groups that are interested in learning more about farming.

“The tours are not just about the farm animals,” Gillis says. “We show them about old farm life, what it was like to live back then, the way chores were done.”

The tours lead children through various scenes where they learn about the old farm equipment, how crops were harvested, how ice cream was made, how clothes were washed and other practical information. The farm features treasures like an old rope bed from the early 1800s, a horse-drawn buggy from 1890, a rifle from 1862, a house built in 1852 and a steam powered cotton gin from 1911.

“It’s our way of still living off the land, but teaching with it too,” Gillis says.

For Rowan County Farm Bureau member Tom Smith, collecting antiques is a way to remember his past. Smith has an extensive collection of John Deere tractors and equipment.
“I grew up on a farm close to here and worked for a farmer that had a two-cycle John Deere tractor,” Smith says. “In the ’80s, I thought I’d get that tractor and fix it up. It’s a way to remember earlier days, and each one of these tractors carries fond memories.”

Smith and his wife both like to collect antiques, and they enjoy hunting for treasures when they travel. “That’s our thing when we’re out travelling together; we just enjoy looking around antique shops to find things,” Smith says.

His wife has a large collection of old irons in a display that shows how irons have evolved over the years. The earliest irons in the collection date back to the 1700s. The Smiths found them while traveling in Europe.

“We both remember our grandmother using these old irons, and that got us interested in the different kinds of irons.”

Smith’s collection might be worthy of a museum display, but he says it’s all just for his enjoyment. In addition to the tractors and irons, the barn where he keeps his antiques also houses other collectibles like butter churns, washboards, flax wheels, hay trolleys, an old school desk, Depression glass and many other items.

Onslow County Farm Bureau member Marion Howard also collects antiques that he remembers from his childhood.

“I was always into old things, and I kept a lot of the things I grew up with,” Howard says.

Howard has set up an antique museum in the loft of one of his barns where he displays a wide variety of antiques from Octagon soap to ice saws to lightning rods to a full-blown tobacco grading station.

“I’m a scrounger,” Howard says. “I don’t throw anything away; I keep it. But some of these are things I’ve bought or found or someone gave to me. People that know what I’m doing always bring me things.”

Some of the farming equipment that Howard has kept over the years originated from his father. “My father was a sharecropper. He started out with nothing, but he was very smart and a hard worker, and by the time he died, he had done very well,” Howard says. “Looking at what he had to work with and what we have now—it shows how far we can come in one generation. I always think, ‘Well, they’re not going to come up with anything better than this,’ and then they do.”

Howard’s motivation for expanding his collection was to showcase what life was like in earlier days. “I want to be able to share this and pass it on,” he says. “You can go to a museum and see lots of things, but they don’t have all the things we used to use on a daily basis.”

The brewery staffs are small compared to international breweries such as Coors or Budweiser — Highland Brewing Company in Asheville, the state’s largest microbrewery, employs 18 people full time — but they provide well-paying and stable jobs to state residents, pump dollars into the local economy and could soon spur the development of new crops.

Uli Bennewitz, owner of Weeping Radish Farm Brewery, spearheaded the charge to legalize microbreweries after he purchased a microbrewery in Eastern North Carolina from his brother in 1985, only to find out he wasn’t allowed to operate one.

Bennewitz, who immigrated from Germany in 1980, said he was originally interested in farm management, and started the brewery as a backup plan in case his farming business was unsuccessful.

Around 2000, he became interested in the Farm to Fork concept, which essentially shrinks the distance between where food is produced and where it is consumed. He learned that food, and that includes beer, can be healthy if made from natural ingredients and consumed in moderation. Now Weeping Radish buys food almost exclusively from local farms and makes its beer from all-natural ingredients.

The benefits are plentiful: better, healthier food leads to lower health care costs, and the support of local farms helps the economy.

“We want to reduce the food chain from 2,000 to 200 miles…We’re trying to keep the operations very local,” Bennewitz said.

Bennewitz said that though breweries can’t buy any beer-making ingredients in-state because they aren’t grown here, hops could be a viable crop in the Western part of the state. If they were grown in-state, Bennewitz said he would no longer purchase them anywhere else.

“There is a movement afoot to get hops growing in the mountains,” he said. “If we can find some hops in the mountains, we’ll be up there like a shot.”

Small breweries are also economically vital to the state. They create well-paying jobs and they keep money in their communities, he said. More than 80 percent of the beer industry is owned by foreign interests, and he has no plans to grow Weeping Radish to compete with a beer giant such as Budweiser.

“The idea is about margins and quality,”he said.

“It’s not volume.”

Keeping the business local is an idea shared by Oscar Wong, CEO, founder and owner of Highland Brewing Co. Wong, who started Highland Brewing in 1994, has grown it into one of the largest microbreweries in the Southeast. He’s grown it so large, in fact, that he predicts by the end of the year, the company’s production will surpass the threshold for a microbrewery and move it into the ranks of regional breweries.

Like Bennewitz, Wong said that the agricultural impact of his brewery has been minimal, but the company gives spent grain, hops and yeast to local dairy farms, and is working with local agricultural extension agencies to begin hop production in the state. Wong said that he could see beer becoming a cottage industry similar to wine.

“I think (hop production) will come,” Wong said. “Wine has had years and years of a head start on us, and the demand for beer ingredients has only occurred in the past 10 to 15 years.”

Wong said he would gladly buy hops produced in the state, and is confident that they would do well on the cool slopes of Western North Carolina mountains. Local hop production would benefit the business models of state breweries as well.

“No question that there is a future starting with hops,” he said. “We would very much like to buy local ingredients since it would be a more practical, sustainable business. … It galls me to have to ship ingredients from thousands of miles away out of necessity.”

Big Boss Brewing Co. is a newcomer to the microbrewery scene. The craft brewery opened in Raleigh in 2006. The company’s distribution covers about 65 percent of the state and has grown about 250 percent in the last year, according to Big Boss Brewing Company CEO Geoff Lamb.

Like Highland Brewing Co., Big Boss donates its spent grain to local farmers and uses 100 percent post-consumer cardboard in its case boxes printed in Raleigh.

Lamb said that Big Boss tries to use state goods whenever possible and hopes that there will eventually be local production of hops or grains. The company is even researching a pilot aquaponics system to grow organic hops.

“I think there is more potential for North Carolina hop production compared to malt production due to the high capital costs of the malting operation,” he said.

In the meantime, the state’s microbrewery industry should continue to flourish. Wong said that there is no decline in the demand for tasty brews, and the recent trend of buying locally can only help microbrews.

“The importance of the brewery is fueled by the strong demand from existing customers,” he said. “It reflects a growing trend.”

North Carolina Farm Bureau member Crystal Roberts was the winner of American Farm Bureau’s 2009 Collegiate Discussion Meet at the Young Farmer and Rancher Leadership Conference in Sacramento, Calif.
Roberts, an animal science major at N.C. State and former state FFA officer, had won the state award in November 2008 and snagged the national award after four rounds of competition. The final discussion topic was “How do land grant universities remain on the forefront of an ever-changing agricultural environment?”
Roberts, the daughter of Madison County Farm Bureau members, took home a $2,500 scholarship.

CABARRUS COUNTY Farm Bureau President Tommy Porter and his wife, Vicky, have been selected by the North Carolina Pork Council as its “Outstanding Pork Producers” for 2009. The Porters run a 580-acre operation where they have 2,200 sows, poultry and cattle. They were recognized for the care they give their animals, environmentally friendly practices and conservation-mindedness while determining the best and most efficient practices. Also, both are active advocates for agriculture and are involved in a number of community leadership roles.

CAMDEN COUNTY

CARTERET COUNTY Farm Bureau hosted Croatan High School FFA Association officers and members Joseph Mauro, Tyler Sowers, Joshua Filipovich, Keith Mentnech, Jacqueline Staab and Chelsea Lewis at a monthly board meeting in February.
The FFA members presented PowerPoints demonstrating all the various activities the Croatan FFA were involved in, including Southeast Regional Rally, State Convention, White Lake, Mega Conference and National Convention held in Indianapolis. 
In addition to Croatan, Carteret County Farm Bureau sponsored FFA students from West Carteret and East Carteret high schools who attended the National Convention. 
Also pictured are Carteret Farm Bureau officers and directors Clayton Garner, June Bryan, Herbert Page, Mickey Simmons, Mike Temple, Rusty Bryan, Ray Garner, Henry Davis, Greg Garner and AG Extension Agent Ray Harris.

DAVIDSON COUNTY Farm Bureau board member Jim Davis and his family have been awarded the Southeast Region Farm Family Environmental Excellence Award from the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association. Davis is a third-generation beef and poultry farmer, and says the environmentally friendly practices they use include fencing off all of their streams and ponds and using geotech fabric and stone in high-use areas. Also, they use a Soil and Water Conservation-designed litter shed with an incinerator for disposal.
The award was one of six given out nationwide, and the Southeast region includes North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.

CURRITUCK COUNTY Farm Bureau members recently received recognition and service awards through their local Soil & Water Conservation office. Manly M. West, Albemarle Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisor (Currituck Board) was re-elected to a three-year term (his second) on the N.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commission. Harvey Roberts (a member of the Currituck County Farm Bureau board of directors) and Tommy Grandy, Albemarle Soil & Water Conservation District Supervisors (Currituck board) each received 20-year length of service awards. Roberts was recognized by the Albemarle Resource Conservation & Development (Albemarle RC & D) for his service as a council member. Grandy received his service award from the Albemarle Conservation District (Currituck board). 

FORSYTH COUNTY Farm Bureau members Bob and Jean Cooper, owners of Meadowbrook Tree Farm in Winston-Salem, have earned a big honor: 2008 National Outstanding Tree Farmers of the Year. The American Tree Farm System chose to give the couple its top award not just for their own 118-acre farm, which they had to completely restore upon buying it in 1973, but also for their efforts on behalf of the North Carolina Tree Farm Program. The Coopers enrolled their farm in the American Tree Farm System in 1985 and host several forestry projects including the first Green Ash planting project in North Carolina. They’ve opened Meadowbrook Farm to hosting workshops and have taken on roles as active advocates for their industry.

North Carolina Farm Bureau’s 2009-10 LEAD Program recently started with a conference in Wilmington. Over the next two years, the 15 members of the leadership development program will engage in a number of activities meant to develop, foster and enhance the skills of individuals and couples (between the ages of 36 and 52) actively engaged in production agriculture.

GATES COUNTY Farm Bureau hosted a meeting about rules and regulations for farm equipment on roadways on Feb. 11. The event featured a catered lunch and was open to all farmers in the county. Highway Patrolmen from Raleigh and Troop A led the talk, which almost 70 people attended.

DUPLIN County Farm Bureau President Dexter Edwards, with his son Nicholas and Nicholas’ wife, had a booth for their business, Edwards Land and Cattle, at the Murphy-Brown Vendor Expo.

SAMPSON County Farm Bureau board member Buck Blanchard and his wife, Women’s Committee member Shelby, visit NCFB’s display at the Murphy-Brown Vendor Expo March 17 at
the Duplin Events Center in Kenansville.

UNION COUNTY Farm Bureau hosted a retirement breakfast for Jerry Simpson, Union County Cooperative Extension Director, on Jan. 26. In Simpson’s honor, Union County Farm Bureau donated $2,000 to the Union County 4-H Youth and Development Foundation. In the photo are Simpson, left, and Union County Farm Bureau President Brad Hargett.

WAKE County Farm Bureau members Richard Jenks and Jay Thompson represented Farm Bureau at Leesville Road Middle School’s Career Day on March 5. About 90 sixth-graders learned about the importance of agriculture to North Carolina’s economy and about what farm life is like today. Students pictured stayed after class to ask more questions about farming.

WARREN County Farm Bureau bought Photosynthesis Promenade books for four county schools. Pictured are, from left: Jeff Bender, Warren County Farm Bureau president; Calvin Jones, Warren County Board of Education chairman; Pat Riethmeier, Ag in the Classroom ambassador; and Dr. Ray Spain, superintendent of Warren County Schools.

More than 100 women from across the state recently attended the 2009 North Carolina Farm Bureau Women’s Conference. The event, held at the Marriott Crabtree Valley in Raleigh, included a silent auction with proceeds benefiting NCFB’s Ag in the Classroom program. The conference also included a number of educational workshops such as misconceptions about agriculture, becoming a better leader and developing leadership skills, the impact of urbanization on agriculture and how to develop active county Farm Bureaus.
A luncheon featured an update of bills being introduced in the General Assembly and how Farm Bureau is monitoring legislative activities. Michele Payn-Knoper was a featured guest at the conference, with a talk on “Celebrating Agriculture.”
The Silent Auction raised more than $3,900 for the Ag in the Classroom program.

While dried up lawns and brush fires are sometimes inevitable, agricultural and horticultural specialists say there are many steps landowners can take to prevent fires, ensure that their landscape survives periods of low rainfall and promote efficient use of water.

“It really is about preparing your site well and properly maintaining your plant material to get the highest environmental, economic and aesthetic returns from your landscape,” says Barbara Fair, landscape extension specialist with the horticultural science program at North Carolina State University.

That means making sure you have a substantial layer of topsoil that will promote movement of oxygen, water and plant roots. Once the foundation is laid, selecting the proper plant material for the site is a key to success.

Fair says there is a huge selection of plants to choose from, but a plant native to the state or area isn’t necessarily the best choice. A plant like Chinese Pistache does well in urban sites, even though it’s non-native, whereas a native red maple will often decline and die if it’s planted in an urban area without proper irrigation.

Cost is also a consideration for many land owners. Fair urges them to look at site preparation and proper maintenance as an investment that will eventually pay itself back.

“If you do it correctly the first time, you’ll have a much healthier landscape now and into the future,” she says. “That maintenance may require more financial investment up front, but it’s going to be worth it in the long run. And with a healthy landscape, you are saving water.”

Phil Campbell, owner of Campbell Road Nursery in Raleigh, says overwatering actually hurts plants and grasses. If the top layer of soil feels damp, there is probably enough water at the roots.

“If you overwater plants from the time of planting, they begin to rely on the constant supply of water,” he says. “The roots will stay close to the top of the ground, and they won’t grow out and get strong and help the plant maintain itself. If you allow the plants to make it through the tough times, they will be fine.”

Picking the proper grass is also important. Layne Snelling, director of the nursery’s retail center, said warm season grasses, such as centipede grass and Bermuda grass, tolerate heat spells and low rainfall well and are generally easier to maintain.

“I’ve got centipede in my front yard for 40 years and I’ve never watered it,” Campbell says. “Never. Ever.”

Snelling recommended that land owners east of the Piedmont use warm season grasses that should be planted in the spring, while anyone west of Winston-Salem should consider a cool season grass like fescue, which should be planted or seeded in the fall.

Both Snelling and Campbell cautioned against having short memories when it comes to water conservation.

“Don’t go out in the spring and start watering everything daily just because we have plenty of water,” Campbell says. “We should make (water conservation) a daily thing.”

Fire prevention
The first rule for fire prevention is simple: Use common sense.

“The best thing people can do, if they are looking to protect their home and property, is adopt a firewise attitude,” says Brian Haines, public information officer for the North Carolina Division of Forest Resources. “Limit the amount of pine straw around your house…close off the eaves of your home because an ember could get sucked up into the attic.”

Be careful when burning your trash, he said. In Eastern North Carolina, the No. 1 cause of forest fires is uncontrolled debris burning.

“Some folks decide to make these piles enormous and they don’t watch them to make sure it doesn’t get out of control,” he says. “Or they burn it next to a woodland area.”

Snelling cautions against the careless disposal of cigarette butts. He also recommends having a green strip—a thin area of grass—around homes.

“If you have pine straw, be careful,” he says.

Both Snelling and Haines urge residents to heed advisories from the National Weather Service, which declares fire alert days—times when low humidity makes it dangerous to have any outdoor fires.

Brendan Wain, nursery manager for Family Home and Garden in Cary, says plants such as maples, oaks and poplars have low flammability ratings. He also recommends piling old yard debris at least 30 feet from homes, as well as trimming low-hanging branches of tall trees.

For the adventurer, it might mean a trip to one of North Carolina’s ski resorts. Whatever warm memories winter weather brings to mind, enjoy the season and some of North Carolina’s most beautiful white winter scenes…
Raleigh-area families enjoy a winter snowfall. Active adventurers enjoy a day on the slopes. Even dogs enjoy frolicking in the falling flakes with their families. Birds perched on branches fluff their feathers to keep warm as the snow starts to accumulate.

Sledding and snowball fights are a slippery slope to fun when Old Man Winter comes to play. Raleigh-area children grab their saucers and sleds, head to the nearest hill and scrape together snow to launch a playful winter attack. Feeders provide seeds for birds scavenging for food in a snow-covered landscape.

The shrieks of joy, the bursts of laughter and the “ooohs” and “aaahs” ring out as many of North Carolina’s kids are playing and having fun—but wait, they’re learning too!

Whether they’re coming with their parents or siblings, or as part of a camp or school group, youngsters are heading in droves to children’s museums of all sizes.

There are more than a dozen museums devoted to children scattered throughout the state. Each museum has its own personality, exhibit focus and program emphasis, but kids remain at the heart.
Museum staff members say they are constantly experimenting with fresh ways to engage their young patrons, while letting kids be kids, but also inspiring them to think, dig deeper, discover and remain curious as they march toward adulthood.

“With such a heavy emphasis in schools on drilling them on a host of subjects, sometimes they lose sight of the fact that children need time just to play,” says Kathy Parham, executive director of the Children’s Playhouse in Boone. “Children’s museums are a fantastic place for kids to have fun while learning. They grow up fast enough. We don’t need to hurry them along.”

Jack, a spunky 4-year-old from the Boone area, knows exactly what Parham’s talking about. While having fun in the Playhouse’s downstairs Romp and Stomp Room, Jack had rearranged some large vinyl foam shapes into an obstacle course. After proudly navigating the course, the youngster boasts, “I like to walk on this and climb here and slide. It’s awesome!”

Pretending: the Gateway to Learning
Many of the exhibits and programs at children’s museums across the Tar Heel State are designed to enhance classroom education with hands-on entertainment. Kids are given the freedom to let their imaginations run wild while role- playing constructively.

At the Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem, favorite childhood storybooks come to life. Tommy, who’s from the area, was having a grand time in the Three Little Pigs house and build-it room. He let the staff there know exactly what he was thinking after his visit when he said, “I love the Children’s Museum! It’s the bestest place ever!”

When Sherry, a Virginia resident visiting Winston-Salem, brought her family to the museum, the kids raced to the doughnut factory, where they worked as a team, placing the doughnuts on the climber and watching with amazement as they went up the conveyor belt before dropping down a funnel, where the kids had to catch them in a basket. Children then frost the doughnuts and put them in the truck for delivery to the stores.

Upon completing their doughnut delivery, Sherry’s kids wander over to Mother Goose, who is gathering lots of children around her for story time. They listen in rapt attention as Mother Goose reads and then plays interactive games with them.

After her kids are finished, Sherry comments, “We were visiting from out of town, and this was one of the highlights of their trip. I wish we had such a place at home.”

At Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh, one of the most popular exhibits always abuzz with activity is the Around Town gallery. Totally enthralled, one child boldly declares, “I want to live here!” Another was playing in the post office area, pretending to direct the mail room, when he blurts, “Hurry up, move those packages. Time is money!”

Hands-On Activity Adds to the Fun
Down on North Carolina’s coast is Play Wilmington, where children can dress up like pirates, jump aboard a two-story ship and swab the deck or fire foam balls from an air cannon. In the Science Center, they can become budding scientists and concoct all kinds of liquid potions. Or they can strut their stuff by belting out a karaoke tune at the Star Maker Sound Stage.

For those kids who like to put their creative juices into action, they can visit the art studio and fashion imaginative masterpieces, from macaroni posters to life-size portraits.

Kendall, of Wilmington, says, “I think the art room is a very cool room. I like to do art. I like to paint, and I like to do tape pictures and also coloring. I will come back to the children’s museum a lot.”

Though a little older, Holly voices a similar comment. “I thought that because I was 14, I would not like this place, but I was wrong. I enjoyed my time here more than you could know. I most enjoyed the art room. ”

High-Tech, High-Touch Working in Tandem
From the IMAX Dome at Discovery Place in Charlotte and the IMAX Theater at Raleigh’s Marbles Kids Museum to Cummins Planetarium at the Rocky Mount Children’s Museum and Science Center, technology is in the limelight and augments the educational experience.

The Rocky Mount Children’s Museum and Science Center exhibit on microbes is supplemented by a Planetarium program on microcosms. It allows the child to “shrink to the size of a microbe for an incredible roller-coaster voyage into the human body that features genetic weapons, laser battles and surprises at every turn.”

At the same time, children can discover wildlife up close in the live animal gallery. That was certainly the case with Tyler, an animated 7-year-old, who says, “I had fun doing all the stuff at the museum, but I really liked petting Buttercup best.” Buttercup, a 14.5-foot albino Burmese python, is brought out onto the exhibit floor, where kids, like Tyler, get to pet the snake.

“Our goal is to help children discover how to live more effectively and efficiently on our planet and to be better stewards of it,” notes Candy Madrid, executive director. “We don’t want to tell them what to think, but we are passionate about helping them discover how to think. And we want them to become lifelong learners.”

Children’s Museums in North Carolina
The Children’s Playhouse, Boone
Kidzu Children’s Museum, Chapel Hill
Discovery Place, Charlotte
North Carolina Museum of Life and Science, Durham
Fascinate-U Children’s Museum, Fayetteville
Greensboro Children’s Museum
Marbles Kids Museum, Raleigh
KidSenses Children’s InterACTIVE Museum, Rutherfordton
Iredell Museums, Statesville
Play Wilmington
Children’s Museum of Winston-Salem
Old Salem Children’s Museum, Winston-Salem

A cold Pepsi and a warm Krispy Kreme doughnut—most North Carolinians know those are legacy foods of their state, but beyond that, North Carolina has introduced many more unique foods. While most of these foods are well-known, not all are associated with North Carolina.

How about Texas Pete? That pistol-packing hot sauce is assumedly from Texas, right? Try again. It’s North Carolina born and bred. It was invented in 1929 by Thad W. Garner, a Winston-Salem man who acquired a handwritten barbecue sauce recipe when he purchased a small barbecue stand shortly after his high school graduation.

By adding hot peppers, vinegar and salt, Garner created Texas Pete, which quickly became known throughout the Southeast. The hot sauce was originally supposed to be called

“Mexican Joe,” but Garner’s father insisted it have an American name. And so Texas Pete
was born.

What about those crunchy pickles that accompany many sandwiches? They’re a product of Mt. Olive. Founded as a small cucumber-brining business in 1926, Mt. Olive has grown to be the best-selling brand of pickles in the Southeast and the second best-selling brand of pickles in the country.

Those cheesy crackers that could be found in almost every lunch box in the cafeteria were a childhood favorite. Charlotte-based company, Lance, makes the well-known snack, which is now available in a variety of flavors—everything from cream cheese and chives to grilled cheese flavored.

AAnd of course North Carolina is recognized for its barbecue, with Lexington being the self-crowned barbecue capital of the world, but the state has its own sauces too that can be found on grocery store shelves everywhere—Carolina Treet BBQ Sauce and Bone Suckin’ Sauce.

Carolina Treet was developed in the meat cutting room of a small independent grocery store in Wilmington in 1953. The sauce was originally created to barbecue whole chickens that were sold pre-prepared in the store. Before long, people were asking if they could have more of the sauce to use at home.

“It’s a completely different kind of sauce,” says Lenwood King, owner of Carolina Treet. “It has no sugar and no tomatoes.

It’s meant to be a cooking sauce rather than a sandwich sauce.”

Bone Suckin’ Sauce was created out of a recipe mistake by Phil Ford of Raleigh in 1987. He was trying to recreate his mother’s Western barbecue sauce and instead came up with something “Bone Suckin’ good.” In 1994, the sauce won the “N.C. Battle of the Sauces,” an event sponsored by the Raleigh Farmers Market.

Ever snap into a Slim Jim? Thank North Carolina for that one also. The Slim Jim was created by GoodMark Foods Inc., which was later bought by ConAgra.

Many North Carolinians can’t deny the soft, buttery biscuits of Hardee’s or Bojangles’. But then, it’s in our blood since both restaurant chains were founded in North Carolina. The first official Hardee’s opened its doors in May 1961 in Rocky Mount. Bojangles’ was started in Charlotte in 1977.

Cheerwine was first produced in 1917 by Carolina Beverage Corporation of Salisbury. The company even used the phrase “It’s a Carolina Thing” in advertisements for the cherry-flavored beverage.

The buffet restaurant chain Golden Corral calls North Carolina home. The original restaurant opened in Fayetteville in 1973. Now popular across the United States, Golden Corral prides itself on serving the highest quality foods at reasonable prices in a clean and friendly atmosphere.

North Carolinians can claim the credit for Brunswick stew and Calabash-style seafood. Both were concocted in North Carolina and use the respective founding towns in the name.

We might not have invented hot dogs, but we did make them red. Bright Leaf Franks from Carolina Packers in Smithfield produce the red hot dogs that are commonly served all across North Carolina, much to the confusion of tourists.

Cooked ham has been around for as long as hogs, but North Carolina has figured out the perfect method for curing a country ham.
“At the Ham and Yam Festival in Smithfield, there was a country ham competition between Smithfield, N.C., and Smithfield, Va., to see which had the best ham,” says Rufus Brown, plant manager of Johnston County Hams. “We probably took about 80 percent of the awards during that time, and eventually Virginia didn’t want to come down to compete anymore.”

Old Salem made Moravian cookies famous. Each year thousands of tourists visit Old Salem and the original bakery that still makes Moravian cookies. They are particularly popular around the holiday season.

Some of the other food items North Carolina is famous for include red-eye gravy, sourwood honey, boiled peanuts, pimento cheese, sweet potatoes, and muscadine and scuppernong grapes. These favorites might not have been invented by North Carolinians, but all are an ingrained part of North Carolina flavor. We just put our own Carolina twist on them.

Ingredients

Pie Crust
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 cups of all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
2 1/2 cups Crisco
2 Tablespoons vinegar
1 egg in glass measuring cup, fill with water and egg to 3/4 cup

Instructions for Pie Crust
In large bowl, stir with fork, the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the Crisco, until crumbly. In a small bowl, beat together water, egg, vinegar and brown sugar. Add to flour mixture until well moistened. Roll dough into a log. Wrap in plastic wrap, refrigerate for 30 minutes. Cut into 3 portions. 1 portion is a top bottom crust. Place remaining dough in freezer for later use.

1 cup sugar, minus 1 Tablespoon
3 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cans of Tart Cherries
1 Pie Crust

Instructions

Roll out 1/2 the dough between wax paper. Mix sugar, drained cherries, cornstarch and salt in a bowl. Pour into pie plate that has been lined with dough. Roll out remaining dough and cover pie, pressing edges together, prick top for steam, bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn oven down to 350 degrees, bake for 35-45 minutes or until cherry filling is bubbling.

Author: Helen Kinsch, Raleigh, winner of the 2005 North Carolina State Fair Crisco My Favorite Pie Contest

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 turkey tenderloins (8oz each)
6 slices bacon
1 teaspoon firmly packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon drained capers
½ cup chopped red onion
1 small Granny Smith apple, unpeeled, cored, and chopped

Grits
1 cup heavy cream
1 ½ cup water
¼ cup butter
2 cups instant grits
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Heat oil and butter in a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add turkey and sauté 5-10 minutes on each side or until lightly browned and no longer pink inside. Remove turkey and keep warm. Place bacon in a large, non-stick skillet and cook until crisp. Remove, drain on paper towels, then crumble into a small bowl. Sprinkle with brown sugar, add capers and toss to combine. Set aside. Discard all but 1-tablespoon bacon drippings from skillet. Add onion and apple and cook until onion is tender. Remove onion-apple mixture with slotted spoon and keep warm. To prepare grits, place cream and water in a large saucepan over medium heat and bring just to a boil. Add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat and slowly add grits, stirring briskly to prevent lumps. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, cut tenderloins into ¼ inch slices, place on platter over hot, creamy grits and top with onion-apple mixture and bacon mixture. Garnish with apples and greens. Serve immediately.

Servings: 4

Author: Julie Bowman, Raleigh, NC