Maine’s Official Dessert Up for Debate

Friday, 04 February 2011 | by Pat's Picks

There’s a food fight going on in Maine says the Boston Globe. Whoopie pie enthusiasts thought it would be easy to get their favorite treat designated as the state’s official dessert. Not so. Not only does the state’s blueberry pie faction claim that their candidate is healthier and more authentically ‘Maine,’ area school children have voiced concerns that the whoopie pie is actually a snack, not a dessert.

But whoopie pie fans say there’s no time for semantics—they want to fast-track the legislation before Pennsylvania hijacks the dessert. Apparently, a review editorial in the Patriot-News called on the state’s new governor to take action on the whoopie issue: “Few foods are considered more Pennsylvania-centric than whoopie pies and yet Maine is moving forward with plans to make our cakey, sugary treat the official state dessert. This makes no sense since [Maine] already has the market cornered on lobster pie and blueberry pie.’’

The Globe put together a list of other interesting state foods. Did you New York has an official muffin? It’s apple, of course.