African American Food
The African American culture is a very unique culture with an array of diverse foods. African American food is commonly referred to as “Soul Food”. In the 1600s, African slaves were brought to the United States, along with their food and styles of cooking. They brought many new foods and ingredients including okra, black eyed peas, peanuts, sesame seeds, and much more. Because they were slaves, they were given small portions of food each week. So they learned to make dishes with what they had such as pork, cornmeal, and vegetables. These foods like cornbread and grits are still made today, in the twentieth century. Also African Americans were some of the first to use molasses as sweetener in their dishes such as iced tea. Soul food restaurants are found all over the country, where Americans from all different ethnic backgrounds can enjoy African American food(Taylor 1)
Sweet potato pie is a popular dish throughout the African American culture. It was widely made and eaten by African Americans in the 1800s, but it is still a very common food today. Sweet Potato Pie is a sweet treat made by using sugar, nutmeg, and of course, sweet potatoes. During the sixteenth century Brits from Europe brought their tradition of making pumpkin pie as a sweet dessert to West Africa. The tradition was soon brought to America during slavery. The African Americans transformed the dish into something sweeter by using yams, and sweet potatoes. Coincidentally, yams and sweet potatoes are what were fed to slaves during the middle passage and on plantations. Sweet potato pie recipes were found in cookbooks that date back all the way to the early 1800s. This delicious dish is one of the most famous African American sweet treats (Harris 7).
MLA Citations
Taylor, Erica. "Little Known Black History Fact: Sweet Potato Pie." Black America Web RSS. N.p., 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Harris, Jessica B. The Welcome Table: African-American Heritage Cooking . New York: Fireside, 1995.
The African American culture is a very unique culture with an array of diverse foods. African American food is commonly referred to as “Soul Food”. In the 1600s, African slaves were brought to the United States, along with their food and styles of cooking. They brought many new foods and ingredients including okra, black eyed peas, peanuts, sesame seeds, and much more. Because they were slaves, they were given small portions of food each week. So they learned to make dishes with what they had such as pork, cornmeal, and vegetables. These foods like cornbread and grits are still made today, in the twentieth century. Also African Americans were some of the first to use molasses as sweetener in their dishes such as iced tea. Soul food restaurants are found all over the country, where Americans from all different ethnic backgrounds can enjoy African American food(Taylor 1)
Sweet potato pie is a popular dish throughout the African American culture. It was widely made and eaten by African Americans in the 1800s, but it is still a very common food today. Sweet Potato Pie is a sweet treat made by using sugar, nutmeg, and of course, sweet potatoes. During the sixteenth century Brits from Europe brought their tradition of making pumpkin pie as a sweet dessert to West Africa. The tradition was soon brought to America during slavery. The African Americans transformed the dish into something sweeter by using yams, and sweet potatoes. Coincidentally, yams and sweet potatoes are what were fed to slaves during the middle passage and on plantations. Sweet potato pie recipes were found in cookbooks that date back all the way to the early 1800s. This delicious dish is one of the most famous African American sweet treats (Harris 7).
MLA Citations
Taylor, Erica. "Little Known Black History Fact: Sweet Potato Pie." Black America Web RSS. N.p., 10 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 Apr. 2015.
Harris, Jessica B. The Welcome Table: African-American Heritage Cooking . New York: Fireside, 1995.