Cajun Cooking:

The Cuisine of America: Cajun Cooking

Cajun cooking originated with a group of French residents of Nova Scotia, who were expelled by the British in 1755. Eventually, after years of a nomadic existence, the "Cajuns" settled in the Southern Louisiana swamplands. There they adapted their native cooking methods to use ingredients that were available in the bayous. Cajun cuisine is the food of hardworking rural people, used to difficult conditions. This special cooking style became the hallmark of the Acadians, their name which was later shortened to Cajuns.

Authentic Cajun recipes are often hard to come by, as they were traditionally passed down orally from one generation to the next. Like soul food, they also tend to change somewhat with each generation as the cooks addi their own flair and flavor. There are hundreds of recipes for many common Cajun dishes, and each so-called Cajun kitchen often adds their own special, unique touches.

Now let's talk about some of the food!

The most loved and favorited specialties of Cajun cuisine include gumbo, stews, etouffees, red beans and rice, and a plethora of other rice dishes, such as the famous jambalaya.

Cajun dishes often begin with something called a roux, which is oil or butter cooked with flour. Roux is used to thicken the dish, as well as for flavor. There are three types of roux, and each type depends on how long it is cooked: light or blond, medium, and dark roux. The light and medium types are primarily used for thickening sauces, etouffees, and gumbo, while the dark roux is mostly used for flavoring.

The common ingredients of Cajun cuisine are easily available and native to the Southern Louisiana bayous and lands. Seafood is very common, such as crawfish (never "cray"fish!), oysters, shrimp, red fish, speckled trout, and crabs.

Rice is a staple, and it makes up the bulk of such dishes as jambalaya, red beans and rice, and is also added to gumbo. Other ingredients often used are homemade sausages, pork, beans, black-eyed peas, okra, tomatoes, yams, figs, pecans, and oranges. Game is also used, such as wild turkey, duck, turtles, gator, and even frog.

Despite popular belief, relatively few spices are used in Cajun cuisine. The unique flavor derives primarily from the long simmering of the dishes in preparation. But there is one spice that is used liberally in this cuisine: the Cayenne pepper. It is a fiery, finely ground spice made from the Cayenne chili pepper, usually used alongside white and black pepper.

Another seasoning is file powder, a.k.a. gumbo powder. This is made from dried and ground up sassafras leaves. Creole mustard is also apparent in many dishes, and it is a coarse and spicy local mustard. of course, Tabasco and other hot pepper sauces are standard condiments for the Cajun menu.

Cajun cuisine is unique to Southern Louisiana, making the best of the native resources, but still retaining the French influence brought to it by the migrants many years past. Varied and flexible, whether you are craving a touch of the exotic, or a little downhome comfort food, this cuisine has managed to include both, often in one large pot. There is something for everyone with this wonderful style of cooking.