Interesting little piece on the notion of Southern food, by Georgia chef Hugh Acheson.

Well, he does serve them w/ grits, pork belly, and pickled radish...

In his words, "an ode to the proliferation of modern Asian cultures in the South." I like his definition of Southern food: "a celebration of the people within the community."

 
I'm 50 and have lived in the South and eaten Southern food

all my life, but until Asian restaurants began proliferating here I never heard of a Southern cook making pork belly, unless it was just used as a seasoning in beans or greens. We certainly didn't serve it as an entree.

 
I think the tip-off is that he is Canadian to begin with. I don't have a single southern relative

That isn't at death's door with some ailment related to fried food and buttered biscuits. Vegetables are an afterthought at most meals. On one visit back to see my mom, she and her sisters put out a whole spread that filled a picnic table. My sis and I looked it over and remarked that there wasn't a single healthy green vegetable (we were dying for a plain green salad by then). Our mom marched out to the canning cellar, brought back a jar of homemade pickles and plunked them in the middle of the table. "there's your green vegetable" she said. And she was dead serious!

 
So true &

So true, and having a restaurant in Atlanta doesn't make you or your food Southern.

 
I saw pork belly (and tried it once) on every menu while in England last year.

Each time it was a strip about 2" wide, 6-8" long and about an 1" thick.

In my opinion, the taste wasn't as "smokey" as bacon. Most folks I watched ate it all, while I cut away the thick fat layer and concentrated on the meat. It was very moist and tasted like the pork I grew up on....you know, real pork, unadultered pork, non-South Beach pork.

 
Ok...a hypothetical question.

Let's say my husband and I move back to Prague. Tired of teaching, I decide to help out in a Czech restaurant. After 10 years of living in Prague and working my way around various kitchens, I decide to go open a little cafe of my own. (Leaving aside the questionable reality of my ability to do this with no formal culinary training.) The menu features Czech cooking spiked with American flourishes. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

So I couldn't really call that Czech food?

 
When I think of my Grannie's table it is loaded with many vegetables.

We ate lots - fresh green beans, squash, okra, tomatoes, sliced or green onions, relish plates with carrots and celery, fresh corn, cabbage... And the only fried things I can think of were chicken and sometimes squash or okra.

 
It wasn't served as an entree. We occasionally had it for breakfast

but more frequently a piece or two was added to beans or green beans.

 
Interesting article Erin...

I especially liked the description of the Paula Deen "deer in the headlights" moment when he asked the question about southern food evolving and she appeared to be flummoxed by that concept.

Let's face it, all foods and cuisines evolve. Even classic French. Across the country, including the south, there are thousands of chefs and home cooks reimagining "classics," combining them with new food experiences, ingredients, and culture (fusion, if you will), and breathing new life into the classics.

Not that there isn't a time or a place to go back to the originals for reference and to enjoy.

I constantly combine and clash different cusines and cultures in my meal planning and it's fun!

 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top