Here's Where The Ingredients In Your 20 Favorite Foods Come From Slideshow
When you're at the supermarket stocking up on groceries, you most likely don't give much thought to where the staple ingredients you're buying actually come from. Sure, if your avocado is from Mexico it'll mention it right there on the label, but it'll take some digging to figure out that the bag of flour you're buying was manufactured in North Dakota. The folks at Digital Third Coast and Pots Planters & More have conducted lots of research into the states and countries where the majority of some of the most popular staple foods come from, and what they found might surprise you.
Apple Pie
Apple pie is about as American as it gets, and the sugar, butter, flour, and apples all come from the USA (sugar from Florida, butter from California, apples from Washington, and flour from North Dakota). The cinnamon, however, comes from Indonesia.
Beer
Most American domestic beers are brewed in Missouri, specifically St. Louis.
Buffalo Wings
The chicken in your wings was most likely raised and processed in Georgia, tossed with Buffalo sauce from Missouri, and served with celery from California and blue cheese dressing from Massachusetts.
Cheeseburgers
The beef patty in your cheeseburger most likely came from Texas cattle and the bun was made in Illinois. As for toppings, the onion comes from Idaho, the lettuce and tomatoes from California, cheese from Wisconsin, mustard from Missouri, ketchup from Ohio, and relish from Michigan.
Chili
To make chili, start by sautéing some Texas ground beef with Illinois vegetable oil; add in celery and tomatoes from California, kidney beans from North Dakota, and peppers and onions from Mexico; spice it up with some chili powder, garlic powder, and oregano from Mississippi; and season to taste with Utah salt and Indonesian pepper.
Chowder
Clam chowder might be associated with New England, but those clams most likely came from Virginia. Also going into the soup are flour from North Dakota; bacon from Iowa; onions and potatoes from Idaho; and cream, garlic, celery, and butter from California.
Coffee
Even though coffee grows all over the world, the majority of it comes from Brazil.
Coleslaw
Your coleslaw starts with shredded cabbage and carrots from California, tossed in a dressing made with Illinois mayo, New York sour cream, Florida sugar, and Michigan cider vinegar.
French Fries
Fries are made with Idaho potatoes, fried in Illinois vegetable oil, and sprinkled with Utah salt.
Fried Rice
The only authentically Asian component of your takeout fried rice is the sesame oil, which comes from Japan. Domestic ingredients include rice from Arkansas, onions and carrots from California, peas from North Dakota, eggs from Texas, soy sauce from Wisconsin, and oil from Illinois.
Fruit Salad
A fruit salad is one of the most international dishes you can eat. The strawberries and blueberries are from California and Washington, respectively; with cantaloupe and bananas from Guatemala, pineapple from Costa Rica, and grapes from Chile.
Guacamole
Guacamole starts with avocadoes that were most likely grown in California, combined with Mexican limes, Idaho red onion, salt from Illinois, and pepper from Vietnam, all scooped up with corn chips from Oklahoma.
Hot Dogs
Most of the dogs and buns we consume are produced in the state of Illinois. If you're "dragging it through the garden" Chicago-style, the relish comes from Michigan, the mustard from Missouri, the onion from Idaho, and the tomatoes from California.
Ice Cream
Ice cream's base ingredients are milk and cream from California, egg yolks from Texas, and sugar from Florida. For chocolate ice cream, semi-sweet chocolate is sourced from Pennsylvania, cocoa powder from the Ivory Coast, and vanilla extract from Indonesia.
Margaritas
The tequila and lime in your margarita came (appropriately enough) from Mexico, and the Cointreau in it was produced in Saint-Barthélemy-d'Anjou, France.
Martinis
That dry martini doesn't have a single ingredient in it that's produced in the U.S. The gin comes from England (or vodka from Sweden, if you prefer), vermouth comes from Italy, and as for garnishes, the lemon twist is from Mexico and the olives from Spain.
Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches
To make your PB&J, you're putting Ohio jelly and Georgia peanut butter onto two slices of Kansas white bread.
Pepperoni Pizza
The dough for your pepperoni pizza was made with North Dakota flour, Mississippi yeast, Illinois salt, Florida sugar, and Spanish olive oil. The sauce is made from California tomatoes, the cheese is from Wisconsin mozzarella, and the pepperoni is most likely produced in Minnesota.
Reubens
A Reuben sandwich starts with two slices of California buttered Georgia rye bread, topped with corned beef from Colorado, Swiss cheese from Ohio, Thousand Island from Massachusetts, and Sauerkraut from New York.
S’Mores
The marshmallows in your s'mores were most likely made in Indiana (according to the original source, all of Kraft's marshmallows are manufactured in a plant in Kendallville), and the graham crackers and chocolate are both manufactured in Mexico.