h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Does Gumbo File not qualify here? Mind you, my knowledge of Southern US Cuisine doesnt extend far beyond the lyrics of Dr John.

With a somewhat greater degree of authority, I think I can tell you that Chitterlings are known in the UK as Chitterlings, and Black Pudding is actually a sausage , in which the prime ingredient is pigs blood, with added blobs of fat and miscellaneous left overs. The sensitive souls that buy product for supermarkets probably prefer versions containing liver, kidney and other offal (which brings us to ducks, or faggots - now I've lost you! - and onwards to haggis) but the original black pudding is basically cooked congealed blood in a sausage casing, which, for the purist, may well be made from intestine.

A quick apology to the Scottish Nation. I do realise that faggots are Pig and haggis is sheep, I just got carried away with my offal.

And what about Jambalaya?????????????????????????????
'G'

And Red Beans and Rice?

I dunno. You could do a completely different entry on New Orleans cuisine. Please understand that most of the South does not serve gumbo, for instance.

Perhaps this entry should be renamed: A Guide to Standard Cuisine in the Deep South, USA. A different guide should probably be created for New Orleans (Louisiana) cuisine. Another could also be done on Texas and New Mexico cuisine, which includes the best in barbecue, spicy tex-mex, breakfast tacos (also called breakfast burritos) and so on.

Most of the south primarily uses butter, salt, and gravy to liven up the local dishes. The areas where other spices are used are actually the exception, in my opinion. I thought this article did a very good job of covering standards fare that you are likely to find no matter where you travel in the South.

I agree. Gumbo and jambalaya are Cajun, which is not considered "Southern" in culinary terms, although it is geographically.

As a yankee (that's an American from the northeast), I'm not all that familiar with Southern cooking, but I am wondering why soul food and hush puppies weren't mentioned. Soul food is African-american cooking and is mostly considered southern, and hush puppies are deep-fried corn bread, usually served with seafood.

I accept absolutely the 'cajun' distinction, and withdraw Gumbo from contention, but why are you eating faux suede shoes (worthy of an entry in their own right...hush puppies I mean) Didn't Carl Perkins once sing of something similar???

All over the world you will find indiginous cuisine that had, of necessity, to be inventive and imaginative in using the 'left-overs' as of course, the rich always got the best bits of an animal, the best grades of rice, corn etc.. Sadly (is it?) these dishes are becoming less and less used in our rush to industrialise and standardise our food, and will be relegated to the status of curiosities in a few generations time. There are many already who would spurn the chance to eat chitterlings, pigs blood etc.

Can someone explain what Hominy Grits are? (Is that the right spelling?)

Hominy is just corn. I think it has been prepared a certain way (just how I am not sure) before cooking, and it may refer to a certain variety of corn that is inedible until it has been prepared in just this way.

Somewhere, there is a little voice in the back of my head saying "the corn is soaked in lime (the mineral kind)" but I don't much trust the voice in my head.

The lack of hush puppies was an oversite on my part.

I'm not sure if its lime, but I know hominy is treated with an alkali.

Lye. The little voice in my head mumbles a bit, which is why I heard "lime".

But the question was actually "what are hominy grits" - I hope Pheroneous didn't need a quick answer, it's been 5 years since he asked.

Anyway, grits are best described as corn porridge.