Fall brings celebrations with family and friends that many of us have looked forward to all year. As the turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberries, vegetables, and dessert are being passed around the table on Thanksgiving Day, remember to send a “thank you” to the many Wisconsin farmers that make this meal so special.
For many families, the star of the meal is the turkey, but for others it is all about the sides. From the green bean casserole to the pumpkin pie, many of our traditional Thanksgiving sides come from specialty crops. Specialty crops are “fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits and horticulture and nursery crops, including floriculture,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Green beans and pumpkins are not the only specialty crops covering the table around Thanksgiving. We’ll often find sweet corn, potatoes, cranberries, sweet potatoes, squash, and more. These Thanksgiving goodies are extra “special” because Wisconsin is a top producer of many of them!
The tart, tangy cranberry has strong ties to the state of Wisconsin. At nearly five million barrels a year, Wisconsin produces more cranberries than any other state in the nation and more than half of the entire world’s supply. Cranberries offer several health benefits, and approximately 20% of the annual cranberry crop is consumed during the holiday season.
The Badger State is among the nation’s leaders in the production of vegetables. Wisconsin ranks first in the U.S. for producing green beans and third for sweet corn, green peas, and carrots. You can use any of these Wisconsin specialty crops in your Thanksgiving dinner in a variety of ways.
Wisconsin is also number three in the U.S. in the production of potatoes. Potatoes are naturally fat-free, cholesterol-free, low in sodium, and an excellent source of vitamin C, and those eaten with the skin are a good source of potassium, making them a healthy choice for our Thanksgiving dinner.
Now of course, we cannot forget the best part of any Thanksgiving dinner — the dessert! With more than 300 commercial apple orchards producing more than 50 varieties, Wisconsin offers a ready supply of apples for your home baking needs. If pumpkin pie is on the table for your Thanksgiving, head to your local pumpkin patch and look for small, round sugar pumpkins, sometimes called pie or sweet pumpkins. When picking right from any of the 4,000 acres on which Wisconsin pumpkins are grown, look for a stem that’s brown but still firmly attached, and check for blemishes and bruising. You don’t have to stop there: cherries, blueberries, ginseng, mint, and more can all be found on Wisconsin farms, ready to be made into your family’s favorite dessert!
These specialty crops can come together to make a delectable Thanksgiving dinner, especially when they come from local producers and businesses. You can browse the directory at www.somethingspecialwi.com or look for the red and yellow Something Special from Wisconsin™ logo in your grocery store to be sure you are enjoying Wisconsin-made items from Something Special from Wisconsin members, who certify that at least 50% of their product’s ingredients, production, or processing is from or completed in Wisconsin.
— Halei Heinzel is the 77th Alice in Dairyland, Wisconsin’s agriculture ambassador who works with media professionals to educate consumers about the importance of agriculture to Wisconsin’s economy and way of life. She can be reached at halei.heinzel@wisconsin.gov.
