Fried Chicken Is Soul Food & Should Be Honored And Embraced As Such

[xfundy]

34. I grew up on soul food and love it.

When I cook it, though, I try to make it less full of fat, salt, etc., but still love getting a taste of the "real" stuff.

Slaves in America had to get by on scraps, things "proper" (pffft) slaveholders would give them to try to live on. Still, many of the recipes they concocted were as good or better than the "acceptable" food on the rich's plates. And, not all "whites" in the south were slaveholders, many were dirt poor and food preparation and tasting has a way of getting around no matter how much one group may distrust the other.

Yes, many "whites" in the south succummed to the political memes telling them they were somehow better because at least they weren't "n***ers," while both lived in squalor, but when at times they worked together in the kitchens of the rich, the recipes and methods passed between hands and minds and great cuisines were born. There had to be cooperation at times when people of all "colors" were trying to keep their families from starving as the rich assholes were preoccupied with war or had abandoned their indentured servants to the elements.

Nutritionists discovered many years later that "greens" are among the most beneficial foods one can consume for health.

As for myself, I find no comfort as valuable as blackeye peas, greens and cornbread with pot likker, fried okra and sweet potatoes (which are different from yams). And I prefer my chicken baked for health reasons, but refuse to give up fried catfish.

I used to spend some time in Charlotte, NC on business, frequented a soul food restaurant there, and always felt welcome. Never saw what Billo Reilly feared, "More sweet tea, M*** F***."