NEW ORLEANS — Chef’s Pencil, an international food magazine that reports on industry trends, did a little digging on the U.S. Department of Agriculture website to find out where the food in a typical Thanksgiving meal originates.
Here are the top producing states for some of Thanksgiving’s most popular ingredients:
- Minnesota is the leading producer of turkey, followed by Arkansas and North Carolina.
- Potatoes are primarily grown in Idaho and Washington state, the two states accounting for more than half of the nation’s potato production.
- Sweet potatoes are primarily grown in the South, with North Carolina topping the list followed by Mississippi and California.
- Green bean production is dominated by Wisconsin.
- The cranberry is a native wetland plant that likes cool weather and is primarily grown in Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Oregon, and New Jersey.
- Illinois is the pumpkin capital of the U.S., producing more than the next six states combined.
- Washington state is the center of apple production in the U.S., while Georgia is the center of pecan production.
- California is the only state with a sizable harvest of brussels sprouts.
- Field corn and sweet corn are produced in different parts of the country; Washington tops the sweet corn production table while Iowa leads in field corn.
- Cheese production is dominated by Wisconsin (again!), followed by California and Idaho.
Click here to see the full report.
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