Cajun cuisine

The Cajun cuisine is the cuisine of the French-born immigrants in the U.S. state of Louisiana, the Cajuns. It is a rather simple and rustic cuisine from locally available ingredients. Closely related to the Cajun cuisine is the Creole cuisine of Louisiana, which corresponds to a slightly higher cooking style, which developed in the cities with a focus in New Orleans.

Today, the cuisine traditions in Louisiana are strongly intermingled with each other, but originally there was the Cajun cuisine only in Cajun Country, the Creole cuisine in New Orleans and north Louisiana, the traditional Southern cuisine.

Term use

The term Cajun cuisine is now often used out of focus for various cooking traditions in the state of Louisiana, in addition, it has become since the 1980s become a fashion about to be marketed with the various products and specialties of the region. The author Marcelle Bienvenu points out that today's well-known Cajun cuisine is largely originated in the 20th century and is very different from the original kitchen of the Cajuns. Until then, there were many similarities with the soul food of the colored population in the southern USA. Until the 19th century played a rice completely subordinate role, since it was started in Louisiana after 1865 in a larger scale with the rice cultivation.

Really traditional dishes are jambalaya and gumbo. Crayfish were only after the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival in 1959 to a typical ingredient of Cajun cuisine, before they served at most as fast food.

General

Both the Creole and Cajun cuisine has been influenced by French, Spanish, Italian, African and German cuisine of other immigrants and adapted to the present in the Mississippi River Delta ingredients. The typical dish gumbo, for example, has perhaps evolved from the French bouillabaisse, the Jambalaya is similar to the Spanish paella.

In Cajun Country, especially pigs and poultry are traditionally held, less cattle. Crops are corn, okra, chilli, onion, garlic and various other vegetables. In one part of the region, rice is cultivated. In addition, the fish plays an important role.

In the spring of crayfish are traditionally cooked with vegetables and eaten outdoors ( Crawfish Boil ). This is considered a delicacy and is a family event. Outside of the Louisiana Cajun cuisine for a long time had the reputation of being a poor man's kitchen. This has changed since the 1980s; Since then numerous Cajun cookbooks have been published, and there are Cajun restaurants around the world. The chef Paul Prudhomme, who is from Louisiana, has popularized a modified and reinterpreted type of Cajun cuisine in the United States.

Basics

A Cajun meal is often prepared in three pots: one contains the main dish, one rice, the popular corn bread or other cereals, and the third the vegetables. But are also typical stews.

An important role in Cajun cuisine play spices such as parsley, thyme, garlic, bay leaves, shallots and Filé powder ( ground sassafras leaves ). There are also ready-made Cajun seasoning mixes available. The Cajun cuisine is spicy to spicy, there are frequently used in the fictional Louisiana Tabasco sauce or other chili sauces and cayenne pepper.

Typical ingredients

Since the Cajun cuisine originates from the Mississippi Delta, which to a large extent of wetland and close is by the sea, river crabs are ( Crawfish ), Catfish ( Catfish ), croakers ( Redfish ), shrimp, oysters, as well as frog legs and alligators popular ingredients, as well as all kinds of poultry and pork.

Sweet peppers, onions and celery are considered the "Holy Trinity " (Holy Trinity ) denotes the Cajun cuisine and form cut into cubes and fried scorched the basis for typical dishes such as Gumbo, Jambalaya or Dirty Rice. Besides the above mentioned are other popular vegetables sweet potatoes, tomatoes and many kinds of beans. An important role is also broths ( stocks) and gravy ( gravy ), and typical of the Cajun cuisine is the strong browning of different ingredients such as fish and poultry, which are then referred to as " Blackened ".

Basis of many dishes is Roux, a roux, which is typically cooked in Cajun cuisine with plenty of vegetable oil or lard, is usually hazel stirred and is not only used as a thickener for sauces and soups as gumbo, but mainly as a flavoring donors.

For desserts often find the home in the southern United States pecan and brown sugar or cane syrup use.

Typical dishes

  • Andouille, a spicy, strong smoked pork sausage
  • Bisque, a thick creamy soup, often with seafood, such as lobster bisque or Crawfish Bisque
  • Boudin blanc, a spicy black pudding and boudin rouge, which is enriched with pig's blood
  • Calas, sweet rice cakes
  • Crawfish étouffée, a ragout of crayfish, served with rice
  • Crawfish pie, a pie made ​​of crayfish
  • Dirty Rice
  • Grillades, thin slices of sausage with tomato sauce
  • Jambalaya
  • Maque Choux, a side dish of corn
  • Pecan Pralines, which are produced in contrast to European chocolates from caramelized brown sugar and cream
  • Southern Fried Catfish, fried catfish
  • Tasso, one with spices is rubbed out and heavily smoked, lean pork ham, which is used mainly for seasoning
Acadiana Breaux Bridge, Louisiana Tabascosauce Alligatoridae
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