Cuisine of the Southern United States facts for kids

The cuisine of the Southern United States is the traditional food from states generally south of the Mason–Dixon line. This area stretches from Maryland and Delaware down to Florida, and west to southern Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas.

Southern cooking has been shaped by many cultures. It blends flavors and techniques from African, English, Scottish, Irish, French, and Native American traditions. Over time, Southern food has become very popular across the United States.

States shown in dark red are usually considered Southern.

Many foods and cooking methods come from Native American tribes in the Southeast. These include squash, tomatoes, corn, and deep-pit barbecuing. From Europe, the South got sugar, flour, milk, and eggs. The love for fried foods comes from Scotland.

African influences are also very strong. Foods like black-eyed peas, okra, rice, eggplant, sesame seeds, sorghum, and melons, along with many spices, came from Africa. For example, many enslaved people brought to Virginia were from the Igbo people, and you can still find similar flavors in Southern and Nigerian dishes today.

The idea of a big breakfast, different from a simple bread and drink, comes from the British "full breakfast." Many Southern meals are Scottish or Border meals adapted to the warmer climate. Pork became popular instead of lamb, and chopped hominy took the place of oats.

Some parts of the South have their own special cooking styles:

• Creole food in Louisiana mixes French, West African, and Spanish flavors.
• Floribbean food in Florida has strong Caribbean and Spanish influences.
• Tex-Mex food in Texas blends Mexican and Native American traditions.

Popular Southern Dishes

Biscuits are often served with honey.

A classic Southern meal often includes pan-fried chicken, field peas (like black-eyed peas), and greens. These greens might be collard greens, mustard greens, or turnip greens. Other common sides are mashed potatoes, cornbread, and sweet tea. For dessert, people often enjoy a pie, such as sweet potato, pecan, or peach pie. Cobblers with peach or blackberry are also popular.

Other well-known Southern foods include grits, country ham, hushpuppies, and beignets. You might also find chicken fried steak, buttermilk biscuits, pimento cheese, and baked sweet potatoes. Pit barbecue and fried catfish are favorites too. Many dishes feature okra, which can be fried, steamed, or stewed.

Fried chicken is one of the most famous Southern foods. It's thought that Scottish immigrants brought the idea of deep-frying chicken in fat to the South. Pork is also a very important part of Southern cooking. For example, Stuffed ham is popular in Southern Maryland. In Virginia and the Carolinas, a "pig pickin'" is a holiday gathering where a whole hog is barbecued. Green beans are often cooked with bacon and salt pork. Ham biscuits, which are biscuits with slices of ham, are a common breakfast item.

Coleslaw is another popular side dish. It's often served with barbecued or fried meats.

Southern Food in Restaurants

Restaurants that serve Southern food, often called "comfort food," are very successful. Some chains, like KFC, have spread worldwide. Others stay mainly in the South. Pit barbecue restaurants are common throughout the rural South. Many of these are local, family-owned places, not big chains. You can find family-style restaurants serving Southern food everywhere, from simple diners to fancy places.

Southern Food by Region

Fried chicken is a classic Southern dish.

Southern food changes quite a bit depending on where you are:

• In Southern Louisiana, you'll find Creole cuisine. Louisiana is also the biggest supplier of crawfish in the U.S.
• Along the coast of South Carolina, rice was a key crop. This led to dishes like "Hoppin' John" (rice and Black-eyed peas with salt pork) and Charleston Red Rice.
• Arkansas is known for rice and sweet corn, which are important foods in its southeastern region.
• Virginia is famous for Smithfield ham.
• Mississippi and Alabama produce most of the catfish in the United States.

Generally, the Upper South (like Kentucky and Tennessee) prefers pork, sorghum, and whiskey. The Low Country (coastal Georgia and South Carolina) favors seafood, rice, and grits. In Appalachia, people use a lot of butter and eat more wild game, fruits, and vegetables. Apples, oats, and potatoes are also common there. Texas and Oklahoma, which are closer to the Great Plains, tend to eat more beef. Most of the rest of the South prefers pork.

Images for kids

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  A dish of fried shrimp, fish, corn, and hushpuppies

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  The original Frenchy's Restaurant in Houston, Texas

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  Dishes typical of Louisiana Creole cuisine

See also

In Spanish: Gastronomía del sur de Estados Unidos para niños