Delaware State Foods

Crab Puffs STATUS Unofficial THE FOOD Crab Puffs Crab puffs are made of flour, baking powder, and salt gently mixed with beaten egg, milk, and shelled, chopped crabmeat. The batter is deep-fried in hot oil a spoonful at a time to make bite-sized, golden brown puffs. Fresh, frozen, and canned crab all work equally well. Butter, mayonnaise, ground mustard, cheese, and hot pepper sauce are all optional ingredients. Though frying is preferred, it's also possible to make baked crab puffs. They're usually served as an appetizer. THE SIGNIFICANCE For centuries, Native Americans in the area that's now Delaware caught and ate crab, and the crustaceans became part of the settlers' diets soon after they arrived. Catching crab has long been an important industry in the area, so much so that crabbing rights were specified in early treaties between the Native Americans and colonists. Crabbing is still a favorite activity on Delaware beaches, and for many Delawareans, catching crabs is part of every summer holiday. Crab puffs are a popular way to enjoy the catch and are served at area summer crab festivals. Peaches STATUS Unofficial THE FOOD Peaches Peaches are tree fruits with an indentation at the stem end and a slight point at the other. A peach's skin is usually a light pinkish-orange color, sometimes with a pink or red blush, and always with a fine, edible coating of silvery fuzz. Inside, the fruit is sweet with a slightly nutty flavor. Most peaches are yellow-fleshed, but there are a few white-fleshed types that have a somewhat perfumy flavor and are best eaten fresh. All peaches have a large, red-brown, deeply grooved pit in the center. Unlike some other tree fruits such as apples, it's important for peaches to ripen on the tree before harvesting, because the sugar content in a peach doesn't continue to increase after the fruit is picked. Peaches are mainly consumed fresh, but they can be frozen, canned, or pickled. They're also used as the main ingredient in cobblers, pies, cakes, Peach Melba, and ice cream. THE SIGNIFICANCE The Spanish brought peaches to Delaware before it was even a colony, and the trees took to the state's mild climate and became a common local crop. From the mid-19th to the early 20th century, the peach was the state's most important commercial crop. Canned and fresh peaches were both important state exports, and Delaware eventually earned the nickname the "Peach State." Peach blight changed all that, and most peach producers today are further south. Delaware still produces a small crop each year, and is particularly well known for its peach pie, the state's official dessert since 2009. The peach remains a symbol of the state's history. -World Trade Press