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Soul Food
by: Troy Pentico
The history of American soul food can be traced all the way
back to the days of slavery. More often times than not, the
slaves were given the most undesirable part of the meal, the
leftovers from the house. Pairing this with their own home-grown
vegetables, the first soul food dishes were invented. After
the slaves were freed, most of them were so poor that they
could only afford the most undesirable, inexpensive cuts of
meat available to them. (The leftover, unwanted parts of a
pig such as tripe, tongue, ears, and knuckles). As in the
days of slavery, African-Americans used their own home-grown
vegetables and things they could catch or kill to complete
their meals.
In the modern United States, soul food has truly evolved.
It has become part of the African-American culture, bringing
family members together on all occasions from birthdays to
funerals, to spend time together preparing meals. The history
of soul food is mainly an oral one; recipes were never really
written down so while two families may be preparing identical
meals, chances are that they don't taste very much alike.
Different ingredients, cooking methods, and techniques go
into preparing soul food meals, causing the end results to
come out differently.
One of the most obvious and widely-recognized characteristics
of African-American soul food is the fact that hot sauce and
more intense spices are incorporated into meals as often as
possible. For this reason, soul food is not for those who
can't take the heat or are prone to heart burn!
Another characteristic of true African-American soul food
is that nothing is ever wasted. Having originated from the
leftovers of just about anything. Stale bread was quickly
converted into stuffing or a bread pudding. Over ripe bananas
were whipped up into banana puddings, and other ripe fruits
were put into cakes and pies, and leftover fish parts were
made into croquets or hush puppies.
Sunday dinners are definitely the times when soul food is
most commonly seen on tables. Sunday dinners are a time for
African-American families to get together to prepare and partake
in a large meal. Sunday dinners normally take up the entire
day (normally following a church ceremony), and family members
come from far and wide to partake in this meal together. Sunday
dinners took place in the form of potlucks, also, where various
family members contribute a dish or two and form a big, fine
meal. Collard and mustard greens, kale, ribs, corn bread,
fried chicken, chitlins, okra, and yams are all excellent
examples of African-American soul food that might be found
at a Sunday meal.
Soul food is not generally a healthy option for a person
that must monitor their diet. Fried foods are generally prepared
with hydrogenated oil or lard, and they usually tend to be
flavored and seasoned with pork products. Since this may be
what contributes to such a high percentage of African-Americans
that are significantly overweight, soul food preparation methods
are now slowly starting to be refined, bringing a lot more
healthy options to the table. Rather than the increasingly
unhealthy pork products, use of turkey-based products is becoming
more and more popular as time passes. The fried foods that
are so beloved of the culture can now be prepared using a
lower fat canola or vegetable oil.
About The Author
Troy Pentico
Visit The Tasty Chef for more great tips, techniques, and
insights pertaining to cooking and recipes. http://www.tastychef.net.
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