I'm not going to go into the history of the Creole and Cajun people, maybe one day I will write an article on it. They do have a rich and fascinating history. For now I will just go on to try and explain the differences between Creole and Cajun cooking and perhaps a brief bit of how these marvelous cuisines came to be.
In the later part of the seventeenth century, the Spanish encouraged
European aristocrats to settle in South Louisiana and develop
the city of New Orleans. The Creole style of cooking came from
both the Europeans and from the Spanish themselves. It is a cuisine
much like the French provincal style of cooking where lots of
fresh herbs, spices and vegetables are used. Sauces are rich
and flavorful using cream and butter. The Spanish were responsible
for the generous use of spice. The Africans and American Indian
also lent a hand in the mix. They brought things like okra, tomatoes
and sassafras root known as felé. The Creole style of cooking
is truly an elegant fare.
Cajun cooking comes not only from the French and Spanish, but
also from Haiti. Much of their technique came from the French.
They were, for the most part, a poor people forced from their
homes time and again. Though they had much the same style of cooking
they had to learn to do with much less. No fancy cream and butter;
they had to do with roux and fats often in a single cast iron
pot. They only ate what they could hunt, fish or grow. My wife
loves when I cook Cajun 'cause I can make a helluva mess.
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