Country ham production is a major money-making business in North Carolina. The state is now the nation's leader in country ham output, producing almost five million hams in 1993.
The South is a land of traditions and fine foods, and no true Southerner would begin the day without grits as a part of breakfast. In 1995, an A. C. Neilson research report ranked Charlotte fifth in grits consumption nationwide.
When sugar was scarce, too expensive, or rationed during wartime, many Carolinians made molasses for use as sweeteners. The Sapp family of the Concord/Rockwell area continues the tradition today.