Rhode Island food, wine

Rhode Island is known for its cities that feature world-class cuisine and hearty seafood dishes. Here is a sampling of the specialty foods and award-winning wineries in the Ocean State.

Del’s lemonade
Perhaps the most refreshing Rhode Island specialty food, Del’s Frozen Lemonade, began in Naples, Italy, in 1840 with lemon juice, sugar and snow.

Today the recipe remains as simple and as delicious, with five additional flavors including blueberry, kiwi and cherry-lemon.

Since the turn of the last century, Cranston has been the home of Del’s Frozen Lemonade. Locals know that summer is near when Del’s trucks are spotted serving up the delicious soft ice drink garnished with fresh lemons.

Coffee milk
If you ask for coffee milk outside of Rhode Island, a curious stare and any mixture of coffee and milk is sure to follow. In Rhode Island, this culinary delight is available in most homes and restaurants by name.

Coffee milk, a delicious blend of fresh milk and a dab of coffee syrup, usually is served with breakfast. Autocrat, one of the largest coffee roasters in New England, has been providing premium coffee, coffee syrup and coffee extract to Rhode Island coffee milk lovers since 1895.

Rhode Islanders love their coffee milk so much that in 1993 the State Legislature voted to make coffee milk the official state drink.

Stuffies
Many residents and visitors contend that Rhode Island produces the world’s best quahog. The state has the perfect natural setting to produce the tasty the shellfish, pronounced “kaw-hog.”

Clams generate their flavor from ocean water, ocean plant life and silt. Rhode Island’s cold North Atlantic waters, native phytoplankton and ideal ocean silt are ideal.

Rhode Islanders serve up the quahog in various dishes, but most quahogs can be found in red and white chowders, clam cakes and clam sauce, or stuffed with a mixture of bread, spice, onions and celery, dubbed the “stuffie.”

Johnnycakes
The johnnycake is derived from an Indian recipe using flint corn, a variety of hard kernel corn that thrives in the fog and salty air of the Ocean State.

Early settlers stuffed the small, hard cakes, then called “journeycakes,” into their pockets or saddlebags for sustenance on long trips. Today the johnnycake is a staple food of another Rhode Island tradition, the May Breakfast, which has thrived for 139 years.

Chowda
Traditionally, chowda or chowder, if you prefer, is a thick fish soup made in a large pot, or chaudiere (French from the Latin caldaria, a precedent of cauldron). It's often thickened with milk and potatoes, or tomatoes (as in Manhattan clam chowder).

In Rhode Island, Quahog chowders are made in a clear broth through which the seafood shines.

Award-winning vineyards and wineries
Whether you’re looking for a great weekend excursion to enjoy the temperate weather, or just a tasty bottle of wine to enjoy by a roaring fire, the five vineyards and wineries in Rhode Island are sure to satisfy the inner wine enthusiast in you.

One of Rhode Island's most surprising roles is the one it plays in the quality wine industry emerging from the eastern seaboard. The state’s climate, moderated by its proximity to the ocean, provides the area with an ideal growing season for several varieties of wine-making grapes.

Cumberland-based Diamond Hill Vineyards is known for its delicious Pinot Noir grapes. It also been commended for its Pinot Noir Blanc wine.

Greenvale Vineyards, is a family-run winery and vineyard along the Sakonnet River in Portsmouth. It produces Chardonnays, Cabernets, and white and red wines from locally grown grapes.

Nearby Newport Vineyards’ comprehensive wine list includes Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling and dessert wines.

The award-winning Sakonnet Vineyards, located in little-known Little Compton, is famous for its Vidal Blanc wine and its spectacular views of the Sakonnet River.

Rhode Island’s newest winery, Langworthy Farm Winery in Westerly, is located one-half mile from the Atlantic Ocean and, among others, produces Weekapaug White, Misquamicut Merlot and Dry Riesling.

Most of the vineyards and wineries offer tours, tastings and shops.

Motorhomers who are just passing through or staying awhile will have plenty to relish in Rhode Island.

 

More info links:

Visit Rhode Island
www.visitrhodeisland.com