National Southern Food Day

Southern food is eaten and celebrated today on National Southern Food Day. Southern food came out of a combination of native foods that grew best in the American South and foods that were brought and adapted to the area. It was created from foods that have Native American, African, and European (particularly British, French, and Irish) roots. Many Southern recipes were adapted from Old World traditions.

Southern food is often rich and hearty, and commonly high in fat and calories. A lot of Southern food is soul food, a cuisine rooted strongly in the African American experience that traditionally used inexpensive and simple ingredients. There are diverse food traditions in the South, and subregions of Southern food. For example, seafood is prevalent on the coast, while the upper South is more influenced by pork; there's Cajun and Creole cuisine in Louisiana, and Tex-Mex out of Texas with influences from Mexico.

Southern fried chicken, an important Southern food, is influenced by European deep-frying techniques and African seasonings. Often eaten for Sunday dinner, it has been popularized outside the South, being one of the best-known Southern foods beyond it. Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) played a large role in its popularization, and there are a number of other regional and national chain restaurants specializing in fried chicken today, such as Popeye's Chicken, Bojangles, and Dave's Hot Chicken. Another prominent way that chicken is eaten in the South is as part of chicken and dumplings.

Spanish settlers brought pigs to the Americas, introducing pork, and barbecue has been associated with celebrations, harvest season, and politics in the South for centuries. Cuts of meat and types of barbecue sauces differ by location. Although in recent years the regional distinctions have often faded as restaurants and consumers have experimented with barbecue from areas that aren't their own, multiple regional variations of meats and barbecue sauces are often tried in the same meal. Barbecue ribs, pulled pork, and brisket are three widely eaten types of barbecue. Deep-pit barbecuing is a way to barbecue meat that has become a tradition passed down from generation to generation.

In addition to fried chicken and barbecue, many other meats are beloved throughout the South, such as chitterlings, chicken-fried steak and other chicken-fried meats, and seafood. Crawfish, shrimp, and catfish are three favored kinds of seafood, with the latter usually being fried and battered in cornmeal.

But Southern food is not only about meat, but vegetables also appear on plates. Native Americans taught European settlers about corn, and corn remains the most important crop used in Southern food. Grits, a porridge made of hulled and coarsely ground corn, is a breakfast staple. Shrimp and grits is a common take on the dish. Cornbread and corn pone are two other Southern favorites that use corn. West Africans were brought to the Americas by force, but brought some of their traditional foods with them, including collard greens and okra, both of which are common in the South today. Coleslaw, made with cabbage and carrots, is served as a side and on top of barbecued and fried meats.

Other Southern staples include gumbo, a stew made with a roux and with rice and meat, and usually thickened with okra. Jambalaya is a pork and rice stew from the New Orleans area. Red beans and rice is another common dish. And what would Southern food be without biscuits? Made mainly with flour, buttermilk, and butter, they have many uses and are often used to make biscuits and gravy.

There are many popular desserts in the South. Pies are a favorite, with some of the most popular being chess pie, pecan pie, key lime pie, peach pie, and sweet potato pie. Banana pudding is made with fresh bananas, vanilla-flavored custard, wafer cookies, and whipped cream. Pralines are a staple confection of the South. King Cake is eaten at the lead-up to and during Mardi Gras. There's even a commonly eaten healthy dessert: watermelon.

Iced tea, usually with sugar and known as sweet tea, is the drink of the South. Soft drinks are also big in the South, with it being the largest producer and consumer of them. Two of the most iconic alcoholic drinks in the South are the Sazerac and mint julep.

Home-cooked Southern food is perhaps the most cherished, but Southern food is served at local and chain restaurants not only in the South, but throughout the United States and around the world. Today, on National Southern Food Day, it is cooked and enjoyed in homes and restaurants in the South, throughout the United States, and around the world.

How to Observe National Southern Food Day

Make Southern food to share with family and friends, or visit the home of someone who is hosting, perhaps bringing a dish to pass. Try your hand at making some of the following Southern foods:

• Southern fried chicken
• barbecue ribs
• pulled pork
• brisket
• chicken and dumplings
• chitterlings
• chicken-fried steak
• crawfish
• Southern fried shrimp
• Southern fried catfish
• grits
• shrimp and grits
• cornbread
• corn pone
• collard greens
• okra
• coleslaw
• shrimp and okra gumbo
• red beans and rice
• biscuits
• biscuits and gravy
• jambalaya
• chess pie
• pecan pie
• key lime pie
• peach pie
• sweet potato pie
• banana pudding
• pralines
• King Cake

Enjoy sweet tea with your Southern food, or mix up a Sazerac or mint julep. If you'd like a healthy dessert, slice up some watermelon.

You could also have Southern food at a restaurant. Regardless if you live in the South or not, there likely are restaurants near you that serve Southern food. You could also pick a restaurant with Southern food from the following lists:

• Notable Southern restaurants
• "The 50 Best Southern Restaurants in America, According to Opentable"
• "The South's Most Legendary Restaurants"
• "The 12 Best Southern Fast Food Chains, According to Our Readers"
• "14 Southern Restaurant Chains the Entire Country Needs"
• "17 Southern Fast Food Chains to Put on Your Road Trip Radar"

Whether you are eating Southern food at home or in a restaurant, make sure to post pictures of your food and how you are sharing, along with the hashtag #NationalSouthernFoodDay.

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