CATERING TO CULTURES by Alisha Green Though the term soul food
was not applied to the Southern African-American style of
cooking until the 1960s, the food carries a long history and a
deep tradition with a meaning that goes beyond just food for
many people. The tradition of soul food begins in the slave
trade. Africans brought their knowledge of ingredients and food
preparation and applied it to make the most of the small
quantities of food and scraps they were often given. They used
familiar ingredients from Africa such as okra, sorghum, and rice
to supplement the meager amounts they were given by enslavers.
They made the most of even the poorer cuts of meat and the
vegetables that were available, adding seasonings of onions,
peppers, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Many soul food recipes
have been handed down verbally and use approximations - a result
of relying on making things "to taste" when measuring cups and
spoons weren't available. This makes the cuisine more
customizable for a wide variety of tastes an