Cuisine

Louisiana's complex blending of cultures for over 300 years has produced distinctive regional food traditions for which we are known worldwide. Each cultural group has retained its food traditions and, even within those groups, traditions vary from community-to-community and family-to-family.

Gumbo

Gumbo is an excellent example of cultural blending, or "creolization". This dish, so closely identified with South Louisiana, melds African with European and Native American cultures. It has been said that the word itself is derived from nkombo, the Bantu word for okra. The okra plant, a favorite in Africa, is a Middle Eastern plant brought to America by Portuguese traders, while filé (ground sassafras leaves) is Native American.

The origin of gumbo--usually defined as a soup-like dish featuring two or more meats or seafood and served with rice-- is often attributed to the French bouillabaisse, but the strong preference for soups in Africa reinforced the tradition. The two most common types of gumbo are chicken-and-sausage gumbo and seafood gumbo. Try your hand at making this iconic south Louisiana dish:

Traditions

Food traditions can be the most resistant to change because food reminds us of home and family. As a result, it becomes central to those special occasions and other "rituals" that are involved in maintaining our culture. Find out why our delicious cuisine looks, smells and tastes the way it does:

Cultural Regions

To fully appreciate the food traditions within the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, one must remember that both Cajun and Creole cooking are the products of 300 years of continuous sharing and borrowing among the region's many cultural groups:

The French contributed sauces (sauce piquante, étouffée, stews, bisque), sweets (pralines, a modified French confection with pecans instead of the original walnuts), and breads (French bread, beignets or square doughnuts with powdered sugar, and corasse, fried bread dough eaten with cane syrup).
The Spanish added jambalaya (a spicy rice dish probably from the Spanish paella).
Africans, in addition to contributing okra, barbecue, and deep-fat frying, reinforced the Spanish preference for hot spices and soups.
Germans, who arrived in Louisiana before the Acadians, contributed sausages (andouille and boudin) and "Creole" or brown mustard.
Caribbean influence is seen in the bean-and-rice dishes of red beans and rice and congri (crowder peas and rice).
Native Americans contributed filé and a fondness for corn bread. This has resulted in an environment where foods introduced by newly-arrived cultural groups are appreciated and readily accepted!

The "Preferred Meat"

Pork earns the narrow victory as the preferred meat throughout the Atchafalaya National Heritage Area, due to its appearance when smoked, barbequed and stuffed into sausages, as well as the use of pork rinds in "cracklins".

Many Atchafalaya National Heritage Area residents still savor wild game (venison, squirrel, raccoon, rabbit and quail), fish (both farm-raised catfish and gamefish such as crappie and bream) and, of course, crawfish and shrimp. When our people make it, there is no doubt that it will be delicious. Check out these recipes and see for yourself: