Indiana Foodways Alliance
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Hoosier Histories

We want to preserve Indiana's food history. Ball State University Business Fellows will produce video oral histories that will feature chefs, restaurateurs, food manufacturers and other professionals associated with the food industry. Watch for their work coming soon.

Ball Jar Museum

Philip Robinson began his jar collection in 1971 after finding an old Hossier jar on a church property. His collection grew to more than 4,000 fruit jars and 58 kerosene lanterns during the next 37 years. (Read more)

Indiana Pizza

Indiana is a prime location for pizza businesses to get their start, and at least five “mid-size”-to-national franchises have found their start in the Hoosier State. (Read more)

Clabber Girl

If you're a baker, you'll recognize the name of this Indiana company – Clabber Girl. Clabber Girl Baking Powder grew out of the manufacturing business of Hulman and Co., a wholesaler of general merchandise and grocery products. The original Hulman family-owned wholesale grocery business opened in 1849 and had six floors that shoppers could walk around and buy products. (Read more)

Nick's Kitchen

If you get to Huntington, IN, which is perhaps better known as the hometown of former Vice President Dan Quayle, you have to have lunch at Nick's Kitchen on North Jefferson Street. The restaurant is home to the original breaded pork tenderloin, a sandwich that is rarely found outside the borders of Indiana but on the menu of almost every small town Hoosier café. In 2008, the breaded tenderloin turned 100 years old. (Read more)

Chocolates from scratch

In an industry directed toward mass production, there is an East Central Indiana candy producer that focuses on quality, not quantity. Lowery’s Candies, located at 6255 W. Kilgore Ave. in Muncie, IN, creates fine chocolates and candies with fresh ingredients and old-fashioned skills. (Read more)

Scotty's Brewhouse

Scotty's Brewhouse has become a staple in Hoosier university towns. The first Scotty Brewhouse opened in 1996 in Muncie. (Read more)