Now that the holidays are over, it is a good time to reflect on Southern Food Culture. Yes, in the southern USA, we have some pretty important food rituals, which are shared to some extent across the USA.
Perhaps the most serious rule is this: NEVER run out of food, on pain of total loss of reputation! This means you have more dishes than needed, and more of each dish than could be possibly eaten by attendees.
It is well known that in the Southern USA we like fried food and often bacon, or bacon grease is involved even in vegetables. I attempt to eat according to Jewish dietary standards and so pork, and pork products are NOT part of my desired diet, though I will eat it, if served. So, bacon or ham chunks can be found in Southern: green beans, lima and other beans, quiche, eggs, omelets, and bacon grease is used to fry lots of stuff. Frying is popular and we fry everything, including vegetables like squash, okra, and tomatoes.
Grits are a well known southern dish made from corn. Grits are very popular among some, but grits seem to be more of a "nostalgia" dish, than a daily popular food.
Of course no southern food discussion, as is no southern meal, is complete without sweet tea--and I mean sweet ICED tea. A famous Bishop family story deals with my father's first-ever hospitalization in Marietta, GA. We were all visiting dad when they served his dinner. Dad had selected from the menu, "tea", expecting sweet iced tea. He got instead a tea bag, which he mistakenly thought was some sort of instant tea mix--because who serves hot tea in the South? It's hot here already! Many Northerners are not accustomed to sweet iced tea, so this can be a novel concept for some.
Maybe our most famous southern dishes are out desserts: pecan pie, home-made ice cream, and chocolate cake. And perhaps that is a sweet ending.
Perhaps the most serious rule is this: NEVER run out of food, on pain of total loss of reputation! This means you have more dishes than needed, and more of each dish than could be possibly eaten by attendees.
It is well known that in the Southern USA we like fried food and often bacon, or bacon grease is involved even in vegetables. I attempt to eat according to Jewish dietary standards and so pork, and pork products are NOT part of my desired diet, though I will eat it, if served. So, bacon or ham chunks can be found in Southern: green beans, lima and other beans, quiche, eggs, omelets, and bacon grease is used to fry lots of stuff. Frying is popular and we fry everything, including vegetables like squash, okra, and tomatoes.
Grits are a well known southern dish made from corn. Grits are very popular among some, but grits seem to be more of a "nostalgia" dish, than a daily popular food.
Of course no southern food discussion, as is no southern meal, is complete without sweet tea--and I mean sweet ICED tea. A famous Bishop family story deals with my father's first-ever hospitalization in Marietta, GA. We were all visiting dad when they served his dinner. Dad had selected from the menu, "tea", expecting sweet iced tea. He got instead a tea bag, which he mistakenly thought was some sort of instant tea mix--because who serves hot tea in the South? It's hot here already! Many Northerners are not accustomed to sweet iced tea, so this can be a novel concept for some.
Maybe our most famous southern dishes are out desserts: pecan pie, home-made ice cream, and chocolate cake. And perhaps that is a sweet ending.
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