Middle Atlantic States

The melting pot of the Mid-Atlantic states—Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Delaware—has absorbed the flavors of millions of immigrants of hundreds of ethnic backgrounds over three centuries and blended them into a rich, diverse cuisine. The Mid-Atlantic region stretches from the Atlantic Ocean southwest of New England to Lake Erie and Lake Ontario on the northwest border. Two of the most prominent rivers of the region are the Delaware River, providing the western boundary of New Jersey and linking Delaware to the other Mid-Atlantic states, and the Hudson River, separating New York from New Jersey. All the states in the Mid-Atlantic region share an early history of Native American tribes (Iroquois, Lenape, and Delaware) whose lives centered on the waterways until these early peoples were uprooted by European settlements, colonization, and immigration. The unique Mid-Atlantic cuisine is Native American fare combined with the adaptations and preferences of the European immigrants.