The History Of Traditional Appalachian Food and Cuisine
I was born and raised in Appalachia and have been surrounded by the culture for my entire life; this includes the local food and cuisine as well. However, my parents were both born in the North (Pennsylvania and Massachusetts), so experiences I had as a child were much different from the experiences that I would of had had my parents been from the south.Growing up, I ate things like pickled red beet eggs, pork and sauerkraut, amish potato salad, and heavenly food, a dessert similar to ambrosia salad except with marshmallows instead of fruit. When I was younger, my best friend and his family were the epitome of born-and-raised in Appalachia. His mom would always tell me that “faith, family and food were the only things that you needed to have a good life.” I was first exposed to true Appalachian food when his grandmother cooked for me for the first time, a rather simple breakfast of biscuits and sausage gravy. However, these biscuits and gravy were better than any restaurant version, yet I couldn’t figure out why. I’ve always had a passion for food and cooking, so at the time, I decided that I wanted to attempt to recreate the exact same meal that my best friend’s grandmother had made. After several attempts, I had grown frustrated. My versions were good, but nothing like the original one that I had. It was then that I began to realize that the only thing that I was missing from my version of the meal, was just the years of experience that allowed his grandmother to perfect the simple meal. It is this initial experience that makes me want to pursue the history and evolution of Appalachian cuisine, as my final project.
For this project, I decided once again to attempt to recreate the biscuits and sausage gravy that I had made when I was younger. However, this time I had a new, more traditional biscuit recipe. Additionally, my best friend’s grandmother gave me her recipe for the gravy, so there was no possible way that I could mess it up. Besides biscuits and gravy, other foods that may be present during an Appalachian meal such as breakfast generally consists of: grits, country ham, chicken fried steak, buttermilk biscuits served with jams, butter and honey, eggs and sausages (Cuisine 2018). During special occasions like Christmas, breakfast is generally more elaborate. Pork tenderloin, known as “leans” is fried in a pan and served alongside scrambled eggs, biscuits, coffee, and eggnog (Tradition 2017). Today, preparing and eating traditional Appalachian food is a way for people to relive memories and carry on their heritage. For many, it’s not about just eating any old meal, but it’s about coming together and being with your family and loved ones to catch up and talk about just about anything. This reunion during meals also helps people with remembering loved ones who have passed and of just much simpler times (A New Look at Appalachian Food).
Although relatively simple, Appalachian cuisine is unbelievably flavorful. Meals could range anywhere from just two ingredients, i.e. lard and beans, to a multiple course meal consisting of a meat, beans, vegetables, bread, jams, and desserts (Black 2016). Currently, many chefs, particularly those who are Appalachian natives are working towards putting Appalachian cuisine in the local and national spotlight. These chefs are opening new restaurants that are featuring authentic Appalachian food, giving non-natives the chance to taste the local cuisine while also allowing the chefs to educate the general public on the food (Black 2016). Additionally, Appalachia has become a place of diverse food exchange, as non-natives are bringing new foods to area while simultaneously experiencing traditional Appalachian cuisine. Because of their efforts, many websites are beginning to publish articles and stories on this growing effort. While for a period of time, most online information about Appalachian cuisine could be found only on discussion boards, where natives of Appalachia could swap and discuss recipes (Casey-Sturk 2017). Now, websites such as The New York Times and The Washington Post are bringing Appalachian cuisine to the nation’s attention. Based on my findings, typical Appalachian food is becoming more modernized by local chefs who have a desire to place Appalachian cuisine in the spot light (Black 2016). Many chefs are taking traditional recipes and are giving them a more modern twist in hopes of attracting outsiders to the wonders of Appalachian cuisine. One example of a modernized Appalachian meal, made by chef Travis Milton, is a smoked venison, drizzled with a sauce made of malted sassafras and black birch syrup, and smoked collard greens (Black 2016). This meal is much more extravagant than the traditional Appalachian meal, but the purpose of it is to attract the attention of people who are unfamiliar with Appalachian food. To my surprise however, it was rather difficult to find truly older and traditional recipes to compare the more modern recipes to. The only way that certain recipes have been “modernized” is by replacing certain ingredients with ones that are much easier to come by. For example, a more traditional recipe for biscuits calls for lard, as opposed to a more modern version which replaces the lard for butter or shortening while leaving all other aspects of the recipe the same.
My attempted recreation of the biscuits and sausage gravy I had eaten many years ago turned out better than any of the other times I had tried to make it. I am unsure if it was the fact that I had a different biscuit recipe or if it was the same gravy recipe that my best friend’s grandmother gave me that made a difference in quality. Below are the recipes I used and images of the entire cooking process, along with a description of each step.
Biscuit Recipe:
- 2 cups of self-rising flour
- 1–2 tablespoons of shortening
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Lady, The Southern. “Cathead Biscuits — The Southern Lady Cooks — Old Fashioned Recipe.” The Southern Lady Cooks, 28 Oct. 2018, thesouthernladycooks.com/2013/05/23/mamas-cathead-biscuits/.
Best friend’s grandmother’s Gravy recipe:
- 3 tablespoons of grease/oil/butter
- Enough flour to absorb grease
- Varying amount of milk depending on desired amount of gravy
- Salt and Pepper
Works Cited:
- “A New Look at Appalachian Food.” THE BITTER SOUTHERNER, bittersoutherner.com/a-new-look-at-appalachian-food-with-chief-mike-costello-of-lost-creek-farms/.
- Black, Jane. “The next Big Thing in American Regional Cooking: Humble Appalachia.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 Mar. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/the-next-big-thing-in-american-regional-cooking-humble-appalachia/2016/03/28/77da176a-f06d-11e5-89c3-a647fcce95e0_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.46b21e70616c.
- Casey-Sturk, Mary. “Appalachian Foods: Defining Generations.” Smoky Mountain Living, 8 May 2017, www.smliv.com/features/appalachian-foods-defining-generations/.
- “Cuisine of the Southern United States.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Nov. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_the_Southern_United_States. (Cuisine 2018)
- Lady, The Southern. “Cathead Biscuits — The Southern Lady Cooks — Old Fashioned Recipe.” The Southern Lady Cooks, 28 Oct. 2018, thesouthernladycooks.com/2013/05/23/mamas-cathead-biscuits/.
- “Tradition and Taste: An Appalachian Christmas Breakfast.” PorterBriggs.com, 6 Dec. 2017, porterbriggs.com/tradition-amd-taste-an-appalachian-christmas-breakfast/. (Tradition 2017)
