Planation South

The Plantation South

Background

The Plantation South culinary region begins south of the Mason-Dixie Line in north central Maryland. It engulfs the Appalachian Mountains and moves down south. The Plantation South stays on the eastern side of the Mississippi River and does not include Louisiana as it culinarily a different region. Then it moves as far south into Florida just at the midpoint of the state. There gets a point where Florida region becomes influenced by the Puerto Rico and the Virgin Island. Some will say that there is a subregion in the Plantation South that involves Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and the northern parts of Florida. This subregion is called the Deep South. 

Native American Culture 

For a time, the tribes the populated the Plantation South were the Catawba, Cherokees, Creeks, Chickasaws, Tuskegee, and the Powhatans. Their main source of protein were fish, large and small game such as bear, whitetail deer, duck, possum, and racoon to name a few. They also used beans as a source of protein. Their name source of starch was maize (dried corn). The method in which the Native Americans would grind the maize would eventually be called grits. Their primary produce would be squashes, pumpkins, sunflower roots and wild greens. The Native Americans in the Plantation South preferred to season their food with wild garlic and onion, wild herbs, and fruits. 

Modern Elements of Plantation South Cuisine

Each region had defining elements and ingredients that make the unique to their region. Here is the element of common Plantation South Cuisine:

• Protein: Pork, dried beans, poultry and seafood
• Starches: Cornmeal dishes, wheat flour quick breads, rice
• Produce: Collard greens, turnips and turnip greens, green beans, okra and sweet corn
• Seasonings: smoked, cured and smoked seasoned meats, cayenne peppers, hot sauce, thyme, sage, granulated onion and garlic. 

Cooking Plantation South Cuisine

As part as of our class, we cook a few recipes from each culinary region. For the Plantation South, we made:

• Pan Fried Catfish with Tartar Sauce, Collard Greens and a Cheesy Grit Souffle 
• Peachy Duck with Mashed potatoes and a Cheddar Broccoli Salad
• Berry Biscuit Shortcake

For the most part, the dishes turned out okay. The catfish dish turned out fine with the grit souffle. We had used instant instead of a regular type where it would absorb most of the liquid. I had to cut back on the milk and keep an eye on the time it was in the oven. Once most of the top was golden brown and had risen significantly, I had pulled it out.

We had started this course in the winter and so finding peaches were hard to find. We had pivoted to making a citrus gastrique. I think it was orange, but I can’t be 100% sure. All the other components turned out well.

The Shortcake could have been better. I’m not sure what had happened, but the biscuit turned out to be more like cookies than anything. It had tasted okay. I think also why our plating looked so messy was because we had used frozen fruit instead of fresh so there was a lot of liquid on the plate.