What You Need to Know About Cajun Cooking
Posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010 at 2:43 pm
The terms “Cajun” and “Creole” seem to confuse many not from the region. These are used to describe two types of cooking that are popular in Louisiana. Many people explain that Creole cooking involves a more classic approach to a recipe. Cajun cooking is generally known to be more spicy or peppery. Both styles are unique and offer a large variety of choices.
Building Blocks of Cajun Cooking
In the 1980s the term Cajun cooking really became popular. When people hear the words Cajun cooking, they often think of blackened chicken. Even though this is strongly associated with Cajun cooking it’s not what many Cajuns consider traditional.
Cajuns are an ethnic group that is found in Louisiana. Cajuns settled there after leaving Canada in exile. Cajuns can trace their roots to the Acadian people, a group of people from France that settled in Canada. They use a very distinct French dialect. After they were exiled from Canada, the Cajuns brought their culture and traditions to the United States. These traditions remain active today in the form of Cajun cooking.
There are many traditional recipes that have been passed down for generations. Many of these Cajuns will guard their secret recipes and keep it within the culture. In this type of cooking, often exact measurement is not used. There is a “pinch of this” and a “dash of that”.
The Cajun cooking style uses many spices, fat, butter and garlic. These recipes may not be the healthiest, but they do have flavor.
Cajun Cooking Ideas
Due to its origin in the Louisiana many of the Cajun cooking recipes involve local seafood. There are many recipes that use ingredients such as onions, mayonnaise, mustard, butter, lemon juice, and of course a lot of spices. These ingredients are combined and then poured on the catfish and baked. Shrimp is commonly used, but so is alligator and crawfish. These Cajun cooking selections make for an authentic choice when attempting to create a Cajun style feast. If you need some recipe ideas there are a lot of Cajun cooking books available that can help you make this style of food.
A wide variety of spices are used in Cajun cooking to build a depth of flavor. Using pepper, parsley flakes, garlic powder, hot pepper, curry powder, and people can make their own Cajun spices at home. Experiment with spicy flavors and make your very own and unique Cajun spices.
As you feel more adventerous you can create many special cajun spice mixes. Making your own style of Cajun spices to be used on everything from French fries to chicken, will add a new taste and texture to all your meals.
Visit Cajun Cooking for recipes and more.