Southern Food

Southern Soul Food

Soul food and Southern food are extremely similar, and many Southern food recipes can also be classed as soul food recipes. The Southern food crock pot is a great addition to any kitchen’s crockery collection, and numerous traditional Southern food recipes are cooked in a crock pot. Fried Southern food is also extremely popular, especially Southern fried chicken.


Soul food is the traditional food of the African-American people, and Southern food is that which originated in the Southern American States. The two cooking styles are extremely similar, however, as most soul food recipes were created by the Southern states’ African-American slaves. Southern soul food is known for combining carbohydrate rich foods that are high in energy and, unfortunately, fat, with nutritional greens and tasty fried breads.

One of the traditional ways of preparing Southern foods is in the Southern food crock pot, a large slow cooker where foods can be left to stew for several hours. Crock pots operate at lower temperatures than other cooking methods and use a liquid base into which the dish’s other ingredients are placed and then boiled. The Southern food crock pot should be kept closed at all times in order to guard against the dispersal of heat.

Favorite Southern food recipes include the following:

  1. Breads: tasty Southern bread dishes include hushpuppies, which are bread balls made from a mixture of cornmeal and onions that is salted and then deep fried, and waffles
  2. Vegetables: Southern food recipes include fairly unusual vegetables like okra, collard greens and black-eyed peas
  3. Meats: batter-fried chicken gizzards, oxtail soup, smoked and flavored hamhocks and pickled pigs feet are meat dishes found on a Southern food menu
  4. Desserts: favorite Southern desserts include red velvet cake, peach cobbler and banana pie
  5. Relishes and sauces: these include the sweet sorghum molasses as well as the spicy chow-chow made from cabbage, okra, hot peppers and other vegetables

Throughout the U.S., Fried Southern food, especially Southern fried chicken is particularly popular and has prompted the establishment of a number of national fast food chain restaurants both in the USA and overseas. Southern food recipes traditionally serve Southern fried chicken with biscuits, chunks of cornbread, corn-on-the-cob or mashed potatoes and gravy.

Southern soul food is extremely tasty but is also extremely rich and, if gourmands are looking for alternative food recipes, they should perhaps try Chinese food, Indian food or Thai food.