INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

CREOLE CAJUN HISTORY
From the West Indies and the smoke pots of Haiti came exotic
vegetables and cooking methods. Braising, a slow cooking technique,
contributed to the development of our gumbos. Mirlitons, sauce
piquantes and the use of tomato rounded out the emerging Creole
cuisine.
Native Indians, the Choctaws, Chetimaches and Houmas, befriended the
new settlers and introduced them to local produce, wildlife and
cooking methods. New ingredients, such as corn, ground sassafras
leaves or file powder, and bay leaves from the laurel tree, all
contributed to the culinary melting pot.
I would be remise if I failed to mention the tremendous influence of
"the black hand in the pot" in Creole cooking. The Africans brought
with them the "gumbo" or okra plant from their native soil which not
only gave name to our premier soup but introduced a new vegetable to
South Louisiana. Even more importantly, they have maintained a
significant role in development of Creole cuisine in the home as well
as the professional kitchen.
Creole cuisine is indebted to many unique people and diverse cultures
who were willing to contribute and share their cooking styles,
ingredients and talent. Obviously then, Creole cuisine represents the
history of sharing in South Louisiana. Early on in the history of New
Orleans, the Creole wives became frustrated, not being able to
duplicate their old world dishes with new world products. Governor
Bienville helped to solve this problem by commissioning his
housekeeper, Madame Langlois, to introduce them to local vegetables,
meats and seafoods in what became the first cooking school in
America. This school aided them in developing their cuisine in a new
and strange land.
Creole cuisine, then, is that melange of artistry and talent,
developed and made possible by the nations and cultures who settled
in and around New Orleans. Those of us who know and love it, keep it
alive by sharing it with the world.
Chef John D. Folse CEC, AAC; shared by Fred Towner; MM by Dorothy
Flatman 1997
Posted to MM-Recipes Digest V4 #15 by maintech@ne.infi.net on May 31,
99

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