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Cajun Cooking & Creole Food
The Similarities and Differences
The differences between Cajun cooking and the Creole styles of cooking are often confused by those outside of the state of Louisiana. There are many similarities of the cuisines, most of which stem from the similar backgrounds of the two. But there is one food ingredient that is responsible for most of the difference in the two cuisines.In the early part of 17th-century France, people from Provence immigrated to Nova Scotia (then called Acadia), Canada, establishing a colony. By the mid-18th century the British position in Canada became stronger, forcing the people of Nova Scotia to migrate once again. This time they settled in Louisiana. Other people from different parts of France had previously migrated to Louisiana in the 17th century. The folks from Novia Scotia settled in the bayou country, west of New Orleans. The pronunciation of their name, Acadians, eventually was shortened to Cadiens, which later transformed into Cajuns. Cajun cooking was based on local ingredients, and their ideas came from rural French home cooking, with some Canadian influences brought in. From this, a style of cooking arose among the Cajun people that distinguished itself from the "higher-end" French cooking that was already established in New Orleans (Creole cooking). The less sophisticated Cajun cooking was wilder, bolder, and hotter. Creole cooking arose from well-to-do families who could afford to have a cook. These cooks were often African slaves from West Africa, and later free Haitian black settlers. A mixture of homestyle spicy cooking from Africa, combined with French cooking techniques, as well Sicilian, Mexican, Native American, and Spanish influences, all combined to form Creole food. In New Orleans today, the Sicilians were responsible for Creole cooking's "red gravy," spicy tomato sauce, and muffaletta, which is a kind of large sandwich. Cajun cooking resembles Creole cooking in many aspects. This is because both of the Louisiana cuisines use many of the same foods. Crayfish, oysters, shrimp, okra, pork, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes, are just a few of the food products common to the two cuisines. What separates the two cuisines the most is that Cajuns use significant amounts of hot chiles, especially in dried and ground forms. A few of the Cajun dishes include gumbo, etouffee, po' boy sandwiches, and jambalaya. All of these creations incorporate at least some chile spice. The cayenne pepper is the most popular of the chiles in the Cajun cuisine, used in some form in virtually every Cajun dish. The most famous chile of the Cajuns is the Tobasco. The Tobasco chile is the only South American chile that is cultivated on a large scale for commercial use in the United States.
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