There is a reason that Texas was once its own country. And breaking away from the Spaniards was just part of it.
The other part is because of the food. Yes, food often divides the United States into several different regions, where the food specialties are relatively consistent among several states.
But in Taxes, the Lone Star State is not the Lone Starved State. It has its food taken to a very unique level – so much so that there are a number of food recipes that are either very unique to Texas or so different from other similar recipes as to be only a Texas version.
In this case, we’re not talking the general Tex-Mex food offerings. We’re talking pretty specifically here.
Did you know that the term “six flags over Texas” is not referring to an amusement park? (Well, yes, it is the name of such a par, but stick with us here). As long as there have been people living in the area now known as Texas, the land has been under six different flags – including Spanish, American and Texas’ own independent republic. The point is that those flags represent countries that controlled the land and the people, and those countries provided great influences to the culture and food choices of Texans.
Here are some examples of Texas foods that are pretty unique to Texas – and if you visit the state, are foods that you really should at least try while you’re here.
- Tex-Jex. No, that is not a typo. We didn’t mean to type Tex-Mex, but this is truly something called Tex-Jex, which is Tex-Mex cooking influenced by Jewish food. Who wouldn’t be interested in trying out a chicken falafel tamale? You can’t leave Texas without trying one.
- Deep-fried yes, pickles no. In Texas, we enjoy deep-fried food items as much as the next person south of the Mason-Dixon Line, but we don’t deep fry pickles. We put something else green in the fryer – jalapeno peppers.
- Who says gravy is just for potatoes? Texans don’t’ handle commons foods like gravy lying down. We love to spice things up, like with something called enchilada gravy – a blend of brown gravy and enchilada sauce, which goes on top of our cheese enchiladas.
- Texas chili. Most chili is known for ground beef and beans. But of course Texas does it differently – Texas chili is steak in place of the ground beef and you must hold the beans. It’s practically a cardinal sin around here to have beans.
- It tastes like … fish. It’s Texas, so you know you can expect some kind of different meat besides steak, hamburger or even buffalo or elk. Certainly rattlesnake would make sense here, right? Except get this:” Rattlesnake doesn’t taste like chicken as the cliché goes. It actually tastes more like flaky white fish, believe it or not.
- This is Texas. You want to hold Texas in your hand? While food in the state is really more diverse than this, you can summarize Texas with two words: Brisket taco. Who needs pedestrian meats like hamburger or chicken in a corn shell? This can be the epitome of Tex-Mex cooking.
While Texas can be its own world, when it comes to food it fits because the influences are multi-national, multi-cultural and multi=flavorful for your palate. Don’t’ miss an opportunity to explore Texas with your taste buds!
