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The state of Louisiana is home to a lot of Creole and Cajun style of cooking. The use of spices, seafood, and herbs are typical of this style of cooking, fused with influences from different nations like the French, the Spanish, Caribbean, Mediterranean, African and of course, the American.
It also holds a hallmark of Italian and German type of cooking. Creole cooking leaned towards the influence of European style cooking, adapted with local food. This is like a reminder on how the fusion style of cuisine had grown, developing from the same notion of adaption and local ingredients.
The influence of Spain in Creole cooking is the evident use of peppers for heat, the incorporation of rice in most dishes and the use of beans (which could faintly remind one's self with paella style of cooking). They also use tomatoes in dishes far more extensively and sometimes in a grandiose manner. Pasta and sauces are typical in Creole cuisine. The cuisine had passed through the hands of African-American chefs and cooks, and were thus heavily influenced too by this.
The one glaring similarity between Creole and Cajun style cooking is the employment of what is called the 'holy trinity'. This refers to the three mainstays in cooking, namely, chopped green peppers, onions and celery. There is also the generous addition of file' powder, which is ground dried leaves of the sassafras tree, when cooking. The most famous and recognized dish in Creole cooking is gumbo.
Gumbo is a stew mostly prepared around the U.S. South and the Gulf Coast of the United States. Cooking gumbo requires strong stock, meat and shellfish, a thickener (file' powder was mentioned earlier), and the holy trinity of vegetables. Gumbo is said to be the pinnacle of creole cooking, being the ultimate melting pot of all the different tastes of the world.
It also holds a hallmark of Italian and German type of cooking. Creole cooking leaned towards the influence of European style cooking, adapted with local food. This is like a reminder on how the fusion style of cuisine had grown, developing from the same notion of adaption and local ingredients.
The influence of Spain in Creole cooking is the evident use of peppers for heat, the incorporation of rice in most dishes and the use of beans (which could faintly remind one's self with paella style of cooking). They also use tomatoes in dishes far more extensively and sometimes in a grandiose manner. Pasta and sauces are typical in Creole cuisine. The cuisine had passed through the hands of African-American chefs and cooks, and were thus heavily influenced too by this.
The one glaring similarity between Creole and Cajun style cooking is the employment of what is called the 'holy trinity'. This refers to the three mainstays in cooking, namely, chopped green peppers, onions and celery. There is also the generous addition of file' powder, which is ground dried leaves of the sassafras tree, when cooking. The most famous and recognized dish in Creole cooking is gumbo.
Gumbo is a stew mostly prepared around the U.S. South and the Gulf Coast of the United States. Cooking gumbo requires strong stock, meat and shellfish, a thickener (file' powder was mentioned earlier), and the holy trinity of vegetables. Gumbo is said to be the pinnacle of creole cooking, being the ultimate melting pot of all the different tastes of the world.
About the Author:
Going for a trip to Louisiana? Why not make it worth the trip? Louisiana craft shows. Visit Louisiana craft fairs, that's what I use to check up on mine.
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