What is Southern Cuisine?

[HostDave]

By Timothy Rubacky, Senior Vice President

I love food. All the hours I spend on the treadmill at the gym trying to work off the calories are a testament to the level of my passion for food. I’ll admit that I didn’t have a huge amount of exposure to Southern food until I moved to Memphis, TN. And I’ll also admit that despite many conversations with acclaimed Southern chef Regina Charboneau, who has overseen our menu development and execution and shared with us not only her family recipes but also created special dishes just for the American Queen, I’m no expert. I have a better idea of what composes a true Southern menu but also have discovered that the word “Southern” is a blanket term covering half the country.

What I enjoy so much about my country is that America is regional. Each area, indeed each town, has its own unique history, its own unique viewpoint of the world, its own unique attractions and even its own take on cuisine. America is a melting pot of people from all over the world and that has influenced our cuisine as well. In fact, there is no such thing as Southern cuisine. It’s not really an American invention; it’s the amalgamation of the foods and culture of many nations and peoples re-interpreted using local ingredients. Of course, over hundreds of years the lines have blurred but I still find it fascinating to understand that what we call Southern cuisine today was influenced by the foods enjoyed by Germans, French, Irish, Spanish, English, Scottish, Native Americans and African Americans.

While barbecuing seems as American as apple pie and baseball, it is…and it isn’t. Apple pie comes from the German palate and baseball has loose affiliations with English games such as cricket, trap ball, and stoolball from hundreds of years ago. However, barbecue comes from the Native Americans who lived on the land we all now call home. Cooking meat in deep pits originated with the Seminole Choctaw and Caddo tribes in the southeastern United States. Staples of Southern cuisines such as tomatoes, squash and corn also come from Native Americans. The tradition of grits, made from corn, is not just American, it predates America entirely. So, once could say that the basic building blocks of Southern cuisine are not American but Native American.

Southern cuisine also includes plenty of treats like biscuits, pastries, beignets, cakes and pies and for that we can than our European forefathers (and mothers) who brought with them from the old country the idea of cooking with eggs, milk, flour and sugar and the art of cheese-making and knowledge of baking.

I enjoy a big breakfast and in that regard, life in the South suits me quite well. The idea of a hearty breakfast comes from the English who were no strangers to blood sausage, eggs and a host of items that could be cooked with butter in a frying pan in what was often called a “fry up.” Cajun and Creole delicacies originated in France and also, interestingly, Spain. Put it all together and you have wonderful breakfasts and brunches that, if they don’t fill you up, you’re missing the best dishes!

But make no mistake, fried chicken was an American creation and traditional black-eyed peas and collard greens are a result of what would grow in the soil of the South. When we think of Southern food we think of comfort food since, in many cases, they are one in the same. What’s more comforting than cornbread, sweet tea, mashed potatoes, barbecued ribs, fried pickles, pecan pie, sweet potato pie, and peach or blackberry cobbler? The answer just might be grits, fried green tomatoes, bread pudding, okra, succotash, country ham, mint juleps, and buttermilk biscuits (Regina’s version always gets rave reviews on the American Queen).

One thing that I find troubling sometimes is that people form their opinions of Southern food based on limited exposure and mostly from chain restaurants serving up mass-produced items. True Southern cuisine has more layers of flavor and more finesse. One of the reasons that we partnered with Chef Regina is because she brings a level of sophistication to Southern cuisine plus the ability to concoct non-Southern dishes that still seem to belong on the menu.

No matter where you’re from, sitting down to a meal in the J.M. White Dining Room or on the Front Porch of America is like having Sunday dinner at grandma’s house. It’s hearty and delicious and just feels right. With every bite, you’re transported back in time to another era where children played baseball on dirt lots late in the afternoon, lemonade was sold from wooden stands and the biggest excitement of the day might be catching a frog in the creek outside of town.

Southern food is more than just a blend of Cajun, Creole and Native American flavors. It’s more than beef briskets slow-cooked until the meat falls apart. It’s more than bourbon pecan pie so tasty that it disappears as fast as it’s served. It’s more than ham enlivened with a cola glaze. Southern cuisine on the American Queen and throughout the South is even more than comforting, rewarding and profoundly satisfying. It’s more than a combination of its varied roots and cultures. Southern cuisine is a feeling, a moment of sharing and laughter over a table of strangers who have become friends. On the American Queen, Southern cuisine is a state of mind.