What we talk about on social media says a lot about our culture. It reveals what we care about, which team we’re rooting for and how we like to spend our free time.
But here’s something you might not have thought about: social media can also tell us what our favorite food is.
From October 2013 to May 2014, researchers at the University of Arizona analyzed 3.5 million food-related tweets and discovered which foods each state talks about the most.
So what is Alabama’s favorite food, according to Twitter?
Grits, of course!
While this should hardly come as a surprise to any Southerner, grits is the most tweeted about food in nine states, six of which—Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina and North Carolina—are concentrated in the Southeast. Michigan, Pennsylvania and Maryland also seem to have discovered the unrivaled deliciousness of grits.
The goal of this study was to see what can be learned from the way people talk about food. “Our diets reflect our identities,” the authors of the study write. “The food we eat is influenced by our lifestyles, habits, upbringing, cultural and family heritage.”
Check out the map below to see what foods other states are talking about.
The study also revealed that lunch is the most popular meal in Southern states, including Alabama.
Perhaps the most important takeaway from all of this is to simply be thankful that you don’t live in Wisconsin, where the most popular food is sauerkraut. Now let’s eat!
Follow Cort on Twitter @CortGatliff
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