Supplement. American Cuisine. Southern cooking. Read the presentation given by Herbert a. Exum, Ph.D., Fulbright Professor of Education at the University of Joensuu

What is it? Hardly anything is truly American. American cuisine is a mixture of all of its European, African, Asian, and Amerindian derivatives. Perhaps the idea of "fast foods" with their emphasis on simplicity and technology is a decidedly American contribution to world cuisine.

But there are very strong regional characteristics in American Cuisine. The concepts of breakfast, lunch and dinner foods can change dramatically from region to region. The exception now being in college or university towns where almost everything is available.

Today I would like to concentrate on Southern cooking as practiced in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. This includes the states between Maryland and South Carolina on the eastern seaboard. The distinctive flavor groups and preparation styles in this area are the Maryland Chesapeake Bay style, the Calabash Style of coastal North Carolina and northern SC, and the Low Country style of eastern South Carolina. Home-style and Soul Food are the flavor groups that a common throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

The characteristics of Southern cooking include an emphasis on fried foods, green leafy vegetables, seafood, pork and pork products, corn meal, rice, and grits. With the exception of ground beef or hamburger, beef is not a major component of traditional southern cuisine. Distinctive flavors include sage, coriander, bay leaf, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and salt.

All meals tend to be large, will have gravies or heavy sauces, sweetened ice tea and heavy deserts.

The most unusual food for non-Southerners in traditional southern fare is probably grits. Grits is a corn product somewhat like corn meal in color and consistency but grits is actually ground hominy. Now what is hominy? Hominy is the product that results from soaking whole corn kernels in a lime solution to remove the husk. I have no idea why you would want to do this.

In any case, grits can be served hot with butter or gravy or plain as a side dish with breakfast, dinner, or supper. There is no "lunch" in traditional southern fare. The mid-day meal is called dinner. In small restaurants or cafes grits will come with your meal on your plate.

It has the consistency of applesauce and will probably be white though some grits are yellow. Grits looks like Cream of Wheat, or Farina if you are familiar with those products. Grits and gravy is very popular as an entree. So is grits and shrimp but only in Low country style. It has a very mild flavor so often non-southerners do not even eat it. However, the grits are there to be mixed with something else, not just eaten alone. Typically, people mix their eggs and grits, but anything goes.

A traditional Southern breakfast will include bacon, sausages link or patty, ham or country ham, eggs, grits, gravy, biscuits--not toasted bread--butter, molasses, and coffee or ice tea. Coffee comes with the meal; not after it. Maryland Chesapeake Bay style may add hash brown potatoes, diced not shredded---the shredded hash browns are characteristic of the mid-west---, and corn muffins while deleting the gravy. Both Calabash and Low country styles may also add boiled shrimp and pan-fried whole fish to the breakfast menu. On Sundays or special occasions, fried chicken may be served for breakfast as well. This is very rare now, however.

The traditional lunch or dinner will include meatloaf, Salisbury steak, fried pork chops, fried chicken, fried fish, fried shrimp, fried oysters, chicken and dumplings or chicken and pastry, collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, potato salad, stewed (sautéed) apples, stewed tomatoes--actually a tomato casserole made with old biscuits, tomatoes, butter, and sugar--, macaroni and cheese (another casserole), okra (fried or whole which are stewed), corn bread, biscuits, and molasses. Sweetened iced tea will also be served.

Okra may be the most unusual item in the dinner menu. Okra is an African vegetable that is a major ingredient in most of southern cooking. The West African word for okra is N'Gumbo. You may recognize gumbo from Creole particularly New Orleans cooking. Okra is the ingredient in gumbo that gives it its consistency. Whole okra are about the size and shape of a human finger. They are a medium shade of green. The may resemble large peppers but they do not have a shiny skin.

They may be chopped coated in flour and then fried or chopped and added to soups and stews. They may be boiled whole or even pickled.

The supper menu is not usually very different from the dinner menu. You could expect more of the same or a different combination of the same. Supper menus do add deserts. Traditional southern desserts include sweet potato pie, coconut custard pie, gingerbread, tipsy pudding and bread pudding. These four desserts tend to be found only in the south. Other southern favorites which are found elsewhere in the country include apple pie, peach pie, pecan pie, chocolate cake, coconut cake, pineapple upside down cake, pound cake, and ice cream. Pies and cakes are very popular.

Crispy Crème donuts are also very popular. These deep fried, very yeasty donuts that have a heavy sugar glaze. This is the only donut that is traditionally southern. No other pastry is part of traditional southern cuisine.

There are probably just four (4) traditional southern eating establishments found in the Mid-Atlantic states. These are the Home-style Café, the Snack Bar, the Barbecue Place, and the Fish House. The menus in the home-style café would be similar to those I have already discussed. The snack bar is a very small café with a long bar where customers sit on stools. The menu consists of hot dogs, hamburgers, other sandwiches, (fish, grilled cheese, and chicken salad or tuna salad) French fries, and an occasional dessert.

The Barbecue Place is a restaurant that specializes in selling pit-barbecued pork and chicken. Pit cooked barbecue means split pigs are roasted over hot coals that come from hickory and oak logs. The pigs are then shredded and chopped by the cooks. The only flavorings added are vinegar, salt, and chopped cayenne peppers. The pork itself is flavored through the slow cooking and the smoke from the woods. This style of barbecuing is done only in the Mid-Atlantic states. Elsewhere, barbecuing involves charcoal grills and various sauces applied to the meats while they cook.

The Fish House sells fried fish, shrimp, oysters, clams, and scallops. Sea trout, flounder, pan trout, catfish and whiting are the favorites in NC. In Maryland, Porgies, and buffalo are also added to the list. Shad and bluefish are seasonal favorites. Sometimes the house also sells clam chowder and oyster stew. The larger houses also serve broiled fish. But seafood coated in flour and corn meal then deep-fried is the main fare. The entrée comes with cole slaw and fried cornmeal bread called "hush puppies." These come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and flavors.

In the Maryland Chesapeake Bay style fish house steamed shrimp, oysters, and mussels are also served. The Maryland Chesapeake Bay style fish house is most noted for the boiled and highly spiced crabs and shrimp that they serve. Huge pots of shrimp and crabs are cooked throughout the day and people come in at lunch or dinner to eat the piles of spiced blue crabs and shrimp that are served there. The crabs are served whole and the shrimp are in the shells. Patrons usually have piles of napkins and newspapers rather than plates.

The Calabash style fish house of NC is known for fried foods but the special secret coating of the seafood is extremely light and the seafood is particularly juicy. The secret of this style of preparation seems to be in the temperature of the oil and the blend of dry ingredients in the coating.

The Low country fish house includes more exotic fare such as crayfish, mussels, turtle, turtle soup and frog legs, and has many more soups and stews. Low country cuisine also includes wine and sherry in many of its dishes. This aspect of Low country cuisine is unique.