Photo by Martin LaBar via Flickr
It’s known as both “polk salad” and its official name, poke sallet. Either way, it refers to a Southern plant with green foliage and berries that can be poisonous if not cooked properly.
Each year, Gainesboro hosts a festival in honor of the plant, complete with outhouse races, mountain music and a poke sallet-eating contest. For many years, Harriman also celebrated the plant with an annual “Polk Salad” Festival, but it ended its run in 2012.
The Poke Sallet Festival in Gainesboro takes place on Mother’s Day weekend in May.
To learn more abut poke sallet, watch the video below from the Southern Foodways Alliance.
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