by Fleurdelis

Created on: April 02, 2009

Craving that Soul Food? But it's Bad for You

Soul food, that black or African-American cultural cuisine which has its origins and roots in the indigenous African-American people of the southern regions of the United States: Rich in calories, high in fats and salt, teeming with dressings, drippings, and enough sugar to induce a full-fledged coma.

A regional smorgasbord of dietary habits, African-Americans across the nation enjoy the traditions and recipes handed down from many generations who fed their children and relatives from it. I recall growing up eating soul food, or what some other southerners refer to as country cooking and honestly do not remember having a sick or unhealthy day in my entire childhood. I began to attain minimal illnesses as I got older, however, and whether it was from years of eating soul food or because I stopped eating it on a regular basis or simply because I have inherited more from my relatives than the cooking traditions of the Deep South, I will likely never know.

I have examples of this long-standing cultural tradition that may (or may not) make your mouth water, so hold on to your chair and breathe deep: Pig feet and pig ears (often pickled'soaked in salt brine); boiled or fried chitterlings (hog intestines); sweetmeats (animal brains); souse (congealed hog renderings); cornbread; cracklin' bread (cornbread with crunchy fried pork baked in); black eyed peas; hog maw (pig jowls); collard greens cooked in smoked turkey parts or salt pork; "hoppin' john" (black eyed peas with rice); red rice (rice and tomatoes); grits and gravy; fried catfish; homemade butter crunchy biscuits; barbecued pork ribs; fried pork chops; neckbones; oxtails; candied yams; cheese, rice and broccoli casserole; rutabagas cooked in bacon drippings; smothered steak; macaroni and cheese; egg custard; bread pudding; sweet potato pie; peach cobbler; pound cake; blackberry cobbler; Red Velvet cake; banana pudding; fried chicken; baked hen and cornbread dressing; okra, corn and tomatoes; and fried corn and fried okra, as well as fried green tomatoes, and hundreds of other variations of recipes using different meats, seasonal fruits and vegetables.

From where did soul food originate?

Soul food, as we now know it, actually came from a combination of foods grown and raised in America
coupled with an African and Native American "spin" on the style and methods of cooking. Much of this food was derived from the leftovers from the plates and tables of plantation owners in

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