Objectives WEEK

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▪ At the end of this session, the student should have:
• Describe and explain the characteristics of Southern USA
Cuisine.
• Trace Spanish culinary influences into the cuisine and how
two cooking evolved from the lavish plantation foods and the
Southern USA down-home eats of the poor and disenfranchised.
• Explore how the founding fathers and the US presidents
influenced the culinary landscape.

Cuisine • Identify and explain variety of dishes, techniques and

ingredients specific to Southern USA Cuisine.
• Discuss the different culinary influences that shaped the
cuisine of Southern USA.
• Practice Southern USA cooking techniques in preparing and
presenting representative Southern USA dishes employing
standard principles, concepts, and quality factors
• Critique and evaluate prepared dishes based on standards of
quality for representative dishes.

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Southern USA States WEEK

Southern USA States WEEK

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• Alabama “The Yellowhammer State,” named
• Alabama after the nickname for the state bird, a colorful
• Arkansas woodpecker called the northern flicker. The
• Florida blackberry is the state fruit, and the State
Barbeque Championship takes place in
• Georgia Demopolis at Christmastime.
• Kentucky • Arkansas “The Natural State,” where the state
• Mississippi fruit and the state vegetable are the South
Arkansas vine-ripe pink tomato.
• Oklahoma
▪ Florida “The Sunshine State” due to the
• North Carolina abundance of sunny days. The state tree is the
• South Carolina sabal palm, from which hearts of palm or
• Tennessee swamp cabbage––is harvested. The state reptile
is the alligator, which lives in the streams and
swamplands. The state freshwater fish is the
largemouth bass, and the state saltwater fish is
the sailfish.The state beverage is orange juice,
and the state flower is the orange blossom.

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Southern USA States WEEK

Southern USA States WEEK

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• Georgia “The Peach State.” Georgia is known
for producing the highest-quality peaches.
The state vegetable is the Vidalia onion.
Peanuts are the largest cash crop in the
state.
• Kentucky “The Bluegrass State.” The
Kentucky spotted bass is the state fish, and
Old Kentucky blue grass and the Georgetown
pattern are the state silverware patterns.
• Mississippi “The Magnolia State,” where the
town of Belzoni is known as the Catfish
Capital of the World.
• Oklahoma “The Sooner State.” The state
fruit is the strawberry, the state mammal is
the Buffalo, and the state fish is the
Whitebass
• North Carolina “The Tarheel State.”
The Scuppernong grape is the state
fruit, and the state vegetable is the
sweet potato
• South Carolina “The Palmetto
State.” The sabal palmetto is the
state tree; one can sit under a
palmetto tree sipping tea—the state
hospitality beverage.
• Tennessee “The Volunteer State.”
Tennessee river pearls are the state
gem. The state tree is the yellow
poplar, or tulip tree.

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 Climate WEEK
Southern Hospitality WEEK

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▪ The Plantation South enjoys a mild climate ▪ Southern hospitality: Big family Sunday
with ample moisture as rainfall and humidity dinners, fish frys and fish boils, barbecues,
because of its weather-moderating proximity to oyster roasts, and public feasts. Throughout the
the Atlantic Ocean. the mild weather, ample region’s history, Southern hospitality has meant
moisture, flat terrain, and thick, rock-free, fertile open doors, welcoming smiles, and a feast for
soil set the stage for agricultural success. family, friends, and strangers

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Culinary Influences WEEK

Native Americans of the Plantation South WEEK

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▪ Southern cooking came from a blend of ▪ The favorable climate and topography of the
English, Native American, and African Plantation South made its native groups the
influences, with a mix of French and Spanish. most successful farmers of the Eastern
Today it represents the comfort food that has tribes
survived the conflicts of an emerging nation.

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Native Americans of the Plantation South WEEK

Native Americans of the Plantation South WEEK

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▪ Native Americans of the ▪ Virtually every part of the animal
Plantation South did not was used; in addition to meat,
practice fertilization and thus game animals provided skins, fur,
could not farm their fields for or feathers for clothing and bones
for making tools.
extended periods. After eight or
ten years, when the local soil ▪ The primary large game animal in
had been depleted of nutrients, the Plantation South region was
the whitetail deer; thus, venison
Southern tribes simply
was an important Native American
moved to a new location. foundation food.
▪ They practiced human ▪ Bears were hunted not only for
seasonal migration, moving their meat but also for their fat;
from place to place throughout bear fat was virtually the only
the year to obtain food. cooking fat available to Native
Americans.

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 Native Americans of the Plantation South WEEK
Native Americans of the Plantation South WEEK

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▪ Wildfowl, including teal duck, pintail duck, mallard ▪ The three sisters -
duck, grouse, pheasants, wild geese, and wild Corn, beans, and
turkeys, were important elements of the diet. In squash thrive under
western areas near the Mississippi River, herds of swidden agriculture
bison occasionally appeared for several reasons.
Because all three
plants have shallow
root systems and
grow well in clumps,
they don’t require
deep plowing in long,
straight rows as do
European grains.

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Native Americans of the Plantation South WEEK

Native American Cooking Methods WEEK

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▪ Hunted and foraged foods ▪ Hot stone griddling is one of the most ancient
were preserved in hunting cooking methods. A large, flat, smooth slab of rock
camps before transport to is placed on the hot embers of a campfire to
settlements. Nuts were stored absorb its heat. A variety of foods can be cooked on a
in baskets or fiber bags. hot stone, as on a modern steel griddle. Native cooks
Berries were spread in the sometimes lubricated the stone with bear grease to
sun to dry. Men caught prevent sticking.
hundreds of pounds of fish,
and women salted and air-
dried it.

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Native American Cooking Methods WEEK

Native American Cooking Methods WEEK

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▪ Spit roasting is used for ▪ Smoke roasting is used for tougher cuts of meat. A
meats and large fish. low framework of slender greenwood poles are
Carcasses are impaled and suspended over hot embers, and seasoned meat
lashed onto a sturdy is placed on it. The meat is basted frequently with a
greenwood pole suspended flavorful liquid, creating steam. This method is the
over a fire. The pole is precursor to modern barbeque.
turned to rotate the carcass
and ensure even roasting.
Today this method is called
rotisserie. Smaller items are
impaled on sticks and
propped up with stones, so
they hang over the fire in the
same way you toast a
marshmallow.

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 Native American Cooking Methods WEEK
Native American Cooking Methods WEEK

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▪ Pit roasting is an efficient way to feed a ▪ Sling bag simmering uses a leather bag filled with
large group. A pit, or deep hole, is dug in
the ground and a fire is built in it. When liquid and suspended over low-burning embers.
the fire dies down to hot embers, the pit
is lined with stones that absorb the heat.
▪ Heated stones are added to the bag as an additional
A layer of damp leaves or seaweed is source of heat. Because leather is flammable, only
placed on top of the stones, and low heat can be used. This was a primary cooking
seasoned food items are added.
method for plains natives.
▪ The food is covered with more leaves,
and sometimes additional stones heated
in a separate fire are added. Finally, the
pit is filled in with the earth or sand
previously removed fromit. The food
slowly steam-roasts over a period of
time, after which it is dug out and eaten.
In New England this method is used for
shellfish and is called a clambake.

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Native American Cooking Methods WEEK

Native American Cooking WEEK

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▪ Clay pot cooking requires ▪ Native American corn dishes can be grouped into
the technology to make four categories:
heat-resistant pottery. • ground unprocessed dried corn
Earthenware vessels filled
with liquid ingredients are • processed dried corn, whole or ground
suspended over hot • green corn
embers supported on a ring
of stones. Fired clay pots • parched corn
make it possible to poach,
stew, and boil.
▪ Minerals transferred from
the clay into the food impart
a special flavor and can
enhance nutrition.

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Native American Cooking WEEK

New Settlers WEEK

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▪ The lack of sweetening ▪ When the settlers founded
ingredients created a taste Jamestown, in the Virginia
preference in sharp contrast to Colony, they encountered the
that of New England natives, Powhatan tribe of the
who extensively used maple Algonquian Native Americans
sap and syrup in both sweet and shared a dish of
and savory dishes. succotash, venison, and
berries.
▪ Early Southern colonists were
forced to eat whatever
indigenous foods they could
find. Most hailed from rural
areas and had previous
experience hunting and fishing.

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 New Settlers WEEK
New Settlers WEEK

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▪ Game stews, sweet potatoes, ▪ Middle-class settlers
squash, pumpkins, and corn arrived in the Plantation
were also staples of this region. South as small farmers,
▪ Native Americans resisted craftsmen, and
plantation work, many preferring overseers, or agricultural
to die rather than face a lifetime of managers. In these
hard labor. Indentured servants households the wife
were costly to import and was the primary cook,
expensive to maintain in although she typically
conditions acceptable by retained at least one
European standards. Planters woman or older girl
quickly recognized that they indentured servant as a
needed a cheaper source of long- kitchen helper.
term labor. The obvious answer to
this problem was slavery.

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New Settlers WEEK

New Settlers WEEK

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▪ From the mid-1600s through the 1700s, the immigrant
English housewife brought with her the tools she had
previously used in her Old-World kitchen. Most cooking
took place on the open hearth, or fireplace floor. The
physical work of cooking required handling heavy cast-
iron pots that, when filled with food, could easily weigh
30 pounds.
▪ The introduction and successful cultivation of rice was a
significant development in colonial South Carolina From the mid-
1700s to the late 19th century, South Carolina was the nation’s
leading rice producer and rice was exported by the ton.
▪ The Civil War, hurricanes, and the end of slavery took their toll on
the rice industry in South Carolina, and by the end of the 1800s,
most rice production had moved to Texas, California,
Arkansas, and Mississippi.

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Foodways and Eating Habits WEEK

Foodways and Eating Habits WEEK

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▪ The agricultural economy and much of life in the South revolved
around plantations. A complete plantation complex as it existed in
the 18th and 19th centuries functioned as a small self-sustaining
town.
▪ Slaves raised crops, tended livestock, and cultivated gardens.
The smokehouse was an integral component of every plantation
and a cured ham represents one of the original elements of the
Southern diet. Poultry was also an important part of the
Southerner’s diet.
▪ Chickens were the most popular, and Southern fried chicken is a
mainstay of the traditional Sunday dinner.
▪ The food and style of cooking in the South was profoundly
influenced by the African slaves. Not only did African-American
slaves introduce many now basic foods, such as okra, yams,
black-eyed peas, collard greens, sesame seeds, and
watermelon, they also brought cooking techniques that had been
familiar to them in West Africa, such as deep-fat frying.

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 Foodways and Eating Habits
▪ Cooking was done by early settlers in open fireplaces
and brick ovens and was more of an art than a
science. Fruits and vegetables were preserved in brine
or sugar, or both, in order to have foods for the winter
months.
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Famous Plantation South Dishes
▪ Devilled Eggs - Hard-cooked eggs
are cut in half and the yolks puréed
with mayonnaise, yellow mustard, a
dash of hot sauce, and something
sweet.
▪ Southern Pickles - Cucumbers,
watermelon rind, okra, peaches, and
green beans are preserved in vinegar
with sugar and seasonings.
▪ Smothered Foods - Items are
browned in lard or bacon drippings;
then flour is added to the pan and
cooked into a light brown roux that is
simmered with flavorful stock to make
a thick, substantial sauce.
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Famous Plantation South Dishes
▪ Country Ham - are salt-cured for one
to three months. They are usually
hardwood smoked (usually hickory
and red oak), but some types of
country ham, such as the "salt-and-
pepper ham" of North Carolina, are
not smoked. Missouri country hams
traditionally incorporate brown sugar in
their cure mix and are known to be
milder and less salty than hams
produced in more eastern states such
as Kentucky and Virginia. They are
then aged for several months to 3
years, depending on the fat content of
the meat. Dry, dense, and salty, with a
deep, complex
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WEEK
Foodways and Eating Habits WEEK
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▪ Rich or poor, native or immigrant, the South’s style of
cooking made food a central feature of Southerners’
lives. Throughout the region’s history, Southern
hospitality has revolved around Sunday dinners and
public feasts, and the tradition of getting together is
taken seriously.
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WEEK
Famous Plantation South Dishes WEEK
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▪ Southern Fried Chicken - Chicken
pieces are marinated or dipped in
buttermilk, the acidity of which acts
as a meat tenderizer. It is then
coated in a flour-based batter that
may contain eggs or milk, or they
may be dredged in flour
or breadcrumbs.
▪ Hush Puppies - are golden fritters
made from a thick cornmeal-based
batter that are fried until crisp
outside and tender-chewy inside.
▪ Peanut Soup - Poultry stock
flavored, thickened, and enriched
with ground peanuts.
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WEEK
Famous Plantation South Dishes WEEK
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▪ Southern Quick Breads: Biscuits and
Corn Breads - The earliest and most
famous of biscuits could be called “quick”
only in the culinary sense of having no
yeast. For beaten biscuits, the dough
was literally pounded with a heavy
object, such as a mallet or the flat of an
ax head, until it became glossy and
blistered with air bubbles. Beaten
biscuits bake up crisp and unusually
light.
▪ Grits - a porridge made from boiled
cornmeal. Hominy grits is a type of grits
made from hominy – corn that has been
treated with an alkali , with
the pericarp (ovary wall) removed.
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 Famous Plantation South Dishes
▪ Greens - No food is more representative of
old-fashioned Southern cooking than a dish of
greens long-cooked with smoked meat in a
savory broth called “pot liquor” or “pot likker.”
Collard greens are the best-known choice, but
kale, cabbage, chard, dandelion, spinach,
cress, mustard greens, and turnip greens are
also simmered in water with seasoning meat.
▪ Field peas, Dried Beans and Shell Beans -
Called field peas, to distinguish them from
English or garden peas, black-eyed peas,
cowpeas, and crowder peas are not peas at
all, but actually beans. To some Southerners
black-eyed peas represent all the soldiers,
black and white, who served in the Civil War.
These are simmered with smoked pork and
aromatic vegetables.
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Famous Plantation South Dishes
▪ Fried Green Tomatoes – Picked at the
last minute before the first hard frost.
These are dipped in flour, egg, and
cornmeal, then fried crunchy-brown in
bacon drippings.
▪ Candied Yams - Sweet potatoes are
peeled, boiled, and then baked with
butter and brown sugar to acquire a
sweet, golden glaze.
▪ Game: Wild and Farmed - Southern
regularly hunt wild game such as
venison, bear, raccoon, opossum,
groundhog, rabbit, squirrel, wild turkey,
duck, grouse, dove, and quail.
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Famous Plantation South Dishes
▪ Southern Pies - Southern pie crust
includes lard for a rich flavor and flaky
crust. Selections include pecan pie, sweet
potato pie, peanut butter pie, chess pie
(dairy-free clear custard flavored with
lemon or chocolate), black bottom pie
(chocolate bottom, bourbon chess top),
and preaching pies/fried pies (half-moon,
fruit-filled fried pastries).
▪ Fruit Cobblers - The fruit is placed in a
baking dish, sugared, dotted with butter,
seasoned with spice, and then topped with
a soft, biscuit-like dough, sometimes rolled
out thick to cover the fruit, but most often
punched out with a biscuit cutter or simply
dolloped on top so the fruit shows through.
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WEEK
Famous Plantation South Dishes WEEK
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▪ Pork, Field Peas ‘N’ Greens: The
Southern Trinity - Served on New Year’s
Day, the pork symbolizes health and luck,
black-eyed peas represent coins, and
greens represent paper money.
▪ Okra - West African slaves brought with
them not only the seeds of okra, but also
its African name, gombo, which has
mutated into gumbo, now the name of an
entire group of defining dishes found in
both the Lowcountry and Louisiana. Okra
thickens stews and gumbos; it is served
as a side dish sautéed in bacon drippings
or simmered in a fresh tomato sauce and
as an appetizer or side dish when floured
and deep-fried.
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WEEK
Famous Plantation South Dishes WEEK
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▪ Chicken Fried Steak – The state
food of Oklahoma, it refers to half-
inch slices of beef top round are
scored and pounded for tenderness,
seasoned with salt and pepper,
breaded in a Southern egg-flour-
egg coating, and then pan-fried in
lard. Chicken-fried steak is always
served with mashed potatoes and a
black pepper–spiked cream gravy
made from the drippings.
▪ Key Lime Pie – this tart-but-sweet
treat originated in the Florida Keys,
is made with fresh limes, egg yolks,
condensed milk, and often topped
with meringue.
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WEEK
Famous Plantation South Dishes WEEK
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▪ Biscuit Short Cake - Large, sweetened
biscuits are split in three layers,
slathered with soft whipped cream, and
filled with sliced fruits.
▪ Southern cakes – These include
coconut cake (with boiled icing), three-
layer yellow cake (often with chocolate
fudge icing), black walnut pound cake,
burnt sugar cake/caramel cake, jam
cake (with fruit preserves added to the
batter), Lane cake (white cake with
boiled icing and a filling of pecans,
coconut, and candied fruits), and Lady
Baltimore cake (similar to a Lane cake,
but with nut and raisin filling).
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 Famous Plantation South Dishes WEEK

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▪ Fruit Desserts and Gelatins - often fruit or
wine based.
▪ Puddings and Confections - Trifles and
bread puddings were traditionally made to
use up stale bread or cake. Often spiked
with Caribbean rum and/or Bourbon
whiskey, they offered an opportunity for
“proper” ladies to indulge in a taste of
spirits.
▪ Ice Cream - When Thomas Jefferson
returned from France, he brought a “cream
machine for ice” to Monticello and is reputed
to have made the first ice cream in America.
Food historians argue that ice cream was
made in Charleston and on the Ashley River
plantations some twenty years earlier.

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