tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660857958535448139.post6879240201136664627..comments2024-03-23T15:48:15.416-05:00Comments on Bayou Teche Dispatches: Gumbo in 1764?Shane K. Bernardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00454946054965548589noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660857958535448139.post-70786187977261578902014-12-24T10:01:26.596-06:002014-12-24T10:01:26.596-06:00Sassafras was the Indian contribution to Gumbo [Fr...Sassafras was the Indian contribution to Gumbo [French-Roux; African - Okra; and Indian-Filé made from ground-up dried sassafras leaves] The beans and roots from the sassafras plant were used to make medicinal tea.Stanley LeBlanchttp://www.thecajuns.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660857958535448139.post-41239632162344316762013-03-27T16:59:49.580-05:002013-03-27T16:59:49.580-05:00Shane, thanks for sharing this.
In Louisiana lang...Shane, thanks for sharing this.<br /><br />In Louisiana languages (French and Creole, primarily), when we refer to the dish now known as Gumbo, we say "un gombo." When we refer to okra, we say "du gombo" or "du gombo févi" or "du févi". Reading the original text, it is quite clear that the soupy dish is what is here being referenced. <br /><br />I had never heard of the sassafrass counter. It's odd, especially considering that "gombo" (and other derivations) are used throughout the word originating in the word for Okra in various West African languages. In Brazilian Portuguese, where sassafras doesn't exist, the word for okra is "quiabo" /kee ah boo/; in many Hispanophone islands of the Caribbean, it is "quingonbó" or "bonbó" and in the Near and Middle East, "bendi" or "bendé" are used. They all, ultimately derive from a single word used in Bantu languages.<br /><br />This 1764 mention underpins the assumption of many Louisianians through time, that the dish derives in West Africa. <br /><br />Thanks for sharing.Christophe Landryhttp://www.christophelandry.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660857958535448139.post-42063391810632753472013-03-27T16:48:05.313-05:002013-03-27T16:48:05.313-05:00That is a fascinating find and confirms the Africa...That is a fascinating find and confirms the African origins of gumbo. The document is dated 1764 in NOLA during the Spanish period and involves Africans and Creoles who ate the dish. It also predates the migration of Acadians. That pretty tells you that all Louisianians[including the Louisiana descendents of Acadian exiles] learned how to cook and make this delicious dish from the folks already there[Creoles]. Throughout the generations, folks made their own variations of gumbo using the foodstuffs they had available in their geographical area.rqs79https://www.blogger.com/profile/02270313236929397286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660857958535448139.post-51485757973694547952011-10-17T15:37:16.370-05:002011-10-17T15:37:16.370-05:00Never heard that one, but I doubt it. "Roux&...Never heard that one, but I doubt it. "Roux" exists in France as a culinary term, and it is also an adjective of color, referring to reddish brown.cadjinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13415280657739849897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660857958535448139.post-56416253966842453942011-10-15T13:23:28.517-05:002011-10-15T13:23:28.517-05:00I heard Roux is named after a military office or a...I heard Roux is named after a military office or a writer passing through New Orleans back in the day. Not sure if true?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1660857958535448139.post-27773251934849977432011-10-04T22:45:31.963-05:002011-10-04T22:45:31.963-05:00Mmmmmmm....gumbo!Mmmmmmm....gumbo!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com