Made with Love: Soul Food
What was one of your favorite foods growing up? Strangely enough, for me, it was my grandfather’s oatmeal with raisins. Unlike my mother’s oatmeal, which was made with just water, my grandfather mixed in “secret” ingredients (which I later found out was lots of butter and milk)! Even now, whenever my grandparents come down to Texas to visit, my grandfather will still whip up a batch of his famous oatmeal for breakfast. Eating it immediately transports me back to my childhood, to sitting in the kitchen, watching my grandfather at the stove, the steam rising from the big black pot and curling into the air.
Soul food has a similar way of raising feelings of nostalgia. It truly embodies the love of being around those you care about the most. Even if you’re far away from home, soul food has a quintessential way of bringing you back to the place where you belong. No wonder why many people refer to soul food as “comfort” food!
Historically, soul food dates back to slavery in the American South. Ingredients depended heavily on what families, both Black and white, could afford at the time--better cuts of meat, for example, were more expensive. Many families had gardens, so fresh vegetables were readily available and incorporated into dishes.
Much of Southern cooking was invented in order to keep foods from spoiling in the hot weather. Seasoning with different spices, pickling, smoking, and barbecuing were methods to ensure foods didn’t go bad, and these cooking techniques comprise what we now know today as soul food.
Though soul food typically conjures images of the American Deep South (Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia), it can be enjoyed practically anywhere across the country, such as delicious soul food served up by Chef Millie Peartree in the Bronx, New York or Sylvia’s in Harlem, New York.
In fact, during the Great Migration, a period from around 1916-1970 in which large numbers of African Americans migrated from the South to the North, Southern recipes and cooking traditions also made their way up to Northern states, too. As a result, soul food increasingly became associated with African Americans living in the North.
While subjective, soul food is generally considered distinct from “Southern” or “country” food, which are terms to characterize foods prepared by white people. Although Southern and soul food share plenty of overlap, soul food is a specific term that harkens back to and celebrates its rich African American heritage.
As Todd Richards, author of Soul: A Chef’s Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes, explains, “Soul food is a black art form. Soul food is a gospel, and chefs are its preachers. It can be handed down once you know it, and once you’re proud of it.”
Learn more about the roots of soul food here and read thoughts of Todd Richards and Virginia Willis, both authors of recent books on Southern cooking, on culture, identity and cuisine here.
A typical soul food meal can consist of any of the below foods:
Fried chicken is perhaps one of the most famous soul food dishes out there. It’s important to prepare a flavorful batter and coat your pieces of chicken well so that when they’re fried, they’ll be crispy and juicy! Don’t be afraid to smother your fried chicken, fried catfish, or pork with gravy!
Catfish is a mild white fish that gets its name from the fishes’ long whiskers. I’d recommend pairing your friend catfish with hushpuppies, which are deep fried balls of cornmeal batter. Yum!
Pork has historically been a popular meat of choice in the South. The process of preserving meats was tedious, and so was often delegated to slaves, who developed some of the curing techniques we still use today. Because slaves weren’t given the best cuts of the pig, they had to learn how to season the less savory parts of the pig, such as the head, feet, ribs, or internal organs. Today, pig’s feet and pig intestines (known as chitterlings) as well as pork chops are common soul food fare. Pig’s feet and black eyed peas are foods eaten by some African Americans to celebrate the New Year.
In soul food cooking greens refer to leafy green vegetables like cabbage, collards, mustard, turnip, and kale. Traditionally, greens are boiled or set to simmer slowly over a long period of time with a piece of pork or ham hock to give them extra flavor. Once the greens are soft, they can be served with cornbread. Cornbread is used to mop up the potlikker, the leftover broth, which is high in vitamins, so don’t just dump it down the drain.
No plate of soul food is complete without gooey mac & cheese. Don’t even think about skimping out on the cheese!
Biscuits can be made with butter, or, if you prefer, lard, which is fat from a pig.
Candied yams are actually sweet potatoes. Marshmallows can also be added to the top of the dish.
And we’re not talking about the band! Black eyed peas are typically combined with bacon, onions, and garlic and are simmered in a chicken broth. Don’t forget your cornbread on the side!
The trick is the sugar. Lots and lots of sugar. Nobody wants unsweet tea, which my sister says tastes like sewage water!
Red drink is not just a color, it’s a flavor. In fact, Adrian Miller, author of the book, Soul Food: The Surprising Story of an American Cuisine, One Plate at a Time, dubs it “liquid soul.” Red drink traces its roots back to West Africa. It was often enjoyed during special occasions and was a sign of hospitality. The first traditional red drink is hibiscus tea, whose petals are used to make a tea called bissap. The tea can range from red to purple. The other red drink is kola nut tea, and the nuts can give the tea a red or white color. Today in the U.S., red drink varies by region and has numerous iterations, from red lemonade to red soda to red Kool-Aid. On Juneteenth, a day which celebrates the end of slavery in the U.S., it’s common to consume red foods and drinks.
A delicious summertime treat made with vanilla wafers, cream, sugar, bananas, and more! There are recipes for no-bake and baked banana puddings.
Liked candied yams, this is another dish with sweet potatoes.
Vocabulary list:
Batch (n.): a serving (of a food)
To embody (v.): to represent
To conjure up (v.): to bring to mind
To harken back to (v.): to remind
Gospel (n.): truth (in a religious sense)
Skimping out (v./expression): to use less of a certain ingredient
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A Texas native, Bianca Navia is currently in her senior year at Arizona State University pursuing a dual major in Political Science and Global Studies. She is most passionate about international affairs, diplomacy, foreign languages, traveling, and teaching. A fun fact about her? She’s the oldest of four sisters in a big Cuban-Italian-American family!