What Spices Are Used in Cajun Food?
Cajun food originated in southern Louisiana with spiced seafood and meat dishes prepared by Louisiana bayou settlers of Native American, Caribbean, African and European roots. Over time, these populations intermarried and developed spicy simple one-pot fare now called Cajun food. Does this Spark an idea?
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Spices
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Cajun food relies upon many of the following spices: cayenne pepper, creole mustard, hot sauces, and file powder. File powder is made from sassafras leaves and is the key thickening and flavoring agent in gumbo.
Key ingredients
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Roux, cane syrup, crawfish, catfish and pork all play a key role in Cajun cooking. Roux is a mixture of flour and fat derived from classical French cooking; Cajun cooking typically calls for roux that's blond, medium or dark, with dark roux resembling brown sugar or molasses in color.
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Dishes
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Classic Cajun dishes combine the spices and key ingredients mentioned above to create red beans and rice, gumbo, shrimp creole and jambalaya. The po-boy, turtle soup and beignets are other treasured Cajun recipes.
Region
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Cajun food comes from Southern Louisiana. Creole food is sometimes confused with Cajun food, but Creole cooking borrows methods of classic French cooking and adds pungent flavor.
Where to Buy
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Many Cajun spices can be found at your local supermarket and you can order hard-to-find ingredients like file powder on the Internet. You can learn to make dark roux through practice and the advice of a good cookbook.
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References
- Photo Credit Image by Flickr.com, courtesy of foooooey
