An Introduction to Southern Food
~Blog Post #1~
April 12, 2015
by: Hasana Huff
I choose to focus on the Southern American culture
because I have family that originated from the South. What I know and remember of southern cooking is from the different foods that my family makes on a regular basis. What I hope to learn is the history behind southern style cooking and also develop a deeper appreciation for my cultural background. Southern cooking is not
as simple and frying any and everything that you see. It incorporates many
different styles of cooking from many regions. The first thing
that I discovered about southern cooking was it was born out of strife and
survival. When the slaves came over to America from Africa the only thing they had were what came with them
from Africa and what they could work with in America. There is a strong Native
American influence in the early beginnings of southern cooking, along with the
techniques that came from West Africa. There were also influences from the
Spanish and Portuguese (Louisiana) and the Latin (Texas). Another thing that I
found interesting is frying is not southern born; it is actually a technique
from Scandinavians and Native Americans that the slaves adapted as a food
preservation technique. Since there were no refrigerators back then, the preservation techniques is what really sets
Southern cooking apart from other styles of cooking. Take collard greens for
example, the slaves used pork and salt on the top of the greens to preserve it;
yet, it also flavored the greens underneath the pork. All of these factors play a huge role in how
southern cooking is affected and shaped today.
Cited Source: http://deepsouthmag.com/2012/12/the-real-roots-of-southern-cuisine/
This was very interesting to read. I had no knowledge from southern cooking prior from reading this blog post and now that I have read this, I feel like I have somewhat of an understanding on how people of the south cook their food.
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