African-American Recipes

Have you wondered before about the origins of African-American recipes you have seen? Would you like to recreate these wonderful dishes at home? Do you think your family and friends would find them tasty and enjoyable? In the 1600s, slaves were brought from Africa to what were first British colonies. They brought along their style of cooking and used ingredients they found locally for their dishes. The slaves used rice, black-eyed peas, peanuts, sesame seeds, okra, and so much more. They introduced many new recipes to America. During their decades of slavery, African Americans were not given much food for their families, so they did what they could with what was given them. Vegetables, pork, and cornmeal were commonly used. Grits and cornbread are still made today. Since the middle of the 1900s, the interest in culture and cuisine of African Americans has been growing, slowly but steadily. By the 1960s and since that time, African American restauranteurs have served what Americans called "soul food" all over the United States. People from all ethnicities enjoy the tasty greens, spicy poultry and meats, cornbread, and many other Southern-style dishes. Other African American favorites include fried chicken, chitlins, and many types of desserts. Try some of these tasty recipes soon...