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Soul food is term to describe African American cuisine, the term became popular when “soul‘ became a popular term to describe things that associate with African American culture, this wasn’t cast on blacks by whites, this was something that became popular among blacks. Anyways, do all African Americans eat soul no do some white Americans eat soul food yes, but it’s still soul food. It’s like saying do all people of Mexican decent eat Mexican food? No, do some people of non decent eat Mexican food yes. But it still Mexican food, it refer to the origin. Soul food is much like what is describe as southern cooking, some times southern cooking can refer to soul food as well. A lot of soul food over lap with the general southern cuisine eaten by whites, but they’re not the same thing.
actually, they definitely ARE the same thing. soul food is a term applied to food eaten by black people when they came north. the term "soul food" annoys me, mainly because there really IS no difference. just saying its different does nothing for me. its the same food prepared the same way.
what many people seem not to realize is how intertwined southern black and white cultures truly are. these cultures developed alongside each other. even musically this is true. people often associate blues with only blacks and bluegrass/country with whites. well anyone who has heard dock boggs and mississippi john hurt tell me whos playing blues and whos playing country. these cultures developed together.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chiatldal
During slavery the slave holders gave the parts of the animal or the foods they wouldn’t eat to the slaves. The slaves had to come up with ways to eat these parts, Pickled pigs feet, Ham hock, Chitterlings, neck bones, pig ears, and etc. The diet the slaves came from in West Africa, involve a variety of soups, stews or something just boiled. So a lot of soul food evolves those technique, commonly with rice, black eyed pea, cabbage or something.
thats true to some extent, but thats not the whole picture. and for a very long time these cooking techniques haven been used by both ethnic groups. some influence cam from africa, some from europe, some from native americans (grits, cornbread and barbecue were native american). some dishes, like bread pudding and cobblers, are still eaten in england. its hard to know which dishes originated where., but the idea that black people were eating fried chicken and cornbread in africa is ludicrous. these cultures and cuisines developed together. southern food (or soul food if you want to call it that) is simply the fusion of scotch-irish, english, souther native american, and west african cooking styles and foods.
also, keep in mind that the vast majority of white southerners did not have slaves cooking for them. in appalachia they eat turnip greens, blackeyed peas, fried chicken, pinto beans, ect and these areas have never had significant black populations.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chiatldal
Dishes and ingredients overlap from one cuisine to next anyway. A cuisine is more of a tradition and group of foods that go together through a background of some sort. What white and black southerners eat are not vastly different but I guess the ideal is the whole narrative. And soul food eaten by blacks has nothing to do with the social economic level of some blacks. But rather it’s a vernacular tradition pass down in many families since slavery.
this cusine is passed down through all southern families, regardless of racial origin. in fact it varies much more by whatever subregion of the south you are in (or the black people in the north came from) than the racial background.
Last edited by JimmyJohnWilson; 07-27-2010 at 02:04 PM..
Are we talking about soul food or southern food? IMO there is a big difference between the two.
I was thinking about that, but I just assumed soul food and southern cooking meant the same thing in this thread and didn't bother worrying about it because that would probably start up a huge argument.
anyway, I voted New Orleans because it is the city with the best southern cooking. they know how to impart non-greasy flavors, particularly with bell peppers, cumin, and celery.
it is not typical "country cooking", you know like, biscuits and gravy, mac and cheese, chicken-fried steak.. which is typical "Cracker Barrel" style, hearty food of the upland south.
but that makes it no less southern. i love crawfish etoufee, hoppin johns, oysters, and i really enjoy the italian and french influences with sauces and pastas, and that andouille sausage is unstoppable.
I'm also fond of the fried catfish you find in the mississippi delta area, the fried flounder you find along the atlantic coast, and the fresh Wahoo and Swordfish you can get along the atlantic coast.
i also like the stews and gumbos that you find along the coastal south, from Charleston, through GA and Alabama, to New Orleans. (they seem to get spicier as you go west). Mild tomato-based stews over rice, like Pee Dee Catfish Stew and South Carolina Red Chicken Stew, or BBQ Hash, are some of my favorites.
Charleston is worth mentioning, too. Some of the fancier dishes originated there, like She-Crab Soup, Shrimp and Grits, or something simple like Chicken Perleau.
I cooked a mess of greens for lunch.. with ham hocks, peanut oil, apple cider vinegar, red and black pepper.. i think greens with potlikker is the most underrated food in America.
The reason why I put soul food/southern cooking is because if I would of used just one of those names some people wouldn't know what I was talking about.
actually, they definitely ARE the same thing. soul food is a term applied to food eaten by black people when they came north. the term "soul food" annoys me, mainly because there really IS no difference. just saying its different does nothing for me. its the same food prepared the same way.
what many people seem not to realize is how intertwined southern black and white cultures truly are. these cultures developed alongside each other. even musically this is true. people often associate blues with only blacks and bluegrass/country with whites. well anyone who has heard dock boggs and mississippi john hurt tell me whos playing blues and whos playing country. these cultures developed together.
thats true to some extent, but thats not the whole picture. and for a very long time these cooking techniques haven been used by both ethnic groups. some influence cam from africa, some from europe, some from native americans (grits, cornbread and barbecue were native american). some dishes, like bread pudding and cobblers, are still eaten in england. its hard to know which dishes originated where., but the idea that black people were eating fried chicken and cornbread in africa is ludicrous. these cultures and cuisines developed together. southern food (or soul food if you want to call it that) is simply the fusion of scotch-irish, english, souther native american, and west african cooking styles and foods.
also, keep in mind that the vast majority of white southerners did not have slaves cooking for them. in appalachia they eat turnip greens, blackeyed peas, fried chicken, pinto beans, ect and these areas have never had significant black populations.
this cusine is passed down through all southern families, regardless of racial origin. in fact it varies much more by whatever subregion of the south you are in (or the black people in the north came from) than the racial background.
When the European slave trade began in the early 1400s, the diet of newly enslaved Africans changed on the long journeys from their homeland. It was during this time that some of the indigenous crops of Africa began showing up in the Americas.[2]
Enslavers fed their captives as cheaply as possible, often with throwaway foods from the plantation, forcing slaves to make do with the ingredients at hand. In slave households, vegetables were the tops of turnips and beets and dandelions. Soon, slaves were cooking with new types of greens: collards, kale, cress, mustard, and pokeweed. They also developed recipes which used lard; cornmeal; and offal, discarded cuts of meat such as pigs' feet, oxtail, ham hocks, chitterlings (pig small intestines), pig ears, hog jowls, tripe and skin. Cooks added onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf to enhance the flavors. Some slaves supplemented their meager diets by maintaining small plots made available to them to grow their own vegetables, and many engaged in subsistence fishing and hunting, which yielded wild game for the table. Foods such as raccoon, squirrel, opossum, turtle, and rabbit were, until the 1950s, very common fare among the still predominantly rural and southern African American population.[3]
When the European slave trade began in the early 1400s, the diet of newly enslaved Africans changed on the long journeys from their homeland. It was during this time that some of the indigenous crops of Africa began showing up in the Americas.[2]
Enslavers fed their captives as cheaply as possible, often with throwaway foods from the plantation, forcing slaves to make do with the ingredients at hand. In slave households, vegetables were the tops of turnips and beets and dandelions. Soon, slaves were cooking with new types of greens: collards, kale, cress, mustard, and pokeweed. They also developed recipes which used lard; cornmeal; and offal, discarded cuts of meat such as pigs' feet, oxtail, ham hocks, chitterlings (pig small intestines), pig ears, hog jowls, tripe and skin. Cooks added onions, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf to enhance the flavors. Some slaves supplemented their meager diets by maintaining small plots made available to them to grow their own vegetables, and many engaged in subsistence fishing and hunting, which yielded wild game for the table. Foods such as raccoon, squirrel, opossum, turtle, and rabbit were, until the 1950s, very common fare among the still predominantly rural and southern African American population.[3]
i never denied that the origins of many southern foods are with slaves. but you have to realize that much of what is "soul food" are the items that were eaten by whites in the south as well.
i mean come on, you think cornmeal, squirell, possum, turtle, rabbit, mustard greens, kale greens, turnip greens, etc. are only eaten by blacks in the south? ive got some people for you to meet. ALL of those specifically are PURE appalachian diet, from wild greens to squirrel and possum. what you have to realize is the white southern culture and black southern culture developed alongside each other.
ALL of this is culture with roots among both black and white southerners (and native americans). who of the groups started each dish is irrelevant, because its been part of both black and white cultural history in the south for centuries. all of it didnt come from any specific group. ive heard people call cobblers "soul food". theyve been eating cobblers in england since before there ever was a US.
how this food came to be is up to historical interpretation. some believe that all "soul food" comes from what black slaves cooked and white southerners ate it because it was served to them and they liked it. problem with that theory is that the vast majority of southerners were not the wealthy high class and did not own slaves. especially in appalachia, a part of the south with very little black presence, where greens and "soup beans" cooked with ham hocksand served with cornbread are staples...and have been for centuries.
What we consider "soul food" today is a stretch from what originated from West African countries. While Creole, Gullah, and West Indian foods stick close to the original, "soul food" has been heavily adapted and fused with different things to make what it is today, making it moreso African "influenced"
My first time eating West African, I was surprised at how it was just a simple version of what you would find in Charleston or New Orleans. It was almost the exact same food without all of the "extra".
The fact that this type of food has African origins still does not make a "black thing", since it is the basic staple of most southerners black or white.
how this food came to be is up to historical interpretation. some believe that all "soul food" comes from what black slaves cooked and white southerners ate it because it was served to them and they liked it. problem with that theory is that the vast majority of southerners were not the wealthy high class and did not own slaves. especially in appalachia, a part of the south with very little black presence, where greens and "soup beans" cooked with ham hocksand served with cornbread are staples...and have been for centuries.
I don't understand how people come to the conclusion that a slave owner what just eat whatever a slave put in front of them. What's wrong with that picture? If I view you as subservient to me, why would I eat whatever you give me? That won gets me every time. That's like the slave dropping something on the table and saying to the master, "Eat it."
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