If you’re an enthusiastic foodie and a lover of global cooking shows, you’ll often see Louisiana Southern cooking featured as an American favourite – sticky ribs and delectable gumbo spring to mind. But when we think of Southern cooking, we tend to group Cajun and Creole together as the same thing, while there’s actually a difference between the two – the main one being that Creole cuisine uses tomatoes while Cajun doesn’t – but there are other subtle differences too.
CAJUN CUISINE
Les Acadians, which is where the word ‘Cajun’ comes from, were French colonists who settled in the French Louisiana region officially known as The Heart of Acadiana. Eventually a melting pot of people with Native American, German, French and Italian roots, they were a very resourceful people who, without modern luxuries like refrigerators, learned to use every part of the animal so that nothing went to waste. Cajun food is famous for its seasoning – not necessarily spicy, although they can be heavy-handed with cayenne pepper at times, and most dishes begin with a base consisting of onion, celery and bell pepper. They also love to add flavour with garlic, paprika, thyme and ground sassafras leaves.
CREOLE CUISINE
Creole, on the other hand describes the group of people who were born to settlers in French colonial Louisiana, more specifically New Orleans. Typically the term ‘French Creole’ referred to a person of European ancestry, while ‘Louisiana Creole’ referred to someone of mixed racial ancestry. Like Cajun food, Creole food is also a blend of many different cultures including Italian, Spanish, African, German, Caribbean, Native American and Portuguese. Because members of Creole society were more well-to-do, they had greater access to resources which meant their dishes carried a wider variety of spices and at times more exotic ingredients – one of the reasons why you’ll find tomatoes in a Creole jambalaya, but not in its Cajun counterpart.
Because of their affluence and original access to more ingredients, Creole cuisine is often considered a little more high-brow than Cajun. Another very simple way to discern between the two is that Cajun is thought of as country food, while Creole is thought of as city food. Regardless of the subtle differences, what matters most is that both cuisines are fragrant and delicious, so if you’re in the mood for a jambalaya, whether Cajun or Creole, remember that the quality of the dish depends on the quality of the meat, and for that you can’t beat Johannesburg and Cape Town meat wholesalers, N1 – specialising in quality, service and delivery!
Sources: Louisiana Travel
