CAJUN & CREOLE

Louisiana, the Mississippi and Alabama Gulf coasts,

the western Florida panhandle

extreme eastern Texas

THE LAND THE RIVER BUILT

Southern Louisiana was created by the Mississippi Rivercarrying rich alluvial soil from its huge, funnel-shapedwatershed and depositing it where the river meets the Gulfof Mexico.

THE MISSISSIPPI DELTA

The southern Louisiana landform is roughly triangular in shape and, thus, is called a delta.

Rich delta soil and a mild climate makes southern Louisiana suited for sub-tropical food plants.

LOUISIANA WETLANDS

The Mississippi delta is low-lying land comprising saltwatermarshes and slow-moving, meandering waterways calledbayous. Louisiana’s wetlands and the Gulf of Mexicosupport a wide variety of fish, shellfish, and amphibians,the region’s foundation protein foods.

CENTRAL AND NORTHERN LOUISIANA

Before European settlement, the land north of Shreveport was prairie, supporting bison and other wildlife. Today this area is cultivated in grains and other large-scale agriculture food crops.

DELTA TRIBES:Chitimachas and Houmas

• expert watermen

• hunting (esp. waterfowl)

• fishing for delta seafood

• foraged foods (sassafras leaves, or filé)

• Three Sisters farming

INLAND TRIBES:

Natchez, Choctaws, Caddos

• plains-style hunting (esp. bison)

• Three Sisters farming

• Natchez had highly developed civilization

LOUISIANA NATIVE AMERICANS

FRENCH SETTLEMENT

• first French settlement in 1699 at Mobile, Alabama

• French settlers combined European colonial domesticates with indigenous native foods

• Louisiana colony extended east into Florida panhandle and west across Mississippi and Louisiana into Texas

NEW ORLEANS• New Orleans was founded in

1718 as port city, gateway to the Mississippi and, thus, the entire American heartland.

• Because of New Orleans commerce, Louisiana gained economic viability early in its history.

• Much of New Orleans is below sea level, protected from water by levees.

TRADITIONAL LOUISIANA CUISINE

Due to rapid settlement and almost instant economic viability, Louisiana did not have a colonial cuisine period, instead developing a mature cuisine within a few generations of founding.

THE SEVEN ROOTS OF LOUISIANA CUISINE

IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE#1 France

#2 Africa

#3 America (Native American and Plantation South)

#4 The Caribbean#5 Italy#6 Spain#7 Germany

THE FRENCH FOUNDATION

Louisiana food is fundamentally French food.• The region’s first settlers were French, arriving from France and the French

Caribbean.

• Later, French-Canadian Acadians brought additional French influence.

All French settlers had a strong food culture.The French are typically culinary conservatives (not venturing away from their cooking

methods etc.), adventurous emigrants were culinary liberals.

THE FRENCH FOUNDATION

• French mirepoix becomes the holy trinity: a mixture of celery, green bell peppers, and fresh onions

• Three domains of fat:butter (clarified and raw)

olive oil (for salad dressings)lard (for frying and roux)

• roux of many colors(discussed shortly)

• Cast-iron cookingslow, steady heat for roux

gives fried foods a crunchy crust

imparts a special flavor

• Cooking with wineused in sauces, soups, desserts

• French bread served hotin humid climate bread is reheated for crispness

• Fondness for seafoodFrench settlers considered indigenous fish and shellfish high status foods

• Colonial Domesticates from FranceKnob onions or fFesh onions

Chard

Turnip greens

Salad greens

Eggplants

Artichokes

Poultry

Hogs

THE FRENCH FOUNDATION

NATIVE AMERICAN INFLUENCE

• Native methods for indigenous seafoodalligator

frogs

crawfish

• Three Sisters foods

• Filé powder: ground, dried sassafras leaves used to thicken and flavor filé gumbos

SASSAFRAS

• The root or bark was used to make tea and Root Beer.

• Root Beer was originally made with the bark and root of the Sassafras trees. This is what give Root Beer it’s unique taste and smell.

• Root beer “mise en place”

Tens of thousands ofAfrican-heritage slaves were

brought to Louisiana fromthe Caribbean, the

Plantation South, anddirectly from Africa. They

contributed essential ingredients,methods, techniques, and flavor

preferences to Louisiana cuisine.These, as well as a large

population of free blacks createdLouisiana Creole cuisine andcontributed to Cajun cuisine.

• Rice culture and cuisine

• Okra (means gumbo in some African dialects.)

Thickens okra gumbo

Fried

Pickled

• Moussa and Coush-Coushcornmeal mush, savory and sweetened

• Fried foods

• Strong seasonings and inventive combinations

THE AFRICAN ELEMENT

Planters and their slaves from the Carolinas migrated to

Louisiana in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

After the Civil War, many white farmers moved to inland

Louisiana.

• Gumbo (from the Low-country)

• Fried chicken and fish

• Vegetables cooked with seasoning meats

• Barbeque

• Neckbone stew

• Slow-simmered beans

FOODS FROM THE PLANTATION SOUTH

In response to depleted soil and declining sugar prices, many French planters from the Caribbean moved their

operations to Louisiana.

African-Caribbean slave cooks brought their methods and

techniques.

• Rum

• Molasses

• Sugar, caramel

• Tropical fruitspineapples, bananas, coconuts

• Tropical vegetablesmirlitons, sweet potatoes, chiles

CARIBBEAN INGREDIENTS

In the early 1700s German farmers settled inland

Louisiana. They produced dairy products, meats, and

much-needed wheat for bread flour and beer

making.

However, German cooking did not become popular or alter

the cuisine.

• Wheat breads

• Sausages and preserved pork products

• Beer

GERMAN SETTLERS

Louisiana belonged to Spain from 1762 to 1802.

Spanish ingredients enriched the cuisine.

• Tomatoes and tomato sauce

• Eggplants

• Bell peppers

• Paprika

• Paella-rice casseroles became jambalaya

SPANISH RULE

AMERICAN LOUISIANA

• When Louisiana became part the United States in 1803 (Louisiana Purchase- Jefferson) the region welcomed an influx of American settlers.

• Increased prosperity enriched the cuisine until the Civil War.

• Whereas much of the region was devastated, New Orleans retained its economic viability and the cuisine prospered.

In the late1800s Italian immigrants

added the finishing touch to an

already complex cuisine.

• Parmesan cheese

• Anchovies

• Italian-style cured meats

• thick, spicy tomato sauce

• Pasta dishes

• stuffed vegetablespirogues

• Sandwichespo’ boys

muffalettas

ITALIAN IMMIGRANTS

THE DEVELOPMENT OF LOUISIANA CUISINE

TWO STYLES OF LOUISIANA COOKING

CREOLE CUISINE CAJUN CUISINE

CREOLE CUISINE

In Louisiana, a Creole was a person of European heritage born in the New World. Later

the term was extended to include persons of mixed

European-African heritage.

Louisiana Creoles created a complex and sophisticated

cuisine.

CREOLE CUISINE

SOPHISTICATED CITY COOKING

• Ingredients from around the world

• Multi-course dining

• Skilled home cooking and restaurant cuisine

• European beverages: table wines, dessert wines, cordials

• Much attention to presentation

• Classic French sauces

CREOLE CUISINEGUMBO

Is not quite a stew (more liquids than solids)…but not always a soup (large pieces of food requiring knife and fork).

Gumbo means “okra” in some African dialects.

African slaves created gumbo in the Carolina Lowcountry and brought it to Louisiana.

CREOLE CUISINE

AUTHENTIC GUMBO• Always includes:

• Brown roux (meat and poultry lighter; seafood darker)

• Holy Trinity vegetables

• Mixed main ingredients

(often combines poultry, meats, and seafood)• And is served with a scoop of steamed white rice.

OKRA GUMBO

• Earliest version

• Sliced okra added near the end of cooking helps thicken the sauce

FILÉ GUMBO

When okra was not available, Creolecooks used indigenous ground,dried sassafras leaves to thickengumbos.

• Filé must be added off the heat at the end of cooking; often served separately

• Filé and okra are never used together

CREOLE CUISINE

ETOUFFÉmeans “smothered”fish, shellfish, poultry or pork cookedin a thick, brown-roux gravy (notomatoes)

COURTBOUILLON (not court-bouillon)fish or crawfish simmered in a thick,wine-based, brown-roux sauce withtomatoes

RED BEANS & RICELouisiana dried red beans simmeredwith seasoning meat and served overrice, often with Andouille sausage or apork chop

CREOLEshrimp or other seafood cooked in alight, brown-roux tomato sauce withpeppers, onions, and ham

PIQUANTEmeans “spicy-hot”seafood or chicken cooked in aCreole sauce spiked with bottled hotsauce and/or green chiles

JAMBALAYAjambon à la ya means “ham in the style of rice” a braised rice dish that includes ham,sausage or bacon and seafood orpoultry

CREOLE CUISINE

LOUISIANA BROWN ROUX

Color, thickening power determined by length of cooking time.

Category 1: peanut butter brown (Blonde)

Category 2: sticky bun brown (Light Brown)

Category 3: fudge brownie brown (Dark Brown)

Category 4: black coffee brown (Black)

CAJUN CUISINE

In the mid-1700s, French Acadians deported from

English Canada found a home in the Louisiana bayou

country.

Cajun is a shortened form of “Acadian,” said with a

Southern drawl.

Cajuns developed a thrifty, rustic, home-style cuisine based on French country cooking and

indigenous foods.

COUNTRY COOKINGUntil recently, most Cajuns lived on

Isolated small farms, using little more

than home-raised meats and

vegetables and hunted, fished, and

foraged foods. DISHES THAT “STRETCH”

Cajun families are large and

unexpected visitors frequent. Most

dishes have lots of sauce or gravy

and are served over a starch, feeding

many mouths.

FLAVOR-BUILDING TECHNIQUES

“Browned” is a signature flavor,using caramelization and Maillardreaction.

Flavor Layering: The same basic ingredient is used in two or more forms.

Ingredient Staging: The same ingredient is added at different times during cooking process

CAJUN CUISINE

CHARCUTERIEBoucherie: hog-processing party, at

which hams, sausages, lard, and other pork products are made

Cajun charcuterie is spicier than the French or Acadian versions.

SWAMP CRITTERSHunting and foraging in the

wetlands is an important source of food.

• Wildfowl

• Cooter (turtle)

• Frog legs

• alligator

• Crawfish

CAJUN CUISINE

CAJUN CUISINE

Cajun cooking was fundamentally home cooking until popularized in the 1980s.

Cajun restaurants debuted new dishes that have become part of the cuisine:

• “Blackened” redfish and other foods

• Cajun popcorn (breaded, fried crawfish tails)

• ‘Gator-on-a-stick

CREOLE VS. CAJUNCreole VS. Cajun

DEVELOPMENT OF LOUISIANA CUISINE

COMPLEX COOKINGMultiple seasonings

One or more sauces

Multiple side dishes

Garnishes

INDIVIDUALISMMany variations of classic dishes

SHOWCASING SEAFOOD• Gulf oysters

• Gulf shrimp

• Blue crabs (hard and soft)

• Alligator meat

• Crawfish

• Gulf and swamp finfishPompanoWeakfishMackerelTunaSwordfishRed drum (redfish)Catfish

CHARACTERISTICS OF LOUISIANA CUISINE

New Orleans is a great restaurant town and is well known for its

food stalls and markets.

New Orleans nightlife is legendary.

• Café au lait(chicory-laced coffee with hot milk)

• Beignets(French doughnuts)

• Po’ boys(hollowed baguette filled with fried seafood, Italian cold cuts, meatballs, etc.)

• Muffaletta(round loaf filled with Italian cold cuts and olive salad)

NEW ORLEANS FOOD CULTURE AND CUISINE

MARDI GRAS

Mardi Gras means “fat Tuesday,” the last day of the Carnival season that precedes Lent.

Louisianans observe Carnival with a series of parties, including festive dinners.

King’s Cake is the traditional Mardi Gras dessert.

New Orleans restaurants proved remarkably resilient, making a faster recovery than predicted.

Hispanics have entered the city’s restaurant workforce, adding yet another layer to the complexity of Louisiana cuisine.

Asian immigrants are a major force in the region’s fishing industry.

Vietnamese cuisine is blending with Louisiana cuisine in unexpected ways.

The region awaits full recovery of its fishing and tourism sectors.

THE FUTURE OF LOUISIANA CUISINE

APPETIZERSCrawfish BisqueGumbo z’HerbesCreole Shrimp RemouladeFrog Legs Sauce PiquanteCreole “Barbeque” ShrimpCajun PopcornOysters RockefellerShrimp and Tasso-Stuffed MirlitonCajun Boudin Blanc

DESSERTSBananas FosterChocolate Voodoo TorteKing’s CakeGâteau de SiropCreole Bread Pudding

ENTRÈESPompano en AppellateRed Snapper CourtbouillonBlackened RedfishShrimp CreoleDuck, Andouille Sausage, and ‘Gator Filé

GumboShrimp and Crab Okra GumboCrawfish ÈtoufféeChicken, Shrimp, and Oyster Filé GumboCreole JambalayaPecan-Crusted Suprême of ChickenRed Beans ‘n’ RicePork Backbone Stew

LOUISIANA RECIPES