20 Ohio Foods That Can’t Manage To Make Ohio Anymore Famous Than Michigan

When it comes to the food world, one state tends to steal the show. No, not California — you’re thinking of a different kind of “show.” We’re talking about Ohio foods and her grueling love for many classic dishes brings national acclaim and significant hunger pangs. In honor of being a foodie state that is second only to Michigan with a great selection of hometown favorite foods. But with Ohio, these favorites tend to circle around a few select goodies.

If you’ve ever wondered how the culture of a state shaped its culinary creations, we’re here to shine a spotlight on what makes those menus genuinely unique. These 20 Ohio foods have everything from real-deal recipes to unheard-of flavors, but they all have their big claims to fame.

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Buckeye Candy

This is one of those iconic Ohio foods that everyone loves It is a candy treat with a name and an appearance reminiscent of its namesake, the buckeye. The buckeye nut is the state nut of Ohio and is the seed from the buckeye tree. It’s brown on the outside, with a lighter brown or tan spot in the center that looks like a large pupil in an eye.

Buckeye Candy consists of a combination of peanut butter covered with chocolate intended to resemble the buckeye nut.

The buckeye candy has been a regional favorite in Ohio for many years, but it can be made anywhere because of its simple ingredients. Buckeyes are generally made with peanut butter and powdered sugar, then dipped in melted chocolate. The chocolate should cover all but a small portion on the top left exposed to resemble the actual buckeye nut.

The candy was named after the nut because it resembles it so closely. It takes quite an eye to see that it’s not an actual nut when placed with nuts from other trees.

Goetta Sausage

The German-inspired delicacy is steel-cut oats and ground pork (or beef and pork). It’s sliced thin and griddle-cooked till excellent and crispy. It’s a regional specialty in Cincinnati, where it’s served with eggs, but it has its origins in Germany, where quick-cooking grains were mixed with meat to stretch meals for large families.

In the 17th century, German peasants made up about 95 percent of the population. Life was rough for these poor souls. The Thirty Years War alone left an estimated 60 to 80 percent of the population dead from battle casualties, famine, and disease. To stave off starvation, farmers began combining oats with meat to make a kind of poor man’s sausage.

The Germans who immigrated to America brought their recipes with them, including the one for Goetta. They were attracted to Cincinnati because of its location on the Ohio River. The river meant easy transporting grain products like oats out of Ohio and into ports along the Mississippi River.

Goetta was first produced in Cincinnati by Charles Glier Sr., who came to the U.S. in 1828 at age 16 years old from Großweitzsc. Needless to say, this is one of those Ohio foods that seems to not be found anywhere else.

Ohio’s Cheese Coneys 

A true Skyline Coney is covered with Cincinnati chili, a sweetish spiced meat sauce based on a Greek recipe brought to Ohio by Macedonian immigrants in the 1920s. The original secret Skyline Chili recipe was developed by Nicholas Lambrinides in 1922 and is known only to a few people who work at Skyline Chili.

A Coney Island hot dog is an all-beef hot dog in a steamed bun, topped with Cincinnati style chili, diced onions, and shredded cheddar cheese (a “cheese coney”). Cincinnati chili is often used as a spaghetti sauce, but it also serves as the base for ordering up coneys too. A “two-way,” which is includes chili and cheese, and a “three-way” which adds either onions or beans. A “four-way” includes all three toppings, while a “five-way” adds chopped raw onions. This is one of those Ohio foods that can compete head to head with a Detriot, Jackson, Flint, or Kalamazoo coney.

Tony Packo’s Hungarian Hot Dogs

It all started with a simple hot dog.

Tony Packo has been serving authentic Hungarian food in the Toledo area since 1932. They’ve grown from a single hot dog stand to a local icon, and Tony Packo’s Inc. now consists of two full-service restaurants and one quick-service restaurant. They offer everything from Sweet Hot Pickles to the signature Packo’s Chili Hot dogs.

You can find Tony Packo’s restaurants all over Toledo and the surrounding area. You can also buy Tony Packo’s products in stores throughout Ohio. The company has also been featured on the television show M*A*S*H and the Food Network show “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.”

Tony Packo is known for having signed hot dog buns from celebrities displayed on its walls and autographed hot dog bun covers from sports teams. This is of those Ohio foods that needs to be sampled when traveling up I-75 into Michigan.

Skyline’s Cincinnati Chili

One of the top Ohio foods can be found in Cincinnati. The city is known for its unique version of chili. The difference from the chili you may be used to lies in the fact that it’s made without tomatoes, beans, or unusual spices. Skyline is known for containing both chocolate and cinnamon and being served over unseasoned spaghetti with a giant mountain of unnaturally orange, shredded cheddar cheese thrown on top. If you sit and think about how those flavors might mix, though, especially with the addition of hot sauce, you’ll start to see how good something so misunderstood can be.

Cincinnati-style chili has been around since 1922, when Macedonian immigrant Tom Kiradjieff opened his first chili parlor in downtown Cincinnati. His secret recipe was based on one he brought with him from his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. It became such a big hit that by 1949 he had opened five more stalls in the city. After he died in 1962, his wife sold the business to her nephews — John and Jim Kiradjieff — who operated nine Skyline restaurants by 1968. Now there are nearly 100 locations throughout Ohio and surrounding states and their cans of chili in grocery stores across the country.

You have probably seen the vast signs on I-75 as you traverse through Ohio to Florida. The Gold Star Chili seems to be the standard-bearer for this iconic Ohioan dish. Lean ground beef, sweet onions, and tomato sauce are common ingredients in Cincinnati chili recipes. However, the way the meat is prepared and seasoned distinguishes it. Cincinnati Chili is made using a unique spice combination that combines the sweetness of cinnamon, cocoa powder, and allspice with the heat of garlic, chili pepper, paprika, and cumin. Gold Star is designated as the official chili of the Cincinnati Bengals professional football team.

The chili is typically served on top of spaghetti with oyster crackers and either shredded cheddar cheese (“two-way”) or beans (“three-way”). Onions can be requested to make it a “four-way,” If both cheese and onions are added, it’s called a “five-way.”

Cleveland’s Polish Boy

While the Polish Boy is widely available throughout Cleveland, there are a few notable places where it is prevalent. The kielbasa sausage used in a Polish Boy is similar to a hot dog, with a casing designed to be grilled or quickly deep-fried. It is also identical to the Vienna Beef sausages served at Chicago-style hot dog stands, except it is typically longer and thinner than what is usually served on a Chicago-style hot dog.

The bun used for a Polish Boy is also longer than a standard hot dog bun. The length of the bread varies from vendor to vendor, but it can range from 10 inches to 18 inches; some vendors will even offer 24-inch sandwiches. The french fries used for the sandwich are classic diner fries that are approximately 1/4 inch thick and 3 inches long.

The coleslaw used for the sandwich can vary in texture depending on how much-shredded cabbage is included with the mayonnaise dressing. Some establishments will use finely shredded cabbage, while others mostly just dress with a few cabbage shreds.

NORKA Soda

The NORKA Beverage Company was founded in 1924 by Albert J. Schumacher and his wife, Helen, who started the company in their basement in Akron, Ohio. The company’s first product, NORKA Cherry-Strawberry Soda, was an instant success when soft drink options were limited. To keep up with the demand for NORKA Soda, the Schumacher family moved production to a building on South Main Street in Akron. Then, when the business continued to grow, they built a larger facility on North Howard Street in Akron.

In 1926, NORKA Orange Soda was created due to feedback from consumers. Later that year, the company introduced Ginger Ale and Root Beer flavors to complete its soda line. NORKA Sparkling Beverages were sold through home delivery and soda fountains throughout Northeastern Ohio until 1970 when they became widely available at retail stores.

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