The origins of gumbo

---

  Gumbo combines ingredients and culinary practices of several cultures, including African, French, Spanish, and Native American "Choctaw".  Food historians agree that this popular South Louisiana dish has its origins in West Africa. Consider the word "gumbo" which comes from the West African word "ki ngombo" for "okra" West Africans used okra as a thickener in their version of the dish.  The original West African gumbo has been described as stew-like, thickened with okra, and containing fish and shellfish.

   When West Africans were brought to the Americas during the transatlantic slavery period, they carried with them pods from the okra plant which was not native to the Americas. They planted the okra seeds in the soil of this new world and introduced their traditional African dish to the Americas. In this way, the enslaved Africans preserved their West African culinary tradition for preparing gumbo by transplanting its key ingredient, okra.

   The Native American contribution to gumbo is the use of file' powder. Initially, cooks used file' to flavor or thicken their gumbos. File' is made of sassafras leaves ground to a fine powder. Many cooks used file' as an alternative to okra as a thickening agent. Today file' is more commonly used to flavor gumbo at the table (like a condiment).

   The European contribution to the evolution of Gumbo is the use of Roux as a thickener instead of okra. Roux originated in France and is prepared by browning flour in a hot skillet in fat to a desired color (light or dark). As a thickener, Roux is undeniably the most popular method used today to prepare Louisiana gumbo.

    You can learn about history of Southern food by studying a bowl of Gumbo. The very name conjures up a rich array of ingredients coming together in a single pot and melding into something rich and delicious. It represents an intersection of three cultures, that created what we know today as Southern Cuisine.

Despite all this diversity, at its most basic, what we call gumbo today is a savory stew made with a variety of meats, shellfish, combined with an array of vegetables and herbs. From there, all bets are off. Gumbo can be as thin as soup or as thick as gravy. The proteins might be chicken and crab or sausage, ham and shrimp.

The stew might be made with tomatoes or thickened with okra, with a dark roux or any combination thereof.

There is no better way to taste the legacy of Southern cooking than with a good bowl of Gumbo and preferably made with fresh picked okra.