Promoting Freedom for Creative Architecture
Soul food, or African American cooking from rural areas during slavery in the 1800s in the Southern United States, emerged soon after emancipation as people left to seek better economic opportunities and greater freedom. Now known across America with high African American populations as soul food restaurants of various sorts--ranging from fast-food joint to fine dining establishments--can be found.
Soul food doesn't have one definitive definition, but it's important to recall the role African American cooks played in creating a cuisine distinct from what their white slave masters provided them with. Drawing upon ingredients available within their communities or beyond them, African American chefs created dishes which became both familiar and comforting; such as boiled vegetables, collard greens and cornbread in addition to classics such as chicken gumbo or beef stew.
Slave cooks brought with them their knowledge of certain crops from West Africa, such as okra, black-eyed peas, tropical yams and millet. Together with various herbs and spices used as seasonings for flavoring their cuisines, these crops formed the core of soul food cuisine.
Introduce healthier cooking methods and limit salt to enable those living with kidney disease to enjoy soul food, such as sweet potato pie, fried chicken, ribs and cabbage. Switching from white rice to whole grains helps lower saturated fat intakes while replacing lard with vegetable oil reduces sodium consumption; roasting or boiling meats reduces salt as well. These small changes can have a great impact on overall nutrient consumption when it comes to soul favorites such as sweet potato pie, fried chicken ribs and cabbage dishes!
