African American Food Culture

 by William Frank Mitchell (Author)

foodandwine.com

The Original Innovators PHOTO: ORIANA KOREN

Like other Americans, African Americans partake of the general food offerings available in mainstream supermarket chains across the country. Food culture, however, may depend on where they live and their degree of connection to traditions passed down through generations since the time of slavery. Many African Americans celebrate a hybrid identity that incorporates African and New World foodways. The state of African American food culture today is illuminated in depth here for the first time, in the all-important context of understanding the West African origins of most African Americans of today.

Like other Americans, African Americans partake of the general food offerings available in mainstream supermarket chains across the country. Food culture, however, may depend on where they live and their degree of connection to traditions passed down through generations since the time of slavery. Many African Americans celebrate a hybrid identity that incorporates African and New World foodways. The state of African American food culture today is illuminated in depth here for the first time, in the all-important context of understanding the West African origins of most African Americans of today.

https://sennik.club/10-best-black-people-food-african-american-food-culture-explained/

A historical overview discusses the beginnings of this hybrid food culture when Africans were forcibly removed from their homelands and brought to the United States. Chapter 2 on Major Foods and Ingredients details the particular favorites of what is considered classic African American food. In Chapter 3, Cooking, the African American family of today is shown to be like most other families with busy lives, preparing and eating quick meals during the week and more leisurely meals on the weekend. Special insight is also given to African American chefs. The Typical Meals chapter reflects a largely mainstream diet with regional and traditional options. Chapter 6, Eating Out, highlights the increasing opportunities for African Americans to dine out and the attractions of fast meals. The Special Occasions chapter discusses all the pertinent occasions for African Americans to prepare and eat symbolic dishes that reaffirm their identity and culture. Finally, the latest information on the traditional African American diet and its health effects brings readers up to date in the Diet and Health chapter. Recipes, photos, chronology, resource guide, and selected bibliography round out the narrative.

Cover Copyrighted by William Frank Mitchell (Author) 

Soul power by Shannon Adams-Hartung

 From the Hektoen International Journal, published by the Hektoen Institute of Medicine

SHANNON ADAMS-HARTUNG is a second-year pediatrics resident at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. She majored in global health and history as an undergraduate student and has a clinical and research interest in bioethics. She plans to pursue a career in neonatology and palliative care. Winner of the 2022–23 Medical Student Essay Contest

Cooking fried supper for a benefit picnic supper on the grounds of St. Thomas’ Church 

near Bardstown, Kentucky. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott, August 7, 1940

Soul food has deep historical, cultural, and economic roots in the African-American community. Much of the cuisine affiliated with modern-day soul food dates back to the era of American slavery. Before the fourteenth century, the African diet was primarily vegetarian. Meat was used sparingly compared to various grains, rice, millet, nuts, and seeds.

The Middle Passage changed that. Africans were tightly packed onto ships and fed very little, leading to widespread malnutrition and death from nutrient-related ailments such as scurvy and rickets.

 Many who survived the journey to North America managed to bring tribal seeds and roots, such as watermelon seeds, yams, sweet potatoes, and okra and introduced them to the American South.

However, much of the diet of enslaved persons consisted of foods native to their new home, particularly meats and carbohydrates. Enslaved persons often fused traditional African cooking styles with these foreign American provisions. For example, millet porridge—a staple in many West African communities—was quickly transferred to Native American Chickahominy.

Cooking fried supper for a benefit picnic supper on the grounds of St. Thomas’ Church near Bardstown, Kentucky. Photo by Marion Post Wolcott, August 7, 1940. 

FSA/OWI Black & White Negatives Collection, LC-USF33-030967-M4.

Shared by 

Joseph M. Harrington, President/CEO

TheMojoGroupLTD@gmail.com

 

Throughout the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, food became a central element in African-American life, “a vehicle for self-expression and independence from the dominance of the plantation owners.”5 Culinary decisions were often the only ones that black people could make; thus, they became artists with the raw materials for gastronomic creativity.6 Some enslaved persons had private gardens to sell produce for monetary gain or personal nutrition. Knowledge of certain agricultural practices possessed by enslaved Africans was sought after and implemented by slaveholders: for example, growing rice.7 Strong cooking skills elevated the social status of individuals in comparison to their fellow fieldhands. These enslaved persons had the opportunity to become cooks in the main house, eating better meals while being perceived in a more positive light by the master and his family.8 Some black cooks even gained notoriety. Thomas Jefferson took his chef, James Hemmings, to France for a formal culinary education, providing him with the necessary skills to create recipes still considered influential in American cuisine.9

The significance of food, culture, and tradition during American slavery became one of the building blocks for the concept of “soul food” when it was introduced during the mid-twentieth century. As professor and historian of Southern and black history Charles Joyner said, food—and the new soul food category—became a symbolic representation of black historical lineage. In light of social pressures toward assimilation and common misconceptions alluding to the absence of a distinct African-American culture, middle-class blacks were “eager to assert their racial authenticity after World War II.”10 Dishes and recipes were therefore embraced as a part of the Black Power movement—specific pieces of African American culture tied to slave and African ancestry that could be celebrated. During the 1960s and 70s, as the Civil Rights Movement emerged, soul food restaurants and barbeques began to spring up in major cities, meant to help young people remember their past amid a struggle for a better future.11

Although many soul food traditions have obvious historical ties, some items routinely categorized under this culinary subheading have a more complex backstory. Fried chicken is one such example. Although African tribes were primarily vegetarian, chickens were often the only livestock animals enslaved persons were permitted to raise independently.12 Frying and seasoning the heftier portions of a meal, namely the meat, was also in the best interest of enslaved persons as laborers for taste and biological and physiological necessity, as fatty foods provided sustenance and endurance for long days in the field.13 Other foods, while tied to slave culture, are soul food staples resulting from modern social and financial realities. Take, for example, chitterlings or chitlins (pig intestines). As a slow-cooked meat, chitlins could be left alone all day while enslaved persons were in the field and then consumed in the evening hours.14 However, its prevalence in modern soul food is more closely tied to economic practicality. While most pig was used and sold as sausage, bacon, and ham, the intestines were often considered beneath white consumers. Historically, on the lower end of the socioeconomic scale, African Americans could not afford to be discriminatory regarding their nutrients; therefore, chitlins and other low-cost foods and drinks such as Kool-Aid became chief components of the soul food diet.

The pervasiveness of soul food in African-American households has given way to negative connotations and stereotyping in the broader community. Many of these items were dubbed “poor people’s food” in the latter twentieth century.15 Watermelons were a frequent source of ridicule throughout history, particularly in popular culture. In the late nineteenth century, Alden Fruit Vinegar trading cards displayed caricatures of blacks with “ugly, animal-like features,” stealing chickens and eating watermelon.16 This idea has persisted into the new millennium, for example, in political opposition to President Obama. In 2012, Kentucky resident Danny Hafley erected a mannequin statue of President Obama eating watermelon because the statue “might get hungry out there.”17 In 2009, Dean Grose, Mayor of Los Alamitos, California, resigned after sending an email with a picture of watermelons on the White House lawn with the caption “No Easter egg hunt this year.”18

Another critical topic is the health impact on the African-American community. Soul food tends to be meat-based and high in fat, with fewer fruits and vegetables.19 Cooking styles further exacerbate this issue, with trans-fat oils and lards used to infuse fried chicken and other meats and butter or margarine added to biscuits and pie crusts for flavor.20 But this trend has consequences. According to a study conducted in 2004, 60% of African-American men and 78% of African-American women are medically overweight. Heart disease is the leading cause of death for black Americans, and 35% of African-American adults have hypertension as the result of unhealthy lifestyles.21 While these trends are likely multifactorial, in 2009, the National Institutes of Health reported that minority soul food diets are etiologically linked to nutrition disparities and “higher incidence [of] morbidity and mortality rates,” including “poorer survival [in the black community with] many diet-related chronic diseases and conditions, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, [and] Type II diabetes.”22

Soul food is more than a dietary choice. Soul food is essential to life in many African-American families, churches, and communities. Black people have consistently used food to connect to the past and continue to eat certain dishes to honor our ancestry and narrative as people in the United States. While it has regularly been the target of negative racial stereotyping and has clear connections to poor minority health, soul food continues to unite African Americans—in history, culture, and, more literally, in preparation, consumption, and fellowship.

References

1. Covey, Herbert, and Dwight Eisnach. What the slaves ate: recollections of African American foods and foodways from the slave narratives. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press, 2009, 211.
2. Covey and Eisnach, What the slaves ate, 211.
3. Counihan, Carole, and Penny Esterik. Food and culture: a reader. New York: Routledge, 1997, 272.
4. Mitchell, William. African American food culture. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2009, 7.
5. Covey and Eisnach, What the slaves ate, 212.
6. Mitchell, Patricia. Plantation Row slave cabin cooking: the roots of soul food. Chatham, VA: P.B. Mitchell, 1998, 14.
7. Bower, Anne. African American foodways: explorations of history and culture. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2007, 47.
8. Bower, Foodways, 51.
9. Bower, Foodways, 51.
10. Witt, Doris. Black Hunger: Soul Food and America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2004, 6.
11. Mitchell, Food culture, 73.
12. Bering, Jesse. “Racist Food Stereotypes and the ‘Obama Fried Chicken’ Incident.” Slate Magazine. http://slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2011/11/obama_fried_chicken_incident_explaining_racist_food_stereotypes.html.
13. Covey and Eisnach, What the slaves ate, 213.
14. Bower, Foodways, 51.
15. Douglas, Mary. Food in the social order: studies of food and festivities in three American communities; Vol. 9. 1973. Reprint, New York: Routledge, 2003, 115-116.
16. Lemons, J. “Black Stereotypes as Reflected in Popular Culture, 1880-1920.” American Quarterly 29, no. 1. (1977): 104. http://jstor.org/stable/2712263?seq=3.
17. Wing, Nick. “Danny Hafley, Kentucky Man, Defends Watermelon-Eating Obama Display.” Huffington Post. December 27, 2012. http://huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/27/danny-hafley-kentucky-obama_n_2372920.html.
18. NBC News, “Mayor to quit over Obama Watermelon email,” February 27, 2009. http://nbcnews.com/id/29423045/ns/us_news-life/#.UufTonn0Bcw.
19. Mitchell, Food culture, 97.
20. Mitchell, Food culture, 98.
21. Mitchell, Food culture, 96.
22. Satia, Jessie. “Diet-related disparities: understanding the problem and accelerating solutions.” Journal of the American Dietetic Association 109.4 (2009): 610.

SHANNON ADAMS-HARTUNG is a second-year pediatrics resident at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago. She majored in global health and history as an undergraduate student and has a clinical and research interest in bioethics. She plans to pursue a career in neonatology and palliative care.

Winner of the 2022–23 Medical Student Essay Contest

Easy Crustless Quiche

This morning I made my first-ever crustless quiche. I've grown tired of the eggwich pop in the microwave breakfast I've had for the last eight months. I've been strict about my diabetic diet, and the results have been more than the doctor, and I could ask for. This is a quick fix to all that boredom and I can make enough to freeze for the week or two.

 

Broccoli Quiche is as versatile (and delish!) as it gets.

Easy Crustless Quiche

Here's a delicious crustless quiche recipe for those following a low-carb, high-fat (LCHF) diet. This cheesy dish is rich in flavor and texture, thanks to the Parmesan and butter that form a nice skin on the bottom. The egg and cream mixture is flexible, and you can adjust the egg-to-cream ratio and the cream's heaviness, depending on your preference. You can use any hard cheese that shreds well, such as Swiss, Cheddar, Gouda, or Provolone, and you can swap the meats for any non-watery ingredient, be it meat or vegetable. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon butter, melted

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound shredded Cheddar cheese

3 cups heavy whipping cream ( substitute: Evaporated Milk and Butter)

8 large eggs

1 cup half-and-half (omit evaporated milk)

Directions

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Cook and stir bacon and sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat until evenly browned and bacon is crisp, about 10 minutes; drain on a paper towel-lined plate.

Brush butter on the bottom and sides of a 9x13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese into the bottom of the baking dish and top with bacon and sausage. Spread Cheddar cheese over bacon and sausage.

Beat cream, eggs, and half-and-half together in a bowl. Slowly pour the egg mixture over the cheese and sausage into the baking dish.

Bake in the preheated oven until a knife inserted into the center of the quiche comes out clean, about 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

Versatile. This recipe is for broccoli cheddar quiche but can be tailored to your tastes. Don't you like broccoli? No prob. Swap in whatever veggies and cheese you love (see variations below!), or add meat.

Easy. The homemade pie crust is the most significant part, but you can even skip that and make Crustless Quiche or Easy Quiche Recipe instead.

Works for Any Meal. Serve broccoli quiche with Baked Bacon in the Oven for brunch, alongside Arugula Salad for lunch, or with Roasted Carrot Soup for dinner. 

Great Left Over. I don't know about you, but if I take the time to cook, I want it to last for more than one meal. Broccoli quiche saves and reheats like a dream and is freezer friendly too.

Healthy. If a meal involves broccoli, you know you're getting nutrients, and the eggs pack a protein punch. Plus, no heavy cream or opulent amounts of cheese here (but don't worry, it doesn't sacrifice flavor one bit!)

Classy. Quiche makes me think of something that would be served at a lovely tea house. Prepare for pleased guests!

TIPS FOR MAKING GREAT QUICHE

The correct filling-to-egg ratio. You need to use the proper egg-to-milk ratio to make a dreamy, fluffy quiche. Too much milk and your quiche will be watery; too little, and your quiche will be dry.

Know which filling ingredients to pre-cook. A veggie that would be crunchy on its own or omit water should be roasted, sautéed, or steamed before adding to quiche. Plus, pre-cooking the veggies adds flavor. Also, you would not use raw meat, so any bacon, ham, etc., would be pre-cooked.

Less is more. I know you want to add every piece of cheese and veggie, but we need to leave room for the eggs.

Rest before serving. The quiche needs to cool before serving, or it will fall apart when you try to slice it.

How to Make Broccoli Quiche without the Crust.

Making the best broccoli quiche recipe ever is easy!

The Ingredients

DIETARY NOTE

To make quiche gluten-free, seek a recipe for gluten-free pie crust, or purchase a pre-made gluten-free crust at the store.

Broccoli. Quiche makes it possible to enjoy broccoli at breakfast or any meal.

MARKET SWAP

The beauty of quiche is its versatility. Feel free to swap in other favorite veggies. Just cook them first to soften them, omit water, and add flavor.

Green Onions. The subtle taste of onion complements the eggs and cheese. It's cooked with broccoli to soften the onions and bring out the flavor.

Eggs. The key ingredient! I use five eggs for one quiche.

Milk. I used 1% to lighten it up, but you can combine whole milk and cream for more richness.

Cheese. The best cheese for quiche is fully flavored and smooth melting. For this broccoli version, I'm using a combination of sharp Cheddar and Parmesan; Gruyere or smoked mozzarella would also be great.

Seasoning. Since eggs are pretty bland, we season them with good ol' salt and pepper and a dash of cayenne if you choose.

The Directions

Preheat the Oven to 375 degrees F. Roll your pie dough into an 11-inch circle.

Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Broccoli sautéing in a pan for healthy broccoli quiche.

Cook chopped broccoli and green onions in a large skillet over medium-high. Whisking eggs, milk, and spices for easy broccoli quiche filling.

Whisk together eggs, milk, and seasonings in a large mixing bowl.

Assembling broccoli quiche ingredients in a pie pan. Add the broccoli and cheese to the mixture of eggs, cheese, and cooked vegetables for broccoli quiche on a baking sheet.

Pour over the egg mixture. Bake broccoli quiche at 350 degrees F for 40 to 50 minutes, rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice and serve. ENJOY!

Quiche Variations

A culinary fashionista, quiche can try on endless flavor combos. Try out some of these variations:

Pesto Quiche

Spinach Quiche

Sweet Potato Quiche

Goat Cheese Quiche

Or play with your own! Some combos I think would be dynamite:

Mexican. Chorizo, roasted peppers, and Colby-jack cheese

Mediterranean. Feta, spinach, mushroom, and olive

Bacon + Cheddar. A classic choice. Use cooked, crumbled Air Fryer Bacon.

Ham + Gruyere. Cheese, please!

Storage Tips

To Store. To store quiche, let cool to room temperature, tightly wrap, and then keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

To Reheat. Rewarm leftovers in a pie pan in the Oven at 350 degrees F or gently in the microwave.

To Freeze. You can freeze a quiche. Wrap the quiche tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in a freezer-safe, airtight container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

STORAGE TIPS

Tightly wrap individual servings, then store in a freezer Ziplock bag to enjoy a slice of quiche on demand in the future!

MEAL PREP TIP

Prepare and blind-bake the crust the day before. You can also prep the broccoli onion filling, shred the cheese, and store it in the refrigerator. Assemble just before baking.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH BROCCOLI QUICHE

Crockpot Breakfast Potatoes

BREAKFAST & BRUNCH

Crockpot Breakfast Potatoes, easy fruit salad bowl

Overnight Lemon Blueberry French Toast. This healthy version of French toast casserole is prepped the night before, so in the morning, all you need to do is bake! Recipe at wellplated.com | @wellplated

BREAKFAST & BRUNCH

Blueberry French Toast Casserole

Recommended Tools to Make this Recipe

Pie Crust Shield. This is a handy tool to have for any quiche or pie. Made with silicone to keep pie edges from burning.

Baking Sheet. These are my go-to baking sheets!

Small Whisk. I love using a small whisk over a full-size whisk. It's easier to maneuver and perfect for smaller bowls or measuring cups.

The Best Pie Dish

This stoneware 9-inch pie plate is safe in the freezer and all the way to 500 degrees F. Perfect for any of the best quiche recipes and so many pies!

Packed with veggies, cheese, and eggs, all in a flaky crust, broccoli quiche is an all-in-one healthy breakfast you will love!

This Broccoli Quiche is a classic recipe that's healthy, versatile, and DELISH! Perfect for brunch and great leftovers for any meal.

PREP:

20minutes mins

COOK:

55minutes mins

TOTAL:

1hour hr 15minutes mins

SERVINGS: 6

Ingredients: 

1 pie crust see Whole Wheat Pie Crust or Oil Pie Crust for recipes

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 cups finely chopped broccoli florets, about 2 small crowns

1 small bunch green onions thinly sliced (about 1 cup)

5 large eggs

3/4 cup milk (I used 1%; use whole milk or a combo of milk and cream for more richness)

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, optional

2 ounces shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, about 1/2 cup, or swap Gruyere, smoked mozzarella, or similar fully-flavored, smooth melting cheese

1 ounce finely grated parmesan cheese, about 1/4 cup, divided

Instructions

Preheat your Oven to 375 degrees F. Roll your pie dough into an 11-inch circle, then transfer it to a regular 9-inch pie dish. Build up and flute the top edges to create a rim for holding the filling. Line it with aluminum foil. Fill with pie weights or dried beans, then bake for 10 minutes. Remove the dish from the Oven, carefully lift out the beans and foil, then return the crust to the Oven and bake until lightly golden, about 3 minutes more. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. (At this point, discard the beans or save them for future pie baking.)

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Add the chopped broccoli and cook for 4 minutes. Add the green onion and continue cooking until the broccoli is crisp-tender and the onion has softened, 1 to 2 minutes more.

Whisk the eggs, milk, salt, black pepper, and cayenne in a large mixing bowl until well combined.

Scatter the broccoli mixture on the bottom of the blind-baked crust. Sprinkle evenly with the Cheddar and half of the Parmesan. Carefully pour the egg mixture, then sprinkle the remaining Parmesan.

Carefully place the quiche on a baking sheet to catch any drips. Bake until a knife inserted 1 inch away from the edge of the crust comes out clean and the center is set for about 40 to 50 minutes. If the crust gets darker at any point than you would like, shield it with foil or a pie crust shield. Let rest for 5 to 10 minutes, then slice and serve.

TO STORE: To store quiche, let cool to room temperature, tightly wrap, and then keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.

TO REHEAT: Rewarm leftovers in a pie dish in the Oven at 350 degrees F or gently in the microwave.

TO FREEZE: You can freeze a quiche. Wrap the quiche tightly in plastic wrap and freeze in an airtight freezer-safe storage container for up to 3 months. Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Taste of "Wash Your Hands First" July 1st Weekend and Sunday Morning Brunch

July 1, 2023,  starting our summer food influencer tour of Chicagoland. My granddaughter loves to eat and try different types of food, thanks to her mom introducing her to various foods and sharpening her tastebuds as an infant. There's not too much she won't try. For example, we had our Saturday late afternoon dinner hour picnic at Lake Michigan.

 She was looking forward to having KIKA Spicy Salmon, Avacado Sushi Rolls, and her KIKA Shrimp Rolls. We stopped off at the neighborhood Whole Foods Market in Hyde Park and walked to the Hype Park bridge to the shoreline, picking out a spot to enjoy the lake's view. 

Notice the rain cloud overhead. This was ten minutes before a flash flood over Chicago poured down on us and rained out our picnic. I didn't get the memo as thousands of others across the area got the emergency signal to take cover. We huddled here until a break in the rain storm and ran for the nearest bridge. 

I had promised her a picnic at the beach and purchased this fantastic picnic basket in June when I was hunting for treasures in Waldorf, Maryland. We were determined to have an outing to kick off our summer with Grandma in Chicago.

 Sunday Brunch with my granddaughter.

MENU

Fresh Fruit Mixed Berry Salad

Cheesy  Grits

Baked Lobster Tails

Butter, Garlic and Lemon Dipping sauce 

Confetti Potatoe and Egg Salad

Mixed Collard and Spinach Greens

Chocolate Cake

Cucumber, Lemon, and Mint Water

Suggested Cooking Instructions

Cut open the top of the lobster tail. Pull the meat away from the shell, leaving the meat attached at the tail end. Rinse the lobster tail and place the meat on top of the shell.

Sprinkle lobster tail mat with lemon juice, salt, pepper, and 1/2 tablespoon of butter, and keep refrigerated until ready to cook.

Melt 1/2 cup of butter, add crushed garlic, and simmer. Reserve half for basting and half for dipping.

Cook lobster tails on a grill over MEDIUM heat with the closed cover or bake in an oven at 375 degrees F. Baste frequently with garlic butter. Lobster tails are done when meat is opaque and firm to the touch for about 10-12 minutes, depending on size. Serve with lemon wedges and remaining garlic butter for dipping.