Food

The Tater Tot. It’s hard to resist these crunchy golden-brown potato morsels piled high in a basket, or nestled on a plate accompanying our favorite burger or sandwich. For many of us, “Tater Tot” and “comfort food” go hand-in-hand. It’s ingrained in our culture—at least from a food perspective!

When you think of classic fair food, what comes to mind? Perhaps it’s cotton candy, funnel cakes, or caramel apples. For many Americans, the ultimate fair staple is the corn dog. And when it comes to corn dogs, one name stands out in the annals of fried food history: the Pronto Pup.

The Oreo cookie. Two chocolate wafers with a creamy vanilla filling sandwiched between them. A perennial favorite for decades, Oreos are loved by millions around the world, with one major debate baked into its delicious existence, which revolves around the best way to eat them: dunk or twist. There are two opposing camps: Twisters and Dunkers. The former maintain that the best way to eat an Oreo is to twist them apart and enjoy each side separately; some eat the creamy center

If you’re like many Oregonians, summertime and Marionberries go hand-in-hand. From early July through August, Marionberries are harvested and begin appearing in the produce section of grocery stores, pies and a plethora of other food and drink items. But, did you know that this scrumptious berry did not even exist until the 1940s? Had you walked into a Portland diner in the 1920s and asked for a slice of Marionberry pie, you would have been met with puzzled looks.

When we hear the word “chocolate,” most of us picture a bar, ice cream, baked goods, or a confection of some type. Typically eating chocolate, not drinking it, and a sweet taste is usually associated with chocolate rather than a savory one. However, for approximately 90% of chocolate’s extensive history, it was primarily a beverage, and sugar didn’t figure into the equation at all.

As rain falls from the skies of the Pacific Northwest, so too does coffee pour into the cups of local residents adding pep to their step and steamy, warm, comfort to lift the spirits. But where did coffee come from in the first place, and just how did it become one of the most popular beverages around the world?