Shannon Colaianni Tinnell - A Culinary History of West Virginia: From Ramps to Pepperoni Rolls

By using high and low tunnels that help extend the growing season, the West Virginia Department of Agriculture is hoping the strawberry will become a specialty crop. West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

March 19, Maple Day in West Virginia, is when the states maple producers like the Flanigan family open to the public for tasting, education and purchasing. West Virginia Department of Agriculture.

Soup beans and bloody butcher cornbread. Authors collection.

Glade Creek Mill, located in Babcock State Park in Fayette, West Virginia, is a living monument to the over five hundred mills that once were located throughout the state. Carol Highsmith Collection, Library of Congress.

Route 40, formerly the National Road in Wheeling, is known as gateway to the West. The Madonna statue honors the women who endured the hardships of pioneering the way west. Carol Highsmith Collection, Library of Congress.

Dolly Sods is a high-altitude plateau that is more like a Canadian landscape than West Virginia and a great place to go berry picking. Jay Mahoney.

The New River Bridge represents a very tangible example of efforts to overcome the states challenging topography and subsequent issues with mass transportation into and out of the interior regions of the state. Library of Congress.

Coopers Rock is a favorite tourist destination with a magnificent virgin hemlock trail to hike. These trees are an important factor in the survival of trout, birds and mammals. Judy Lochner.

In 1927, Pocahontas County farmers grew one hundred bushels of potatoes an acre. Using todays technology, farmers are hoping to grow three hundred bushels an acre. Carol Highsmith Collection, Library of Congress.

Legend states that in 1753, the Native Americans had planted fields of pumpkins along the Potomac River and a great flood occurred, causing the Year of the Great Pumpkin Flood. Carol Highsmith Collection, Library of Congress.

Morel mushrooms are a spring delicacy in West Virginia. They usually appear sometime in April, around the start of spring gobbler season. Justin Vance.

A ramp patch in Preston County. Ramps tend to grow beneath the canopies of beech, poplar, maple, oak and hickory trees. They spring up before the tree canopy shades over the area. Authors collection.

The pawpaw, also known as the West Virginia banana, is North Americas largest native fruit. Justin Vance.

The golden delicious apple is the state fruit of West Virginia. The beautiful sweet yellow apple was discovered in Clay County. Authors collection.

From a large garden, square foot beds or pots outside, growing your own food is an old-time tradition in the Mountain State. Authors collection.

In folklore, blackberries were once believed to protect families against vampires because they would become distracted by counting all the berries. Authors collection.

Trout is a favorite food in West Virginia, especially pan-fried outside after a day of fishing. In 1973, West Virginia designated the brook trout as the state fish. Jay Mahoney.

Trout fishing is a favorite pastime in West Virginia, and the DNR stocks over 150 bodies of water throughout the state. Jay Mahoney.

Tailgating may not have been born in West Virginia, but it has certainly been raised to an art form here, like this duck pastrami created by chef Jay Mahoney. Jay Mahoney.

Cooking outside over an open fire was a necessity for Native Americans and early settlers. Today, many people still cook over a fire, but for fun, usually not necessity. Authors collection.

Hawk Knob Cidery and Meadery located in Lewisburg, West Virginia, handcrafts all its cider and mead. Authors collection.