Wally writes:
<< 2- do you think that southerners use so much frying because of
african-american influence?>>
Yes and no, Wally. My understanding is that the practice of frying foods
originated in Europe. While Africans usually cooked meats (chicken, fish and
goat, primarily) in stews or over flames, many slaves in America adopted the
European practice of frying meat, which best prevented it from spoiling on
road trips. Fried chicken was developed in the South during the nineteenth
century and quickly became popular throughout the United States.
But let's not forget about American barbecue!:
In the eastern colonies the mingling of Native, Anglo, and African cultures
produced a hybrid cuisine that included, among other things, barbecue. Many
of the Africans who came to colonial South Carolina arrived from the West
Indies, where, as linguistic evidence suggests, barbecue originated
(barbacoa). Thus, enslaved Africans may have learned some culinary
techniques, including barbecue, from West Indians. When cooking over a fire,
American slaves began to baste their meats with sauce instead of serving it
on the side, as had been the practice in Africa. Because of regional
differences in livestock, "barbecue" came to mean pork in the eastern United
States and beef in the western United States.
The West African tradition of cooking all edible parts of plants and animals
helped the slaves to survive in the United States. Although Europeans
occasionally ate the leaves of plants, slaves often prepared the leaves of
plants, especially collards, by simmering them in oil, peppers, and spices.
They also creatively processed and cooked corn, the food most often made
available to them by their owners. From corn, slaves made corn bread, grits
(bleached and hulled corn kernels), hoecakes (cornmeal cooked on the blade of
a hoe over a flame), and hush puppies (deep-fried cornmeal with onions and
spices.
Hope this helps.
-Julius
