Delta Culture

REGIONAL CUISINE
Good eating has always been an integral part of just about everything in the South and in the Mississippi River Delta in particular. In the region's primarily agricultural history, home-grown food, self-sustained plantation life, and the "make-do" approach to cooking necessary among African American slaves left a mark on the tastes of the region that is still seen in today's cuisine. Those influences evolved into the birth of "soul" food, which can be found in juke joints, fish shacks and fine dining establishments throughout the region. Be it barbecue, tamales, catfish, renown French fare, or all things fried, the Delta elevates the most basic need for sustenance to celebration status.

Source: Some information obtained from www.wikipedia.org, article title: "Soul Food."
Text by Haley Montgomery, Dux D'Lux Advertising.

THE DELTA MENU
While it is true that most foods eaten in the Delta are eaten elsewhere, it is also true that the brand name “Mississippi Delta” can be applied to a unique set of foodways that has grown out of the fusion of ethnic traditions that reflect the Delta’s singular heritage. African slaves and freedmen brought okra, black eyed peas, watermelon and sorghum from Africa. Chinese brought rice, soybeans, and bananas. Indigenous Americans contributed corn, peppers, peanuts, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and squash. Italian and Lebanese brought pasta, and collards greens and Mexicans brought tamales. The Mississippi itself added catfish. All of these ingredients melded together in a recognizable cuisine: cornbread, yams, fried fish and chicken, okra and tomatoes, rice, and banana pudding, along with biscuits, barbecue, slaw, pimento cheese, chicken spaghetti, and sweet tea — a cuisine loved by all Delta citizens regardless of ethnicity, color, age or class.

Source: Essay written by Luther Brown, Associate Dean for Delta Regional Development, and Director, The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University

Doe's Eat Place in Greenville, Mississippi
Photo courtesy of Mississippi Delta Tourism Association, visitthedelta.com