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Country cooking -

Country cooking can't help but conjure up images of rich, hearty, and welcoming food eaten in rustic surroundings. Traditional fare like this is quite often at the heart of family life, with recipes handed down from generation to generation.

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Country cooking -

A favorite country cooking or heirloom recipe is open to all sorts of interpretation. And a creative cook can update it with personal cooking methods and techniques for new and exciting tastes. And the best way to do that is to draw inspiration from classic country dishes that have long tempted our taste buds.

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The casserole -

For example, baked dishes such as casseroles have existed for thousands of years. Casseroles originated as communal pots that people shared for meals, the word likely derived from the diminutive of the French casse, from the Provençal cassa, or "pan." European immigrants to America introduced their love of casseroles in the late 19th century.

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The South -

And speaking of the United States, it's here, and in particular the Deep South, where we find some of the most cherished examples of country cooking.

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Gumbo -

Popular in Louisiana, gumbo is a stew of chicken, sausage, and seafood mixed with the Creole "holy trinity" (celery, bell peppers, and onions), all bathed in a richly-flavored dark roux.

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Grits -

Grits, a kind of porridge made with either hominy or stone-ground corn, is Georgia's official prepared food. A properly cooked pot of grits should be smooth, creamy, and deeply flavorful. Delicious on its own, grits is also great topped with prawn, pork sausage, and melted cheese.

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Chicken-fried steak -

A Southern favorite, chicken-fried steak is a breaded cutlet dish consisting of a piece of tenderized beefsteak coated with seasoned flour and either deep-fried or pan-fried. Yep, you don't actually use chicken when preparing chicken-fried steak. But who cares?

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Cornbread -

Cornbread is one of the country's oldest foods. ​Native Americans were using ground maize as a dietary staple for thousands of years before European explorers arrived on the continent. Homemade cornbread is a wonderful accompaniment for spicy stews.

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Crayfish -

An iconic ingredient in Southern cooking, crayfish are prized freshwater crustaceans. Depending on where you are, these tasty shellfish are also called baybugs, crabfish, crawfish, and crawdaddies.

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Barbecue tradition -

The American barbecue tradition owes its origins to the fusion of many cultural food traditions, including African and Caribbean. But the culture of BBQ was born in the countryside communities of the South. Impoverished families raised hogs in a collective and shared the spoils of slaughter.

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Muscadine -

Muscadine, a grapevine species native to the southeastern and south-central United States, is a fruit favored for its friendly fermentation process. The resulting wine is considered an especially pleasing Southern tipple.

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Cobbler -

Cobbler lends itself to all sorts of fruit fillings, but very often peach or blueberry. A signature Southern dessert, the fruit is covered by flaky biscuits and baked until golden brown. Add a dollop of vanilla ice cream for good measure.

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Biscuits and gravy -

Another traditional Deep South treat is biscuits and gravy. A popular breakfast option, this simple dish of soft dough biscuits covered in white gravy made from the drippings of cooked pork sausage emerged as a distinct regional dish after the Revolutionary War, when stocks of foodstuffs were in short supply.

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Southern brunch -

Southern countryside cooking extends to brunch, though some recipes can prove a tad heavy on the belly... How about chicken-fried steak over pancakes and ice cream? This is more than a meal—it's an excuse for a social gathering!

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What influenced traditional Southern cooking? -

Living off the land was a way of life for the indigenous peoples of North America. They introduced corn to the world and perfected the art of salting, frying, and smoking meat and fish for preservation—skills that were later handed down to the enslaved workers in Southern fields.

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Colonial influence -

The United States also has France and to a lesser extent Spain to thank for its traditional Southern cooking. For example, gumbo is usually called a Cajun dish, but there are both Cajun and Creole varieties. Cajun refers to a group of people of French descent who migrated to Louisiana in the 18th century. Creole can refer to both people of mixed descent and those of French or Spanish descent born in the New World.

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The African-American kitchen -

Besides implementing the skills passed down to them by Native Americans, West African slaves brought new methods of cooking to the rural South. Poor and impoverished, they practiced a simple diet consisting mainly of vegetables, fowl, and fish—base ingredients that today form some of the region's best-known dishes.

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English influence -

Several well-known American country cooking recipes were introduced to the country by English settlers. For example, cobbler originated in the American colonies. But the Brits are famed for their own unique food from the shires.

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Yorkshire pudding -

An essentially British creation, Yorkshire pudding is a baked pudding made from a batter of eggs, flour, and milk or water. Named for a region in northern England, reference to this dumpling-pancake delicacy dates back to the 18th century.

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Shepherd's pie -

Shepherd's pie, sometimes referred to as cottage pie, is another English country recipe with its roots in the 18th century. It's a savory dish of cooked minced meat, typically beef or lamb, topped with mashed potato and baked.

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Liver and bacon casserole -

Poor English country folk raised livestock for sustenance and to barter with. And when it came to eat, nothing was wasted. Liver and bacon casserole bathed in onion gravy and served with mashed potato was typical peasant fare. Rich and filling, the dish was especially welcome during cold winter months.

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Full English breakfast -

The full English breakfast is exactly that—a huge platter of sausages, eggs, bacon, mushrooms, baked beans, fried tomatoes, and toasted bread. This dish has a long history. In fact, it dates back to the 14th century when landed gentry would sit down to a grand hunt breakfast before mounting up and galloping over the English countryside in pursuit of their quarry.

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Black pudding -

A country classic, though perhaps not to everyone's taste, black pudding is actually a sausage made with onion, pork fat, oatmeal, and... congealed blood. It's especially associated with Britain's Black Country region. In Ireland, there's a variety known as drisheen.

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Toad in the Hole -

Remember the Yorkshire pudding? Well it's made all the tastier by adding sausages to the batter and serving it with a thick, rich gravy. A recipe for toad in the hole, so named for the way the sausages resemble toads waiting for their prey in burrows, first appeared in print as early as 1762.

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Steak and kidney pie -

Sometime during the mid-19th century, somebody decided to combine steak with kidney to create one of the great British country staples. The secret is in the pastry—a full double crust is what's required.

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Lancashire hotpot -

Another dish named after a region of Britain, in fact a county in North West England, Lancashire hotpot consists of lamb and onion, topped with sliced potatoes and slowly baked in a pot at a low heat. In the 17th century, the word "hotpot" referred to a sweetened spiced ale. It was only in the 19th century that it was used to describe a recipe.

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Scotch eggs -

Not as you might imagine a delicacy from Scotland, Scotch eggs instead either originate from the town of Whitby in northern England, or were created by the London department store Fortnum & Mason of Piccadilly, depending on what you believe. The eggs are hard boiled and traditionally wrapped in sausage and coated in breadcrumbs before being fried or baked.

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Trifle -

Recipes for trifle were appearing in English cookery books as early as the 16th century. Trifle is easily made with layers of fruit, cake, and cream. For an extra punch, port, raisin wine, or even a shot of whisky can be added.

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Origins of English county cooking -

The colonization of Britain by the Romans introduced a veritable pantry of foodstuffs to the island, for example fruits and vegetables that are still used today, such as cabbage, onion, leeks, peas, carrots, and celery. Cherries and grapes were also introduced.

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Medieval kitchen -

Subsequent colonization by the Saxons and Vikings added new tastes or skills to England's culinary traditions. By the Middle Ages, Britain's country kitchens were typically serving up a dish called pottage, a thick soup containing meat, vegetables, or bran.

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Herbs and spices -

The medieval era also saw the importation from Europe to Britain of exotic herbs and spices, things like black pepper, cloves, ginger, mace, and saffron, though condiments like these were mainly the preserve of the wealthy.

Sources: (History Today)

See also: The health benefits of herbs and spices

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