By Brent Anthony Snyder
Someone recently asked me what I meant when I said a particular recipe labeled as "Cajun" was actually Creole. I said it's all about history.
For example, the French established New Orleans in the French Colony of Louisiana in the year of 1718. But the Cajuns (Acadians) didn't come to Louisiana until 1765. And a lot of foods that many people misidentify as "Cajun" were created in Louisiana long before the Cajuns ever even came to the colony.
Before the Cajuns came to Louisiana, everyone that lived in the French Colony became known as Creoles (which means from the colony). And Louisiana Creoles are made up of more than just the French. From the very start, German immigrants farmed the land around New Orleans and provided the food that fed the city. And local native tribes shared their local ingredients.
The first Africans, both slaves and freemen, came to New Orleans in 1720. From African cooks we get the co-creation and name of the classic Creole dish known as Gumbo - from the Angolan word kingombo for "okra." African cooks also contributed new ideas to French dishes resulting in the Creole classics such as Shrimp Etouffee and Crawfish Etouffee.
In 1722, European immigrants including Italians, Swiss, English, Irish, Scottish and Scandinavians came to New Orleans, bringing their various cuisines with them. From the Germans, we get potato salad as a side for Gumbo, as well as French/German collaborations on Andouille sausage and Boudain. From the English, we get battered/fried fish and bread pudding. From the Italians we got loaves of bread sold in the French Market that became known as "French Bread" (German bakers did the same) - as well as the eventual creation of the classic Muffuletta sandwich, the Po-Boy sandwich, and more.
Spanish and Portuguese immigrants came to New Orleans in 1763, bringing more culinary influences, including a popular dish called Jambalaya. Spanish cooks also introduced red beans and rice, smoked sausage, shrimp, crab, and oysters to the Creole cuisine. From the Spanish and Portuguese we also get the word Creole itself, from the Portuguese crioulo (native to a region) and the Spanish criollo (native to a region).
Finally, the first Cajuns left Eastern Canada and came down to Louisiana in 1765. By that time the Creole people, culture, food and customs were well established.
In 1778 immigrants from the Canary Islands came to Louisiana. In 1791, people from the West Indies, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba and the Caribbean also came to New Orleans. Asian and Central American immigrants followed soon after. Together they all brought even more diverse influences to Creole food and customs.
So why do so many people continue to misidentify Creole cuisine as "Cajun?" Part of the problem is that way too many people - including cooks and restaurant owners - identify themselves as "Cajun" when many times their families are actually descended from Creoles.
On the Louisiana Historic & Cultural Vistas blog (http://www.mylhcv.com/blog-louisiana-historic-and-cultural-vistas/) Christophe Landry writes "Cajunism operates on a Canadian and French identity; many Louisianians who have no Canadian ancestry will dig hard to find one to validate their Cajunité, too. When the genealogy proves unsuccessful, they parade around claiming to be “culturally” Cajun, anything to avoid being Creole. In their minds, Canada and France are where Whites live and come from, which makes Cajun an implicitly white ethno-racial identity."
"That leaves the remaining “Francophones” in Louisiana to continue identifying as Creoles (or, French Creoles, Spanish Creoles, or Black Creoles), making Creole, therefore, an explicitly black/mixed/other ethnic identity," Landry writes. "Still, some Whites, in disgust, will whisper to you: "We used to call ourselves Creoles before this Cajun stuff” - or “They call themselves Cajuns, but they're all Creoles."
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