US President Joe Biden carries an ice cream cone as he leaves Jeni's Ice Cream in Washington, DC, on January 25, 2022.
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Presidents of the United States have had some eccentric choices for favorite foods.
From squirrel stew to cheeseburger pizza, these commanders-in-chief didn't let their time in office change their tastes.
Here are the favorite foods of all 46 presidents.
Presidents have hundreds of staff members to cater to their every whim during their time in the White House.
Though the Executive Mansion hosts some of the country's most exclusive and upscale dinners, each president has different tastes for everyday fuel.
The recorded favorites of each president seem to stem from choices made by first ladies, food trends at the time, and comfort food to stay consistent through a rocky administration.
From squirrel stew to cheeseburger pizza, here are all 46 presidents' favorite treats:
George Washington: Hoecakes
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The first president loved hoecakes topped with honey, an early version of an American breakfast classic that originated as a Native American recipe.
John Adams: Hard cider
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Adams picked up the habit of drinking a morning "gill" of hard cider while attending Harvard and later wrote that he would "... never forget how refreshing and salubrious" he found the beverage in college.
Thomas Jefferson: Mac and cheese
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Jefferson discovered macaroni during his European travels and is credited with popularizing the food in the US after he brought a machine for making the pasta back from Naples, Italy.
James Madison: Ice cream
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While it's hard to pin down one favorite food for Madison, first lady Dolley Madison popularized the frozen treat during her time in the White House and the president was one of its top consumers.
James Monroe: Spoon bread
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The half-shell snack was just one of van Buren's favorite foods, in addition to doughnuts, raisins, figs, and meat.
William Henry Harrison: Squirrel stew
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Harrison's proclivity for nature might have contributed to his taste for squirrel, which was a common protein at the time in a variety of dishes.
John Tyler: Indian pudding
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This cozy dish with spice and ice cream is similar to popular English desserts flavored with raisins and currants.
James Polk: Cornbread
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Cornbread was a tribute to Polk's Tennessee roots during his time in the White House, much of which was spent entertaining alongside his wife, Sarah.
Zachary Taylor: Calas
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Taylor's taste for Southern and Creole food led him to calas, which are similar to the treats consisting of fried dough covered in powdered sugar now known as beignets.
Millard Fillmore: Soup
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Fillmore was a fan of hearty foods, including beef stew, mock turtle soup, fish, ham with macaroni, duck, chicken, pigeon, and larded sweetbreads.
Franklin Pierce: Fried clams
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Buchanan had a taste for finer cuisine, including French dishes that had just arrived in America. However, he also counted cabbage among his consistent favorites.
Lincoln also cited gingerbread cookies among one of his closely held favorites, but was a reliably hearty eater and fond of bacon.
Andrew Johnson: Hoppin' John
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Southerner Johnson's comfort-food favorite is made with black-eyed peas, rice, chopped onion, sliced bacon, and salt.
Ulysses S. Grant: Rice pudding
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Ulysses S. Grant kept things simple with his favorite — rice pudding.
Rutherford B. Hayes: Cornmeal pancakes
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Hayes enjoyed this simple but hearty dish during his presidency and his wife's recipe for these Civil War-era pancakes has been preserved for diners of today.
James Garfield: Squirrel soup
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Garfield was the second president to count squirrel as one of his favorite meals, which is nearly unheard of today.
Chester Arthur: Mutton chops
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Arthur's meal of choice matched his facial hair style, as both were known as mutton chops.
Grover Cleveland: Pickled herring
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Cleveland was a bachelor when he entered the White House in 1884 and told a friend he wished he could pass up the luxurious meals for "a pickled herring, a Swiss cheese, and a chop instead of the French stuff."
Benjamin Harrison: Corn
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Harrison's beginnings in Ohio and Indiana put him in the middle of the country's main corn production region and shaped his favorite foods for years to come.
William McKinley: Meat and fishFormer President William McKinley, who was the source of President Donald Trump's "Tariff Man" moniker.
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It was written that McKinley and his wife were simple but hearty eaters, and "liked plain food, in substantial quantities."
Theodore Roosevelt: Steak and gravy
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Roosevelt was an adventurous eater and ate as one would expect a hunter would, counting wild game and steak among his favorites.
William Taft: Steak and potatoes
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Taft, who came to be known as the heaviest US president in history, was a hearty and classic eater, relying on favorite staples of steak and potatoes.
Woodrow Wilson: Chicken saladPresident Woodrow Wilson wanted to build a case against the Bolsheviks.
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Wilson was a simple eater, and the only stand-out favorite a former housekeeper could recall beyond classic breakfast foods was chicken salad.
Warren G. Harding: Chicken pot pie
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Harding's rollercoaster presidency might have pushed him toward the comfort-food favorite of a chicken pot pie that points back to his roots in the Midwest.
Calvin Coolidge: Apple pie
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Coolidge was a casual but adventurous eater, counting Vermont country pickles, Mrs. Coolidge's Chicken Chop Suey, chicken chow mein, and apple pie made with pork among his favorite recipes.
Herbert Hoover: Sweet potatoes with marshmallows
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Hoover's favorite has stood the test of time, as sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows can still be found on dinner tables across the country come Thanksgiving.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Grilled cheese
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According to Henrietta Nesbitt, Roosevelt's White House housekeeper, FDR loved grilled cheese sandwiches in addition to other classic American foods, including scrambled eggs, fish chowder, hot dogs, and fruitcake.
Harry Truman: Well-done steakHarry Truman.
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Truman was specific that his steak was to be cooked well-done.
Dwight Eisenhower: The first lady's Million-Dollar Fudge
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Though he was known for his background in farming peanuts, Carter stuck to the Southern favorite, which also served as the family dog's name.
Ronald Reagan: Jelly beans
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Reagan was obsessed with the colorful snack, and at one point reportedly ordered more than 300,000 to be placed around the Capitol, White House, and other federal buildings each month.
George H.W. Bush: Pork rinds
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The president reportedly caused sales of the snack to skyrocket while he was on the campaign trail and identified them as his favorite, particularly when they were topped with Tabasco.
Bill Clinton: Cheeseburgers
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Clinton chased his favorite fast foods including jalapeno cheeseburgers, chicken enchiladas, barbecue, cinnamon rolls, and pies on the presidential campaign trail, years before he would experiment with veganism for his health.
George W. Bush: Cheeseburger pizza
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Former White House Chef Cristeta Comerford told reporters after the president left office that Bush loved what staff called "home-made 'cheeseburger pizzas' because every ingredient of a cheeseburger is on top of a margherita pizza."
Barack Obama: Nachos
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Trump has a well-documented affection for fast food. From serving it in the White House to getting it delivered to his private plane, the president has said Burger King and McDonald's are among his favorites because they promise a standard of cleanliness that's hard to verify at other restaurants.
Joe Biden: Ice CreamBiden loves ice cream.
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