Sunday, January 15, 2012

Heaven on Earth: Southern Cooking

Southern cooking is known to be nutritious, fun and delicious. Food cooked through the southern method comes with a mix of influences from the Irish to the French and even the African Americans. When it comes to this kind of cooking, there are several varieties including Cajun and Floribbean.

For areas in the south of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Texas, and Oklahoma, their lively culture is well represented when it comes to the food that they cook. Aside from squash, corn is another famous ingredient in these parts. American Indians back in the day used to prepare their food through pit roasting and the practice continued to the day and these days, one kind of southern cooking involves the use of a deep pit barbecue.

When it comes to the south, people do love their flour, milk, and sugar. This influence came from Europe. The South loves to have full breakfast in the morning, which is why baked products and dairy products such as bread and cheese are well received.

A typical Southern meal includes pan-fried chicken, side bread, peas, plenty of greens, and mashed potato. After eating a lot of food, a cobbler finishes everything off. Most of the soups that Americans enjoy on a regular basis have actually originated from the south.

Most of the time, southerners make and eat pies with pecan or apple fillings while the vegetables that they love include everything from okra to squash. Garden salads or fruit salads are eaten by southerners regularly and when it comes to breads, rolls and biscuits are conventional. Southerners are also particular when it comes to table settings as eating on a nice table makes the experience more pleasing.

Something that can never be absent is corn bread. Southern food lovers have just got to have their cornbread, since there is “always hot bread” in a southern kitchen. When it comes to a southern meal, one of these three, biscuits, corn bread, or rolls, should be present.

Aside from flour, corn bread is made with the use of ingredients such as baking soda, baking powder, and salt. It is important for milk, eggs, and shortening to be added to these basic ingredients. Some add sugar while some do not.

A dash of sugar can be added in the end when you have combined flour, eggs, milk, and shortening to create your corn bread mix. Remember to combine all elements for a great dough. Put the mixture into muffin tins that have been lined with grease.

Southern cornbread is distinctly hot when served, as are southern biscuits. They normally set oven temperatures beyond 400 degrees. Before the corn bread is cooked, the skillet is sprinkled with cornmeal and every now and then, the bread is turned in the pan.

When it comes to the dough, it is important for the dough to be as thin as possible. This is just one example of southern cooking and some of its secrets. There are many other tips for this kind of cooking that applies to other southern fares.

Are you interested to learn more about southern cooking? If so, hitting the link will help a lot.