Traditional Food

Posts Tagged ‘Soul’

Soul food recipes have enjoyed a tradition of down-home cooking and what we affectionately call comfort food. People in the south, especially African Americans see it as the holy grail of eating and good times.

It’s used to celebrate, comfort and even heal, that’s how important it is. But because of the tight economy more people choose to cook more meals at home and save money (25% -75%) rather than eating out.

The problem is most of us like soul food , but in this fast-food age less of us know how to cook those magical meals our grand mothers and great-grandmothers cooked with ease. If you’re a new mother, wife, single man or house-husband you may have this desire or need to cook. But you may lack the mental tools and skills to pull it off.

Fortunately the internet has dozens of soul food recipe sites with those favorite dishes you enjoyed since you were a child. You know, the one’s your great-grandma used to prepare for holidays, birthdays and special occasions. That’s good news, but you may be one of the millions of “recipe challenged”. Meaning you can read a recipe, but the results always turn out between weird looking and out-right disaster.

Don’t panic, here’s 3 ways to cook soul food recipes more confidently.

1. Know Your Cooking Terms.

This seems like a simple issue, but it may surprise you how much this will add to your cooking confidence. Plus, it may surprise you how many people don’t know the correct cooking terms in a recipe, but think they know. For example, do you know the difference between mix and fold? Many cooks don’t.

As a result, not knowing the difference between those two cooking terms is the difference between a scrumptious dish fit for a king or queen or garbage a starving dog wouldn’t eat. I recommend getting a cooking dictionary or at least a book of cooking terms. When you come across a recipe term you’re not sure of you can immediately look it up. By doing this simple action, you’ll be a recipe expert in no time when it comes to cooking terms.

2. Know Your Seasonings.

If one skill defines soul food , meaning how to enjoy it and how to cook it, it’s the seasoning. Knowing how to season and what to season with what food is one of the hallmarks of a good cook, especially when it comes to southern food.

Here’s another tool that can give you a quick start and give you quick confidence. Get a soul food seasonings dictionary, available online. This will show you what seasoning go with what dishes at-a-glance. This information will help to make your cooking mistake free.

3. Know Your Measurements.

This is one of the quiet but important keys to cooking with confidence. Traditionally our grandmothers and great-grandmothers used guesstimates based on their experience. For example, a dash of this, a pinch of that. To give you quick confidence when preparing any recipe, get these 3 important – but inexpensive tools. A measuring cup, measuring spoons and a small scale. By using these simple tools you’ll have the confidence your measurements are accurate and your portions are right. They will save you the cost of the recipe failures you have to throw in the garbage can. That cost savings alone is worth the small investment, Don’t you agree?

By following these simple tips your cooking confidence will increase each time you apply them. The soul food recipes you choose will turn out more like the ones you see in the book or on the website for a change. In addition, they’ll taste more like you imagined them to be.

Soul food recipes making a strong comeback? Yes, and not only with African Americans but also with Whites, Latino and other races discovering the deep south inspired menus.

The recipes handed down from slavery, and one of the true American creations continues to make a roaring come back in popularity. “It stays with you longer than most foods,” commented a diner at a popular restaurant.

“If you eat a lunch of fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, black-eyed peas, candied yams, you’re full. Top that same meal off with peach cobbler for dessert, you’re still full at dinner”, chimed in another diner.

What has slowly brought back the popularity of this southern inspired fare? The updated cooking and preparation techniques. Long favored for it’s taste, but criticized for its health hazards, soul food cooking has taken on a healthier change. The change it’s going through continues to attract a larger crowd than before.

Gone are the lard, fatback and animal fat of the past in cooking and preparing soul dishes. Now cooks use peanut, olive oil and other healthier oils. Deep fat frying replaced with pan frying, steaming and baking. Salt replaced by natural herbs and spices. This all adds up to healthier recipe and menu choices.

For people watching their weight, this change continues to have a positive affect. They have more menu choices now than ever. They can enjoy some of their favorite southern dishes without cheating their diet goals with the new healthier menus.

The biggest concerns for adopting the healthy soul food change by leaving out the traditional high fat cooking ingredients? Was the taste left out also? But with natural herb seasoning such as garlic powder, tyme, basil, onion power, and other natural seasonings, the taste remains. The growing popularity of this southern cuisine proves the healthier changes have succeeded.

Because of the health based changes, soul food restaurants report an increase in business as healthier cooking improves. People, especially African Americans continue to have large amount of heart issues, high blood pressure and diabetes and obesity. That’s why more attention to the diet.

This is not your grandmothers soul food cooking. It’s much leaner, less oily and with less or even no salt. As the health concerns of people continue to grow, the health ingredients of recipes will grow as well.

Healthier menus will not only be a marketing slogan, but will reflect in the recipe ingredients, preparation and cooking techniques used. The cookbooks that will sell in the future will include healthy alternatives that don’t compromise taste and satisfaction.

The next frontier to conquer? Desserts, such as peach cobbler, sweet potato pie, sock-it-to me cake, 7-up cake, banana pudding and other favorites. The push is on to find ways to make them healthier too. Health conscious bakers will overcome this challenge like many soul food cooks have, but it will take time, determination and commitment.

Soul food recipes come from the earliest inhabitants of the Caribbean islands. They were the three Indian tribes of Arawak, Carib, and Taino. Their daily food comprised of vegetables and fruits. It was the Taino tribe that first started cooking meat and fish, using large clay vessels.
The Arawaks used a different method. They used thin strips of green wood to cook meat more slowly and allowing it to absorb the flavor of the wood. The wooden grate they used was called barbacoa. This is where the term barbeque comes from.
Not to be left behind, the Carib tribe made their fish and meat recipes really spicy by adding pepper sauces, lime, and lemons. In fact, the Caribs are credited with having cooked the first pepper pot stew. The last of the above three has had a tremendous impact on Caribbean food.
This should not be surprising because the Caribbean Sea was named after this tribe. Caribbean soul food recipes are still representative of the food that was originally eaten by the early inhabitants. It includes okra, fish cakes, callaloo, ackee, salt fish, pudding, souse, cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, plantains, and mangoes.
The concept of jerk cooking also originated in the Caribbean. Early African hunters would often leave their homes to go on long hunts. They would take with them pork cooked in a very spicy recipe over hot coals.
In the post slavery era, Indian cooking culture was introduced into Caribbean soul food recipes and still remains an active part of the Caribbean cuisine. Most of the curried meats and curry powder recipes that are found today are directly derived from original Indian cuisine.
Rice was introduced to the Caribbean by the Chinese and is now a staple. The Chinese also unleashed mustard on the islanders while the Portuguese sailors did the codfish. Most of the fruit trees that are familiar to the visitors to the island were actually brought here by the Spainish.
This included orange, ginger, lime, figs, plantains, sugar cane, tamarinds, grapes, and coconuts. America brought with it the various beans, squash, corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and chili pepper. In fact, some of these foods spread to the rest of world through the Caribbean.
Caribbean cuisine is truly a mix of several cooking styles from all over the world. It retains much of the original culinary skills of the islands native inhabitants. If you are bored with what you eat daily Caribbean food will cure that.
If you do not have time to go on a lengthy Caribbean vacation then bring the beaches and the sunshine right into your home through your kitchen using a Caribbean recipe. These are but a few reasons why Caribbean food is so unique and creative. Flavors from all over the world have found a home in Caribbean food through countless generations and the flow of history.