Soul Food By: Avishay
Exquisite. That’s one of the many words that comes to mind when you sink your teeth into the tender surface of one of the many kinds of Soul Food, cornbread. Cornbread has been around for centuries starting with the Native Americans. It’s also one of the many types of Soul Food. What’s an example of Soul Food and where did it come from? Where did cornbread come from? How does it compare and contrast to other culture’s food? One of the questions you might’ve thought of was, what is Soul Food. Soul Food is a cuisine that was made by African slaves in the Southern states in the U.S. “Today, the term ‘Soul Food’ came simply means African-American cuisine.” The term Soul
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“Soul Food is a variety of cuisine originating in the Southeastern United States.” The slaves wanted to make their food more flavorful which is where Soul Food began. “More capsicum pepper heat, a heavier hand with salt and pepper and a greater use of offal meat are comparative characteristics of soul versus country cooking.” The term Soul Food may have originated somewhere in the 1960s because the word soul was a common term used to describe African American culture. “The expression ‘Soul Food’ may have originated in the mid-1960s, when ‘soul’ was a common word used to describe Black American culture.” Soul Food is common in areas with slave history. “It is common in areas with a history of slave-based plantations.” Soul Food is basic home cooking which originated in the rural South. “Soul Food is basic, down-home cooking with its roots in the rural South.” What’s an example of Soul Food and where did it come …show more content…
The origin of cornbread can be traced back to the Native Americans. “To many of us, cornbread seems like the most Southern of specialities, with a history that traces literal roots back to the crops of the pre-European Native Americans.” The main ingredient in cornbread is corn which the Aztecs and Mayans used centuries ago. “Where the Aztecs and Mayans, centuries ago were using corn.” Native americans have been making cornbread long before the Europeans first arrived in America. “Its humble beginnings can be traced back to the Indians that the European settlers came in contact with when they first arrived in America. However, it stands to reason that the Native Americans have been making cornbread long before that.” When Europeans came to the New World, they found maize which the Native Americans grounded into cornmeal which is one of the ingredients in cornbread. “This treat was warmly embraced by the European settlers who came to the New World, where they found maize, which the Indians ground into meal and mixed with water and salt to make cornbread.” The Indians used grounded corn for years in their cooking. “The Indians used corn ground into meal and flour for years in their cooking.” How does cornbrad compare to other cultures
Geographically, North and South were very different places. The pastures of New England were similar to those found in England, suitable for a variety of uses. Hot Southern prairie lands were perfect for cotton growing, a lucrative business at this time. Following the invention of Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin, the South became increasingly dependent on this crop, and an entire society grew out of it. The society was one of wealthy planters, who led a life similar to the landed gentry of England, controlling politics and society of the day. In the fields laboured Negro slaves, usually only a handful per plantation, though larger farms were occasionally seen. In addition, there lived poor whites, tenant farmers or smallholders, who eked out a living from the land. This contrasted sharply with Northern society, where industrialisation flourished, creating wealthy entrepreneurs and employing cheap immigrant labour. Given the localised nature of media, and difficulties of transport two cultures grew up in the same nation, remarkably different and often suspicious of one another.
Many blacks added their skimpy diets by gardening small plots given to them for growing their own vegetables. Many involved in survival fishing and hunting, which produced wild game for the table. Foods such as raccoon, squirrel, opossum, turtle, and rabbit were hunted by the slaves, until the 1950s, very common charge among them still largely rural and Southern African-American population. Native Americans of the U.S. South also supplemented their diets with meat like deer, derived from the hunting of native game. Venison was a very important meat staple due to the richness of white-tailed deer. They to also hunted rabbits, squirrels and opossums. Cattle, adopted from Europeans, in the form of hogs and sheep, were kept. When game or livestock was killed, the entire animal was used. Besides the meat, it was not unusual for them to eat meats such as liver, brains and intestines. This tradition remains today in trademark dishes like chitterlings (commonly called chit'lins) which are fried small intestines of hogs. livermush (a common dish in the Carolinas made from hog liver), and pork brains. The fat of the animals, particularly hogs and pigs, was reduced and used for cooking, frying and baking. Many of the European settlers in the South learned a lot of different Native American cooking methods. Cultural dispersion was set in motion for the Southern dish. Poor blacks in the South made many of the same dishes coming from the soul tradition, but styles of preparation sometimes varied. A lot of similar techniques popular in soul and Southern cuisines are shared with early cultures all over the world, including Rome, Egypt, and China. Southern food has developed from over 1000 years of exchange, origination, and
What we can consider is the "traditional" cuisines of Europe are heavily flavored with the products of the Columbian Exchange. Before 1492, the Irish...
This limits their taste and outlook on other foods. They become culturally isolated and ignorant. Although this may be true to a certain degree, I would disagree because “what there was in urban black neighborhoods, was an African American culinary tradition that centered on two principles: Southerness and commensality. The story of how these principles became "Soul Food" is the story of how a transparent and mundane fact of life - food - became a harbinger of an urban, black ethnic identity.”(Poe 5) I feel as if it is one’s tradition, it should be carried out each and every day not just on special occasions. It holds its value to a higher standard, which reflects a good understanding of how far they have come as people. Trying new foods is not a requirement in life, it is just something people do to become cultured. If it’s not required, then there is no need for it.
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.
""Soul Food" a Brief History." Welcome To The Black Box, Personal Narratives in High Definition. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Mar. 2014
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.
The table can be filled with many different types of foods, and it differs from family to family. However, there are some foods that are seen at almost every Thanksgiving table. First off, the turkey, it is the most important part of the celebration for most families in the United States. There are multiple reasons to why the turkey has become such a big part of Thanksgiving. For example, a colonist named William Bradford wrote in his journals that colonists hunted wild turkeys during autumn of 1621, which is named as the first Thanksgiving. Another reason to why the turkey is an important part of the holiday is because the birds are big and can feed a lot of people compared to other birds such as chickens (Trex, 2008). Although the turkey is the most important food on the table for most families, it is common for most families to also serve some sort of sweet potatoes, for example, a sweet potato casserole with marshmallows. As Thanksgiving is a feast holiday a dessert is usually also served, one of the most common desserts on Thanksgiving is a pumpkin pie. The pumpkin has been around for hundreds of years, and always been a part of thanksgiving, however, it is more likely that the pumpkin was served after being baked or stewed rather than a pie on the first years when Thanksgiving were celebrated (Trex, 2008). As it is a feast holiday the table has many more types of foods, but it varies from family to family what is put onto the table, however, the turkey, sweet potatoes, and the pumpkin pie is almost always found at every Thanksgiving
African-American is a politically correct term used to refer to blacks within the United States. The roots of many African-American rites can be traced back to African cultural rites. However, it is important to note that not all blacks in America identify with African cultural roots. Therefore, some of the rites found within what many in the United States call African-American culture stem from Caribbean and other cultural traditions. For this reason, when making end of life decisions or funeral arrangements the “cultural identification, spirituality and the social class” the individual identifies with must be taken into account. The black majority within the United States identifies with Afrocentric traditions and perspectives. For this reason the term African-American will be used within this paper to denote the black population found in America as comparisons are made regarding how end of life decisions are viewed and made by African-American culture verses the traditional western European beliefs of American culture (Barrett, 2002).
Southern culture is based upon three main things. The south is known for its hospitality, language, and food. Here is a bit of an overview on the history and background of the Cajun culture and language. Cajun culture began with the arrival of French Acadians who migrated to and settled in what is now Louisiana mainly between 1765 and 1785 (Cajuns, 1996). Cajun French is a variety of the French language spoken primarily in Louisiana, specifically in the southern parishes (Cajun French, 2016). The Cajuns spoke French almost exclusively until the 20th century. Many would learn English get along in an increasingly Anglo society as the 19th century progressed, but their main language was Cajun French. The basics of the language is their Acadian
Soul Food explore the hardships and trials of black family life, and through the characters, setting, and theme of both the story and the film, the issue of class and the search for community is discussed. Big Mama wanted her family to come closer. The more she tried, the farther apart they became. During her struggle, she encountered many obstacles including her own son 's beliefs, but she did not let them curve her appetite to gain higher status in society.
It must be noted that for the purpose of avoiding redundancy, the author has chosen to use the terms African-American and black synonymously to reference the culture, which...
African crops like okra, watermelon, yams, and sweet potatoes were brought over on slave trader ships and influenced recipes that slaves ate on plantations. Other crops were brought too and include black eyed peas and sorghum, a cereal crop. These crops were included in traditionally inspired dishes like gumbo and jumbalaya along with different forms of cooking including deep frying. Knowledge of how to grow rice and utilize tropical gardening methods were also West African practices that made their way to North American
This type of cooking brought slave traditions of adaptation of foods to the forefront and exposed many people that were not familiar with these foods knowledge of them. The use of less expensive proteins, greens, one pot meals. During and after slavery, living conditions of the African people in the United States were extremely poor. Because of this, the Africans were able to adapt and use what was available to them, just as they had done during the lean times in Africa. As soul food restaurants became more common in larger cities, so did the foods among not only the black communities, but all people. “Though soul food originated in the South, soul food restaurants — from fried chicken and fish "shacks" to upscale dining establishments-are in every African-American community in the nation, especially in cities with large black populations, such as Chicago, New York, New Orleans, Los Angeles and Washington,
American culture is changing dramatically. In some areas it’s a good thing, but in other areas, like our food culture, it can have negative affects. It is almost as if our eating habits are devolving, from a moral and traditional point of view. The great America, the land of the free and brave. The land of great things and being successful, “living the good life.” These attributes highlight some irony, especially in our food culture. Is the American food culture successful? Does it coincide with “good living”? What about fast and processed foods? These industries are flourishing today, making record sales all over the globe. People keep going back for more, time after time. Why? The answer is interestingly simple. Time, or in other words, efficiency. As people are so caught up in their jobs, schooling, sports, or whatever it may be, the fast/processed food industries are rapidly taking over the American food culture, giving people the choice of hot