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Cajun and Creole Cooking Every cuisine tells a story. It's a biography of sorts -- a story of heritage, homeland and generations of cooks who have created food traditions that represent their people and their country or region of origin. This is definitely true of Cajun and Creole cuisine, where the approach to food reaches deep into the very soul of history and culture. Like the Cajun and Creole people, the food is spicy, rich, and full of zest for life-- food not just for the palate, but for the whole being. There's jazz, blues, heat and the Bayou, language, dance, celebration and the sensual pleasure of the South in every tasty bite. And what better time to explore Cajun and Creole cuisine than March -- the month of another Louisiana tradition, Mardi Gras! |
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Cajun and Creole: There is a difference! To understand these traditional cuisines, we need to learn a little about the Cajun and Creole people. First, the terms are not interchangeable. While large populations of Cajuns and Creoles live in the same area of the South, their roots are distinctly different. Creoles are the descendents of the first generation of people who settled in Louisiana before it became part of the United States, the result of marriages within and between the variety of ethnic groups and cultures who made their home there – French, Spanish, African, and Native American -- and, to a lesser degree, Chinese, Russian, German, and Italian. Cajuns, on the other hand, were originally French settlers in an area known as Acadia, Nova Scotia, which fell under British rule in 1713. Four decades later, France and Great Britain found themselves at war over a colony called "New France" in what is now Canada. Acadians preferred to remain neutral in the conflict, and the British, fearful that Acadians might join the French forces of their original homeland, expelled all who refused to swear allegiance to the British Crown. In what came to be called Le Grand Dérangement (the Great Upheaval), Acadians were forced to leave, with many families split up as they were boarded on different ships headed in different directions world-wide, including French-colonized Louisiana. It was here they came to be called "Cajuns," a term created by English-speaking colonists in a bastardized version of the French word, "acadien." |
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Compared to the British, the Spaniards proved to be good caretakers, allowing the Acadians to retain their culture, speak their native language, and practice their Roman Catholic religion. Today, many Cajuns are bilingual, speaking both "Cajun French" and English, but even when speaking English, Cajuns use a distinct and unique speech pattern that has become yet another trademark of the culture. Two distinct cuisines Just as the ancestries of Cajuns and Creoles are different, there are distinct differences between Cajun and Creole cooking, with each contributing uniquely to the food culture of the region. Let's explore what those main differences are. » Cajun & Creole Cooking - An Introduction |
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