"There's something about the iconic food of the Midwest that makes it a prime example of American cuisine. Sure, there's the famous seafood of the East Coast and epic burritos as big as your head in the Southwest, but the Midwest's food comes from a unique combination of modesty, necessity, and the altruistic need to feed a crowd, making it all-American through and through."
"Just about every region of the world has its own take on chicken soup. In Wisconsin, they have booyah - and don't you dare call it chicken soup. Booyah has Belgian roots, gaining popularity in Wisconsin (northern Wisconsin, to be precise) when Belgian immigrants first came to the region in the mid-19th century. The Belgian immigrants who settled in Wisconsin spoke French, so it's thought that booyah gets its name from "bouillon," but the exact origins of the dish's exclamatory-sounding title are unknown."
Midwestern cooking centers on large-batch, comfort-focused dishes meant to feed crowds. Typical ingredients include corn, cheese, and ranch; recipes often appear eccentric but prioritize modesty and necessity. These dishes evolve from home kitchens and are potluck- and family-oriented staples across middle America, especially between Ohio and the Dakotas. Midwestern cuisine values warmth, practicality, and communal sharing, thriving in chilly evenings and gatherings. Regional specialties include booyah, a Wisconsin pot stew with Belgian roots, which became popular with 19th-century Belgian immigrants and retains a debated origin and distinctive name tied to bouillon.
Read at Tasting Table
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]