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Reclaiming True Grits
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Posted By:
ariderfel at 05/05/2008 7:36:16 PM
Comment:
Kudos Bryant for always bringing our cultural and culinary awareness to a new level. You're masterful with the pen (or would that be keyboard these days?) and inspiring with your content. Thank you! -
Posted By:
ManofYahu at 04/09/2008 10:39:10 AM
Comment:
Cafe Yahudah
Southern Soul and Latino Food
61 Washington St
Bloomfield NJ 07003
973-748-4700-
Posted By:
skaismith35 at 06/13/2008 10:49:01 PM
Comment:
Cafe Yahudah is run by a church called New Beginnings Kingdom Fellowship which is headed by a deadbeat dad who became turned to religion as a profession so that he could become tax excempt and continue to not pay child support. The name of this so called religious leader of this group who don't really know what he's truly about is Nicholas S. Whitted. Nick, has not called his son in over a year nor has seen him in 4 years now, his son will be 10 this summer. Nick owes over $13,000 in back owed childsupport and has no intention on paying at all. I have spent many nights wiping away tearsfor his sons eyes that I have no control over. Then to see now he has a cafe, under the church's name. WOW!
-
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Posted By:
cancan at 03/21/2008 11:58:26 PM
Comment:
While we had fried chicken, pork ribs, and other soul food stalwarts, my grandmother also had a garden and a root cellar. I remember slices tomatoes and onions, and the work of picking stuff from the garden that would be served at that night or the next day's supper. The connection of food grown in the earth to food consumed was understood. Everything was cooked from scratch. It made a difference. Both of my grandmother's used lard in their piecrusts and used butter and one lives to her 90s and the other passed at 86 s0 - their soul food worked for them.
I'd like a recipe for hot water bread, also known as "dog bread" in St. Louis. And speaking of the 'Lou - have you ever tasted buffalo fish? It's sublime although it requires slow eating because of the tiny bones. -
Posted By:
teresa sullivan at 03/17/2008 11:17:41 AM
Comment:
Bryant,
Your recipes are amazing! Thank you for sharing your talent. God bless.
Sincerely,
Teresa Sullivan
Southaven,MS -
Posted By:
teresa sullivan at 03/17/2008 11:15:32 AM
Comment:
Bryant,you and your recipes are amazing! Thank you for sharing your talent. God bless.
Sincerely,
Teresa Sullivan
Southaven,MS -
Posted By:
tonyahammond at 03/11/2008 5:04:32 PM
Comment:
Great article. The idea of not accepting what mainstream media and the resulting "faux" culture our society has acquired as a result can be applied to other areas as well. People need to know their history, as a race, or as a people, as citizens of a country, as citizens of the world, as consumers. History, people! Thanks for the well-thought out article, Mr. Bryant. -
Posted By:
sosteel at 03/10/2008 2:39:33 AM
Comment:
Excellent article, though I'd add to the voices who point out that, for a white, middle class kid who grew up in Mississippi and Alabama, there's little difference in what's described here and what I grew up on. Frankly, I'd be insincere if I didn't admit a little resentment - this is heritage food for all Southerners - but I also understand the author's point. My parents and grandparents always had gardens (I've worn my thumbs out shelling peas) with everything from speckled butterbeans to mustard greens to banana peppers and so on. I still miss my grandmother's cracklin' cornbread, though that qualifies as one of those "rare" treats we didn't eat all the time - it wouldn't have been healthy. It has become impossible to get anything but instant or "quick" grits in most grocery stores here. You have to do a little searching or find a farmer who still grinds them. Also, there's a terrific chef in Birmingham, Frank Stitt, who pays great homage to the food he grew up on in Blount County, Alabama, but isn't afraid to apply some of his French techniques to those same ingredients. He actually does an appetizer where grits are the centerpiece. And before I close, I have to admit - I have to work to watch the fried stuff, especially whole catfish and chicken livers...but I do eat a lot of the healthy vegetables and limit the salt and the pork in them. -
Posted By:
sosteel at 03/10/2008 2:18:26 AM
Comment:
Excellent article, though I'd add to the voices who point out that, for a white, middle class kid who grew up in Mississippi and Alabama, there's little difference in what's described here and what I grew up on. Frankly, I'd be insincere if I didn't admit a little resentment - this is heritage food for all Southerners - but I also understand the author's point. My parents and grandparents always had gardens (I've worn my thumbs out shelling peas) with everything from speckled butterbeans to mustard greens to banana peppers and so on. I still miss my grandmother's cracklin' cornbread, though that qualifies as one of those "rare" treats we didn't eat all the time - it wouldn't have been healthy. It has become impossible to get anything but instant or "quick" grits in most grocery stores here. You have to do a little searching or find a farmer who still grinds them. Also, there's a terrific chef in Birmingham, Frank Stitt, who pays great homage to the food he grew up on in Blount County, Alabama, but isn't afraid to apply some of his French techniques to those same ingredients. He actually does an appetizer where grits are the centerpiece. -
Posted By:
zenarie at 03/10/2008 2:14:08 AM
Comment:
Movies like Soul Food don't exactly help the image of the real cuisine. I think the generalization of soul food is just part of the problem with health concerns. Obesity, high blood pressure and other major health problems are effecting not only black people but latinos and everyone else. It's the fast food mentality that effects all Americans. Breaking our ties with that would probably make the biggest difference. But this would be a huge jump start. -
Posted By:
slnevil at 03/10/2008 1:38:06 AM
Comment:
What a great article!!! I have to admit that I am one who use to turn her nose up to the mention of soul-food; as a college grad and becomin a successful African-American despite my upbringing in a low to mid-income family and poverty stricken city, I thought that I had "outgrown" eating soul-food as an unhealthy meal. I wanted to explore other ethnic foods thinking that this would make me more worldly...cultured...and accepted in mainstream/corporate America; however, as I started to explore these foods in my own kitchen, I began missing soul food. As I learned to make some Italian or Asian dishes which I figured were healthier, I figured out that I could still have the great taste of my soul food by substituting some of the unhealthier ingredients for healthier ones. No longer do I have to use loads of salt for taste but maybe Mrs. Dash or any other low-sodium seasoning. I don't have to cook my collard greens for hours w/ salt and pork fat but smoked turkey instead. As far as the sweets...well, I haven't baked much but I'm sure some substitutions can be made there as well. All in all, it's about moderation. I'm not eating soul food everyday but when I want my fill, I'm making sure that I can prepare it healthier than my mom or grandmother without sacrificing the taste and love put into cooking soul food. This is the food tradition that I want to keep going in my family. -
Posted By:
gary123 at 03/10/2008 1:36:56 AM
Comment:
Id like to congratulate Mr. Bryant. With a big white mushroom stamp right on the lips bravo. -
Posted By:
slnevil at 03/10/2008 1:11:52 AM
Comment:
What a great article!!! I have to admit that I am one who use to turn her nose up to the mention of soul-food; as a college grad and becomin a successful African-American despite my upbringing in a low to mid-income family and poverty stricken city, I thought that I had "outgrown" eating soul-food as an unhealthy meal. I wanted to explore other ethnic foods thinking that this would make me more worldly...cultured...and accepted in mainstream/corporate America; however, as I started to explore these foods in my own kitchen, I began missing soul food. As I learned to make some Italian or Asian dishes which I figured were healthier, I figured out that I could still have the great taste of my soul food by substituting some of the unhealthier ingredients for healthier ones. No longer do I have to use loads of salt for taste but maybe Mrs. Dash or any other low-sodium seasoning. I don't have to cook my collard greens for hours w/ salt and pork fat but smoked turkey instead. As far as the sweets...well, I haven't baked much but I'm sure some substitutions can be made there as well. All in all, it's about moderation. I'm not eating soul food everyday but when I want my fill, I'm making sure that I can prepare it healthier than my mom or grandmother without sacrificing the taste and love put into cooking soul food. This is the food tradition that I want to keep going in my family. -
Posted By:
mississippi at 03/10/2008 12:01:26 AM
Comment:
I would like to thank you for your informative article on the history of Soul Food. I own and operate a catering business and a week-end Soul
Food restaurant and the thing that I hate most is the negative attitude that society has about soul food. People have been brain washed to crave hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs, chinese food, french fries, fried chicken with no vegetables, mexican and chinese food, that's why we are so unhealthy. I agree completely when you say that we should start back preparing fresh food at home and get back to those collard greens, black-eyed peas, fried okra etc. selowe@adelphia.net -
Posted By:
mom2booger2 at 03/09/2008 10:37:07 PM
Comment:
I too remember what you call "soul food". I am also from Tennessee, and grew up in the 1960's. I just considered it food, not from any ethnic background. My mother made hominy in her mothers butter churn. I remember the smell of strawberry preserves, pickles being sealed in jars, meat being salted or smoke cured. Watching my mother grind the ingredients for "chow-chow relish" to put over beans. Going to the farmers market to buy produce by the bushel to prepare for winters. Buying a "grass fed Ned" cow for slaughter. ( along with another family, because we couldnt afford the whole cow.) Growing, and endlessly weeding, the acre large garden.
The only thing that seperates us, is race.
I agree that it is much preferrable to buy local, eat what is in season, and put away great foods for our family in winter. Its healthier, and whatsmore, its now called "green". There is nothing to compare to the taste of real hominy served up next to a nice bowl of spicy winter turnip greens, all rounded out with a plump cornbread served with fresh butter. Who cares what the meat is?
If we all went back to eating "like we were raised", then I truly believe that there would be less incidence of the diseases that we face in todays US society. -
Posted By:
grits555 at 03/09/2008 9:39:08 PM
Comment:
A lot of white southerners eat the same way. My grandmother made the best fried grit cakes you ever put in your mouth. I was raised on fresh peas, beans, fried corn, big pot of mix greens, fried chicken just killed that morning. We caned and put fresh picked veggies and fruit, along with beef, pork and chicken in our freezers for leaner times and believe me we made them growing up in rural Mississippi. I call this comfort food, cause it was cooked with love. We didn't have meat with every meal, but we did have plenty of veggies and cracklin bread, or the lights biscuits you every put in your mouth. The food you speak of is not a Black thing, it's a southern thing. And I am thankful for my mom, grandmother and the black lady that use to keep us for teaching me how to cook 'Soul Food". -
Posted By:
southernbarbara at 03/09/2008 9:14:35 PM
Comment:
I enjoyed this article very much. However, I believe grits and okra, fired chicken and mac and cheese are not soul food but a southern staple. I should know, I grew up with them, along with many other southerners. If cooked properly these dishes can stand with pride next to any other dish. I do applaud Mr. Bryant's efforts for bringing these dishes to the forefront. -
Posted By:
southernbarbara at 03/09/2008 9:10:39 PM
Comment:
I really enjoyed this article on grits and southern cooking. Many people think grits and okra are not delectable. However, cooked properly they can stand next to any dish with pride. But the emphasisym that it is soul food I do not agree with. It is southern cooking. It was most southerns grew up on without regard to race. It is excellent food and "good for the sout", but it was not born out of one race, but what was available. However, kudos to Bryant for bringing southern cooking to the forefront. -
Posted By:
Faeriecat at 03/09/2008 9:03:12 PM
Comment:
I enjoyed your observations. Having grown up in Louisiana, many years ago I certainly recognize your comments as accurate.Today I live in New Mexico. with the great good fortune of having dear friends from a Mexican background, I've come to appreciate that the elders of any culture are a wonderful resource and deserve our respect and our listening ear... -
Posted By:
kt at 03/09/2008 8:59:01 PM
Comment:
Bravo! I'm white as rice but delighted to hear any person of any color extol the virtues of good, wholesome soul food. Chitlin's and hog jowls are such a white-bread mentality myth. Great article. -
Posted By:
kt at 03/09/2008 8:52:47 PM
Comment:
Bravo! I am white as rice but am delighted to hear anyone of any color proclaim the virtues of good, wholesome soul food. The stereotypical chitlin's and pig's feet is such a ridiculous white-bread mentality myth. Thanks...loved the article. -
Posted By:
nova454man at 03/09/2008 8:12:45 PM
Comment:
Very informative, would like to learn more obout this cooking for health. -
Posted By:
Boxers at 03/09/2008 7:58:45 PM
Comment:
The foods and preparations you write about in the article remind me of my upbringing as a WASP with a little Italian and Irish blood in New. England -
Posted By:
Boxers at 03/09/2008 7:55:18 PM
Comment:
Mich of the food and preparations you talk about in your article remimd me of my upbringing... in Brockton, Mass, as a WASP with a little Irish and Italian blood. -
Posted By:
taz325 at 03/09/2008 7:45:01 PM
Comment:
soul food is also what poor southern white people ate for dinner my grand father and father from florida ate what is called soul food and even after my father moved up north he continued to make these treats for his kids and i will make them for mine -
Posted By:
taz325 at 03/09/2008 7:41:20 PM
Comment:
soul food is also what poor soutern white people ate for dinner also soul food is what my father and grand father from florida ate and also some of which i grew up on and still eat today -
Posted By:
jimshaw at 03/09/2008 7:31:26 PM
Comment:
I agree with the author. Too many of the so called food critics tend to minimize the real effect of our food culture back ground. I come from a Portugese background, 3 rd generation, but still remember my grandmothers cooking delights. To this day, I try to let my grandchildren learn about their heritige... They have learned to love Linguisa (Portugese sausage), pao duce (Portugese sweet bread), Malasada's (Portugese donuts) as well as vin a dosh. (Portugese pickled pork). I have tried to keep the spirit of our background in the forefront for my family. I also have had the pleasure of eating many different foods from different cultures including the African American foods. When cooked right, they are delicious as well as good for you... Keep up the good work about true ethnic foods. Jim Shaw -
Posted By:
CarolinaWoman at 03/09/2008 7:15:02 PM
Comment:
Bless your heart Mr. Terry .... what a terrible thing to do to grits. Now nothing could be finer then Booker T and "Green Onions" but grits deserve some butter...fry up some eggs and a few patties of fresh sausage with a pan of fresh homemade biscuits .... and Mr. Terry that is reclaiming true grits ... and some mighty fine eating I might add. :-) -
Posted By:
carolinacook at 03/09/2008 6:45:10 PM
Comment:
I read the article with interest as I, too, grew up on soul food (although we didn't call it by that name.) The authors recipes were NOT typical of the soul food of my childhood, but have been "refined" to eliminate the problems of traditional soul food. Collards swimming in pork fat, cornbread baked in a wood-fired oven and loaded with butter, stewed pork neck-bones, are more typical. If it wasn't fried, it wasn't fish. Green beans, cabbage, carrots and okra etc were cooked until they were mushy, slimy, and void of any residual nutritition. Rosemary, nutmeg, and thyme weren't available.I am glad the author is updating the ingredients oof southern soul food to reflect today's nutritional knowledge as I, too, love good grits. West African collards (WITHOUT THE ANIMAL FAT) are a real nutritional joy; good Mississippi fish stews are wonderful, and chicken with pastry (MINUS THE ARTERY CLOGGING CHOLESTEROL) have no equal in taste. My recommendation is to continue the updating of recipes and shun the effort to profit financially by promoting the recipe book using the gimmick of extoling the virtues of extolling the virtues of the unhealthy fare of our past.
Ron of Chesapeake, VA -
Posted By:
Nonnie at 03/09/2008 6:33:40 PM
Comment:
I enjoyed reading this article. It makes me remember the food I grew up with. I still cook some of it, though usually a slightly healthier version, without the spoon full of bacon fat thrown in (which was saved in a coffee can, by the way, just for that purpose). You Southerners know what I'm talking about.
The only thing that bothers me slightly is this: I don't know when this food became known as African American fare, and not just "Southern food".
I'm white, and I grew up eating these things, as well as everyone else I knew, black and white alike. Just a point I wanted to make.
Thanks for the article. -
Posted By:
Nonnie at 03/09/2008 6:25:54 PM
Comment:
I, too, appreciate your article about Southern/Soul food, and makes me remember the food I grew up with. I still cook some of it, but usually a healthier version (without the spoon full of bacon fat thrown in).
The only thing that bothers me is that I'm not sure when this food became known as "African American" fare. I'm white. I grew up eating this food, as well as pretty much everyone else I knew, black and white alike. Just a point I wanted to raise. Thanks for the article. -
Posted By:
BUICKONFIRE at 03/09/2008 6:14:37 PM
Comment:
well i'm not African-American, but i am a southern girl and was gettin' ready to write down the grit cake recipe and the citrus collard-green one, but it seems they were not included in the article. Drat. was startin' to salivate! -
Posted By:
chrissyd at 03/09/2008 6:13:40 PM
Comment:
This is a great article, however, soul food does not belong entirely to the African American population. I'm white, in my 50's, and I remember my mother telling me, as she cooked our dinner of fried chicken and collard greens with a little bit of ham bone added "for taste", that her mother always told her the food that came from their little farm, was "good for the soul". So my mother, who is red haired and blue-eyed, always cooked us soul food. We had fresh green beans, fried okra, collard greens, turnip greens and chicken most of the time (my mother did not like the taste of beef), and my personal favorite - fried green tomatoes. I brought my kids up eating a healthier version, with less fat and salt. So while soul food is thought of as African America, it belongs to the white south as well. Now, if you will excuse me I'm going to eat my grits. -
Posted By:
BUICKONFIRE at 03/09/2008 6:12:12 PM
Comment:
well i'm not African-American-but i am southern, and i was about to write down the recipe for those grit cakes and the citrus collard greens-but it looks like it was not included in the article...drat-i was starting to salivate -
Posted By:
jepotter at 03/09/2008 5:40:59 PM
Comment:
YES!!....But then no. Born and raised in Eastern Tennessee I learned what Soul food really is. My grandmother learned to prepare from her mother and grandmother. She explained many time the difference in "Soul food" and "Southern cooking" as "that thin line that goes back and forth depending on who's trying to separate it." But I also remember those breakfast of Grits mixed with scramble eggs, crumbled bacon or sausage or ham, when we had it. Also killed lettuce or watercress from the creek. Good eatin?? You darn right. The bad side is just as Mr Bryant says "instant stuff." So maybe we shouldn't talk too loudly about it, inflation hasn't affected it so greatly as yet, keep it in the good folks diet and let the others wonder about it.
Jim -
Posted By:
TSAM at 03/09/2008 4:47:19 PM
Comment:
Hey, my grandmother in Lamont Kansas cooked this same way, I think this is just good ole American Pioneer cooking and you are right, there is nothing better tasting, in the spring we had "pig weed" greens (lambsquarters) and hominy with fresh eggs for breakfast, its still available but most folks think pig weed is only a weed if they know how to distinguish it. Have you ever had a hog snout sandwich or craklins in cornbread man where has all the good food gone? -
Posted By:
lmhoward at 03/09/2008 4:29:19 PM
Comment:
I think the author missed a great opportunity to educate readers. First, I believe tradition is as near as my daughters adaptation of great-great-grandmother's favorite dishes. Families down the road have yet another food tradition. Second, we need to remember some of our families HAD to eat this way on occasion to survive and their wonderful creativity made these foods palatable. I believe the problem spread when we wanted ALL our food to be just as savory and delicious. If scraps of smoked ham can make bitter, field greens taste this good, think what it can do for farm fresh spinach. Changing one's lifestyle to combat disease is a step in the right direction...along with exercise and regular check-ups.
Do readers a favor and recommend some alternatives such as using smoked turkey in place of salt pork to flavor greens, choosing butter over oleo margarine, buying fresh or frozen vegetables over canned, etc. Rather than trying to put a healthy spin on our beloved Soul Food, offer alternatives to everyday eating and living. Those changes will eventually encompass the traditional high-fat and high-sugar recipes of the African-American cultural heritage. Everyone just isn???t aware of all the options. -
Posted By:
ElizabethK02 at 03/09/2008 4:20:32 PM
Comment:
If you want good Soul Food go to: MELODY SOUL FOOD RESTAURANT / 755 E. Washington Blvd., Pasadena, CA 91104 (626) 797-7800 -
Posted By:
rdineldo at 03/09/2008 4:04:00 PM
Comment:
This article is a perfect example of the movement of sorts in this country called "slow cooking." When you speed up cooking, you have to cut corners. Pre-process, parboil, add preservatives, etc. The difference between stone ground yellow grits and the white sludge that most know as "grits" is like night and day. When "soul food" was explained to me almost 40 years ago, the fact the food was fried or densely sweet never entered into the definition. It was just what it said: food that satisfies beyond the stomach to the soul. Food that was cooked with love and care, and was an experience beyond the simple eating of a meal. You don't get that from a can. -
Posted By:
GulfGypsy at 03/09/2008 3:52:06 PM
Comment:
Great article!! As with all the 'real' foods of various people and cultures, it's greatness gets lost when it gets mass produced. All the more reason why it's important to not lose the connection between people and food. There's no better way to show how we are each, connected to one another, than sharing a recipe, sharing a meal and sharing the memories that each food carries. Food doesn't only nourish the body, it feeds our soul. -
Posted By:
sequoyah81 at 03/09/2008 3:38:43 PM
Comment:
What a wondeful article! It brought home many rememberances of growing up. It re-inforced what I've been saying for the past 40+ years, "I was eating 'soul-food' and didn't know it". My family [grandparents, parents] were poor, rural, whites who came from Oklahoma and Texas. I and my 9 brothers and sisters were raised eating simple home-grown foods. Unfortuneately, we've gotten away from this heathful diet. Case in point, I am now 60 years old, and was 8 years ago with Type 2 Diabetes and Hypothyroidism, and 3 years ago with rectal cancer resulting in a colostomy. I also have osteoarthritis. Since then, I have re-introduced to my diet those foods that I was raised on. With luck, this will enable me to live to a ripe old age especially since I have remarried December 2007, and wish to be with my new wife for many years to come. Thank you Mr. Terry for pointing out that 'soul-food' tain't bad for you. -
Posted By:
spatrick228 at 03/09/2008 3:07:27 PM
Comment:
I was hoping to read how grits are good for us. I saw nothing to support this claim. Rather I only saw the info that soul food is NOT good for us or so the author proved when he noted all the diseases African Americans suffer, from the food and life style they lead! -
Posted By:
spatrick228 at 03/09/2008 3:04:53 PM
Comment:
I saw NOTHING in your article to support the beginning title: Grits are good for you". You stated that most African Americans ahve alll sorts of heart diseases, diabetes, suffer from obesity etc. How can what they eat be good for them???? Read labels. Avoid fats and fried foods period! -
Posted By:
android177 at 03/09/2008 2:51:44 PM
Comment:
Great article it just isn't soul food it is all real home cooked food that is under attack. The medical society tells us to eat fake everything no wonder we are sick and dying of dreaded diseases. Processed food is from hell and that is why we are sick and our newer generations are losing the art of good homemade cooking. -
Posted By:
spatters805 at 03/09/2008 1:57:17 PM
Comment:
Bryant Terry wrote a riveting article which couldn't be farther from the truth. Growing up eating soul food in my house and my neighbors' houses (I am also a physician) I can tell you that lots of salt, regular butter, and resistance to trim fat and remove skin in efforts to stay "true" to original recipes passed down through the generations has led to the problems we face as African-Americans today. No one would disagree that processed anything is unhealthy compared to fresh and/or organic foods. We can't make excuses for our diet. There are plenty of healthy foods (Collard and Mustard greens for example) and healthier ingredients for other traditional soul food favorites, but we often scoff at the alternatives as not being authentic. Bryant should keep it real and let's focus on how to make our favorites healthier and how to get people outdoors and more active to burn the calories and fat when we decide to "stay true." -
Posted By:
willi432 at 03/09/2008 1:56:21 PM
Comment:
Great article and I completely agree! The culinary traditions of the south should be passed on from generation to generation. But I do differ with the author on one point. He refers to this type of food as "soul food" and only applies it to the black communities of the south. I grew up in Alabama, am white and ate the exact same foods you're talking about. I've even been to a catfish and chitlin dinner where my grandma (who lived to be 98 years old) won a pig calling contest. This type of food is simply southern, not eaten by only parts of the south but by the majority of it. I'm as white as can be but can fix a mean fried chicken, "shiny green beans" and I can pick, shuck and cook great corn complete with round cornbread to boot (with butter and honey on the side). Keep up the good work otherwise...maybe the yankees up north will catch on :) -
Posted By:
lisab at 03/09/2008 1:56:20 PM
Comment:
I truly agree with his comments on the media's negative portrayal of soul food. we as a people can trace back to Africa and see the whole foods were the food for the soul. Our convenience eating and ommission of conscious eating will put us at health risks. Grits is our polenta! thanks LB -
Posted By:
willi432 at 03/09/2008 1:47:17 PM
Comment:
Great article and I completely agree but who says the type of food you're describing as "soul food" applies only to the black communities? I grew up in Alabama, am white and I ate the exact same foods you were talking about. Understand that any food that described as traditionally "black southern" was/is eaten by southern "white folk" too. I am in complete agreement that these southern culinary traditions should be upheld and see with respect to a culture different from that found in the rest of the US. -
Posted By:
MemphisMike at 03/09/2008 1:38:45 PM
Comment:
As a 65 year old white male, one who had lived in Memphis for 20 years and one who absolutely loves ethnic foods, I have to sadly say I guess I've not been treated to real soul food. In my salad days in Washington, DC, I daily kicked around with a black friend who would invite me to sneak into his Aunt's house (when she wasn't there) to fill our bellies on kale and pigtails. At the time I devoured it, sucking on the pigtails with relish. A few years later some more friends of mine would cook up navy beans and pig ears, a poor man's nourishment I was told (and boy, we were poor). I loved the crunchiness of the pig ears then but when I think of it now I don't know how I ate pigtails and pig ears, moreover, I don't know if those dishes can be characterized as soul food or just survival food. I've learned at least one thing from this article and that is about the grits. I love grits???I don't cook them myself and I don't know if the restaurants here in South Carolina (where I live now) cook real stone ground grits. Shrimp and grits are a thing down here. Prior to reading this I wouldn't have known stone ground grits from gritting teeth so I thank the author profusely. Where can I get real stone ground grits? Oh, anyone who is interested in pork barbeque (the hog is the sweetest meat) needs to take a trip to Memphis, TN where most of the best barbeque and sauces are cooked. -
Posted By:
bls02b at 03/09/2008 1:21:04 PM
Comment:
i love this article. i too get so sick of the stereotypes and misconceptions of soul food!
one question: where, oh where, do you get stone ground (REAL) grits?? -
Posted By:
statcat61 at 03/09/2008 12:29:09 PM
Comment:
Grits! fried grits my Grandfathers way.Boil grits put in a pie pan let sit over night in frdg and let firm up next morning slice about 1/4 inch thick dip in egg and coat with cornmeal and fry in left over bacon grease till golden brown put surup and butter on an them and serve with fried fish and sliced tomatos,Great breakfast!. Thank you so much for bringing back my Grandfather to me for a little while. Bob -
Posted By:
richmond46 at 03/09/2008 12:23:39 PM
Comment:
What a wonderful article. You are absolutely right about all of your observations. I grew up in the Deep South and it wasn't all about deep fried and greens. It was local home grown vegetables and roasted meats. Thank you for this article. It was great. -
Posted By:
unique at 03/09/2008 12:16:43 PM
Comment:
Thank you, Bryant for such an important article on how we must understand our soul food as part of our tradition, our legacy, and an important part of our future. Your concerns about "instant soul food" are well taken; educating ourselves about what we eat and how we eat is a critical undertaking that we must all be involved with and committed to. Only then will we really be able to enyoy and appreciate the legacy of our foods and the rich, healthy traditions from which they were born. Thank you for ALL the work you do as a food activist!! -
Posted By:
knottberries at 03/09/2008 11:56:11 AM
Comment:
i grew up in mobile alabama. i learned soul food cooking from my grandmohter and aunts. no one to this day made homonized grits, red eyed grits succutash like i learned in my grandmoter's real country kitchen. my grandfather grew all his vegetables, raised hogs and chicken. over the years i do not do too much of the 3-4 hour cooking on saturday nites they way they wouild for sunday dinner. but thanksgiving and christmas, my sons are salivating knowing what will be on the table in a few hours. i go all out then, i bring it!!! just the way my grandmother and aunts did. soul food is not just comforting food it is food made from the soul, the heart. slaves used these meals as a way to socialized come together with out the slave masters knowing how they made meal time a time of peace and comfort for themselves and be ablle to communicate in thiier own way. i eat heallthy most of the time, but when i start to miss the soulthern cooking i am in the kitchen, cleaning my greens, making cornbread, black eyed peas, peach cobbler and so on, humming songs the way my grandmother did in the kitchen(shooing me out most of the time)making food from the soul. -
Posted By:
tsweddle at 03/09/2008 11:41:53 AM
Comment:
I totally agree with your ideas Bryant. So many people are quick to criticize "African American food," and they don't know the least bit about the history. I'm 23 and even I remember having almost any fruit and vegetable you could imagine at our disposal right in the backyard--or right there in the community. Very seldomly, as a small child, do I even remember taking a trip to the grocery store. Thanks for raising awareness. I think that when we African Americans truely understand and appreciate our heritage and family history, then will we feel more inclined to take care of our bodies and raise healthy children. -
Posted By:
Veil928 at 03/09/2008 11:40:14 AM
Comment:
Having moved to the south almost 30 years ago, I've been amazed at what is called "sou food" in outer regions is just food in the south. Grits are eaten by everyone in every restaurant; as are black eyed peas, greens, etc.
I think a lot of the classification came from the migration of blacks to the north; but it is not, necessarily, black food. -
Posted By:
johnecet at 03/09/2008 11:39:47 AM
Comment:
I found your artilce "Reclaiming True Grits" to be both enlightening and true. I was recently in a Soul Food Cook Off here in Oklahoma and my dish of choice was Baked Chicken. I can't tell you how many times I was asked how BAKED chicken played a roll in Soul Food. Most people feel that when black people eat chicken it is either FRIED or BBQ'd. Yes I did grow up on both of those but my mother and grandmother mostly cooked chicken in healthier ways, and just fried for special occassions. I also enjoyed what you said about using farmers markets. I make it a practice to go to the local farmers market weekly.
I look forward to reading more of your articles on Soul Food Cooking in the future.
Johnece. -
Posted By:
clovely at 03/09/2008 11:23:31 AM
Comment:
I LOVE this article! More please... -
Posted By:
mommy2lexi at 03/09/2008 11:22:06 AM
Comment:
I love the article, and agree totally with the healthy aspects of the food. I grew up down South and this is what we ate...including all the yummy fresh veggies from my Papaw's garden. The only thing that bothers me is the huge misconception that only African Americans claim these soul foods. I remember going to college (I'm white) and discussing with my friends how we don't have a ham for Christmas, we have fried chicken and catfish with all the fixings. One of my friends (who as black) teased me relentlessly saying I was trying to be black. In more recent years I've had more reactions similar to this since I now live up North. I don't consider these foods as much "ethnic cuisine" as I would "southern cuisine". I'm sorry to pick on something so trivial out of an excellent article, but it's something that's been a bone of contention with me for years. White girls like grits too! -
Posted By:
Wolfy at 03/09/2008 10:59:18 AM
Comment:
Convenience food is a caricature of ALL food traditions from ALL countries : France, Cajun country, Early white and black America, Africa, India, China... you name it. -
Posted By:
Wolfy at 03/09/2008 10:54:34 AM
Comment:
Convenience food does not only falsify one's idea of Black American cuisine, it does the same to ALL forms of traditional fare : Cajun, French, Italian, Indian, Chinese, you name it ! -
Posted By:
sugarpeas at 03/09/2008 10:34:31 AM
Comment:
Please be careful when using the word African-American. You are excluding many other black people, as I am from the Caribbean. How many are truly from Africa? The country is full of genocide and strife. Together we are all Americans, which is what matters most. I am a proud Black American. -
Posted By:
sugarpeas at 03/09/2008 10:32:00 AM
Comment:
You must be writing to a very specific group of blacks, as we are all not from Africa. The term African-American is rather ignorant if you ask me. The country is one of genocide. Many of us are from the Caribbean and other geographic locations. I am a proud Black American, not an African-American. -
Posted By:
zovette at 03/09/2008 10:07:52 AM
Comment:
Soul food was designed to keep us "alive" during slavery. Slaves were give the "left overs" the worst parts of animals to eat. We need to get real. We are no longer slaves. Why are we still eating like it? I'm from the south where chitterlings and salted pork are a normal part of everyday diet for most African Americans. We put fried bacon grease in our greans, soups and stews. We fry our chicken and potatos. Yet we seem surprised that we have the highest rates of cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Where I'm from, people grow their own fruits and vegtables. You would think the food would be healthy right? Wrong! People insist food won't be "black enough" unless it full of grease, butter, sugar and salt. They way we eat, combined with the everyday stresses of Black life is KILLING us. If we don't teach our children about proper nutrition, we will loose another generation to preventable diseases. -
Posted By:
goodgirlu at 03/09/2008 10:01:53 AM
Comment:
I am from South Memphis too, and yes I do remember my godmother's and grandmother's backyard gardens. At the time I grew up just about everyone had a backyard garden that had greens, tomatoes, okra, peppers, beans and potatoes. My godmother went a bit further and grew some herbs, garlic, onions, berries (black), fruit (apples, peaches, plums, figs) along with her roses, hydrangea, and iris. This was all on Driver Street not to far from Stax. I can definitely say that she definitely left me with the legacy of wanting to garden and grow my own foods in my new home in Illinois. Although, I am just working on herbs at the moment I definitely want to do more in future.
You are so right about southern or soul food being good food. To this day my mother's meals are mainly vegetable in origin and as far as salt, "bad" fat and the like, that has never been stuff she cooked with in excess so I never really learned a taste for this stuff until I became an adult.
I have since learned from my travels in parts of east Tennessee, that soul food is really typical Southern comfort food. ...and I must say that it doesn't really resemble what Paula Deen is pushing on the Food Network. Her cooking style is too high high fat and high sugar. It is like any other homestyle ethnic cuisine, simple, straightforward, with good ingredients and a simple cooking approach.
As I have begun to cook more and wean myself off of unhealthy living I am finding it increasingly harder to find acceptable meat (without additives like broths, brines, sodium phosphates) and a wide range of vegetables. I have been headed to different ethinic markets catering to Asian, Indian, and African immigrants and I have found much better and fresher meats and a good selection of fresh, green, leafy vegetables. Unfortunately this is not an option in many areas.
Thanks for the great write-up and now that I know about you I will definitely seek out your stuff. Can't wait to try the recipes... -
Posted By:
bbally at 03/09/2008 9:46:46 AM
Comment:
Chef Bryant... you are so correct... I have been cooking Soul Food for 5 years now catering for hundreds per week. I read everything Edna Lewis (GRHS), Sylvia Woods, and Joyce White have put to paper. I used Ebay to purchase hand written Church cookbooks from Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Louisianna.
A whole book could be done on the very healthy,,, wonderfully flavored greens!!!
I love cooking the traditional soul food and sharing the history and background with my clients!
Look forward to your book...... Chef bbally... Colorado -
Posted By:
LKBT at 03/09/2008 9:38:31 AM
Comment:
I have always thought that the vilification of black cuisine was tantamount to undermining the wisdom and common sense of the entire black people. Fast foods and quick fixes lacking in substance and value have been made intentionally available to those of lower income inasmuch as cigarette and liquor companies have targeted the same people for the purpose of taking the people???s choice to ascend from their ???caste??? position. They take health and good order and leave in their wake illness and addiction. It???s good to hear the truths of our heritage and even better set in a forum to possibly eliminate long standing, wrong minded social assumptions. -
Posted By:
chefrlewis at 03/09/2008 9:33:36 AM
Comment:
Chef Terry,
I appreciate your sharing of the two recipes that are in this issue of The root (Citrus Collards with Raisins/Pan-Fried Grit Cakes with Caramelized Spring Onions) shown on the 'net on Sunday, March 9, 2008.
I come from Nebraska and have always loved "down-home cookin' "as my grandmother used to call it. Unfortunately, living in the city has not been the best in terms of "down-home" foods---except for the farmers markets that flourish in the spring and summer.
My question for you is simple---how/where do you find the best greens in the winter---I live in Seattle and summer greens aren't the problem---great farmers markets--but winter time (when I want greens the most), the selection in stores just isn't appealing. Could you tell me where to find them?
Thanks. -
Posted By:
transplant at 03/09/2008 8:26:40 AM
Comment:
I'm a transplant to the South and I hate to break it to you, but poor white folk ate the same dishes that you described. My mother-in-law cooked almost all the dishes that you mentioned in this article. I agree that the mass production of 'soul food' destroyed its taste and nutrition. The first time I tasted traditional, 25-minute cooked grits I was sold!! A little cream and sugar and it's heaven! I'm buying your cookbook!! -
Posted By:
okme23 at 03/09/2008 7:33:34 AM
Comment:
Gerald: Soul Food? I know the connection with the re-invention of the term, but being raised in Kentucky on a farm, our trip to the grocery meant flour, sugar, salt, back pepper and coffee. All other foods were grown, prepared, eaten, canned, pickled, dried our curred at home.
It was not an unusal thing for my mother to harvest a chicken early in the morning for breakfast! Nor was it unusual for many, many meatless meals. Among those things we ate were Turnip Greens, yellow squash, zucinni, Green Beans, Okra, Eggplant, Blackeye peas, Tomatoes (yes fried green too), corn that was picked, shucked, and prepared directly from the plant, Hominy, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and oh yes, Grits. In the spring Polk Salad was a must as well as many other field greens of which I have forgotten the names but not the enjoyment. Our pork came from our farm, salt/sugar cured and smoked. Until we had a freezer, a beef roast was an unusual fare, but after we grew our beef and used the freezer, not only for beef, but for many vegetables as well to supplement those that were canned. We grew apples, peaches, pears and plums from our orchard. Some were canned and others were "Pitted" (A four foot deep holes about six feet in diameter packed with straw and the when filled with fruits, covered about 2-1/2 feet with soil.
Our grill was a pit fired by wood embers. There are many chefs today I believe could learn much from the combination of these mainstay products, farm grown, farm processed and prepared with peppers(cayanne), green, and red bell peppers, pork chops, sliced shoulder, roast, brisket, hamburger, chicken, turkey, and in season, wild game that was Soul food because it kept body and soul together very well.
Thanks Bryant for the memories of yesteryear, and oh by the way, I have returned to my homeland and grow those same products each year in my garden. It's early in the morning as I write this, but a little bacon, some scramble eggs with red pepper and some grits sould pretty good just now! -
Posted By:
graygranny at 03/09/2008 5:43:02 AM
Comment:
I was born in the 50's. I was raised on everything mentioned. Ribside, pigtails, corned hams and bacon that was actually thick. Still eat GRITS. SO my southern upbringing must be mixed with soul? My grandmother lived to be 94 and she was just country. We ate everything raised in the garden and meat from the pens outside. NO CHEMICALS. The cause for obesity is fastfood and no exercise for everyone. -
Posted By:
graygranny at 03/09/2008 5:35:09 AM
Comment:
I must be eating soul food southern style--is soul food just for african americans? I was born in the 50's. I was raised, just like all my neighbors, on garden vegetables and fruit(fried green tomatoes) and home grown meat. WE ate a lot of grits and still do. Ribside meat, pigtails, corned hams, bacon(that was actually THICK), all the good stuff I wish my kids could have been raised on. Fast food is the cause for obesity, along with no exercise. -
Posted By:
shayna at 03/08/2008 12:50:47 PM
Comment:
Reading Bryant's article makes me want to get in the kitchen, turn on some music, and cook some wholesome, seasonal soul food to nourish my loved ones.
Bryant raises the important point that we have a responsiblity to accurately uphold food traditions, not only to increase our nutrition, but to show respect for history's true stories. -
Posted By:
shayna at 03/08/2008 12:19:09 PM
Comment:
Bryant's fresh recipes and perspective make me want to get in the kitchen, turn on some music, and cook some tasty, seasonal, homey soul food to share with and nourish my loved ones.
Bryant raises an excellent point, that we have a responsibility to accurately uphold food traditions, not only for our nutrition, but as a way of carrying on true history. -
Posted By:
shilpaminajain at 03/07/2008 1:53:52 PM
Comment:
Great article! Thanks for stopping the demonization of heritage foods and naming the real culprits behind the ill-health in our communities.... Maybe if we can start to recover these healthy and whole foods, and put in place the growing and cooking systems to support them, then we can go a long way towards solving the crises before us... thanks for offering a step in that direction, Bryant! -
Posted By:
shilpaminajain at 03/07/2008 1:51:47 PM
Comment:
Great article! Thanks for stopping the demonization of heritage foods, and naming the true culprits of ill health in our communities... If we can get back to those healthy and whole foods, and create the locally-based systems of growing and cooking that support them, then a lot of the crisis we are facing can be solved. Thanks for offering a step in that direction, Bryant! -
Posted By:
kamilahd at 03/06/2008 4:42:07 PM
Comment:
Finally! The truth about soul food delivered out loud and in a public forum. As a northerner, I was not aware of the many variations of our famed cuisine--my grandmother's Thanksgiving table did not have any of the requisite candied yams, collared greens, sweet potato pie, etc, so my understanding of soul food was Sunday mornings at Sylvia's. Though I've been preparing lots of greens, sweet potatoes, etc. as an adult, it will be with great pleasure that I begin to consciously reclaim true soul food--starting with grits. Thanks, Bryant. You do what you do very well. Keep writing, keep cooking, keep sharing the truth. -
Posted By:
kamilahd at 03/06/2008 4:41:39 PM
Comment:
Finally! The truth about soul food delivered out loud and in a public forum. As a northerner, I was not aware of the many variations of our famed cuisine--my grandmother's Thanksgiving table did not have any of the requisite candied yams, collared greens, sweet potato pie, etc, so my understanding of soul food was Sunday afternoons at Sylvia's. Though I've been preparing lots of greens, sweet potatoes, etc. as an adult, it will be with great pleasure that I begin to consciously reclaim true soul food--starting with grits. Thanks, Bryant. You do what you do very well. Keep writing, keep cooking, keep sharing the truth.-
Posted By:
southernbarbara at 03/09/2008 9:19:23 PM
Comment:
As I have commented to this article. This is not soul food. but traditional southern food. However, I do give kudo's to Mr. Bryant for bringing attention to wonderful foods. These dishes, collards with hamhocks, yams, fried cornbread, okra, grits and yes banana pudding were staples in most southern homes and not "souly" soul food. I should know, I and my cousins grew up on it.
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Posted By:
panderson28 at 03/04/2008 5:31:45 PM
Comment:
Thanks Bryant for starting the conversation. This left me wanting to know so much more about our green legacy and the true nature of soul food. My great grandparents were farmers and lived off the land unfortunately when my people migrated north we lost that connection to the land and natural eating. Its something that I definitely feel is missing for me. Keep on doing the work. You're providing an important passage way back to the earth for many of us. -
Posted By:
KennedyK at 03/03/2008 4:45:54 PM
Comment:
As a white, working class Southerner, I didn't know what I was eating every day was called "Soul Food" until I moved up north. I've been saying that Southern food wasn't necessarily unhealthy since forever. People ate a lot of vegetables and grits. My mother said they had grits with every meal. Not like the fried meat heavy stuff you see now. Tho we did eat a lot of pork sometimes :)
My mother still talks about eating chitterlings until the grease dripped from her chin, and about boiling the hog's head for hoghead cheese.
Grandparents on both sides had gardens, and we ate from them. And while we had grits and eggs fried in bacon grease for breakfast, with it we also had sliced tomatoes and green onions from the garden. We were not so poor when I was born. -
Posted By:
KennedyK at 03/03/2008 4:40:24 PM
Comment:
As a white, working class Southerner, I didn't know what I was eating every day was called "Soul Food" up here in the north. Grandparents on both sides had gardens, and we ate from them. And while we had grits and eggs fried in bacon grease for breakfast, with it we also had sliced tomatoes and green onions from the garden. My mother still talks about eating chitterlings until the grease dripped from her chin, and about boiling the hog's head for hoghead cheese. And man, I hated picking okra! Thanks so much for the recipes! -
Posted By:
delaney at 03/03/2008 12:32:38 PM
Comment:
Is there really a difference between soul food and traditional Southern food? I'm a white Southerner raised on fried chicken, grits, salt-cured "country" ham, collards and other vegetables simmered with fatback for hours, lard biscuits, etc. All this was accompanied, at least in the summer time, with fresh tomatoes, okra and corn from the garden. (I remember my grandmother insisted on putting the water on to boil before we could pick the corn.) My gosh that was good eating!!!
Please, keep the recipes coming--my mouth is watering.
J. Hunter -
Posted By:
shanet at 03/03/2008 9:17:20 AM
Comment:
Good enough, but this sentence troubles me: "I'm all for fried chicken, mac-and-cheese, collards greens, and peach cobbler being reinterpreted." Why should those things, being perfect in themselves, ever be "reinterpreted"? Is it all right to suggest that professional cooks should not (a) praise traditional food and then (b) tell us how Big Mama got it all wrong back in her day? -
Posted By:
Buffalo Gal at 03/03/2008 8:07:44 AM
Comment:
Mr. Terry hits the nail on the head. The problem is NOT ethnic food, it's what happens when food gets industrialized and stripped of its essential goodness. The Western diet (not just "soul food" but ALL Western food) is engineered to be too sweet, too salty and utterly lacking in nutrition and fiber. Bread has no f and no taste, milk and meat have hormones, fruits and vegetables have been hybridized to travel well and taste bland...I just returned from a vacation in the third world, and I have to say, the relative poverty there meant fresh, seasonal food, fruit straight from the trees and meat and fish that were alive that morning. I've never eaten better, and we in America really need to listen up here. We're fat and hypertensive and diabetic because our diets lack everything but toxins.
I'd love to try to those grits...
Ellen -
Posted By:
poet_slimbutta at 02/29/2008 11:31:08 PM
Comment:
My father moved to Oakland, CA from Brandon MS in 1968.One of 14 brothers and sisters. 8th Grade education, grew up poor, mother worked on a farm. He literally ran away from home, no opportuniites: jobs, stable family, poverty, lack of opportunity. With him be brought a few of the recipes he learned from his mother and sisters. They lived close to the land...because they had to. He's share with me a few stories of eating fresh food he grew, or hand ot pick on a local farmer's land in order to bring in some sort or food into his home. He still hates green beans until this day because he ate so many as a child.
My father's childhood was rough. Since moving to Oakland, his diet has consisted of fried steaks, fast food (in particular KFC), He's led a b