- Utah's unique culture includes a distinct food scene with fry sauce and casseroles.
- Utahns have creative naming conventions and a penchant for unique local festivals.
- Outdoor activities like the Easter Jeep Safari highlight Utah's appeal to adventure enthusiasts.
SALT LAKE CITY — Every state has its own personality, formed by its early settlers and all the people who came after. Utah culture is no different. We don't mind standing up for a good cause, whether it's a debate over sugary drinks or celebrating just about everything. Oh, and we use unusual words too — and spell them however the heck we want.
Utah's food culture
The entire U.S. was entranced with Jell-O back in the day, but no other state can claim fame for its devotion to green, lime-flavored gelatin. But there's much more to Utah's food culture, and much of it includes a lot of salt. A subliminal plug for the Great Salt Lake? Perhaps.
Casseroles
Any respectable potluck in Utah will have at least one large tray of funeral potatoes. While the recipe may vary — and many a mom has claimed authorship — it's basically baked hash browns, sour cream and cheese. All kinds of casseroles are still fairly popular here, keeping Campbell's cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soups on the market.
Fry sauce
Utah is the home of fry sauce, which some consider the best and only concoction worthy of a French fry. It's garnered such a following, in recent years major condiment manufacturers have been trying to capture the magic in a bottle. But we all know it's best served in a tiny plastic cup.
Fried meals
Not every dish is creamy mush. We're also home to some greasy, heart-stopping, delectable fried food. You think a piece of cheese on a burger is enough? Nay, you need a half-pound of pastrami. And for dessert, you can't miss with a slab of deep-fried bread loaded with butter and powdered sugar or honey.
Food wars
If you like one restaurant's food better, that's your prerogative. Unless you're in Utah — we have some strong opinions when it comes to local food establishments that serve pretty similar fare. Does it really matter if one pork salad is better than another? In Utah culture, apparently, the answer is yes.
The war is even more heated when it comes to locally made confections. Does BYU Creamery make a better frozen milk product than Aggie Ice Cream? Is Swig/Sodalicious/Fizz/etc. better than the other? What about Crumbl, Dirty Dough, Chip and Ruby Snap?
They're all essentially the same, you say? Them's fightin' words.
Local lingo
Go to a Utah Jazz game and you'll be exposed to all kinds of language. But you probably won't be offended by it. We've popularized ways to say those kinds of words without saying those kinds of words. "Shoot." "Darn it." "Fetch." Yeah, they probably don't mean what you think they mean.
Name-calling
Of all the unique things Utahns do, naming our children — and spelling those kydd naimz — is perhaps among the most creative. It's not that Utahns all have unusual names, although there definitely are some creative ones. Ever met a Brexley or an Embra before? Help out in your child's school classroom and you'll hear something similar.
More often, though, we have common names, but you'd never guess by looking at birth certificates. If you were born in Utah in the past 30 years, there's a high probability that your name ends with an "ie" "ee" or "son." Or, it has a random "x" in there somewhere.
EmmaLee. Shaylie. Jaxson. Jaysen. You get the idea. Then there's the "mc" sounds: McKayla, Makenzie, McCoy. With all these babies being born, we have to help them stand out somehow.
Jeep thrills
There's no question, Utah is the place for outdoor enthusiasts. In fact, visitors come from all over the world to enjoy our unmatched geography. Off-roading would be our middle name, if we could have one.
One of the largest draws is the Easter Jeep Safari. For nine days, drivers in Jeeps and other four-wheel drive vehicles converge on the slickrock surrounding Moab to test their mettle. Trails range from easy to hard and include several obstacles. It's so popular, the event is often covered by recreation media representatives.
Utah traditions: City edition
The Mormon pioneers arrived in Utah in 1847, and two years later, the new residents had a big party to commemorate the event. Today, celebrations are a Utah tradition. Produce, transportation, minerals — you name it, there's a day for it.
- American Fork Steel Days
- Bear Lake Raspberry Days
- Brigham City Peach Days
- Eagle Mountain Pony Express Days
- Hurricane Peach Days
- Green River Melon Days
- North Ogden Cherry Days
- Payson Golden Onion Days
- Pleasant Grove Strawberry Days
- Richmond Black and White Days
- Santaquin Orchard Days
- Spanish Fork Fiesta Days
Utah likes to be free
We celebrate independence twice in July. On the 4th, nearly every city has its own pancake breakfast, parade, carnival and fireworks display. Some towns go BIG. In Provo, for example, its annual Stadium of Fire and Freedom Festival events have welcomed notable acts such as the Beach Boys, Keith Urban and the Jonas Brothers.
Then, we do it all again on July 24 in honor of the pioneers who came here in hopes of running things the way they wanted. Downtown Salt Lake City shuts down while thousands of people watch handcarts, floats and fire trucks in a parade that rivals the big city ones. And if your town isn't sponsoring fireworks that night, your next-door neighbors likely are.
Lights at Temple Square
Christmas lights are a big deal here, too, and not just on the houses. Since the first official lighting ceremony in 1965, visiting Temple Square during the holidays has been a Utah tradition for thousands of Utah families and youth groups. Each year, tens of thousands of lights are hung up on every branch of nearly every tree to create an unmatched twinkling display.
Utah festivals
Utah may be landlocked, in the middle of a desert, no less. But that doesn't mean we don't have a heritage of diverse cultures. You can get a taste — figuratively and literally — at events throughout the year. To name a few:
- Greek Festival
- Indian Food Fair
- World Folkfest
- Living Traditions
- Midway Swiss Days
- Highland Fling
- Oktoberfest
- Celebrating the People Pow Wow
- Scandinavian Heritage Festival
- Utah Pride Festival
- Juneteenth Festival
- Scottish Festival
How do you Utah?
Do you agree with our list of unique things Utahns do? Are there more Utah-centric activities? Share how you take pride in the Beehive State in the comments below.
