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louisiana - creole and acadian (cajun)

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TasunkaWitko View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: louisiana - creole and acadian (cajun)
    Posted: 19 February 2010 at 13:23
there are many similarities between these two aspects of louisiana cooking, but also many differences - and i think that both the similarities and the differences deserve discussion.
 
i'll throw the first card on the table, and i'll admit that being a northerner, my understanding may not be perfect or even close -
 
my impression is that the two evolved out of the many, many influences that come into louisiana culinary culture: french, spanish, american indian, african, west indian (haiti), american and of course acadian (which is the influence generated by the group of french emigrants who originally settled what is now nova scotia and who were deported in cruel fashion by the english for nonconformity).
 
as for the differences between the two, they can best be summed up by the same differences that define french haute cuisine and french provincial - the city and the country; the fancy-big-house and the make-the-best-with-what-you-have. but there's also the acadian (cajun) twist, which shows a very high degree of resourcefulness: gumbo can be shrimp or it can be alligator - or it can be anything at all - and determination to survive and thrive.
 
as i said, that's my outsider's view and i won't claim that it is definitive; looking forward to seeing some great discussion on this so that we all can learn about it!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote daniel77 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 February 2010 at 13:43
You are correct. The Acadiana Region is made up of the parishes surrounding Lafayette Parish in South Central Louisiana. The New Orleans area is west of Acadiana and much of the food over there is somewhat different. It isn't PC, and some historians may differ with me on this, but when we say Creole what we really mean is blacks with infused blood. A lot of the French Quarter in New Orleans was actually used as apartments for the slave owners to keep their black mistresses. The resulting progeny were the Creoles. You can still find many "blacks" down here who have green eyes and such that pretty well tells you they have some cream in the coffee. The Creole style of cooking is from that culture and while similar to Cajun cooking, it is distinct and a category of its own.
Please don't take this to be a derogatory meaning for Creoles. I've never heard someone refer to another person as being Creole and meaning it in a derogatory fashion. It simply means that they are part/mostly black. The country vs city division is a part of this as well.

The Cajuns, of which I am proud to be included. are a bunch of hard headed old bastards that nobody wanted to have around, so they exiled us to a mosquito infested swamp to survive as best we could. Being of an ornery nature and hungry, my ancestors sought out the meanest creatures they could find and began to eat them. Hence alligator snapping turtle soup, fried alligator, raw oysters, cheap beer, and the New Orleans Saints. Cajuns aren't happy unless they are miserable.Wink

I can't prove it, but I have always believed that many recipes began by someone losing a bet. The first guy to eat a crawfish/oyster/turtle was a very hungry or very unlucky guy.
If what you're serving comes on a cracker, you'd better have a lot of it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 February 2010 at 13:50
>>>Cajuns aren't happy unless they are miserable<<<
 
then they must have quite a bit in common with germans!
 
seriously, many thanks for the insight. it's one of the many reasons that it's great to have a board with folks from all over the map to discuss this.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote daniel77 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 19 February 2010 at 14:01
There is a settlement not too far away called Robert's Cove. It is an old German settlement, and they still have a German festival every year. We have to watch them though, cause every forty years or so they get drunk and try to take over the parish.Tongue

I would like to add that the Creoles aren't strictly a white/black mix. All of the various ethnic groups and especially the native Indians are also included in this group.
If what you're serving comes on a cracker, you'd better have a lot of it.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 September 2012 at 13:55

brook - your thoughts on cajun/creole would be invaluable here:

 I was convinced that we’d had this discussion once before, Ron. But can’t find it anywhere. Would be nice if we had a search engine.
 

Anyway, although there are nuances, the basic differences:

Creole is big-city, high-falutin’ cooking, with a lot of attention to richness; fancy sauces, cooking with wine and cream. Tomatoes are an integral part of Creole cooking. A Creole meal is likely to have numerous courses (or, at least, several dishes).

Cajun is country cooking, using what’s available. Dishes tend to be plain, without a lot of fancy saucing. Tomatoes are an unimportant part of Cajun cooking, but game and natural foods are more common. A Cajun meal is more likely to be a one-pot dish. Basically, the kind of food you tend to call “peasant.”

Anyone interested in the background and history of these cuisines, as well as actual recipes, would do well by finding a copy of Cajun and Creole Cooking with Miss Edie & the Colonel. It’s the only book I’ve read on Louisiana cookery that looks at the differences between Cajun and Creole (most don’t even acknowledge that there is a difference), and which includes all the other (often overlooked) influences such as Spanish, Italian, African, and Native American.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 September 2012 at 14:05

hi, brook, and thanks for the reply and valuable information -  

we did have a similar discussion once, on the "holy trinity" of cajun (or would it be creole? or both?) cooking. it was sort of a sub-discussion on another, mostly unrelated discussion as i recall.....
 
(a couple of minutes later)
 
sure enough! found it on ChrisBelgiums beautiful post on stoemp!
 
 
anyway, great info you have up there, and thanks for sharing ~
 
ron
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 September 2012 at 14:19
I remembered that one, Ron. How not, considering how red my face was.
 
But I thought we'd had a discussion on the differences between Creole and Cajun cuisines. Maybe it was on another list? Or maybe I'm just getting old?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote TasunkaWitko Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12 September 2012 at 14:23
I don't recall any other discussion, because I probably would have linked it to this one. But it could have been a PM exchange, perhaps? Anyway it's preserved for posterity, now!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 September 2012 at 04:16
Tas and Historic Foodie,
 
I recall Brook replying to a reply of mine, and coaching me on the differences between Creole and Cajun cuisine ...  Geek
 
However, I am uncertain which thread however, I recall asking Brook to differentiate for me the nuances between the two distinct cuisines.
 
Perhaps, look at all the Posts on Gumbo and a dish called Jambalaya ( spelling may be a bit off ).
 
Good discussion Gents Clap
Marge.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 September 2012 at 04:49
This is crazy, Margi. I distinctly remember us having that discussion. Yet I can't find it on any list we've shared.
 
Just did a comprehensive search at CT, for instance. Closest we came is in the thread on cajun/creole books. But that doesn't reflect the full conversation as I remember it.
 
Strange.....
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote HistoricFoodie Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 September 2012 at 04:53
BTW, one of the differences that hardly ever gets mentioned is the greater use of herbs in Creole cookery. This reflects both the broader influences, and the accessibility of markets in the big city.
 
One example: Oregano is all but unknown in classic cajun cooking. But it's quite common in Creole, due to the Italian influence.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Margi Cintrano Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 September 2012 at 05:50
HF,
 
I recall 2 conversations, after tapping into the Think Tank; and there was one about Books; and one on the cuisines and their differences in herbs, tomatoes, and other products which are traditionally used.
 
The 2 most well known dishes, Gumbo and Jambalaya ( correct spelling please if need be) and their differences, preparation etcetra.
 
It does sound a bit Looney Full Moon perhaps ? The Missing Discussion ?
 
None the less, Brook, we have had this conversation.
 
Thanks for remembering, because it was surely valuable, and I had learnt quite a bit, from you regarding these 2 cuisines and the books you recommended.
 
Kindest,
Marge.  
Volamos a Mediterraneo, un paraiso que conquista su gente u su cocina.
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