Appalachian Food: Pepperoni Rolls, Ramps and Beans

Appalachian food is the cooking of the mountain communities that run from West Virginia and western Virginia through Kentucky, Tennessee and the Carolinas. It is practical, seasonal and built on beans, corn, pork, wild greens and preserved fruit. Appalachia's best-known dishes include pepperoni rolls, ramps and soup beans.

Mountain roads are slow and cell service can be patchy, so plan meals around the towns rather than the clock. Family-run diners in county seats serve a meat and two or three sides.

What is Appalachian food?

It is home cooking shaped by a place where winters are cold and farms are small. Families dried, pickled and canned what they grew, and they foraged in spring for greens and mushrooms. Many dishes are plain and filling: beans, cornbread, greens, fried potatoes, biscuits and gravy, and slow-cooked pork.

The region's food is often confused with general Southern cooking, but it has its own tastes, such as ramps, leather britches (dried green beans), sorghum and molasses, and apple stack cake.

The West Virginia pepperoni roll

The pepperoni roll is a soft bread roll baked around pepperoni, often with a little cheese. It is West Virginia's best-known snack. Local sources credit an Italian immigrant with selling the first at a bakery in Fairmont in 1927, though one maker has disputed the date and placed its invention in the 1940s. Check whether the bakery is still operating before you plan a visit.

The roll was designed to be eaten by coal miners at work, and it travels well. Today it is sold at bakeries, gas stations and convenience stores across the state. Order one warm, and ask for a roll with a little cheese.

Ramps season: the wild onion of spring

Ramps are wild alliums with broad leaves and a strong flavor between garlic and onion. They appear in the mountains in early spring and are served fried with potatoes, scrambled with eggs or added to soups. Richwood, West Virginia, holds a Feast of the Ramson in the spring (the date changes each year, so check before you plan a trip) and calls itself the Ramp Capital of the World; the dinner includes ramp dishes with potatoes, beans, cornbread and ham.

Dates change each year, so check the local chamber of commerce. Ramps are wild plants that grow slowly, so buy them from trusted sellers.

Soup beans and cornbread

A pot of soup beans, usually pinto beans cooked slowly with a ham hock or pork fat, is the classic Appalachian meal. It is served with cornbread, raw onion, chow-chow (a pickled relish) and sometimes fried potatoes. Many restaurants in the mountains list it as a daily special.

If you see "beans and cornbread" on a lunch menu, order it. It is cheap, filling and typical.

Apple stack cake and mountain desserts

Apple stack cake is a tall cake made from thin layers of spiced dough with dried-apple filling between them, traditionally made for weddings and holidays. Sorghum syrup, molasses, fried pies and cobblers are common sweets. Many bakeries and farm stands sell them in the fall.

Appalachian restaurants: where to eat

Look for family-run diners, cafes and restaurants in county seats and along main roads. A plate with a meat and two or three sides, or a menu with fried chicken, country ham and biscuits, is a good sign. Farmers markets and roadside stands sell seasonal produce and baked goods.

Prefer places that are busy with locals at lunch. Check hours before you go, because small mountain towns often close earlier than cities. Many restaurants in the region are closed on Sundays or Mondays, and some serve only breakfast and lunch, so plan your main meal for midday and keep a snack in the car.

What drinks go with Appalachian food?

Sweet tea is the everyday drink, and in the mountains you will also find apple cider, buttermilk and strong black coffee. Craft distilling and brewing have grown in the region, and some towns now have taprooms and cideries that use local apples and corn.

If you want to try a regional sweetener, ask for sorghum or molasses on your biscuit, and order a glass of buttermilk with cornbread.

How do you eat in the mountains on a budget?

Appalachian cooking is built on cheap, filling ingredients, so meals are often good value. Choose a meat-and-three or a daily plate, share a pie and fill a flask at a gas station. Farmers markets and roadside stands sell fruit and vegetables for much less than city stores.

How to plan an Appalachian drive

Mountain roads are winding and slow, so allow extra time, and plan meals around the towns rather than the clock. Cell service can be patchy, so download maps first. Spring is the season for ramps, summer for farm stands and berries, and fall for apples and foliage. Winter can close high roads.

For nearby regional food, read the Ohio Valley foods guide, the East Nashville restaurants guide for the city on the western edge of the region and the South Carolina food guide for the coast. The whole country is on the US guides page.

Pepperoni rolls, soup beans and ramps are best remembered by the table they came from. The Mosey app is where you can rate each dish and keep a list of mountain stops.