Juneteenth is an impotant holiday,celebrated with foods that represent hope and resistance. Yet it's the cooking of the enslaved that really is the backbone of our country's cooking. american cuisine would not be the same without it.
Many think that Indigenous and European cooking are the basis of Americna cooking. In some ways that's true. we have the Noth American tribes to thankfor the Three Sisters corns beadn and squash. european cooking brought different dishes and such ataples as bread, wine and ale. Yet it was the enslaved that brought a variety of fruits and vegetables , incorporating them into the American diet. We have our summer treat watermelon coming over in the Trans Atlantic slave trade. Veggies we take for granted such as okra an d black eyed peas were also used in dishes brought over. These went from the slave gardens to the fancy tables of the country's then rich and powerful. They became part of many dishes that are deemed "American." Dishes using one of the most important West African imports rice came from Black chefs cooking for such men as Washington and Jefferson They enjoyed dishes such as gumbo or gombo, a mix of diffrent meats and seafood poured over rice and jambalaya - another flavorful stew based on jollof rice.
Most of our cooking methods also came from enslaved Africans. they brought with them fried foods and the method for doing such. without them we wouldn't have the Southern classic fried chicken, Steaming also came into play with foods being first wrapped in banana, plaintain or corn sheaths along with miraculous berry and cocoyam leaves), They were also big on adding fruit to pies instead of meat although most European countries did have some form of fruit pie.Spicing foods is also a West African influence recipes were given more flavor by the addition of peppers and certain herbs . Another major impact was the addition of mutrient rich greens into their and the plantation owners' diets. They gathered and cooked collards, kale and turnip tops , to be cooked in an another influential cooking method - the one pot meal.They were able to get good doses fo Vitamin C while cooking the greens in a tasty mix of ham hocks and spices.
We celebrate Junettenth today. However we need to celebrate African cooking all year round. It is a main influence and should be honored.
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