21. Jersey Fresh

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Long before buying local became de rigueur, the New Jersey Department of Agriculture launched its Jersey Fresh promotional campaign and quality-grading program to help spread the word about the Garden State’s plethora of fabulous produce (see number 28). That was in 1984; the program’s success has created a direct line from New Jersey farmers to New Jersey eaters and inspired similar initiatives across the country.—JB

22. Jughandle Turns

Illustration by John S. Dykes

Everyone seems to have an opinion about jughandles (aka the Jersey Left)—especially non-New Jerseyans, who don’t get the logic behind bearing right to turn left. Love them or hate them, we’re stuck with the more than 600 jughandles that were built as safety precautions for motorists crossing high-volume intersections, especially during peak hours. It’s probably for the best. New Jersey has one of the densest networks of roads in the country; crossing the busiest of them without jughandles would be akin to a merciless real-life game of frogger.—BM

23. Oscar Winners

Photo by Paul Buck/EPA/Newscom

New Jersey is the birthplace of film; if the industry had stayed put, it would’ve found plenty of Oscar-worthy talent in its own backyard. Topping the cast is Summit-born, Bernardsville-raised Meryl Streep, a 19-time Oscar nominee (most of any actor) with three wins, including two for best actress. Also on the marquee are Neptune’s Jack Nicholson, with 12 nominations and three wins; and Edison-raised Susan Sarandon, five nominations and one win. Elizabeth-born character actor Thomas Mitchell won Jersey’s first Oscar in 1939 for best supporting actor in Stagecoach. Other Jersey-associated winners: Michael Douglas, Olympia Dukakis, Anne Hathaway, Linda Hunt, Joe Pesci, Anne Revere, Eva Marie Saint (for that most-Jersey of films, On the Waterfront), Frank Sinatra, Mira Sorvino and Kevin Spacey (twice).—KS

24. The Parkway

Photo Courtesy of The Tichnor Brothers Collection/ .flickr.com/boston_public_library/

“What exit?” These two words might not mean much to the rest of the country, but for folks who live along the spine of the Garden State Parkway, they represent a virtual address, a state of mind, a pride of place. For North Jerseyans, the Parkway is an escape route to the Shore heading south; cross the Driscoll Bridge (three spans! 15 lanes!) and suddenly the air seems lighter, the world a better place. Built between 1946 and 1957, the Parkway undulates for 172.4 miles through a mostly tree-lined landscape punctuated by iconic green-and-yellow signage, traffic hot spots and sprawling toll plazas before reaching its final destination for southbound traffic, the existentially named Exit 0.—BM

25. The Pine Barrens

Photo by Steve Greer

The sandy soil and drastic fluctuations in temperature of this massive region—comprising much of seven South Jersey counties—defied the attempts of early settlers to grow cash crops. That left the Pine Barrens—or Pinelands—an isolated ecosystem with unusual native species ranging from an array of orchids to the rare pygmy Pitch Pines—as well as cultural touchstones all its own. Its 1.1 million acres were designated as America’s first national reserve in 1978, protecting the sanctity of its historic villages, berry farms, forests, rivers and pure underground aquifers.—JB

26.Pizza

Photo by Dave Bradley/Getty Images

Jersey boasts the oldest continuously run pizzeria in America—Papa’s, opened in Trenton in 1912, now in Robbinsville. Papa’s popularized the tomato pie, on which chunks of crushed tomato go after the toppings. After World War II, the toppings flipped and thin-crust became the rage, exemplified by bastions such as Sciortino’s in South Amboy, the Venice in Bayonne and Pete & Elda’s/Carmine’s in Neptune City. We’ve seen the rise of the pan pizza (part of the success of Star Tavern in Orange), as well as puffy Neapolitan pies cooked in 90 seconds in wood-burning ovens (A Mano in Ridgewood and others). Now a new generation is bringing high artisanship to dough as well as toppings (B2 Bistro in Red Bank, Tallulah’s in Asbury Park). Coal ovens survive here and there. And in Robbinsville, you can still get a slice of tomato pie at venerable DeLorenzo’s, as well as Papa’s.—EL

27. Produce

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock

Let’s salute the Big Three—tomatoes, corn and blueberries, the red, white and blue flag of Garden State summers. One might quibble. Based on 2014 stats, cranberries, rather than tomatoes, should represent red, since Jersey ranks third in the nation in cranberry production and only eighth in tomatoes. Our sublime sweet corn (we rank sixth in the nation in production) comes in yellow and bicolor as well as white. Fortunately, the blueberry is unassailable. While we rank only fifth nationally in production, Jersey blues bring in the green like no other fruit or vegetable: $79.5 million in 2014. Which brings us back to tomatoes, whose 2014 value of $38.1 million beats everything but blueberries. Backyard gardeners dote on their tomato vines, especially since Rutgers began reviving the seeds of the vanished varietals that made Jersey tomatoes famous. However you assemble our Big Three, long may they wave.—EL

28. Revolutionary Roots

Illustration by John S. Dykes

New Jersey was just one of the 13 colonies, but none played a bigger role in the American Revolution. Driven out of New York by the British, George Washington and the Continental Army traversed the rivers, mountains and valleys of New Jersey for much of the war, dodging and bedeviling the Redcoats. Washington crossed the Delaware on Christmas Eve 1776 to reenter New Jersey and decisively embarrass the king’s forces at the battles of Trenton and Princeton. New Jersey subsequently served as his headquarters for the better part of three winters, including the brutal winter of 1779-1780 at Jockey Hollow, now part of the Morristown National Historic Park.—LY

29. Rutgers

Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images

The nation’s eighth oldest institution of higher learning celebrated its 250th anniversary this year. Originally one of nine Colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution, Rutgers today comprises 31 schools and colleges as well as 300 research centers and institutes spread over three campuses; its annual R&D budget has hit $677 million. The school enrolls 48,000 undergraduates and 19,000 graduate students each year (86 percent are New Jersey residents); the alumni roster totals more than 480,000 worldwide (including this writer). Whether they are all thrilled with the university’s entry into the Big 10 remains to be seen.—BM

30. Seafood

Photo by Romulo Yanes

Boats out of Cape May and Viking Village at Barnegat Light ply some of world’s finest scallop-fishing grounds. Indeed, scallops are Jersey’s most valuable seafood catch, with 7.1 million pounds worth $88 million harvested in 2014. Cape May is the second biggest commercial fishing port on the East Coast after New Bedford, Massachusetts. Closer to shore, New Jersey has long been a leader in clam farming. And after mid-Atlantic oysters were wiped out by the MSX parasite in the late 1950s, it was Rutgers biologist Harold H. Haskin who developed a disease-resistant variety that ultimately revived all East Coast oystering and led to the 1997 return of the Cape May Salt oyster in Delaware Bay. In 2014, oyster farming was brought to Barnegat Bay, a boon for the local ecosystem. Don’t pass the lemons, mignonette or horseradish. Just slurp. You’ll savor the essence of the sea at its most ethereal.—EL