New Jersey Food & Traditional Cuisine

New Jersey's food is the product of density: a lot of immigrant traditions in a small area, all of them well established.

The Italian-American tradition is the strongest thread, and it produced the state's tomato pie and its particular style of sub. Portuguese, Brazilian, Cuban, Indian and Korean cooking are all serious here rather than incidental.

The farm side is real too. The Garden State nickname is earned: Jersey tomatoes and sweet corn in August are genuinely better here, and the state is one of the largest blueberry producers in the country — the cultivated blueberry was developed in the Pine Barrens.

Pork roll, or Taylor ham

A cured, mildly spiced pork product, sliced, griddled and served on a roll with egg and cheese. What you call it marks you: Taylor ham in the north, pork roll in the south, and the line between them is a real cultural boundary.

Italian hot dog

Deep-fried hot dogs in a half-round of pizza bread with fried peppers, onions and potatoes. It exists essentially only in the northern part of the state.

Tomato pie

Sauce on top of the cheese rather than under it, thin crust, and a Trenton tradition over a century old.

Disco fries

Chips with gravy and melted cheese, a diner staple and a late-night institution.

Saltwater taffy

Invented on the Atlantic City boardwalk in the 1880s and still sold along the length of the shore.

Jersey tomatoes and blueberries

In season from July to September, and the reason for the state's nickname.

Diners are the state's defining food institution — hundreds of them, most open very late, and they function as neutral ground for everyone.

Farm stands run from June to October across the south and the northwest, at their best in August for corn and tomatoes.

The Ironbound in Newark is the best concentrated eating in the state: Portuguese and Brazilian bakeries, butchers and grill houses over several dense blocks.

Boardwalk food is its own category — funnel cake, taffy, fudge and pizza by the slice — and it is seasonal, closing for the winter along most of the coast.

New Jersey has a larger wine industry than its reputation suggests, with around fifty wineries across two main growing areas.

The Outer Coastal Plain in the southeast has sandy soil and a long season moderated by the Atlantic, and does well with Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Chardonnay. The Warren Hills area in the northwest is cooler and leans towards Riesling and hardy hybrids.

Cider and craft beer are both strong, and the state's orchards have made cider since the colonial period — applejack was distilled here commercially from the 1700s.