From the thick, peppery gumbo so beloved in Louisiana (and elsewhere) to Southern fried chicken and biscuits and bowls of hoppin` John (that vinegary, spicy mixture of black-eyed peas and rice), American cuisine has been influenced and enhanced by African culture.
More than 100 years have passed since slaves stirred the cooking pots in the kitchens of plantations. Now it is the national culinary pot that is well- laced with that African touch, a fact worth celebrating during Black History Month in February or on Martin Luther King Day Monday.
”We wouldn`t have so much of the wonderful cooking we have now without Africa,” says Jessica Harris, author of three cookbooks, including ”Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons: Africa`s Gifts to New World Cooking.”
”Our (black) food is interesting, diverse and tasty. . . . If there`s one thing that`s common through most African cooking, is that black people cook with their mouths. They don`t worry so much about technique or how it looks, they want a strong taste, a pungent flavor.”
African-American cooking goes by different names.
The terms ”Southern cooking” and ”soul food” are synonymous in many minds, meaning food with an African legacy. In many ways, soul food is simply Southern cooking that has traveled north; that platter of fried chicken, greens and corn bread-what is Southern cooking in Georgia becomes soul food in Illinois.
”Those (terms) are used mainly by people who want to categorize African- American cooking,” Harris says. ”It`s not something you`d hear a black person saying. I might say, `I`m going out to have some greens,` but I wouldn`t say, `I`m going out to have soul food.”`
African-American food today is a mixture of traditions. Africans took certain foods and their one-pot cooking method with them wherever they went-to South American and Caribbean countries as well as the United States-and then adapted those foods and techniques to their new environment.
Some of the basic foods that are African in origin include okra, a key ingredient in much of the cooking we now call Creole; nuts and seeds that Africans used for thickening foods and that manifested itself in such sweet favorites here as pecan pie, pralines and benne (sesame) seed wafers; yams;
and black-eyed peas, the main ingredient in hoppin` John.
Most of Southern cooking today is a result of the blending that resulted when African foods and cooking styles met such new ingredients as corn and pork in the New World. The food that came out of those antebellum kitchens evolved into a combination of African and Deep South cultures.
Says Harris, ”The West African custom of eating thick soups over starchy mash evolved into the Southern habit of sopping up . . . gravy and sauces with biscuits and corn bread.”
”African slaves absolutely influenced American food. . . . They brought in new things,” says history professor Bruce Kraig, who teaches a course called ”Food and History” at Roosevelt University.
”Wherever you see okra, for example, you see the African influence. We wouldn`t have gumbo without okra. . . . The general theory is, they (Africans) would not have had anything hot in Africa, but when they got here and got a taste of peppers, they liked them, and Creole cooking (which uses a lot of okra) has a lot of peppers, also. Food that has been influenced by Africa is a mixture of different traditions.”
African-American food traditionally was ”poor” food, for obvious reasons. The slaves and their descendants usually had to make a little bit go a long way.
”So one of the interesting things that happened was, blacks learned how to make whatever they ate palatable,” says Dorothy Height, president of the National Council of Negro Women. That organization recently published ”The Black Family Reunion Cookbook” (available through the NCNW, $12.95 plus $3 postage; call 800-727-1034).
”Greens and pot `likker` (liquid left after the greens have cooked down), with maybe just the seasoning from some salt pork-that would be a whole meal. Neck bones and chicken feet would make a stew. Sweet potato pie, a real delicacy,” Height says.
Pork is the ”emblematic meat” for African-Americans, according to Jessica Harris. ”Barbecued pork is what happened when the African-American met up with pork,” she says. ”But not just barbecued. Pigs` feet and potato salad, now that`s adventuresome eating.”
Just as certain foods are symbolic of the African-American influence, so are such cooking techniques as one-pot cooking, frying and simmering such foods as greens for many hours. Africans probably didn`t have greens, such as collards, but the method of cooking them down ”to a low gravy” and then drinking the liquid was definitely African.
”And you can`t have soul food without frying,” says Roosevelt`s Kraig.
”Hush puppies, fritters, Southern fried chicken. Now we have our (deep-fried) chicken (symbolized) by a white colonel`s face. But if it hadn`t been for the African-Americans, we might have only Maryland fried chicken
(lightly fried).”
Although such traditional favorites as fried chicken, corn bread and greens always will have a place in American culture, the evolution of African- American foods is continuing as Americans become more health-conscious. A steady diet of fried foods and fat-laden greens that have cooked for hours is not conducive to long life, and changing cooking habits reflect this growing awareness.
”The African slaves cooked things to death. It would be the pot `likker` that would end up with the nutrients, not the greens,” says Magie Laini Raine, founder of the year-old Africa House in Los Angeles, a museum that features the culture and cuisine of the African diaspora.
”My great-grandmother would cook greens all day. I cook greens al dente, and then put some of the pot `likker` on potatoes. You can still have the flavor plus the nutrients. Instead of white rice, we use brown rice. Most soul food requires salt pork, but we make these foods taste wonderful by using fresh herbs like sweet basil, curry, cayenne, cumin, fresh garlic, onions.”
The bottom line in African-American food, however, is preserving memories and helping bring together people of different cultures.
”A great deal has always been made of the meal in the African-American family, of getting people together,” Dorothy Height says. ”There`s the spiritual dimension of food. We have the church suppers.
”One of the reasons we put so much stress on food memories is to help people with different backgrounds understand each other. We don`t all have to enjoy the same foods. But we can come to appreciate one another and broaden our own experience.”
Following are some recipes that have their roots in the African culture:
OKRA GUMBO WITH SHRIMP AND CRAB
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
The following recipe is a classic Creole gumbo that, with its combination of okra, seafood and peanut oil, has its roots in African heritage. Adapted from ”Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons” by Jessica Harris.
1/2 cup each: peanut oil, flour
1 large onion, chopped
4 green onions, chopped
2 chives, minced
1 small green bell pepper, diced
1/2 small celery rib, diced
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh thyme
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
3 cups water
1/2 pound okra, sliced
12 ounces peeled shrimp, deveined
3 hard shell crabs, cut in half
1. Heat all but 2 teaspoons of the oil over medium heat in a large, heavy pot. Stir in the flour; cook, stirring constantly until mixture is a deep brown, about 7 minutes.
2. Add the onion, green onions, chives, green pepper, celery, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic and seasonings. Cook 5 minutes longer, stirring several times. Add the water and heat to a simmer.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil over high heat in a medium skillet. Add the okra and cook until it turns bright green, 3 to 4 minutes; add it to the pot. Cover and cook for 1 hour.
4. About 5 minutes before the gumbo is finished, add the shrimp and crab. Cook until shrimp is opaque. Serve with cooked white rice.
CHICKEN AND GROUNDNUT STEW
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Yield: 4 servings
Peanuts-or groundnuts, as they are called in Africa-often are used in stews. Here, their flavor lends richness and body to this spicy chicken stew. The recipe is adapted from ”Kwanzaa” by Eric V. Copage.
2 tablespoons olive oil
9 chicken thighs
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon curry powder, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to taste
2-3 cups chicken stock or broth
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1. Heat the oil in a large, heavy Dutch oven. Brown the chicken, in batches, removing them from the pan as they are cooked. When all the chicken is browned, add the onions to the pan and cook until they are lightly browned, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, curry powder, thyme, bay, salt and cayenne. Stir for 1 minute then add 2 cups chicken broth and the tomato sauce.
2. Return the chicken to the pan; cover and cook gently until the meat is tender, about 45 minutes.
3. Spoon about 1 cup of the cooking liquid from the pan. Whisk together with the peanut butter until smooth then return to the pan. If the mixture is too thick, add additional chicken broth. Adjust the seasoning and heat through.
MARY MCLEOD BETHUNE`S SWEET POTATO PIE
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 60 minutes
Yield: 3 pies
Mary McLeod Bethune, who founded the National Council of Negro Women in 1935, made and sold these pies in the early 1900s to help make money for the school where she taught. They were good then and they`re good now. The recipe, adapted from the ”Black Reunion Cookbook,” makes a walloping three pies. If that is too many (though don`t count on it), either cut the recipe into thirds or make the entire recipe for the filling and keep part of it in the freezer. 4 pounds sweet potatoes, unpeeled, baked until tender
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup each: granulated sugar, packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
2 cups whole milk
1 tablespoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspon nutmeg
3 unbaked 8- or 9-inch single pie crusts
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and mash the sweet potatoes.
2. Cream the butter with both sugars. Mix in mashed potatoes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well. Add milk, vanilla, salt and nutmeg.
3. Divide among pie crusts. Bake until set, 50 to 60 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
HUSH PUPPIES
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 4 to 5 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Legends abound about how hush puppies got their name. According to one, fishermen frying their fish in cornmeal used stray pieces of the fried batter to placate the barking dogs with the admonition, ”hush, puppy.” This version, from ”Iron Pots and Wooden Spoons” is fried in a skillet rather than deep-fried.
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teapoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 large onion, chopped fine
Peanut oil, for frying
1. Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In another, whisk the egg and milk then add onion. Add the milk mixture to the dry ingredients, stirring to make a batter. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. Heat about 1 inch oil in a large, heavy skillet. Spoon generous spoonfuls of the batter into the hot fat. Cook, turning once, until golden. Transfer to paper toweling to drain. Serve hot.
COLLARD GREENS AND OKRA, BAHIA STYLE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
Greens and collards often are cooked for hours. In this recipe, adapted from the ”Black Reunion Cookbook,” they`re cooked far less, resulting in a different rendition. Be sure to select young greens so they`ll be tender after their brief cooking.
3 bunches collard greens, washed thoroughly
Salted water
1 pound fresh okra
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 large red onion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt to taste
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Stack about 15 collard leaves together. Starting from a long side, roll tightly, cigar fashion. Cut into thin ribbons. Repeat until all leaves are cut.
2. Heat salted water to a boil in a large kettle. Drop in collards and cook 4 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the liquid.
3. Trim okra and cut each piece into 4 to 5 slices. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add onion, garlic and okra. Cook until tender, 8 minutes. Add drained collards, coriander, cayenne, salt to taste and reserved cooking liquid, if desired. Cook over high heat 5 minutes. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro.
Note: Palm oil is called for in the original recipe. It is a mild though distinctly flavored, reddish-orange oil extracted from palm kernels. Used extensively in African cooking, it is very high in saturated fat; thus it has fallen out of favor with some cooks. It can be found in some African and East Indian markets.
