Southerners love their foods — and take every opportunity to cook, bake, stir, fry, boil, simmer, blanch and serve up some of the world’s best meals.

Food is such an integral part of Alabama that the state this year is hosting a year-long salute to food with special events, competitions and tastings. Bring your appetite and enjoy barbecue, cane syrup, cornbread, peaches, tomatoes, fried green tomatoes (a la Whistle Stop Cafe) fresh seafood, pecans, peanuts, Bud’s Best cookies, and Red Diamond tea and coffee.

After sunning on sandy beaches, savor Florida’s oranges, grapefruit, ‘gator tails, scallops, clams, fried mullet, lobster, crab meat-stuffed flounder, conch fritters, Charlotte Harbor shrimp, margaritas and Key lime pie.

In Georgia, don’t miss peaches, peanuts, country ham, turnip greens, dumplings, Vidalia onions and Coca-Cola, which was created in Atlanta more than a century ago.

Toast Kentucky with a mint julep then plunge into Hot Brown, country ham, Derby pie, smoked trout, Kentucky-raised Spoonfish caviar, burgoo (a thick meat-and-vegetable stew), fried chicken (remember Colonel Sanders?), corn pudding and anything made with bourbon.

Louisiana serves up jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, piquante sauce, crawfish bisque, gumbo, turtle soup, bouillabaisse (seafood stew), fish court-bouillon, remoulade, crab au gratin, Hog’s head cheese, bread pudding and Tabasco sauce.

Mississippi should whet your appetite with catfish, Mississippi mud pie, fried dill pickles, tomatoes, blueberries and tipsy pudding (sponge cake soaked in wine or brandy).

North Carolina offers ham, yams, barbecue, grits pudding, Calabashstyle seafood (lightly battered and deep fried) and, of course, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts which originated here.

In South Carolina you’ll find barbecue, she-crab soup, Young’s pecans (where tours are welcome), boiled peanuts, benne (sesame) seed cookies, Blenheim ginger ale, handmade Clemson blue cheese, Carolina (whole grain) gold rice, and limpin’ Susan (rice with okra).

Tennesseans love southern comfort food so much that they give towns and crossroads names such as Bacon Ridge, Dumplin, Cornbread, Strawberry Fields and Lick Skillet. Savor here barbecue, Jack Daniel’s whiskey, fried catfish, cornbread, doodle soup (a concoction of hot peppers, chicken broth and vinegar) and, of course, RC (Royal Crown) Cola and MoonPies.

Eating is good in Virginia. Try the seafood, oysters, rockfish, hard- and soft-shell crabs, Virginia country ham, Shenandoah Valley apples, peanuts, Sally Lunn bread (yeast bread with no kneading required), trifle, corn pudding, Hayman sweet potatoes and Route 11 Potato Chips.

In West Virginia, plan on enjoying apples, apple butter, ramps (resembling leeks), buckwheat pancakes, redeyes (beer with tomato juice), trout, wild game and eggs pickled in beet juice.

When you pack your duds, don’t forget your appetite; because the Southeast has plenty of foods to keep your fork busy, your heart pounding, your face smiling and your lips smacking.