When it comes to quintessential South Carolina foods, it can be daunting to know where to start — especially if you're not from the state.
Maybe a one-way plane ticket to Charleston isn't in the budget. Or maybe, like me, you are moments away from moving to the Palmetto State and hoping to get a taste of the regional cuisine before your arrival. In any case, it is worth tasting authentic South Carolinian food, whether you're in Columbia or Connecticut.
Luckily, some of the state's most historic restaurants and purveyors offer nationwide shipping for both shelf-stable and perishable goods — from coconut cake to pimento cheese. Keep reading to learn more about six places that will ship a bite of South Carolina right to your door.
Red Clay — Charleston
Referencing the red clay fields of Georgia, chef Geoff Rhyne invented Red Clay Hot Sauce for his Charleston restaurant. His line of hot sauces, honeys and seasonings is available in local and national grocery stores — and they ship across the country. For those looking for a crash course on Red Clay condiments, "The Whole Shebang" set ($45) comes with five of the brand's best sellers: Original Hot Sauce, Carolina Hot Sauce, Peach Hot Sauce, Hot Honey and Spicy Peach Honey.
Red Clay's "The Whole Shebang" package ($45) includes (from left) its Carolina Hot Sauce, Peach Hot Sauce, Original Hot Sauce, Spicy Peach Honey and Hot Honey.
When you order "The Whole Shebang," you can expect some fanfare. The compartmented box, which assures that your "Life's about to change," is a good vessel for the sauces, and they don't have much room to wiggle around on their journey through the mail. Plus, since they include xanthan gum and fermented rice flour, all three of the hot sauce emulsions stay stable — you won't see specks of pepper resting atop vinegar, even though they've been in transit for a few days.
The Original Hot Sauce, the one that started it all, is characterized by sweet and floral Fresno peppers and unassuming white wine vinegar. I could see it stepping up a poultry dish or, more controversially, a bowl of popcorn. The Carolina variant kicks it up a notch with extra acid from sherry vinegar, along with piquant and cayenne peppers. I'll use it to break up the richness in my next batch of mac and cheese. The Peach Hot Sauce offers more sweetness than heat from habanero peppers and apple cider vinegar, so I'd put it up against some pulled pork or drizzle it on top of salsa.
When it comes to the hot honeys, you might not need both. The type and level of heat are virtually identical, and the biggest difference between the two is the added sweetness of peaches in one. If you think honey is sweet enough as it is, go with the original. Both of these would be a great complement to a charcuterie board or a slice of pizza. Because the honey is raw, my bottles had crystalized by the time that I'd received them. If this happens with your order, just run them under warm water for a few minutes to break up the solids.
Olde Colony Bakery — Mount Pleasant
As the oldest family-operated bakery in Charleston, Olde Colony Bakery is known for its historic Lowcountry baked goods. Among its top sellers are Pecan Pinches, Cream Bread and Carolina Key Lime Cookies and Charleston Benne Wafers.
True to its name, Benne Wafers are comprised of benne, the word for "sesame" in Bantu languages. African enslaved people brought benne to the South, and it became a popular Lowcountry ingredient. Today, benne wafers are a Kwanzaa staple and continue to be ubiquitous across South Carolina. Olde Colony Bakery currently features an introduction to the history and beginnings of the benne wafer on its website. They continue to make benne wafers by hand with toasted sesame seeds and ship them nationwide in 5-ounce ($5.24) and 1-pound ($14.24) bags.
The Crescent Olive — Columbia
The Crescent Olive's Blood Orange Olive Oil (left) ($17.95) and Lavender Dark Balsamic Vinegar ($17.95).
In its Columbia Facility, The Crescent Olive offers over 65 oils and vinegars on tap — including several formulas and infusions that it makes in-house. On their website, owners Charlotte and Mike Easler argue that "extra virgin olive oil is like fruit juice: highly perishable ... and more flavorful when consumed fresh." While you won't need to refrigerate them, each bottle of Crescent Olive extra virgin olive oil features a "crush date" for consumers to keep tabs on freshness.
Despite the precarity of shipping oily, sweet acidic contents in glass bottles, it seems that The Crescent Olive has it down to a science. The goods come secured in perforated, black plastic foam, which prevents the bottles from touching any of the box's four walls. Complete with colored tissue paper, a menu and a handwritten note, the packaging feels more like a gift than like groceries.
There is no shortage of oils and vinegars to choose from on The Crescent Olive's website. Go with one of the "Ultra Premium" extra virgin olive oils if you know your olive oil, and opt for an infused olive oil if you're looking to kick your usual seasonings up a notch. The Blood Orange Olive Oil ($17.95), which is a fixture in its Whole Fruit Fused Agrumato line, begs to be drizzled across mild seafood, such as cod or scallops.
If you're in the market for vinegar, The Crescent Olive offers both dark and white varieties. White balsamics, which have a shorter aging time, offer a milder flavor, while dark balsamics are a bit more acidic and funky. If you're looking for something that strikes a balance between sweet and tangy, try out the Lavender Balsamic ($17.95), which is a part of its Dark Balsamic Vinegar Condimento line, for a versatile salad dressing.
Blenheim Ginger Ale — Hamer
If you can't make it to Hamer to tour the Blenheim Ginger Ale factory firsthand, Blenheim's nationwide shipping can get you as close to the action as possible. Their bottling company has been making the same ginger ale recipe since 1903. On both Blenheim's website and at its headquarters near the infamous South of the Border attraction along I-95, the brand is eager to educate Carolinians and transplants alike on the history of ginger ale — from its beginnings in California mineral springs to its role in South Carolina tourism.
Blenheim Ginger Ale now comes in three flavors: Old #3 Hot, #5 Not as Hot and #9 Diet. If you opt for delivery, you'll have to buy a pack of 24 ($34.50). Bottles come individually wrapped to minimize the inevitable soda shaking in transit.
Callie's Hot Little Biscuit — Charleston
Callie's Hot Little Biscuit's "Share the Love Basket" comes with (lfrom left) its Cinnamon Biscuits, Cheese & Chive Biscuits and Buttermilk Biscuits, as well as its pimento cheese.
With nationwide shipping out of its Charleston fulfillment center, Callie's Hot Little Biscuit carries a vast array of South Carolina comfort foods, including frozen biscuits and mixes, pimento cheese and grits. The offerings across its website and Goldbelly differ from one another and include tiered gift baskets, biscuit crackers, cheese crisps and pantry items across all listings.
Those looking for a sampler, but who are not yet ready to try out Callie's entire repertoire, can opt for the "Share the Love Basket" ($52.95), which features pimento cheese, buttermilk biscuits, "cheese & chive" biscuits and cinnamon biscuits with a patty of cinnamon butter on the side.
The original buttermilks have a delicate crumb. They're the right vehicle for the rich and peppery pimento cheese, which has thick curds that spread well. The cinnamon biscuits veer on the doughy side but are a good choice for those looking for a cinnamon roll-biscuit hybrid. A sweet and mild chive flavor is the highlight of the cheese and chive biscuit, and the cheddar keeps the crumb a bit more moist than the other two.
Callie's delivery wasn't the smoothest, with dented and open packaging and thawed ice packs. Nothing was as cold as it should have been — the biscuits needed about half of the recommended cook time, the cinnamon butter was spreadable and the pimento cheese was more refrigerated than frozen. If you order this box, make sure that you can intercept the delivery — this is not one that you want to leave waiting, even indoors, for too long.
Caroline's Cakes — Spartanburg
The Coconut Cloud Cake at Caroline's Cakes ($70) is also available with gluten-free ingredients ($90).
While its headquarters are located in Spartanburg, Caroline's Cakes has garnered national attention through Food Network and Oprah features. Specializing in seven- and four-layer cakes, its most popular flavors include Caramel ($70), Pink Champagne ($70) and Red Velvet ($70). It also has its own rendition of the classic South Carolina coconut cake.
Caroline's Coconut Cloud Cake ($70) is popular enough to come in a few different iterations, including both four and seven layers ($70), gluten-free ($90) and split with its best-selling Caramel Cake ($80). Cakes come surrounded by dry ice and sealed in a metal tin, which keeps them frozen upon arrival. You can wait four hours for the cake to thaw, or, if you're patient, you can refrigerate it overnight.
I tried the cake in all of its states of being (including thawed, refrigerated and, yes, frozen), and I can ultimately conclude that you can't go wrong. When it's chilled, you get a welcome tang from the sour cream in the cake's batter — something that prevents the dessert from being overly saccharine. If you eat it thawed, you'll appreciate the whipped-cream texture of the icing and the flakes of raw coconut in between the cake's layers. The choice is yours.
