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Southern Gumbo Path | Southern Foodways Alliance

Southern Gumbo Path | Southern Foodways Alliance

2023-10-15 07:36:12

“In the end Southerners all come dwelling,
to not die, however to eat gumbo.”

– Eugene Walter, bard of Cell, Alabama

* * *

This dish, inextricably tied to New Orleans, is a convention in houses and cafés all through the South. Once we focus on origins, nevertheless, conversations get heated.

Gumbo. So many variations, so many cooks, so many contradictions. Corresponding to: Solely use a roux with poultry, filé with seafood. Use okra in the summertime, filé within the winter. You have to have a chaurice in your gumbo. You will need to use andouille.

This we all know for certain: Gumbo, the phrase, is of African origins. It interprets as okra.

Reasonably than set up origins, the Southern Gumbo Path seeks to gather tales about gumbo—the various types, traditions, and tastes. We share tales of okra-only gumbo, seafood gumbo, rooster and sausage gumbo, turtle gumbo, and inexperienced gumbo, too.

For each completely different type of gumbo there’s a completely different story. Oral historical past interviews with cooks and purveyors throughout the South reveal the varied methods during which gumbo recipes have been acquired and the way they’ve advanced, serving to to elucidate the significance—and persistence—of the South’s gumbo custom.


A GUMBO PRIMER
Photo of Okra at at Farm Stand - Southern Gumbo TrailThere are as many variations of gumbo as there are individuals who make it. However the basis of any gumbo is the thickener. Some take into account okra as the unique gumbo base. However then there may be the outdated rule of gumbo-making, “First you make a roux.” Others are of the opinion that filé is the one correct gumbo thickener. Then there are cooks who use some mixture thereof. Regardless of the type, custom, or desire, listed here are descriptions of those gumbo cornerstones to get you primed to your journey down the Southern Gumbo Path.

For a lot of, OKRA, that spiny and slimy pod, is the one method to thicken a gumbo. Okra not solely thickens a gumbo; it provides taste. It’s normally sliced after which sautéed with what many take into account the holy trinity of gumbo-making: onions, celery and bell peppers. Okra gumbo has a subtler taste than filé- or roux-based gumbos.

FILÉ is dried and floor sassafras leaves. It’s normally added to a gumbo on the very finish of the cooking course of or to particular person servings. Many desire filé for its distinctive musty, tea-like taste. It’s generally referred to as “gumbo filé.” The Cajuns and Creoles discovered about filé from the Choctaw Indians of the Gulf South. Some preserve that filé was used when okra was out of season. Right now, communities make each gumbos year-round. Combining filé with okra is unusual.

See Also

A ROUX, used as a thickening agent, is achieved by cooking flour and a fats (butter, vegetable oil, and even olive oil) collectively over excessive warmth. The wealthy nuttiness of the roux intensifies with cooking, which additionally impacts its shade. A roux is utilized in numerous recipes; completely different colours are desired for various dishes. Some use a peanut butter-colored roux, whereas others try for an virtually black roux.

Traditionally, cooks didn’t make seafood gumbo with filé as a result of okra can be in season when seafood was contemporary. A duck or venison gumbo wouldn’t have okra in it, since searching season falls throughout winter and fall, once they couldn’t discover okra. Whereas these traditions sprang from easy availability of substances, they nonetheless maintain true in lots of elements of the South’s gumbo custom.

TAGS: A Short History of Gumbo, Alzina’s Restaurant, Ann Maylie Bruce, Annou Olivier and David Olivier, Bayou Boudin & Cracklin’, Brigsten’s Restaurant, Café Des Amis, cajun culture, Chez Jacqueline, Cochon-Herbsaint, Collins Oyster Company, Creole Country Sausage Company, creole culture, Dooky Chase’s, Dunbar Creole Cooking, Eric Cormier, Farmers Rice Milling Co. French Food Festival, French Market Foods, Gumbo Shop, John Laudun, Josephine’s Creole Restaurant, Joyce’s Supermarket, Leeville Seafood Restaurant, Lil’ Dizzy’s Cafe, Liuzza’s by the Track, Louisiana, Louisiana Dried Shrimp, Louisiana Foods, Lynn Anselmo, M&M and C&G Boats, Marcelle Bienvenu, Marie Hebert, Mowata Store, Mr. B’s Bistro, Mulate’s, Olivier’s Creole Restaurant, Prejean’s Restaurant, Punch’s Seafood Market, restaurant, Seafood Palace, smoked meats, Southern Gumbo Trail, Two Sister’s Restaurant, Uncle Bill’s Spices, Vaucresson’s Sausage Company, World Championship Gumbo Cook-Off, XTRA: How To Make A Roux, XTRA: Louisiana Gumbo Recipes



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