The Food That Iowans are Learning to Grill This Summer

In honor of the 4th of July holiday, Google Trends has released a bunch of 4th of July-related questions and searches from the past few weeks. Obviously, a lot of those questions have to do with food!

According to Google Trends, a lot of Iowans will be grilling vegetables this summer. The most popular "how to grill" search result from the state of Iowa is... asparagus? I though for sure that it would be corn, but then I figured that most Iowans are born knowing how to grill corn. Foodie Crush recommends grilling asparagus directly on the grill over medium heat for six to ten minutes. Drizzle them with olive oil and then sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Other recipes call for additional toppings, like garlic and balsamic vinegar.

You can't have a BBQ without sides! Google says that the most searched side across the U.S are pasta salad, followed by baked beans, coleslaw, macaroni salad, and watermelon. Personally, I prefer potato salad over ALL of those sides! I don't know how it didn't make the top five!

Apparently a lot of Americans are also interested in red, white, and blue foods this 4th of July! Searches for red, white, and blue drinks and Jell-O shots have been trending, as well as as something called cheesecake salad, trifle, cookies, and Rice Krispies Treats. I wasn't sure what cheesecake salad was, so I looked it up, and it looks DELICIOUS. A recipe from Nourish Plate says it contains cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, whipped topping, mini marshmallows, and fresh strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries. YUM.

What are you grilling up for the 4th of July? Let us know in the comments!