Louisiana Creole cuisine

Louisiana Creole cuisine (French: cuisine créole, Louisiana Creole: manjé kréyòl, Spanish: cocina criolla) is a style of cooking originating in Louisiana, United States, which blends West African, French, Spanish, and Native American influences,[1][2] as well as influences from the general cuisine of the Southern United States.

The term Creole describes the population of people in French colonial Louisiana which consisted of the descendants of the French and Spanish, and over the years the term grew to include Acadians, Germans, Caribbeans, native-born slaves of African descent as well as those of mixed racial ancestry.

Creole food is a blend of the various cultures that found their way to Louisiana including French, Spanish, Acadian, Caribbean, West African, German and Native American, among others.

Local newspapers warned that when the last of the "race of Creole cooks" left New Orleans "the secrets of the Louisiana Kitchen" would be lost.

Sugarcane could be chewed plain, and it was not until 1795 that Etienne de Boré mastered the process of crystallizing sugar at his plantation (present day Audubon Park) in New Orleans.

Slave labor was needed not only in the fields, but also supported agricultural activities in other skilled roles like carpentry and metalworking.

[9] In the early 20th century cane syrup became a staple ingredient, and is used in recipes for pecan pie, gingerbread, spice cookies, and gateau de sirop, or served plain with pancakes or hot buttermilk biscuits, similar to maple syrup in the cuisine of New England.

Smoking of meats remains a fairly common practice, but once-common preparations such as turkey or duck confit (preserved in poultry fat, with spices) are now seen even by Acadians as quaint rarities.

It is usually prepared fairly simply as chops, stews, or steaks, taking a cue from Texas to the west.

A roux is "a mixture made from equal parts of fat and flour, used especially to make a sauce or soup thicker.

"[11] The fat and flour are cooked together on the stovetop until the mixture reaches a certain level of brownness, or darkness.

Okra, often one of the principal ingredients in gumbo recipes, is used as a thickening agent and for its distinct flavor.

A filé gumbo is thickened with dried sassafras leaves after the stew has finished cooking, a practice borrowed from the Choctaw Indians.

Jambalaya—The only certain thing that can be said about a jambalaya is that it contains rice, some sort of meat (such as chicken or beef) or seafood (such as shrimp or crawfish) and almost anything else.

[16] Popular local varieties include hamburger steak, smothered rabbit,[17] turkey necks,[18] and chicken fricassee.

The results are then dumped onto large, newspaper-draped tables and in some areas covered in Creole spice blends, such as REX,[21] Zatarain's, Louisiana Fish Fry[22] or Tony Chachere's.

Often, newcomers to the crawfish boil, or those unfamiliar with the traditions, are jokingly warned "not to eat the dead ones".