Soul food

Soul food is the ethnic cuisine of African Americans.^[1][2] It originated in the American South from the cuisines of enslaved Africans trafficked to the North American colonies through the Atlantic slave trade during the Antebellum period and is closely associated (but not to be confused with) the cuisine of the American South.^[3] The expression "soul food" originated in the mid-1960s when "soul" was a common word used to describe African-American culture.^[4] Soul food uses cooking techniques and ingredients from West African, Central African, Western European, and Indigenous cuisine of the Americas.^[5] Soul food came from the blending of what African Americans ate in Africa and what was available to them as slaves. The cuisine initially had its share of negativity. Soul food was seen as low-class food, and African Americans in the North looked down on their (formerly) Black Southern counterparts who preferred soul food (see The Great Migration).^[6] The concept evolved from describing the food of slaves in the South, to being taken up as a primary source of pride in the African American community even in the North, such as in New York City.^[7]

Soul food historian Adrian Miller explains the difference between soul food and Southern food is that soul food is intensely seasoned and uses a variety of meats to add flavor to food and adds a variety of spicy and savory sauces. These spicy and savory sauces add robust flavor. This method of preparation was influenced by West African cuisine where West Africans create sauces to add flavor and spice to their food. Also, Black Americans add sugar to make cornbread, while "white southerners say when you put sugar in corn bread, it becomes cake...".^[8]