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2024 State Fair Recipes

The following are recipes using the native produce of Illinois. These are the foods that came from the land before “Illinois” was marked on a map.  They may not all be traditional preparations, but most of the ingredients can be sourced locally and they’re all delicious.

 

Please note that when it comes to foraging native Illinois plants and fungi, always do your research beforehand and make sure to bring references with you when out in the field.  Your health and safety are more important than a single meal. As the saying goes, “There are old foragers, and bold foragers, but none both old and bold.” 

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STAGHORN SUMAC

Rhus typhina 

Is it a shrub? Is it a tree? Is it a bush?  This plant sports bright red drupes (hard seeds with thin skin) in large cone-shaped clusters.  They add a tart, lemony flavor to food and drink due to the presence of malic acid.  

Sumac Recipes

CORN

Zea mays

First domesticated in Mexico over 7000 years ago, Native Americans spent thousands of years selectively breeding maize, molding spindly grass into a pillar of civilization. Of all grains produced commercially, corn is at the top. The United States produces over 346 million tons of corn annually, over 1/3 of all corn worldwide.  Since the Columbian Exchange in 1492, corn has become a global staple now present on every continent, in millions of products. Its popularity comes as no surprise because corn is so darn delicious.

Corn Recipes

MUSHROOMS

  • OYSTER MUSHROOM - Pleurotus sp
  • CHICKEN MUSHROOM - Laetiporus sulphureus
  • MIATAKE MUSHROOM - Grifola Frondrosa
  • MORELS – Morchella sp 

Mysterious and alluring, wild mushrooms always carry with them an aura of magic and danger. 

Mushroom Recipes

PERSIMMONS

Diospyros virginiana

The trees are easy to identify during any season with chunky bark that looks a lot like alligator skin.  Unless picked from the ground, soft and mushy, the fruit of the persimmon can be exceptionally bitter.

Persimmon Recipes

SUNCHOKES

Helianthus tuberosus, or “sunflower with a lumpy root.”

Growing to almost ten feet high, these perennials sport bright yellow flowers and, you guessed it, a lumpy tuberous root. High in insoluble fiber, and loaded with iron, sunchokes can be eaten cooked or raw. Take care when cultivating though, they spread like wildfire and have been known to “choke” out gardens. 

Sunchoke Recipes

WILD RICE or MANOOMIN

“Harvesting Berry” - Zizania palustris

Although much more prevalent in Minnesota and Wisconsin, manoomin does grow in a few Illinois lakes and confluences of the Mississippi River.  High in fiber, loaded with protein, and low in fat, manoomin is one of the first superfoods and the only grain native to North America. Called “the good berry” or “the harvesting berry” by the Ojibwe, it remains a staple of their culture and diet. Harvesting can be tedious, requiring the grains to be collected, chaff removed, then parched of moisture over heat.  The result is a smoky, savory flavor that is hard to resist. 

Wild Rice Recipes

SQUASH

Cucurbita pepo

The most popular species of squash, Cucurbita pepo, contains acorn squash, pumpkins, gourds, zucchini, pattypan, delicata, spaghetti squash, and countless other hybrid, cultivated, and wild varieties.  Squash became one of the first domesticated crops, showing up nearly 10,000 years ago in southern Mexico. The most prolific of the “Three Sisters” trifecta of corn, beans, and squash, some varieties can reach enormous proportions. 

Squash Recipes

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