Nearly 20 years before Kentucky achieved statehood in 1792, one of its earliest explorers, Captain James Harrod, and his expedition party may have rustled up the earliest recipe for one of the state's most beloved dishes: burgoo.

At the fort they had just built in what is now Harrodsburg (the oldest permanent settlement west of the Allegheny Mountains and Kentucky's first settlement), these pioneers of the emerging frontier and foodie landscape might have tossed a portion of the day's kill into the stewpot: buffalo, turkey, rabbit, squirrel. A few staples brought from back East - potatoes, corn, carrots - would have added a rib-sticking flourish.

That was 1774 and Kentucky has been adding to its storehouse of gastronomical go-to's ever since.

Burgoo, a Kentucky Derby headliner. The German-inspired ground beef/pork/steel-cut oat culinary wunderkind zipped up with onion and spices called goetta. The cherished and cheesed-up Hot Brown. Barbecue made of mutton, cooked low and slow. Fried chicken - Kentucky's epicurean endowment to the world, thanks to the legendary Col. Sanders and his secret stash of 11 herbs and spices.

The Bluegrass State loves its unique food heritage, so much so that Kentucky Tourism declared 2018 "The Year of Kentucky Food" and launched a State Parks Culinary Trail, giving visitors a chance to sample signature dishes representative of the state's nine tourism regions while experiencing some of Kentucky's most beautiful assets – its state parks.

"The best way to get a sense of a place is through its food," said Kentucky Department of Tourism Commissioner Kristen Branscum. "A lot of states have one genre of food that's associated with them or one iconic dish; in Kentucky, we literally have those iconic dishes and culinary stories across the entire commonwealth."

Tomato pie and transparent pie in the north. Fried fish and pinto beans with spider cornbread, local cheeses and ice cream in the south. In the western reaches? Peach cobbler and white beans with ham hock.

From appetizers to entrees to hearty sides and right on through to dessert and beverage (this being Kentucky, three of the drinks are bourbon-based cocktails and a fourth is moonshine), each of the participating nine state parks are plating the state's rich cultural and culinary heritage.

"There is a story of why we eat a particular food in a particular part of the state," says Branscum. "Through the regional dishes put together for our 'Year of Kentucky Food,' you can have a truly unique visitor experience in each region through that meal."

Tuck into salmon patties and soup beans with cornbread, chow-chow and pickled beets in the east. Cheese zealots head to central Kentucky to indulge in the dish born of a delicious collision of two palate pleasers - beer and cheese - and another pure-Kentucky comestible: Bibb salad with Benedictine dressing.

Mmm. The State Parks Culinary Trail at www.betterinthebluegrass.com/trail takes foodies and their palate on a joy ride through Kentucky's time-honored and trademarked dishes. And to make it even more fun, gourmands can pick up a Culinary Passport at the front desk of any Kentucky State Park and collect stamps as they sample each signature meal. Once you've cleaned those nine plates, mail the passport to the Kentucky Department of Tourism to claim a free gift.

FOUR FOODIE MILESTONES TO CHEW ON

1789: Baptist minister Rev. Elijah Craig distills bourbon whiskey at the site of Royal Spring Park, located in present-day downtown Georgetown, home to the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Tour and Old Friends Retirement Thoroughbred Farm. 2018: Local Feed Seasonal Kitchen & Craft Bar, a farm-to-table restaurant tucked into a former circa 1890s ice house and located across the street from Royal Spring Park, serves the regional meal for the Bourbon, Horses & History Region, which includes bourbon biscuit pudding.

1949: Pioneering food critic Duncan Hines visits the Beaumont Inn, marking a century of service in 2019 and an official stop on the Kentucky Bourbon Trail, and has this to say: "Now write this down for the people in Kentucky. I'll be happy to get home and eat two-year-old ham, cornbread, beaten biscuits, pound cake, yellow-leg fried chicken and corn pudding. And you can say what I think is the best eating place in Kentucky: Beaumont Inn at Harrodsburg." 2015: Beaumont Inn is the recipient of a James Beard America's Classic Award for its timeless appeal and quality food that reflects the character of its community.

1965: Hall's on the River is home to the Original Snappy Beer Cheese, created more than 50 years ago – according to legend – by a guy named Joe Allman for his cousin Johnny Allman, who owned restaurants on the Kentucky River. Long story short: Johnny loses a restaurant and his recipes in a card game and George and Gertrude Hall acquire both when the winner of that ill-fated card game passes away. The beer cheese has been a menu mainstay ever since.

1968: Col. Harland Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame and his wife, Claudia, open a restaurant in Shelbyville. Originally called The Colonel's Lady, it is eventually renamed Claudia Sanders Dinner House. Many of the couple's recipes are still made here. 2016: Jeptha Creed opens as the first locally-owned distillery in the Shelbyville area since Prohibition (and co-owned by Kentucky's youngest distiller) – and serves a wicked New Fashion with moonshine made with an heirloom corn called Bloody Butcher.

ONE TRAIL; NINE UNIQUE FOODIE EXPERIENCES

Follow the trail of tasty to these regions and the Kentucky State Park serving that region's signature meal:

- Bluegrass Blues & Barbecue: Pennyrile Forest State Resort Park, Dawson Springs

- Bourbon, Horses & History: Rough River Dam State Resort Park, Falls of Rough

- Bluegrass, Horses, Bourbon & Boone: Natural Bridge State Resort Park, Slade

- Caves, Lakes & Corvettes: Barren River Lake State Resort Park, Lucas

- Kentucky Appalachians: Jenny Wiley State Resort Park, Prestonsburg

- Daniel Boone Country: Pine Mountain State Resort Park, Pineville

- Northern Kentucky River: Blue Licks Battlefield State Park, Carlisle

- Southern Shorelines: Lake Cumberland State Resort Park, Jamestown

- Western Waterlands: Kentucky Dam Village State Resort Park, Gilbertsville

PLAN YOUR TRAVELS

And hurry! The special regional meals will be served at participating state parks through Oct. 31, 2018. See the Kentucky State Parks Culinary Trail and all nine menus at www.betterinthebluegrass.com, where you can also learn more about each region's cultural heritage, signatures dishes and recipes. Information: kentuckytourism.com.

(Author and travel and lifestyle writer Kathy Witt feels you should never get to the end of your bucket list; there's just too much to see and do in the world. Contact her at KathyWitt24@gmail.com, @KathyWitt.)

(c)2018 Kathy Witt

Visit Kathy Witt at www.kathywitt.com

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