The Food of Cajun Country

Food has always been an important part of Cajun life. Louisiana abounds with wildlife, fish, and soil meant for growing rice, sugar cane, and other products. Seafood, such as crawfish and shrimp, are an important part of the Cajun diet.

Click the PLAY button on the QuickTime movie below, to hear Chef Folse talk about the history of Louisiana cooking!

Cajun cooking was influenced heavily by other cultures. The English brought recipes for seafood and vegetables. Africans brought okra and other recipes. Germans brought meat cooking techniques to the German Coast, and the Italians brought pastas and the belief that cooking and eating should be a joyous occasion.

Cajuns love spicy foods. The theory is that hot spices were used to enhance the taste of the poor cuts of meats, and wild game, that the Cajuns ate. The most famous Cajun hot sauce, TABASCO ® brand, is made only at Avery Island, Louisiana. Avery Island is home to the world-famous McIlhenny Company and hot sauce farm and factory.

Cajuns eat a lot of rice, which grows well in the wet soil of south Louisiana. The Konriko Rice Mill is located in New Iberia. Rice is an important parts of the Cajun diet, and rice farming is an important way of life in Louisiana.

Favorite Cajun dishes include jambalaya, gumbo, turtle sauce piquante, andouille sausage, boudin sausage, soft-shell crab, shrimp dishes, crawfish étoufée, crawfish bisque, crawfish pie, red beans and rice, and more.

The distinctions between Creole and Cajun cooking are subtle, yet important. Creole dishes incorporate much Italian influence. A red jambalaya (using a tomato sauce) is characteristic of the Creoles while a brown jambalaya is typical of the Cajuns. Pasta dishes are rarely found in a purely Cajun cookbook, but today we are seeing both cuisines evolve along with the changing cultures.

Crawfish (known elsewhere as crayfish) are an important part of the Cajun diet. Crawfish can be found everywhere in south Louisiana including rice fields, lakes, and puddles. Louisiana's main sources of crawfish are the Atchafalaya Basin and the many commercial ponds in which they are cultivated. Louisiana produces many of the world's crawfish. Prime months for obtaining crawfish are February and March.

Click here to learn all about "crawfishin!"

Cajuns tend to wrap social events around eating and the sharing of food. Cajun Mardi Gras and a boucherie are two celebrations that are centered around sharing food.

Some famous Cajun chefs include John Folse and Paul Prudhomme.

Videos courtesy of Louisana Public Broadcasting and Chef John Folse.

"LUNCH LOUISIANA STYLE" courtesy of Louisiana Public Broadcasting and the Louisiana Office of Food and Nutrition, Copyright 1992.