Everything about Louisiana Creole Cuisine totally explained
Louisiana Creole cuisine is a style of
cooking originating in
Louisiana (centered on the
Greater New Orleans area) that blends
French,
Mediterranean,
French Caribbean,
African, and
American influences. It also bears hallmarks of
Italian cuisine. It is vaguely similar to
Cajun cuisine in ingredients (such as the
holy trinity), but the important distinction is that Cajun cuisine arose from the more rustic, provincial French cooking adapted by the
Acadians to Louisiana ingredients, whereas the cooking of the
Louisiana Creoles tended more toward classical European styles adapted to local foodstuffs. Broadly speaking, the French influence in Cajun cuisine is descended from various French Provincial cuisines of the peasantry, while Creole cuisine evolved in the homes of well-to-do aristocrats, or those who imitated their lifestyle. Although the Creole cuisine is closely identified with New Orleans culture today, much of it evolved in the country plantation estates so beloved of the pre-Civil War Creoles.. (Despite its aristocratic French roots, Creole cuisine doesn't include
Gard-Manger or other extremely lavish styles of the Classical Paris cuisine.)
The Spanish influences on Creole cuisine were in the heat of the peppers, the supreme importance of rice and the introduction of beans. The Spanish also used tomatoes extensively, which hadn't been a frequent ingredient in the earlier French era. Pasta and tomato sauces arrived during the period when New Orleans was a popular destination for Italian immigrants (roughly, 1815 to 1925). Many Italians became grocers, bakers, cheese makers and orchard farmers, and so influenced the Creole cuisine in New Orleans and its suburbs. The African influence, which was extensive, came about because nearly all servants were African-American, as were many of the cooks in restaurants and cafes.
The first French and Spanish Creole cookbooks date back to the era before the Louisiana Purchase. The first Creole cookbook in English was
La Cuisine Creole: A Collection of Culinary Recipes, From Leading Chefs and Noted Creole Housewives, Who Have Made New Orleans Famous For Its Cuisine, written by
Lafcadio Hearn and published in 1885. The full text and page images can be found at
Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project.
Starting in the
1980s,
Cajun influence became important, spurred by the popular restaurant of Chef
Paul Prudhomme. A national interest in Cajun cooking developed, and many
tourists went to New Orleans expecting to find Cajun food there (being unaware that the city was culturally and geographically separate from
Acadiana), so entrepreneurs opened or rebranded restaurants to meet this demand. The "New New Orleans Cooking" of celebrity chef
Emeril Lagasse includes both Cajun and Creole dishes. In his writings and TV shows, Lagasse both draws the distinction between Cajun and Creole and explains where they overlap.
With the rise of Modern American Cooking in the 1980s, a New Creole (or Nouvelle Creole) strain began to emerge. This movement is characterized in part by a renewed emphasis on fresh ingredients and lighter preparations, and in part by an outreach to other culinary traditions, including Cajun, Southern, Southwestern, and to a lesser degree Southeast Asian. While the Cajun food craze eventually passed, Modern Creole has remained as a predominant force in most major New Orleans restaurants.
Classic Creole Dishes
Appetizers
Soups
Crawfish Bisque
Gumbo
Oyster and Artichoke Bisque
Turtle Soup
Main Dishes
Muffuletta
Crawfish Étouffée
Jambalaya
Shrimp Alfredeaux
Crawfish Fettuccini
Pompano en Papillote
Red Beans and Rice
Shrimp Creole
Chicken Creole
Trout Meunière Amandine
Side Dishes
Maque choux
Red Beans
Dirty Rice
Desserts
Bananas Foster
Bread pudding
Beignets
King Cake (usually not served in restaurants, but certainly a New Orleans food)
Doberge cake ("Dobage" is an incorrect spelling.)
Pralines
Pecan Pie
Beverages
Café Brûlot
Café au lait
Hurricane
Ramos Gin Fizz
Sazerac cocktail
Breakfast
Calas
Eggs Sardou
Grillades and Grits
Pain perdu
Famous Creole restaurants in New Orleans
Antoine's
Arnaud's
Brennan's
Commander's Palace
The Court of Two Sisters
Dooky Chase's
Galatoire'sFurther Information
Get more info on 'Louisiana Creole Cuisine'.
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