Whenever someone thinks of Louisiana, they probably imagine crawfish boils, steaming seafood, and some type of gumbo or jambalaya. While many people know of the Cajun cuisine, not everyone knows about the history and the influence the Acadians had on the style of cooking. Acadians were simple people who lived off the land of Louisiana. They fished in the waterlines and cultivated crops that they used in their cooking. By manipulating what was available to them and creating unique dishes, the Acadians inadvertently developed an unprecedented cuisine. The history, culture, and cooking style would later influence and create the modern day cuisine, known as Cajun. Before knowing the full Acadian history and the influence of the Acadians, it’s …show more content…
For instance, crawfish and shrimp are two of the most used, well-known, and mass produced seafoods in Louisiana. Starting with the crawfish, it’s described as a “lobster like creature.” Commonly called mudbugs, crawfish are used in anything, from etouffee, to sandwiches, or even in crawfish pies. Since crawfish are so well-loved, crawfish boils are held in honor of the little crustacean, a classic Cajun tradition. Due to Louisiana’s bayous and swamps, the crawfish are able to flourish and can be cultivated, (KNOE, 2009). Besides the crawfish, shrimp is another cornerstone of Cajun cuisine. Louisiana’s position to the Gulf of Mexico allows Louisiana to be the “primary producer,” of the Gulf white shrimp, also known as “the best-tasting shrimp.” In fact, Morgan City was Louisiana’s “fishing boom town,” in the 1930’s and 1940’s. This was partly due to the shrimp stocks that were offshore from Morgan City’s port. Up to 95 percent of the shrimp are caught from the Gulf of Mexico, with Louisiana contributing around two-thirds of shrimp. Likewise, Louisiana manufactures dried shrimp which is considered a delicacy in some places. Dried Shrimp first appeared in Louisiana around 1885. At its height, around seventy-five drying factories existed in Louisiana, but now only 6 and 10 processors still make dried shrimp ( J.Horst, G.Horst, 2009). In summary, because Louisiana has access to many different waterways, seafood is often used in Cajun
French explorers first put their steaks into the ground more than a quarter of a century ago. The area that the French chose to build their lives on eventually became Louisiana. Although time has passed, the French influence continues to serve as a significant part of the unique culture of Louisiana ("How The French Influence Is Still Felt In Louisiana Today"). Noticeable areas of French influence include, but are not limited to: cuisine, music, and architecture. However, the continuation of the French language and dialects over the years appears to be the most noteworthy influence that French has had on Louisiana ("How The French Influence Is Still Felt In Louisiana Today").
Mississippi is heavily forestry except for the Delta area, which is mainly agricultural. Its primary crops in the Delta are cotton beans, rice, potatoes, peanuts, and catfish. Its aquaculture farms produce the majority of the farm-raised catfish in the U.S. Belzoni, Mississippi is widely known as the “Catfish Capital” of the world. Mississippi has a wide variety of land forms. Its many lakes and streams make it conducive to attract tourists who are interested in hunting and fishing.
The culture of Louisiana is not one general set of customs and beliefs shared by all those who live in the area. Louisiana is a state in which many different elements are mixed together to create what can be described as Southern Louisianan culture. The two most predominant elements which make up the culture within the southern region of the state are the cultures of the Creoles and the Cajuns, which have many different influences within them. A complex blend of many different elements including religion, language, music, and food, create the unique culture of the Cajuns and the Creoles in the region of Southern Louisiana.
Farmers who lived west of the Appalachian Mountains shipped all their surplus produce by boat down rivers that flowed into the Gulf of Mexico. In a treaty of 1795, Spain agreed to give Americans the "right of deposit" at New Orleans. This right allowed Americans to store in New Orleans, duty-free, goods shipped for export. Arks and flatboats transported a great variety of products, including flour, tobacco, pork bacon, lard, feathers, cider, butter, cheese, hemp, p...
Nous sommes Acadiens. (We are Acadians.) Some outsiders see us as a quaint, virtuous people, spending a great deal of time singing, dancing, praying, and visiting? (Conrad, 1978, p.14). Others see us as independent and unsophisticated. We see ourselves as fun-loving, carefree, happy, proud people who have a great love for our culture. The Acadians were French settlers of eastern Canada who were exiled from their land in the 1750?s. The Acadians are known to have settled in the southern bayou lands of Louisiana around that time. The Acadiana people acquired their nickname, ?Cajuns,? from those people who could not pronounce Acadians correctly. Due to the opinion that Cajuns were ?different?, they lived close together and became isolated from others in Louisiana. They have since developed their own distinct characteristics which make them unique and unlike no others in the bayou state. Family, music, housing, food, marriages, and ?traiteurs? were all a part of the simple but challenging lifestyle of the Cajuns.
Cajun music has a folk-like beat that places the accordion at the center of the rhythm. Cajun music originated from the United States of America but more specifically, the state of Louisiana. This music came to Louisiana through the French-speaking immigrants that settled there. These immigrants once called the Acadians, or Cajuns, found a new home in Louisiana after being expelled from Nova Scotia (Ancelet). Due to their harsh exile from Nova Scotia, much of Cajun music describes death and desperation. Soon after arriving in Louisiana, the Cajuns began incorporating the sounds of the surrounding cultures into their music (Edmondson, 173). Acculturation contributed greatly to the origin and development of Cajun music due to its borrowing of sounds and instruments from a variety of different cultures. They started incorporating the Native American’s singing style as well as the Spanish guitar into their own original music (Ancelet). This created the unique sounds of Cajun music that we know and listen to today. Paired with their music, the Cajun culture also created their own unique Cajun dance style. Their dances incorporated waltzes, and
Sacher, John M. "Louisiana." Encyclopedia of the New American Nation. Ed. Paul Finkelman. Vol. 2. Detroit: Charles Scribner 's Sons, 2006. 305-307. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.
Many African-Americans consume what is known as “soul food”, for which, it is very popular within the black community. Soul food is an African-American cuisine that can be traced back as far as African, however, the term itself was not coined until the mid-1960s. It also comprise an important element of the cuisine of the general American south. Soul food was adopted and modify during the African slave trade and it was during this time food African cuisine and southern European cuisine became one big melting pot.
“New France was not merely the settlement of a few fur traders; it was also a colony of Christ in the New World, even more a colony of Christ, or of the Church, than of France.” Due to the pious believers that inhabited New France, the country was run in a particular way, separating itself from France. Although falling under the jurisdiction of “New France,” the Acadians governed separately than the rest of the country and were a separate entity within New France. Today, “the Acadians are the French speaking population of the Canadian Maritime provinces,” and these are the Acadians that were not displaced during the expulsions, under British rule. Acadia’s beginnings, with the construction of Port Royal, could have marked the colony for success, but instead, led to a troubling conclusion for the European descendents. Through failed leadership, two major expulsions, and a takeover of the Acadian peoples’ French culture, the once-thriving group has been displaced primarily to Louisiana, taking on a new identity of Cajuns.
Food is very important in people's culture. Everyone loves food, but not everyone enjoys eating the same food. For example, gumbo is an extremely common dish in Louisiana. People in Northern states might not know what gumbo is or they might cook it different. In Louisiana, we put seafood in our gumbo and some people even add sausage. We also like to make it spicy. Another food we love in the South is crawfish. We take a big pot, and add water with crawfish boil seasoning to make it spicy. Some people put corn and potatoes in there with the crawfish. Then, after it's done, you pour the crawfish on a table and everyone eats. Those are the two most known foods that people love in Louisiana.
The South’s food is like no other places. The South's food has lots of spices in it and gives the food a wonderful flavor and most places food is bland. People in the South cook fried foods, seafood, and Cajun style foods. . The South has many dishes it is famous for crawfish, gumbo, fried chicken, and boudain.
Dating back to the native Americans and the early European settlers, the crawfish has been an inherent part of Lousiana culture. Abundant in the swamps and marshes across south Louisiana, crawfish were a favorite food of early residents. Centuries later, crawfish season in Louisiana is still exciting, with crawfish boils and backyard parties a time-honored tradition.
African-Americans cooks were forced by enslavement to adapt new ingredients into their diet. Frequently, the African-Americans would have to use unfamiliar ingredients to cook what was requested by the masters. Natural intuition about food gave the enslaved the ability to improvise with what was given and to prepare it the best way they could. It was said that they cook so well that they put their “soul” in the food, hence the name “soul food.” Cooking soul food is a quality only bestowed upon African-Americans by virtue of their painful experiences and journeys.
On a humid afternoon in Georgia as you peacefully rock in your rocking chair you are approached with the irresistible scent of fresh barbecue, and sweet hickory chips. As the scent lingers on, you can’t help but crave a plate of this comfort food. To those in America, this is known as Barbecue. Barbecue has been a staple food of the south for as long as anyone can recall. Not only does barbecue taste good but it helps bring people together to enjoy a special occasion or to just have dinner together. In this essay I will give a general definition of barbecue, tell a brief history on it, discuss the various styles of it, and explain why it’s so popular in the South.
The food that African people has brought to the United States is soul food. Soul food was brought to the United States by the African slaves. It mainly have a bigger impact on the southern part of the United States but it is eaten all over the United States because some southerners would move from the South and take soul food mentality with them. It was accepted because the slaves had to cook for their slave owners and that is all they knew how to prepare. It also became widely recognized because once slavery was over a lot of women worked as a housekeeper or a cook in the North and the