If you believe the best souvenirs are edible, seek out roadside stands and farm markets statewide, where glass jars sparkle in the sun. What’s inside is a treasure of tastes—and a delicious reminder of local foodways.
At Abbott Farms in Cowpens, where the staff knows peaches (and is known to share free samples), Carolina peach jam beams the color of sunrise. From McLeod Farms Roadside Market in McBee, sweet potato pecan butter shines as earthy-sweet, warmly spiced and imminently spreadable. Inside the kitchen of Old McCaskill’s Farm in Rembert, local fruits from blackberries to pears are canned, beckoning for bakers to transform them into pies and cobblers. For the sweetest simplicity, visit McDowell Farms in Chesnee, where honey is harvested seasonally in small batches alongside strawberries.
Not every jarred treat is sweet, mind you. Across South Carolina shelves, you’ll discover all manner of pickled and peppered produce. At Bellews Country Store in Spartanburg, look for chow chow, a Southern staple veggie relish homemade locally and canned on-site. At Mike’s Produce of Newberry, try pickled okra, perfect for a Bloody Mary bar. At Chattooga Belle Farm in Long Creek, opt for apple salsa, a mélange of piquant peppers and the farm’s apple varieties. (Or try some farm-made spreads with a charcuterie and cheese plate from the on-site Belle's Bistro.)
Ultimately, the magic is more than what’s in the jar. At these stands and markets—mostly family operations, some more than a century old—you might pick your own fruit or gaze out over the farms and orchards that inspired your souvenir. And each crystalline jar preserves the experience along with the bounty.
