Cheese. Meat. Pickles.

Every culture, every people group, every region, has a particular food they do well. Something special and unique. The only way to truly appreciate this food is to have it for an extended period of time and leave, or to taste it for the first time as an adult. What does Minnesota do well? Cheese. Meat. Pickles.

Let's start with the most important food - cheese. Washington does not do cheese well (understatement). Sure, if I really need something good we have a few (one) specialty cheese that is good. But for everyday, buy a hunk of cheese and not spend your entire life savings? Only if you've been away from Minnesota for a year and your palate has dulled.

Next, meat. Not just any meat - beef. Sausage. Jerky. I am such a snot I go to a meat market in Washington, but I still only get their hamburger, chicken, and bacon. Here....oh wow. In southern Minnesota where we grew up there is this teeny tiny hole in the wall meat market that is heaven itself (http://schmidtsmeatmarket.com/awards/). Here in Duluth, they finally found some good potato sausage (Swedish delight!) (http://www.superior-meats.com/) (are you allowed double parenthesis? I'm a rebel, going for triple). In Washington? Please.

Last but not least, pickles. I had no idea how much I loved pickles until I left. The jingle said it all, "Gedney, it's the Minnesota pickle." Hm. Just typing it out, that jingle really sucks. But I bet most of you from MN could hear the tune in your head! They are amazing. Delicious. And cannot be found out west. It took me three short days to finish one jar, buy two more for the week, and pack a suitcase with all it could carry. I feel obligated to add at least one picture to this post.

And now the world knows just how I feel about three random foods. To conclude this lecture, here is another delight of Minnesota: Caribou!