GreekChat.com Forums - African American Holiday Traditions

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- - African American Holiday Traditions (https://greekchat.com/gcforums/showthread.php?t=123269)

DrPhil

11-27-2011 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amIblue? (Post 2108880)

Earlier in the thread I mentioned that my family's food traditions are often closer to my African American friends' families' traditions than my white friends' families. I believe the bold is the reason; my ancestors were primarily poor, subsistence farmers. For example, my grandmother always ate the neck of whatever poultry we had. Even when my grandparents were able to afford pretty much whatever they wanted (within reason), she kept eating what she ate growing up.

I do believe that the similarities in what all Southerners eat is due to Black women doing the cooking for the higher classes, first through slavery and then via employment as domestic help. (i.e., I've never met a southerner who didn't like fried chicken, which I believe has its roots in African food ways.)

I think you hit the nail on the head. I also read a lot about the connection between southern culinary traditions, Black culinary traditions, and Native American culinary traditions.

Quote:

Originally Posted by amIblue? (Post 2108880)

Healthy soul food cookbook? Really?

Google "healthy soul food cookbook." :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by als463 (Post 2108883)

...I would love to see a forum set up in chit chat about cultural awareness or something.

The hundreds of GC threads created over the years are more than sufficient for GC purposes. Most of those threads were not created for the purpose of awareness and that's a good thing. I hate anything that resembles diversity training whether in real life or the Internet.

DrPhil

11-27-2011 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Munchkin03 (Post 2108890)

Deviled eggs! I forgot about those!

Daag, how did I forget the deviled eggs? I ate a couple of servings and packed the Significant Other and me two plates that included deviled eggs. My plate was intentionally better than the plate that I packed for the SO. :p

Lesson that SO remembers every holiday: Pack your own plate so you won't be stealing DrPhil's awesomely good leftovers. SO is more into chitterlings and other dishes that SO's family cooks but my family does not cook.

KDCat

11-27-2011 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by amIblue? (Post 2108880)

(i.e., I've never met a southerner who didn't like fried chicken, which I believe has its roots in African food ways.)

Healthy soul food cookbook? Really?

FFried chicken, like a lot of things in American culture, has its roots in both European and American culture. Fried chicken is Scottish. Scots were known for frying chicken; English people boiled or baked it. It was bland, though The Scots didn't put any spices in it. African Americans added spices and seasonings to it and made it taste a lot better.

DrPhil

11-27-2011 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KDCat (Post 2108895)

FFried chicken, like a lot of things in American culture, has its roots in both European and American culture. Fried chicken is Scottish. Scots were known for frying chicken; English people boiled or baked it. It was bland, though The Scots didn't put any spices in it. African Americans added spices and seasonings to it and made it taste a lot better.

;)

In all seriousness, *taking off my subjective hat* every group of people has spices and seasonings. I would never claim one group's spices and seasonings to be superior.

*Putting my subjective hat back on* Yeah, some spices and seasonings are better tasting. Too bad traditional "soul" food is very unhealthy (especially for a subpopulation that no longer walks hundreds of miles and works the land all day and everyday) and contributed to diabetes being considered a part of Blackness.

amIblue?

11-27-2011 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KDCat (Post 2108895)

The things you learn on GC. I had no idea that fried chicken had Scottish origins, but yuck without the spices. That's what makes it so good.

christiangirl

11-27-2011 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil (Post 2108902)

Too bad traditional "soul" food is very unhealthy (especially for a subpopulation that no longer walks hundreds of miles and works the land all day and everyday) and contributed to diabetes being considered a part of Blackness.

You're lucky I'm typing because, if I had to say this statement, you wouldn't be able to understand it through my mouthful of macaroni and cheese. ;) I know it's not really funny, but iChuckled at the thought of diabetes being part of Blackness. Call it a shame, but not even the threat of diabetes could make me put this bowl down. I only get this dish 2-3 times a year. Given there's enough butter in it to last a season, I think it's appropriate. :o

DrPhil

11-27-2011 09:02 PM

Mac and cheese is a vegetable during the holidays. :D

Yeah there is a problem when a large percentage of a subpopulation of people does not change their eating habits to adjust to the change in daily living patterns (i.e., the majority no longer walking and working the land). It became the norm to be overweight, have high blood pressure, and be diabetic. Actually, if you were of a healthy weight and did not have diabetes, depending on where you were, you were called uppity and wannabe white. That still happens in some places. Yep.

/end necessary PSA for Black food thread :)

Gusteau

11-27-2011 09:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil (Post 2108908)

Mac and cheese is a vegetable during the holidays. :D

Only during the holidays? That certainly changes Gusteau's Food Pyramid...

amIblue?

11-28-2011 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DrPhil (Post 2108902)

;)

In all seriousness, *taking off my subjective hat* every group of people has spices and seasonings. I would never claim one group's spices and seasonings to be superior.

*Putting my subjective hat back on* Yeah, some spices and seasonings are better tasting. Too bad traditional "soul" food is very unhealthy (especially for a subpopulation that no longer walks hundreds of miles and works the land all day and everyday) and contributed to diabetes being considered a part of Blackness.

At the bold - I would. :D

But I mostly mean it in the spirit of your "subjective hat" statement, not in any kind of "culture A uses spice 1 and culture B uses spice 2, therefore spice 1 is better." That would be dumb and really poor logic.

Honeykiss1974

11-28-2011 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by christiangirl (Post 2108887)

Our holidays always consist of the same foods: deviled eggs, collard greens, mac and cheese, ham, turkey, stuffing, yams, cranberry sauce (real cranberries this year thanks to MommyCG), baked corn, and a bajillion desserts. Corn bread and potato salad were absent this year. We save the chitlins and black eyed peas for New Year's.

New Years is typically black eye peas, cornbread, and neck bones. Now I will probably continue the neck bone tradition because those are really good and not as much work as chitterlings. lol

Speaking of healthy soul food, Patty LaBelle has a cookbook too and I've heard great reviews about it.

TonyB06

11-28-2011 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Honeykiss1974 (Post 2108593)

People confuse 'black/soul" food and southern food all the time. :) Bless his heart.

Anyway, my mom prepares chitterlings every Thanksgiving. I've already told her that tradition will probably pass on when she does since there is NO WAY I'm standing in front of my kitchen sink cleaning those things. lol We still have those along with turkey and dressing (NOT stuffing), butter beans & okra, cornbread with sweet potatoe and pecan pie (with sweet tea to wash it down).

HK,
Please kiss you chitterling-making mama for me, because, like my Aunty Ricky who always makes them for me and my cousin (her son) during the holidays, those who make this delicacy are really special people. :D

My family has many of the other traditional items, including fried chicken and ham for those that don't do turkey, but "chess pie" an old southern delicacy is usually the hit of the dessert tray, along with sweet potato, apple pie and assorted cakes.

christiangirl

11-28-2011 08:55 PM

I can't remember why, but I always thought chess pie was English. :confused:

DrPhil

11-28-2011 09:00 PM

I never heard of it so I had to wikipedia.

It was brought from England: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_pie

ElieM

11-28-2011 09:02 PM

^^^what she said

DrPhil

11-28-2011 09:04 PM

I read wikipedia and still don't know what the heck chess pie is supposed to be. What does it taste like. Wikipedia references vinegar pie and says they are similar.

Speaking of vinegar, my family puts vinegar on our cabbage and cornbread dish. Is vinegar pie that tasty? If so, sign me up. :)

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