Some of the memories about Southern food could be traced to my childhood. I can dimly recollect drinking chilled tea in the afternoons during long summers as well as shelling butterbeans and peas on my grandmother’s terrace. I have since changed my base and moved on to other parts of the world. But despite my change of location, one thing has stayed constant in my life, and that is my profound and long-lasting love for southern cuisine and cooking.
I was most likely in my teens before coming to the realization that there are other ways to drink tea beside taking it with ice and sugar. It was also around this period in my life that I discovered that some people could eat vegetables that were not dipped in cornmeal or immersed in batter and fried deep fat. If you want to enjoy Southern cooking, then you need to be someone who is bold and not faint-hearted. One thing is sure about southern cuisine; you will never find any other style of cooking like it anywhere else in the world.
Southern folks have learnt to put up with little in a lot of instances. Some of the most disadvantaged individuals in the United States live in the southern part of the nation. Despite their financial conditions, however, it may surprise you to know that these people are also some of the most liberal folks anywhere in the world. Their openhandedness extends to food as well, for it appears to be one thing that looks to be in abundant supply. Most of these southern folks will never let you leave their domain without having something warm under your belt.
What makes southern cuisine so distinct? Maybe it is the seasonings that are utilized when preparing southern food. Or it could be the sharing in love of their church dinners on Sundays or even the love with which they prepare such delicacies which are shared among family and friends. Whether it’s the crab boil, or the gumbo file of Cajun food; or the undisclosed ingredient that is always part of any fried chicken recipe and which is found in most southern kitchens, it will be a terrible mistake for you to pass up such southern delicacy.
Some of the delicious desserts that make Southern cuisine an exceptional experience are pralines, which are excellent for people living in New Orleans, just as bread pudding is. The Mississippi Mud cake is also flavorful and a delight, just as pecan pies and many other marvelous appetizing treats that can be found in southern cuisine which is now being made known to the entire world. Sadly, grandmas living to the east of New Orleans never left behind the recipes used to prepare the lemon icebox pie as it died with them.
Some of the traditional vegetables that flourish in limitless abundance are butterbeans and peas, corn, snap beans, summer squash and okra (boiled or fried in various southern kitchens). It is not all the vegetables that are usually deep-fried, for a few are left out as a rule. I can bring to mind the memories of eating fried squash, fried okra as well as green tomatoes that were also fried. Calories were not a thing of worry back in those days as no one was bothered about jamming arteries with fat. Life was more enjoyable and pleasant then. If you have the opportunity to try out these delicacies, you should go ahead and give it a try.
Fried seafood is also available in abundance and is part of the staple foods that one can find in these southern areas. From fried oysters to fried fish, seafood never tastes any better than when it is cooked in a southern kitchen. If you are planning to learn how to cook Southern cuisines, there is every likelihood that you may have to place orders for southern spices and get them delivered to your home via courier service, unless there is a grocery store in your neighborhood that is well-stocked with tropical foods selection. You may be fortunate to come across an aisle in your grocery store that stocked full of southern seasonings. This will give you the chance to cook something special for your family by cooking southern delicacies.
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