Cuisine of the American South

Cuisine of the Southern United States 

The cuisine of the Southern United States is the historical regional culinary form of states generally south of the Mason–Dixon line dividing Pennsylvania and Delaware from Maryland as well as along the Ohio River, and extending west to southern Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas.

 Global Influences - African American, English, Scottish, Irish, German, French, and Native American cuisines.

 Types include:  Tidewater, Appalachian, Cajun (colloquial for Acadian, referring to the Acadians deported south in 1755-63), Creole, Lowcountry, and Floribbean .

 Who Brought What to the Table?  Stone Soup!

·        Southeastern American Indian tribes such as the Caddo, Choctaw, and Seminole brought squash, tomatoes, corn (and its derivatives, including grits), as well as the practice of deep pit barbecuing.

 ·        The Europeans brought: sugar, flour, milk, eggs (many kinds of baking or dairy products such as breads and cheeses)

 ·        The peoples of African brought: Black-eyed peas, okra, rice, eggplant, benne (sesame) seed, sorghum, and melons, as well as the spice.

 Mix it together and what do you get?

·        Much of Cajun or Creole cuisine is based on France, West Africa, Caribbean and on Spain.

 ·        Floribbean is more Spanish-based with obvious Caribbean influences

 ·        Tex-Mex has considerable Mexican and Native American influences.

 Traditional Southern dishes

A traditional Southern Dishes:

·        Pan-fried chicken,

·        Chicken fried steak

·        Country ham

·        Fried catfish,

·        Pit barbecue (especially Pork),

·        Pimento cheese, "the caviar of the South"

·        Cornbread or corn pone,

·        Grits, 

·        Hushpuppies,

·        Buttermilk biscuits 

·        Greens (such as collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, or poke salad),

·        Fried green tomatoes, 

·        Okra (fried, steamed, stewed, sauteed, or pickled)

·        Butter beans, pinto beans, and black-eyed peas.

·        Sweet tea,

·        Traditional Southern Pies - sweet potato, chess, shoofly, pecan, and peach are

·        Cobbler - (peach, blackberry, or mixed berry are traditional cobblers

 To learn more about the Foods and Cuisine of The US South visit The Southern Foodways Alliance.com

Podcast = Gravy

Which fruits continue to ripen after they are picked?

Which Fruits Will Continue to Ripen After They're Picked?
Apricots, bananas, cantaloupe, kiwi, nectarines, peaches, pears, plantains and plums continue to ripen after they're picked.
Fruits you should pick or buy ripe and ready-to-eat include: apples, cherries, grapefruit, grapes, oranges, pineapple, strawberries, tangerines and watermelon.
To speed up the ripening of fruits such as peaches, pears, and plums, put them in a ripening bowl or in a loosely closed brown paper bag at room temperature. Plastic bags don’t work for ripening.

Classic American Barbeque Sause

Chef’s Special of the Day  -  Barbeque Sauce Lesson

A Taxonomy Of American Barbecue Sauces

The regional American barbecue sauces
American barbecue sauces owe their differences to their colonial histories and can be divided in three basic categories, vinegar based, tomato based, and mustard based. Then there are at least 15 distinct classic American regional barbecue sauce styles and infinite variations.

1) Kansas City Sweet Sauce
Kansas City barbecue sauce is the iconic classic rich red, tomato-based, sweet-tart sauce with molasses or brown sugar and balanced with the tartness of vinegar. Many have liquid smoke added to help create that outdoor flavor for folks who cannot cook outdoors. They are by far the most popular in the nation and imitated around the country. 
2) South Carolina Mustard Sauce
3) East Carolina Mop-Sauce – Vinegar and Pepper
4) West Carolina – Tomato Sauce Added
5) Western South Carolina – Ketchup Based
 6) Texas Mop-Sauce - Most common are thin, tart mops that are flavored with vinegar, American chili powder or ancho powder, lots of black pepper, cumin, hot sauce, fresh onion, and only a touch of ketchup.  Some of the best sauces have beef drippings

7) Alabama White Sauce - Mayonnaise and vinegar sauce 
8) Kentucky Black Barbecue Sauce and Dip - The most obscure of the regional sauces because it can be found in only a small area of Western Kentucky, this fascinating blend is mostly distilled white vinegar and Worcestershire sauce. 
9) Tennessee Whiskey Sauce - The Jack Daniel's World Championship Invitational 
10) New Orleans Barbecue Sauce -  a buttery hot sauce 
11) Memphis Dry Rub
Memphis is second only to Kansas City as a town of barbecue renown.  Alas, there is no distinctive indigenous Memphis sauce style they use a dry rub that is paprika based, and typical ingredients are salt, garlic, onion, black pepper, American chili powder, and oregano. 
12) Tartar Sauce For Florida Smoked Mullet And Grilled Fish
13) Sweet Glazes
A lot of great sauces are just a mix of sweetener, vinegar, and spices. The sweetener is usually brown sugar and/or molasses, and occasionally maple syrup.
14) Hawaiian Huli-Huli Teriyaki Sauce
Huli-Huli Sauce was originally a teriyaki sauce, which, in Japan, is a simple blend of soy sauce, mirin (a sweet rice wine), and a little sugar reduced to a glaze. It was always popular with Hawaiians, and then in the 1950s a grillmaster with a head for marketing renamed it Huli-Huli Sauce, and everyone stole his name.
15) Flavored Sauces – Anything goes!

Rice Lesson and Tips

Rice
Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa (Asian rice) or Oryza glaberrima(African rice). 

As a cereal grain, it is the most widely consumed staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in Asia. It is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and corn.

Since a large portion of corn and sugar crops are grown for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important grain with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans.

Chinese legends attribute the domestication of rice to Shennong, the legendary Emperor of China and inventor of Chinese agriculture.  Genetic evidence has shown that rice originates from a single domestication 8,200–13,500 years ago in the Pearl River valley region of China.

From East Asia, rice was spread to Southeast and South Asia.[5] Rice was introduced to Europe through Western Asia, and to the Americas through European colonization.

Rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. However, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems. 

There are more than 40,000 varieties of cultivated rice said to exist. But the exact figure is uncertain. Over 90,000 samples of cultivated rice and wild species are stored at the International Rice Gene Bank in The Philippines and these are used by researchers all over the world.

COLOR VARIETIES:
•    Brown: This rice has a distinctly nutty flavor. Brown Rice undergoes only minimal milling, which removes the husk but retains the bran layer. Due to this the rice retains more vitamin , mineral and fibre content than regular or easy cook white rice. The grains remain separate when cooked, like long grain white, but take longer to soften. The cooked grains have a chewy texture, which many people enjoy. It is also available in easy-cook form.
•    White Rice: Has the Bran removes so it is white in color.
•    Red Rice, Black Rice, Purple Rice, all different varieties.
•    Aromatic Rice:  Great Flavor:  Jasmine from Thailand – Basmati from India

Size Varieties
Long Grain: Kernels are slender and four to five times as long as they are wide. When cooked the grains are separate, light and fluffy.
•    Rice varieties: U.S. long grain brown, white and parboiled, U.S. jasmine, U.S. basmati, U.S. aromatic red – Jasmine rice from Thialand.
•    Great for: Entrées, pilafs, stuffings, rice salads,  jambalaya and more

Medium Grain: Kernels are two to three times as long as they are wide. The cooked grains are moist and tender, with a greater tendency to cling, a desirable characteristic in many dishes.
•    Rice varieties: U.S. medium grain brown and white, U.S. arborio, U.S. black japonica
•    Great for: Sushi, rice bowls, risotto, paella, rice puddings, desserts

Short Grain: Kernels are plump and almost round in shape. After cooking, the grains are soft and clingy.
•    Rice varieties: U.S. short grain, U.S. sweet
•    Great for: Sushi, paella, Asian dishes, rice puddings, desserts

Tips for Perfect Rice
•    Accurately measure rice and liquid.
•    Set timer to prevent under or over-cooking.
•    Keep lid on pot during cooking to prevent steam from escaping.
•    Rice triples in volume. Use cookware appropriate for the amount of rice you are preparing.
•    Do not stir. Stirring releases the starch, resulting in rice that is sticky.
•    At the end of cooking time, remove lid and test for doneness. If rice is not tender or liquid is not absorbed, cook 2 to 4 minutes longer.
•    When rice is cooked, fluff with fork or slotted spoon to allow steam to escape and keep the grains separate.

Proportion & Yield
Rice                               Parts liquid to 1 part rice (by volume)    Cooking time (minutes)
U.S. arborio                  4½                                                                   20 - 30
U.S. basmati                1¾                                                                     20 - 25
U.S. jasmine                1¾                                                                      20 - 25
Brown, long grain     2¼                                                                     40 - 45
Parboiled                    2                                                                        25 - 30
White, long grain      1¾                                                                     18 - 20
White, medium grain  1½                                                                   20 - 30
White, short grain    1½                                                                      20 - 30

Considering the 2:1 ratio, dry rice will triple in volume when cooked. When working with rice it is usually easier to measure the ingredients and calculate portions by volume. For costing purposes and writing recipes, it is helpful to know the correlation between volume and weight measures for rice:
•    1 cup dry rice = approx. 7 oz. (wt.)
•    1 lb. dry rice = approx. 2 1/4 c. (vol.)
•    1 cup cooked rice = approx. 8 oz. (wt.)
•    1 lb. cooked rice = approx. 1 pt.

Grilled Corn TIps

1.     Do buy corn at farmers markets and farm stands—preferably the same day it was picked.

2.     Don’t refrigerate corn unless you have to. Chilling dulls the flavor.

3.     Do grill the corn the same day you buy it. The longer you wait, the more the natural sugar in the corn converts to starch.

4.     Don’t grill corn with the husk on. This steams the kernels when you want to roast them over a hot fire. Only direct exposure to the flame caramelizes the natural plant sugars, giving you that sweet smoky caramel flavor that makes grilled corn so amazing.

5.     Do strip the husk back and tie it together under the ear to form a handle. Use a strip of cornhusk or a piece of butchers string to tie it back.

6.     Don’t burn this husk handle: Let it hang off of the side of the grill or protect it with aluminum foil.

7.     Do grill the corn until the kernels are uniformly brown on all sides.

8.     Don’t put on too much butter or oil at the beginning. It will drip onto the coals and cause a sooty fire. Instead, brush the ears lightly, then season with salt and pepper before grilling. Baste the corn with a little more butter as it grills and brush generously one fine time before serving.

9.     Do try varying the flavorings: from Japan’s sesame soy butter to Mexico’s mayonnaise, grated cheese, and chili powder.

Grilling Tips

Grilling 101
Direct vs. Indirect Grilling
The first step towards achieving grill master status is to understand the difference between direct grilling, indirect grilling, and smoking.
DIRECT GRILLING
This is what most of the world means when it talks of grilling: the food is placed and cooked directly over the fire. Direct grilling is a high heat method used to cook relatively small or thin pieces of food quickly. Typical foods that are direct grilled include steaks, chops, chicken breasts, fish fillets, vegetables, and bread.

How to set up your grill for direct grilling: 
Single Zone:   the coals are spread in an even layer to make a single zone fire over which the food will be grilled. (On a gas grill, you’d simply light the appropriate burner.) This method is fine for cooking a small amount of food, say a steak or chicken breasts for one or two

Two or Three.    You’ll get better heat control if you build a three zone fire, consisting of a hot zone, medium zone, and cool or “safety” zone.
To set up a gas grill for three zone grilling, on a two burner gas grill, set one burner on high and one burner on medium, using the warming rack as your safety zone. 

INDIRECT GRILLING
Indirect grilling is designed to cook larger or tougher foods that would burn if direct grilled. As the name suggests, the food is placed next to, not directly over the fire. The grill lid is closed to hold in the heat, turning the grill into a sort of outdoor oven. Indirect grilling is used to cook large pieces of meat, like pork shoulders and whole chickens. It’s also used to cook tough cuts of meat, like brisket and ribs, that require long, slow cooking at a low or moderate heat. Indirect grilling allows you to work over a more moderate temperature (275 to 350 degrees) and makes it easy to introduce the flavor of wood smoke. This is the method used to cook ribs, pork shoulders, briskets, whole chickens and turkeys, and other large pieces of food.

A WORD ABOUT CHARCOAL 
For charcoal grilling I prefer natural lump charcoal-made from pure wood and recognizable by its irregular shaped chunks-to briquettes. This is a natural product, containing no additives or fillers. Look for it at grill shops and natural foods stores
Of course, the vast majority of Americans use charcoal briquettes, which in addition to raw wood, often contain furniture scraps, coal dust, borax, and petroleum binders. This may sound off-putting — it is off-putting — and partially lit briquettes give off a strong acrid smoke flavor. The truth is that if you let the briquettes burn down to glowing coals, these impurities burn off and the food will taste pretty much the same as when cooked over lump charcoal. I prefer lump charcoal and use it whenever I can.

Ready to Grill!
1.    Get It Hot!
Preheat your grill 15 to 25 minutes before you start cooking to make sure it reaches the right temperature (and to kill any bacteria). Your grill should be 400-450°F for high, 350-400°F for medium-high, 300-350°F for medium and 250-300°F for low heat. A properly heated grill sears foods on contact, keeps the insides moist and helps prevent sticking. While searing doesn’t “seal in” the juices (contrary to popular belief ), it does create improved flavors through caramelization.
2.    Brush It Off
3.    Oil It Up

4 . Safety First »
Food safety is a top priority, so keep these simple rules from the USDA in mind: avoid cross-contamination by using separate cutting boards, utensils and platters for raw and cooked foods; refrigerate foods while marinating; and never baste with the marinating liquid. (Make extra marinade just for basting or boil your marinating liquid first.)

5. Marinate Your Meat »

Marinating does more than infuse food with flavor; it also inhibits the formation of potential carcinogenics which form when grilling “muscle meats” like poultry, red meat and fish. According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), marinating can reduce formation by as much as 92 to 99 percent.
6.  A Chimney Starter
A chimney starter (weber.com, $14.99) makes starting a charcoal fire a breeze. Just place crumpled paper in the bottom of the chimney, fill it with charcoal and light the paper. In about 20 minutes the coals will be ready to spread evenly in the bottom of the grill—no kindling, no lighter fluid, no perfect pyramid required.
7. Is It Done?
The best way to know if protein is fully cooked is to check its internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer.
8.  The Hand Test »
To gauge the temperature of a grill without a thermometer, place your open palm about 5 inches above the grill rack; the fire is high if you have to move your hand in 2 seconds, medium if you have to move your hand in 5 seconds and low if you have to move your hand in 10 seconds.
9.  Tame The Flames
Flare-ups happen when fat drips onto the heat source and catches fire. This causes carcinogenics to form and accumulate on your food. Meat licked by flames also tastes “off” and flames may char the outside of food before the inside has thoroughly cooked. To reduce flare-ups, select lean cuts of meat, trim excess fat and remove poultry skin. And, keep a squirt bottle of water near the grill to quickly douse any unexpected flare-ups.
10. Give It A Rest
Let finished meats rest on a clean platter, tented with foil, for about 10 minutes before carving so juices can redistribute evenly.

SuperFood Score List

ANDI (Aggregate Nutrient Density Index

Leafy Green Vegetables                  ANDI Score

1. Mustard/Turnip/Collard Greens 1000

2. Kale                                                             1000

3. Swiss Chard                                               1000

4. Upland/Watercress                                  1000

5. Bok Choy/Baby Bok Choy                        865

6. Chinese/Napa Cabbage                            714

7. Spinach                                                      707

8. Arugula                                                      604

9. Lettuce, Green Leaf                                   585

10. Chicory                                                     516

Non-Leafy Green Vegetables          ANDI Score

1. Radish                                                        502

2. Turnip                                                         473

3. Carrots                                                        458

4. Acorn Squash                                             444

5. Broccoflower                                              444

6. Cabbage                                                      434

7. Bell Pepper, Yellow or Orange     371

8. Kholrabi                                                      352

9. Cauliflower                                                 315

10. Rutabaga                                                  296

Fruits                                                  ANDI Score

1. Cranberries, Fresh                                    207

2. Strawberries                                              182

3. Blackberries                                               171

4. Raspberries                                                133

5. Blueberries                                                132

6. Guava                                                         125

7. Grapefruit                                                  125

8. Grapes                                                        119

9. Pomegranate                                             119

10. Cantaloupe                                              118

11. Plum                                                         106

12. Orange                                                     98

13. Tangerine                                                 86

14. Apricots, Fresh                                        75

15. Watermelon                                            71

Beans                                                 ANDI Score

1. Edamame                                                   98

2. Pinto Beans                                                86

3. Tofu                                                             82

4. Great Northern Beans                              77

5. Adzuki Beans                                             74

6. Lentils                                                         72

7. Lima Beans                                                 69

8. Kidney Beans                                             64

9. Black Beans                                                61

10. Chickpeas (Garbanzos)   55

Nuts & Seed                                      ANDI Score

1. Flax Seeds                                                  103

2. Sesame Seeds                                            74

3. Sunflower Seeds                                        64

4. Peanuts                                                      59

5. Chia Seeds                                                  46

6. Pumpkin Seeds                                          39

7. Pistachios                                                   37

8. Chestnuts                                                   34

9. Hazelnuts                                                   34

10. Pecans                                                      33

Herbs                                                  ANDI Score

1. Basil                                                            518

2. Cilantro                                                      481

3. Spearmint                                                  457

4. Tarragon                                                    426

5. Oregano                                                     426

6. Thyme                                                        422

7. Parsley                                                       381

8. Dill                                                              326

9. Chives                                                         319

10. Peppermint                                             293

11. Bay Leaves                                               271

12. Rosemary                                                84

13. Lemongrass                                             5

Chocolate 101 - Food of the Gods

Chocolate Lesson 11/22/14

Intro

Today’s Chef Special is CHOCOLATE.   Food of the Gods!!!

So let me tell you the Story of Chocolate.

People have been consuming Chocolate for more than 4,000 years. Monkeys and birds and other critters have eaten the cocoa seeds for many, many years before that.  The Olmecs, Mayan, and Aztecs of Central America were the first known consumers. 

Back then they would pick the football shaped pos of the Cacao Tree, crack it open, ferment the seeds, the roast them.  Actually we still do all of that today.  But then they would grind the seeds, and boil them in water to create a drink.  So no chocolate as we know it, just a beverage.  To this beverage they would add cornmeal, a variety of spices, vanilla, honey and hot chili peppers.  Remember, sugar had not yet come to America.  Legend has it that the Great Aztec King, Montezuma believed that it had special super powers said that a soldier  could march all day long with just one cup or this cocoa drink.  The scientific name is Theobroma Cacao, which means Food of the Gods!!!

Farming

The Cacao tree only grows between 20* north and 20* south of the equator.  It is generally grown on very small family farms.  There are over 5,000,000 of these farms in the world.  70% of them in West Africa. The vast majority of cacao comes from West Africa, Southeast Asia, and Central and South America.  Hawaii has some wonderful cacao farms, but compared to the rest of the world produce only a very small amount of chocolate. 

Production

Each Cacao Pod is handpicked.  Then cracked open to reveal the seeds.  There are 50 – 60 seeds per pod.  And it takes 400 seeds to make 1# of chocolate.  The seeds are fermented for a couple of days then dried and put into large burlap sacks.  At this point they are shipped all over the world to the Chocolate Factories.

In the factories the beans are roasted, just like coffee.  Then they are cracked into Nibs. Nibs are sold and used in baking and cooking applications.  Later I’ll share a recipe for a Spice Rub for Roasted Beef Ribs that used Cacao Nibs as one of the key ingredients. 

The nibs are ground, and ground until a thick paste is formed.  It gets pasty because the beans have a very high fat content.  This fat is the Cacao Butter.  At this point the paste is pressed to squeeze out most of the Cacao Butter.   The dark, thick low fat paste that remains is called Chocolate Liquor.

·        3 ,000,000 Tons of Cacao Beans are turned into Chocolate each year.

Chocolate as a Superfood!!!

Scientific Studies show that dark chocolate or cocoa is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, and eating it can improve the cardiovascular system’s function, make platelets less prone to form clots, and lower blood pressure.

·        Did you know: 40 to 50 million people depend on cocoa for their livelihood.  So buy some Chocolate today to help the world economy!!!

·        It’s a $5.1 Billion Industry.

Let’s Build Some Chocolate:

The Components to build Chocolate are: Cocoa Mass, Additional Cocoa Butter, Sugar Milk, Vanilla or other flavors, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, and maybe fruits or nuts for specialty chocolates.

The Chocolate liquor is conched with the coca butter for as many as 80 hours to create a silky smooth texture.  Then the other ingredients are added.  Then it is poured into molds and cooled.

Varieties – Tasting

So enough with all of this talk, let’s taste some chocolate.

This is one of my very favorite Chocolates Companies: Guittard!  Made in America!!!

Lightest to Darkest – Like a wine tasting.

1.     Look at the chocolate – Shiny, Smooth, color.

2.     Smell it: the aroma depends on the variety of bean used, the roasting temperature , and the flavor used; like real or fake vanilla

3.     Now taste a little bit and let it melt on your tongue.  Now eat some more and chew it.  Notice how creamy it feels.  It melts at a temperature that is lower than your body temperature.  Can you feel the flavors swirl on your palate and in your brain?

Cleanse your palate with a little green apple and a sip of water.

White Chocolate:  No Chocolate Liquor.  Just Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Milk, Lecithin, Flavor

Milk Chocolate: (Minimum of 10% Cocoa Mass)  35%Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Milk, Lecithin, Flavor

Semisweet or Bittersweet: (Minimum 35%)  56% Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Lecithin, Flavor

Dark Chocolate: 72% Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Lecithin, Flavor

So if you want to learn more about chocolate – You should visit Lincoln Culinary Institute.