5 Dishes That Simply Taste Better In The South

While every part of America has its comfort food favorites, no one does soul food better than the South. Many of the most classic recipes became so popular that they spread across the country and even around the world, but these foods are all about the culture, and returning to where they started always gets you the best possible versions.

For some recipes, you're unlikely to have access to the right ingredients unless you're in the South. For others, you need years of experience to get them right, which is impossible without experts south of the Mason-Dixon Line. Still, some are just hard to find because, while they may be delicious, they just aren't popular enough to be readily available. But where ingredients, expertise, and supply intersect, you get a level of innovation that keeps traditions alive while allowing for modernization and improvement.

The immense popularity of some dishes in the South also introduces more variety. Whether it's sugar in your cornbread, flat or point smoked brisket, or how sweet the iced tea is, regional variations have a unique way of keeping things traditional while still giving you different options. And if you're in those specific regions, you can be sure that what you're getting is what the locals eat.

If stewed, soupy veggies don't sound like your idea of a perfect side dish, it's only because you haven't tried collard greens with the ultimate Southern flavor booster: smoked ham hocks. A relatively difficult cut of meat to eat on its own, Southerners instead allow them to simmer for hours to impart intense meatiness to one of their favorite vegetables.

There's a reason why so many of America's fried chicken chains started in the South. From Chick-fil-A to Popeyes to KFC, the South is where classic American fried chicken got its start, and where innovation continues to produce the next great regional style.

Smoking meat, no matter what American style of barbecue you're talking about, takes years to master, and there's nowhere better to hone your skills than where it all started. The American South has a long history and rich culture surrounding pork, which has produced some of the most highly sought-after barbecue expertise in the country.

While pound cake may not have originated in the South, it certainly became welcome on just about every table there. Not only have Southerners developed countless recipes for it, but they also pride themselves on incorporating regional ingredients, from local honey to fresh, in-season fruit.

If there are two things the South knows, it's pork and biscuits. When you combine the two, you can't hope to find a better place to enjoy them than south of the Mason-Dixon Line, where the dish first originated.