Top 35 Ohioan Foods

High Bank Distillery, based in Columbus, Ohio, was founded by four partners with a passion for quality spirits. Inspired by the historical confluence of the Scioto and Olentangy rivers, which led to Columbus's founding in 1812, the distillery produces a range of premium spirits, including whiskey, vodka, and gin.

Their "Whiskey War" blend has won awards for Best Blended Whiskey in America for three consecutive years at the San Francisco World Spirits Competition. In addition to the distillery, High Bank operates restaurants where guests can enjoy seasonal cocktails and modern American cuisine.Expand

BLACKENED® Whiskey is a collaborative creation between the legendary metal band Metallica and Master Distiller & Blender Rob Dietrich. This innovative whiskey blends North American bourbons and ryes, which are then finished in black brandy casks.

A distinctive feature of BLACKENED® is its proprietary BLACK NOISE™ sonic-enhancement process, where low-frequency sound waves from Metallica's music are played during aging, enhancing the whiskey's interaction with the barrels and enriching its flavor profile. The brand offers a range of expressions, including limited editions and special collaborations, reflecting a commitment to craftsmanship and innovation.Expand

Four Fires Meadery from Maumee, Ohio, is the first registered meadery in the Toledo area, known for its creative approach and wide range of mead styles. Their address also serves as the location of their taproom, where visitors can taste current releases.

The brand stands out with a philosophy that combines traditional fermentation techniques with innovative flavors and modern experimentation. Their portfolio includes classic meads as well as numerous variations enriched with fruits, spices, and even barrel-aging.

Four Fires Meadery uses high-quality local honey, emphasizing their connection to the region and its natural resources. Their meads typically range from 12% to 15% ABV, placing them among the stronger and more complex styles.

They are particularly dedicated to balancing sweetness, fruit acidity, and spice notes, achieving harmonious and layered flavor profiles. The taproom is not only a place for tasting but also a space for community gatherings and education, where craft beverage enthusiasts can explore the world of mead.

Their mission is to bring mead closer to the modern consumer and demonstrate that this drink can be just as exciting and sophisticated as wine or craft beer.Expand

Mackenzie Creamery is a specialty cheese producer located in Hiram, Ohio. It is known for producing high-quality, artisan goat cheeses.

The creamery utilizes milk from local, sustainable sources to create its variety of cheeses. Mackenzie Creamery has received multiple awards for its products, highlighting its commitment to excellence in cheese making.Expand

Pearl Valley Cheese is a family-owned business located in Fresno, Ohio, specializing in the production of Swiss cheese. Established in 1928 by Swiss immigrants, the company has expanded its offerings to include a variety of cheeses such as Colby, Marble, and Lacey Swiss.

Pearl Valley Cheese is known for using traditional cheese-making techniques and sourcing milk from local dairy farms.Expand

Created and celebrated in Ohio, buckeye candy is a sweet ball made with a combination of peanut butter, regular butter, and powdered sugar, dipped in melted chocolate, but not all the way, as the final result should be visually reminiscent of buckeye nuts. In Ohio, this sweet treat is closely associated with college football games, Christmas, and weddings. Buckeyes were invented in 1964 by Gail Tabor.Expand

Cheese Coneys are a staple of Cincinnati, consisting of a steamed bun that is split and filled with a beef or pork sausage in natural casing, freshly chopped onions, Cincinnati chili, and heaps of grated cheese (usually Cheddar). Mustard is a typical condiment, although some like a few drops of hot sauce on their Coney. These hot dogs are not served at hot dog stands, but usually at Cincinnati chili parlors, well-known for their chili that is spiked with chocolate and cinnamon.Expand

Baby Swiss is an American cheese originating from Ohio. Made with cow's milk, the cheese has a smooth and open texture, while its flavors are nutty, mild, and sweet. It is called Baby Swiss because it looks like a smaller version of Swiss cheese. On the inside, it has numerous small eyes that are as big as peas. The cheese isn't aged for a long time so the eyes don't have time to become larger. It is recommended to pair Baby Swiss with berries and sweet wines.Expand

Shredded chicken sandwich is a sandwich that's a specialty of Northern and Central Ohio. It is made by cooking and fork-shredding chicken that is then cooked in chicken broth or condensed chicken soup with flour, bread crumbs, or crushed potato chips. The combination is seasoned with black pepper before being served on hamburger buns. The sandwich was especially popular in the 1960s, when it was a staple of school lunch menus, dairy bars, and church gatherings. It was made with leftover old and tough chicken meat, so what anyone could do is to simply make creamed chicken, then serve it in buns or over biscuits.Expand

Coming from the most chili-mad city in the United States after Texas, Cincinnati chili is a popular dish made with ground meat, stock, and unusual spices such as cinnamon, allspice, Worcestershire sauce, and chocolate or cocoa. The chili is usually served over pasta such as spaghetti, then topped with a flavorful combination of shredded Cheddar, fried beans, onions, and crushed oyster crackers. With more than 180 chili joints in the city, Cincinnati takes great pride in being a chili capital. The dish was invented in 1922 by a Macedonian immigrant called Tom Kiradjieff. He opened a Greek restaurant called The Empress, which was a total failure until Tom started to serve chili prepared with Middle Eastern spices. The locals went with it, and the results can be seen even today. Chili joints started opening all over the city, with Skyline and Gold Star each creating their own mini-empire after the Empress started the chili-craze.Expand

Goetta is a sausage-like patty that is synonymous with Cincinnati, although its roots are steeped in German heritage, due to the influx of German-born immigrants in the 19th century. The sausage is commonly eaten for breakfast, and consists of pork, beef, onions, spices, and unprocessed oats. Traditionally, it is sliced and fried until golden brown, then served with eggs and ketchup on the side. What was once a humble breakfast is today a hip and glamorous dish that is sometimes even used as a hamburger topping. As further proof of goetta's popularity, there is an annual celebration held since 2004 in the Greater Cincinnati area, called Goettafest, focusing on goetta, music, dancing, and other forms of public entertainment.Expand

This pie variety is a specialty of the Ohio Shakers (descendants of an 18th-century Christian ascetic movement), consisting of a flaky, buttery crust and a curd-like citrus filling made with sugar, eggs, and lemons. The pie is sometimes enriched with the addition of ginger or blackberries. Shakers believe that one should finish every last crumb and tidbit on the plate when eating, and it is not hard to do so when having a slice of this sweet, flavorful pie.Expand

Amish chicken is a traditional poultry dish. It is made with a combination of chicken, flour, garlic powder, heavy cream, paprika, water, salt, and pepper. The chicken is dredged in flour and seasonings, and it is then covered with a combination of cream and water. The concoction is baked until the skin becomes crispy and golden brown. It is recommended to serve Amish chicken with mashed potatoes and a fresh salad on the side.Expand

Barberton chicken or Serbian fried chicken is a regional specialty originating from Barberton. A whole, fresh chicken is cut into pieces that are dredged in flour, then eggs, and finally in a mixture of breadcrumbs, salt, and pepper before they are deep-fried in lard. It was Belgrade Gardens, a diner that was founded during the Depression-era by Serbian owners Manojlo Mike and Smiljka Topalsky, that first started offering this fried chicken specialty. The style of preparing and frying the chicken had its roots in Serbian cuisine and was handed down to Smiljka by her mother. The traditional way of serving crispy barberton fried chicken includes three side dishes: french fries, vinegar-based coleslaw, and a sort of spicy concoction made with rice, tomatoes, and hot peppers usually called hot sauce. Regarded as one of the best fried chicken dishes in the country by USA Today, this chicken specialty is a favorite in Barberton and the surrounding area.Expand

Ohio Valley-style pizza is a regional variation of American pizza characterized by a square-cut, thick, crunchy crust topped with hot tomato sauce and subsequently layered with cold, uncooked cheese and toppings immediately after it emerges from the oven, originating along the Ohio River valley region encompassing southeastern Ohio, northern West Virginia, and western Pennsylvania, with Steubenville, Ohio, serving as its primary epicenter. The formulation of this specific style began in 1945 when Primo DiCarlo, a World War II veteran returning to Steubenville from the Italian campaign, attempted to replicate the rustic, thick-crusted bakery pizzas he observed in Italy, opening DiCarlo's Original Pizzeria and engineering a specialized assembly method designed to handle high-volume takeout orders for local industrial steelworkers without rendering the cheese greasy or rubbery during transport. Preparation requires a high-hydration wheat dough that is spread into oiled, rectangular steel pans and par-baked to establish a porous, bread-like structure resembling Sicilian sfincione. A concentrated, heavily seasoned tomato sauce containing oregano and black pepper is spread across the par-baked crust, and the pan is returned to a high-heat deck oven until the bottom of the dough fries in the pan oil and becomes crisp. Immediately upon extraction from the oven, workers cut the hot pizza crust into square portions, known locally as "slices," and immediately cover the surface with finely shredded, cold Provolone cheese and cold sliced pepperoni. Ohio Valley-style pizza is served hot but with its cold topping architecture intact, standardly packaged in shallow, unvented cardboard boxes to trap steam, which induces a slight melting effect on the drive home, or served individually in small paper boats for immediate consumption. It is eaten throughout local pizzerias, regional franchises, and high school sporting events across the tri-state area of Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania, functioning as a daily staples meal where consumers order by the exact number of square slices required rather than by the whole pie. For food and beverage pairings, the contrast between the cold, sweet fat of the raw Provolone cheese, the hot, acidic tomato sauce, and the oily fried crust requires a highly carbonated, refreshing beverage to cleanse the palate, meaning it is standardly eaten alongside simple side dishes like pickled pepperoncini or garlic dipping sauces, and paired with cold cans of American lager beer, local pale ales, or carbonated sweetened cola drinks.Expand