In the United States, every corner of the country has its own culture separate from the rest. Whether it’s how you ask for a soft drink or the way you pronounce caramel, life is different in the South compared to the North.
One of the biggest differences is the food we eat. What makes food from the South so different from the North?
“Well, Southern food is something that people have an idea of what it is. I mean, there’s a certain cohesion about it.”
That’s Elizabeth Williams, a founder of the Southern Food and Beverage Museum and of the National Food and Beverage Foundation. She says that Southern food is distinct for multiple reasons, one being geography and what crops can be grown.
“We had great agriculture, so there was a lot of variety. It’s all based on what’s available,” Williams says.
In addition, the South is heavily populated with a mix of cultures. Williams says that the shared history of the Southern States adds to their tastes.
“There were a lot of similarities because there were enslaved people from Africa that were spread throughout the South,” she says. “There was a real cultural imprint of Africa that’s on the food of the South that isn’t quite there on all of the food of America.”
Yet, within the Southern States there are cultural differences between regions.
"So much of the food of South Louisiana is based on the Gulf, Lake Pontchartrain, and the bayous. So, all the bounty of those things is enormous,” Williams says. “But if you live in Shreveport or someplace in the northern part of Louisiana, you don’t have the access to that.”
Geographically, the north part of the state must rely on other sources for food. For instance, northern areas that don’t have access to a body of water produce more pork and chicken, compared to fish.
"It’s much more based on agriculture filling in where people might be fishing in South Louisiana, or crabbing, or something like that.”
Before food could be transported in refrigerated vehicles, Shreveport relied on the Red River for food imports. The city was established after the Louisiana Purchase, which meant it had access to more imports from across the country.
"Because it’s from the nineteenth century and we were already American, everything in Shreveport could be influenced by America. Because, once you’ve opened the river, the reason that Shreveport was founded, then you have a way to get goods from everywhere,” Williams says.
However, Williams points out that a lot of the food we have is native. For example, Native Americans grew corn, which is used in cornbread and grits. They also hunted crawfish, a loved food in Louisiana.
"And, we have peppers, and a real interest in stuff being hot, and hot sauce,” she says. “And that really developed in America.”
Besides the actual food products, Williams says Louisiana’s cuisine has one more unique quality: the way it’s eaten.
"I think most people in Louisiana really, really want to enjoy their food, and they want to eat with others, and it’s a time of good will, and it’s a time of enjoying things and life.”
After the Enlightenment, French settlers in Louisiana believed that art needed an artist and an audience who understood and appreciated the art. So, what’s more artistic than sharing a meal with someone?
"If you experience a concert with someone, you have shared something,” Williams says. “And it’s the same way at the table, except you do it over and over. And it makes real bonds between people.”
With Red River Radio News, I’m Alaina Atnip.