Soul Food & African American Identity

 

Figure 1: Sample of Soul Food delights, including cornbread, collard greens, fried chicken, and yams/sweet potatoes

 

There are various ways one can show their cultural identity, and one of those ways is through food.  What, when, and how we eat is very much culturally dictated and driven, and we can understand someone’s gender, social status, and ethnic identity through the foods one consumes.  While it is evident that food is a part of culture one typically does not consider the history and reasons for why those specific foods define a cultural group.  Today’s blog post is going to address that very topic as we delve more deeply into the history of Soul Food, addressing what it is and how it came represent African American culture.

 

The term Soul Food epitomizes the culinary traditions of African Americans (Figure 1).  It originated during the Slavery Period in the American South and continues strongly to this day.  Specific preparation methods, means of spicing and flavoring the foods, as well as dietary staples are all characteristic of this cuisine. The name Soul Food was coined in the 1960s during the Black Civil Rights Movement to characterize the shared culinary traditions that African Americans shared and kept while other cultural aspects, such as their languages and religions, were either completely lost or transformed as a result of enslavement.  The choice of “Soul” in the name was meant to inspire pride and memorialize the resilience of African Americans who continued using African foods and cooking styles to maintain their cultural traditions even after they were stolen from their homelands.

 

Soul Food describes a host of foods and recipes often associated with Southern cuisine, but this is an inaccurate link.  Southern cuisine was actually influenced by enslaved African cooks who brought with them their culinary skills and knowledge and used them to feed the enslavers.  These traditions were then learned by Whites who picked up these techniques from their Black caretakers and incorporated and appropriated into Southern cuisine or cooking.  Even the tradition of community eating stems from Western African traditions, specifically the tradition of teranga.  While there are parallels between the two culinary styles and traditions there are also distinctive differences, which many note is in the stronger flavors found in Soul Food.

 

Soul Food itself originated from African dietary staples, but it is also derived from European and Native American foods and traditions.  This was because the foods used by enslaved Africans were provided by their enslavers, but they also managed to bring with them specific crops and did control their own food production.  This is how and why various Soul Food staples, such as okra and rice, make up a large proportion of Soul Food recipes.  Other ingredients, such as corn bread, come from Native American influences.  A lot of the foods, however, come from enslaved Africans ingenuity and creativity in dealing with what was provided to them.  Culinary delights such as chitterlings and other meat dishes came about from enslavers provided enslaved Africans the undesirable cuts of meat, which included pigs’ feet, innards, and tail.  The cooking techniques they used for preparing their meals were solely their own.  For example, boiling collard greens comes from the boiling of vegetables throughout the continent of Africa, and the preservation techniques for meat that their enslavers depended on were also African in origin. This is but a small sample of the foods associated with Soul Food as there are various other recipes and dietary staples associated with this culinary style and tradition.

 

Today, Soul Food continues on and remains an important part of African American identity, despite attempts to appropriate it and make it mainstream.  It is important to understand the history of Soul Food and what it represents both in the past and today.  African American culinary historians and chefs are willing to share their traditions, but they ask that their histories and identities be respected and acknowledged. 

 

Works Cited

Hayford, Vanessa. "The Humble History of Soul Food." 22 January 2018. Black Foodie. Electronic. 15 December 2021.

No Author. "“Soul Food” in America, a story." n.d. American American Registry. Electronic. 15 December 2021.

Terry, Ruth. "How Black Culinary Historians Are Rewriting the History of American Food." Yes! Magazine 26 February 2020. Electronic.