Introduction
The identity of the American South is inseparable from its cuisine. Exploring foodways is a practical, thoughtful, and encompassing approach to opening ones eyes; allowing celebration of distinctive heritages and cultures. Food habits on a local and regional level “deserves more critical scrutiny since they reveal lessons about American society and it’s values” (Inness xi). American cuisine as a whole does not have the lengthy history found in other parts of the world. Yet, the assimilation of age old ingredients and techniques have created a new menu that is distinct: copious with meaning and symbolism. This is especially true of the American south where Native American food habits are mixed with African, Spanish, French, and Caribbean habits to “culminate” into what Professor John Shelton Reed (a southern culture authority at UNC) describes as “a common “cultural style” that defines and delineates the boundaries of what he calls a southern “ethnic group”(Latshaw 107). So, what is considered southern, that we may begin to explore the commonalities and intricacies found in the rituals of food preparation and consumption?
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The region identified as the American South includes the Deep South (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina) with Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia included as the Peripheral South. All other states are non-southern (Latshaw 114). The cuisine identified with the south is broadly called southern food and includes foodways that are even more culturally meaningful such as Soul Food, Cajun, and Creole. The food of this region is more similar than dissimilar because of common ingredients, techniques, and assigned values as well as the diffusion of the more spiced Louisiana based Cajun and Creole dishes throughout the southern states. This translates into a shared identity based on local ingredients that are highly valued in southern families. Novelist and cookbook author Dori Sanders describes a shared value of southern foods as “basic, simple survival foods, dishes that brought us through the Great Depression and the hard times of failed crops and lean harvests”(Inness 79).
The focus of the Southern Cooking Wiki is the development of identity in our national narrative. Specifically, the development of the southern community identity, the southern woman, and the development of race identity in the historically divided south by means of exploring the preparation, celebration, and consumption of foodstuffs. Recipes are included for the specific foods discussed and it is supplemented with popular songs about food that exemplify and perpetuate southern identities and values.
Role of community in southern cooking
Role of gender in southern cooking
Role of race in southern cooking
Recipes
Works Cited
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