02/13/2024
A little Louisiana Black History (on the food side)
Gumbo can be traced to West Africa, where in several languages the word for okra is ki gumbo. This okra is used as a thickener in original versions of gumbo. To make gumbo a base is prepared, vegetables are cooked and then meat is added. Shellfish and seasonings are added toward the end of the cooking process. This dish is then served over rice.
History
The true story of gumbo starts in 1719 when enslaved Africans were brought to the French colony in Louisiana. Within two years, more than half of the population was made up of African slaves who brought their mighty fine cooking skills with them. Even before written references to gumbo were taken, these Africans knew how to cook gumbo and would prepare it in kitchens for their owners. The dish today still spans all class barriers and ethnicities, just like it did when it was first brought to America. That might be why it is the official dish of Louisiana.
The first written reference to the dish gumbo was in 1764 when a 50-year old slave was interrogated because she was suspected of being in cahoots with slaves who had stolen clothes and a pig. She was asked if she had given another slave un Gombe au and she admitted that she did.
About two years later, a French journalist made a reference to gumbo saying that an American plant leaf was ground and used to thicken the dish. File powder, or ground Sassafras, was used to make gumbo because it was more readily available than okra (which was prevalent in Africa). In Africa, they would dry the okra in the sun, then grind it into a powder. That is the original base for gumbo.
In the late 1800s, gumbo was cited in many cook books. But gumbo didn’t become a truly popular dish throughout the country until the 1970s when it was added to the United States Senate cafeteria menu in honor of Louisiana Senator Allen Ellender.
Before the late 1880s, gumbo was made with any number of thickeners depending on the house and roots of the chef making the dish. Some used the African vegetable okra, some file powder and others, a roux (a French base made from flour and fat). In the 1950s, the actual term roux was first used to describe the base of flour and fat used to make some gumbo dishes. This sparked a culinary revolution in New Orleans and instant roux packages were sold so that anyone could successfully make gumbo, spaghetti or gravy. From then on, roux became widespread kitchen knowledge and has been the base for gumbo ever since.
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