Could someone please explain to me the difference between Acadian and Creole cooking? (1 Viewer)

[MaxLibido]

That sounds more like a fantastic rumor to me..

 

[cajuncook]

A couple of additional points:
Just like different areas of Acadiana have different last names, so does the cooking vary a bit from town to town.

The "trinity" around here is often onion, bell pepper and garlic.... celery is pretty much optional.

The indian influence is in Cajun cooking...boudin is an example as I believe indians made a similar dish using bufalo and bufalo intentines as casings.

The African influence is demonstrated via okra,

We use tomatoes in cooking quite a bit, however, never in gumbo; sometimes in jambalaya and sometimes just a bit as seasoning in dishes such as macque chou, but not enough to turn the dish red.
As was mentioned by someone else, the cajuns used whatever was available...veggies, game, seafood, etc.

Most cajun cooking is long and slow, often to facilitate the blending of flavors as well as to tenderize tough cuts of meat/game.

And yes, Cajun food does not have to be burning hot with pepper...in my opinion, just enough to experience the flavor of the pepper works best. That being said, pepper is something that the more you consume it, the more intense you can tolerate so often it becomes a habit to use more and more as you becomes used to the heat.

One last comment: Emeril's cooking is not typical cajun, even when he claims it is... at least not the cajun of my area of acadiana!

 

[MaxLibido]

Thanks Cajun cook

The spices are added to enhance the flavors
not to overpower the primary ingredients

Creole is butter and fat and tomatos

 

[Pure Energy]

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.

I remember in the mid 80's a conversation with some fellow Guard members in Lafayette. One guy was livid that Popeye's had branded themselves with the name Cajun Fried Chicken. His response was, "Nothing Cajun every came out of New Orleans. It's nonsense...." Truly, that was the perception back in the mid 80's before the explosion of cajun cuisine throughout the nation. So in addtion to Paul Prudhomme I'd credit Al Copeland (founder of Popeye's) with introducing the term Cajun food throughout the nation. To a lesser extent than Popeye's, Piccadilly restaurants (Baton Rouge headquarted) introduced Cajun and Creole food outside of LA with locations in 15 mostly SE states.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's Cajun food in FL and the NE was absolutely terrible. I remember ordering stir-fry in a Boston cafeteria...I was watching the cook grill various types of vegetables and then serve them over rice. He said, "That's not stir-fry, it's Jambalaya." I said, "I'll have some as long as I don't have to call it Jambalaya."

 

[Cajun Mike]

Tomatoes are never used in a crawfish etouffe' at least not around here!!! i defer to CC

 

[Caleb]

I have no earthly idea ooooooooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh