Lynyrd Skynyrd's song Sweet Home Alabama pays tribute to the blue skies of Alabama. One could also sing praises for Alabama's ripe, red tomatoes and juicy peaches. Or for the warm hospitality and love for food that characterizes its people.
Alabama is a state endowed with all the bounties of nature. It rivers, coast, and land yield the foods its cuisine is known for. Local Alabama residents are a hardworking people, and it reflects in the food that they cook and eat. Agriculture being the largest occupation in the state, ingredients such as berries, pecans, corn, pumpkins and sweet potatoes find their way into time-tested recipes. One of the best places to sample southern cuisine in the U.S., Alabama is truly a food lover's paradise.
Alabama's culinary style combines the historical and cultural influences of the region. From distinct Cajun and French overtones to African borrowings, from Native American to Spanish influences, Alabama's culinary style is a melting pot which creates a variety of hearty, comforting fare.
The first Europeans to come to Alabama were Spanish seafarers in the 16th Century. When they mingled with the Native American population in the region, they discovered that the natives made good use of the natural resources available to them. The Native American diet consisted of foods like wild turkey, catfish, game, melons, squash, and corn. Their culinary traditions included deep pit barbecuing, still popular in Alabama.
The French were the next set of Europeans to descend upon Alabama. Two French brothers established the first European settlement in Mobile Bay in 1702, and their cooking styles began the Cajun influence on Alabama cuisine. When African slaves were brought into the settlement, they fused their own cooking styles with available items. Wild game met traditional African seasonings, and wild berries a variety of African sauces. This mixture of European, African, and Native American culinary styles gives Southern cuisine its own distinct flair.
Alabama's people love good food, a passion rivaled only by their love for family and entertainment. With all the good eats in Alabama, the state hosts more than half a dozen food festivals every year. Among them are the Alabama Catfish Festival, the annual Peach Festival, the official state barbecue championship, the peanut festival, National Shrimp Festival, and even a festival celebrating okra. Festivals provide the perfect place to enjoy food, fun, and family.
Being a geographically diverse state, Alabama's cuisine uses a wide range of ingredients to create a plethora of quintessentially southern dishes. Apples thrive in northern Alabama, while blackberries and blueberries flourish all over the state. All three are used in salads, tarts, cakes, pies, and preserves, as well as other dishes. Cornbread and baked grits are perennial favorites, and corn is also brewed into liquors such as whiskey. Pumpkins find their way into Thanksgiving pies and quick breads, with roasted pumpkin seeds being a preferred Alabama snack. Sweet potatoes, grown in abundance, commonly are baked in casseroles and pies.
In addition to fresh produce, Alabamans enjoy a wide variety of meat and fish. The most widely consumed meat in Alabama is pork. Apart from pork chops and spare ribs, popular pork dishes include smoked ham hocks, pork and beans, and pickled pig knuckles. Steaks and barbecues are favorite beef dishes. The Gulf Coast provides Alabama's renowned seafood. Seafood specialties abound, with blackened shrimp, seafood platters, crab cakes, crab soup, stuffed gulf snapper, shrimp bisques, and jambalayas being especially popular. Alabama is also the second largest producer of catfish in the U.S. Cooked in different styles across the state, catfish dishes range from grilled catfish to boiled or baked catfish to fried catfish with green tomatoes. In addition to these common meats, the truly adventurous will also find rattlesnake and deer meat.
Alabama's cuisine is hearty and filling, combining the goodness of both fresh vegetables and meats. And if you have a sweet tooth, dig into the numerous pies and cobblers that Alabama is famous for. A must-try are the fried pies, delicious pastries shaped like half moons with fruit fillings such as peach and apple. So whatever your preference might be, you're sure to find something tasty in Alabama. Bon Appetit...
