SOUTHERN FOODS

INFO

• VI, NC, SC, GE, WV, KT, TE, MI, MS, AK, AB
• Known for confederacy and union in civil war
• Louisiana and Florida controlled by others
• French and Spanish
• So their culture somewhat differs

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY

• Known for being warm, sweet, and welcoming
• Make people feel welcome, and serve generously
• Bring a cake as a new neighbor welcoming
• Call people "Sir", "ma'am" or "darling"
• Open doors, and remove hats

AFRICAN INFLUENCE

• Slaves shaped cooking traditions
• Working on plantations they adapted to modern cooking
• In Africa they stewed foods
• Fried okra, squash, corn, and chicken
• Brought over okra, watermelon, and black eyes peas

RICE

• Rice was a very important crop
• Used in many dishes
• It was often known as "Carolina gold"
• Production required lots of slaves
• Charleston's port became a popular slave trade

HOPPIN JOHN AND OKRA

• Hoppin' John is one of Americas oldest dishes
• And got its name from children hopping of excitement
• Okra, was a food brought from Africa, and is mostly seen in the south
• It's a close relative to cotton
• Is used in gumbo and other stews

RED BEANS AND RICE

• From New Orleans, with a catholic history
• Romans would not eat Sunday
• And would expect a hot meal waiting after church
• Included rice, beans, and ham bone marrow
• A native New Orleana-in crave rice and beans every Monday

GUMBO

• From Louisiana, French and Spanish rule
• Gumbo is a mix of these Louisiana cultures
• 30 Native American groups, French and Spanish
• Includes rice, seafood and the African native, Okra

CATFISH & HUSHPUPPIES

• Catfish are a very important food in the south
• Catfish fries are one of the main focuses of outdoor events
• Hush puppies got their name from when they were made...
• ...dogs would howl at the smell. You would throw one to hush the puppies
• Cabbage slaw, fried catfish, and hush puppies are very important meals

PORK BARBECUE

• Pork is a favored meat of the south
• The would cook I'm pits, and would use barbecue sauce
• Shredded pork with barbecue sauce and French bread
• Or slow cooked with beans, and put in a hamburger sauce
• I've had it before and it's amazing

COUNTRY HAMS

• There would be special smoke houses for country hams
• Pigs became so popular because of how fast they grew
• For special flavor the pigs were fed:
• Acorns, vines, berries and sometimes peanuts
• Virginia was known for "Smithfield hams"

BISCUITS AND CORNBREAD

• Cornbread and biscuits are the most commonly eaten bread
• Smithfield Hams were also accompanied with beaten biscuits
• You would have to beat the biscuits dough for 20 min so it would rise

MEAT AND THREE

• Three to five vegetables, with meat of the day
• Chicken fried steak, pork chop, or ham could be some
• You would eat with mustard, turnips, collards, okra,
• Green beans, or summer squash and union
• Sometimes with cinnamon apple, or coleslaw

GRITS

• Made with eggs, ham, biscuits, red gravy, and grits
• A typical southern breakfast food. It's very good
• The grits are white any rested with lye
• It swells and the corn fall off. Then it is called hominy.
• The hominy is ground to produce grits

PIES, PUDDING, AND COBBLERS

• Popular pies include sweet potato, lemon meringue...
• ...key lime, black bottom, peach and pecan
• Peach and berry cobblers are also very popular desserts
• And a popular adaption of English pudding is
• Banana pudding!

SWEET TEA

• Adding sugar to black tar and brewed in hot water
• Though the mixture is served cold
• Some flavors are raspberry, lemon, or mint
• early 1900s luxury items were: tea, ice, and sugar
• So having sweet tea meant you very very rich

CREOLE AND CAJUN

• Because of Louisiana's French history food differs
• They had access to the ocean a lot of their food was based on that
• Such as crawfish, oysters, crab, shrimp and fish.
• Fruits commonly used are, figs, plum, and grapes
• And since peanuts and pecans are native, they are used as well

MARDI GRAS

• "Fat Tuesday" or twelfth carnival or farewell to meat"
• From New Orleans but has spread to other areas
• Festivities increase throughout the week before lent
• Traditional colors are green, gold, and purple
• Symbolizing faith, power, and justice