Squirrel stew, jelly beans, and hoecakes: Here are all 44 presidents' favorite foods

The first president loved hoecakes topped with honey, an early version of an American breakfast classic that originated as a Native American recipe.

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.

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.

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.

Monroe stayed true to his native Virginia by snacking on spoon bread, which is similar to a bread pudding.

Adams is credited with a simple and healthy favorite of fresh fruit.

Jackson's favorite dish has nothing to do with sturdy pants but is a term for green beans cooked with bacon.

The half-shell snack was just one of van Buren's favorite foods, in addition to doughnuts, raisins, figs, and meat.

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.

This cozy dish with spice and ice cream is similar to popular English desserts flavored with raisins and currants.

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.

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.

Fillmore was a fan of hearty foods, including beef stew, mock turtle soup, fish, ham with macaroni, duck, chicken, pigeon, and larded sweetbreads.

Pierce's taste in food was true to his New England roots and included fried clams, clam chowder, and apple pie.

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.

Southerner Johnson's comfort-food favorite is made with black-eyed peas, rice, chopped onion, sliced bacon, and salt.

Ulysses S. Grant kept things simple with his favorite — rice pudding.

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.

Garfield was the second president to count squirrel as one of his favorite meals, which is nearly unheard of today.

Arthur's meal of choice matched his facial hair style, as both were known as mutton chops.

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."

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.

It was written that McKinley and his wife were simple but hearty eaters, and "liked plain food, in substantial quantities."

Roosevelt was an adventurous eater and ate as one would expect a hunter would, counting wild game and steak among his favorites.

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.

Wilson was a simple eater, and the only stand-out favorite a former housekeeper could recall beyond classic breakfast foods was chicken salad.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Truman was specific that his steak was to be cooked well-done.

Though Eisenhower liked cooking as a stress-reliever, he didn't mind Mamie's Million Dollar Fudge made for him with chocolate, marshmallow, and nuts.

Kennedy ate like a true New Englander, preferring the creamy clam chowder to Manhattan-style tomato based.

In addition to Mexican food, corn bread, and grits, Texan Johnson tucked into hearty chicken-fried steak.

Nixon's unusual favorite of cottage cheese and ketchup would raise eyebrows any time of day, but the president especially liked it for breakfast.

Ford would follow his classic American dinner of choice with butter pecan ice cream.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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."

The former president told comedian Jerry Seinfeld that nachos were one of his greatest vices.

"That's one of those where I have to have it taken away," Obama said. "I'll have guacamole coming out of my eyeballs."

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.