Cajun or Creole? A refresher course

Jambalalya, crawfish bisque, red beans and rice, gumbo, shrimp Creole, maque choux, the list could go on and on. It’s the stuff natives of south Louisiana grew up on and just a few of the many dishes the earliest residents created.

A ll of these homegrown specialties are either Creole (meaning born in the New World) or Cajun (of the Acadians), or a combination of both. Here’s a refresher course on how the basic ingredients and techniques got to south Louisiana in the first place.

Native Americans

Long before the French arrived, tribes such as the Choctaws, Chickasaws, Natchez, Houmas and Chitimachas were drying fruit, herbs and meats and simmering game and turtle in stews.

They also gathered pecans, cultivated sweet potatoes, caught fish and shellfish, pounded sassafras leaves to make the thickener filé and ground corn into grits.

The French

The Catholic French sailed here in the late 17th century, and by 1718 had built the Port of New Orleans. The French brought memories of classic Parisian cuisine.

They made roux, sauces and stocks, seasoned with herbs and started many a dish with a mirepoix, a mixture of diced carrots, celery and onion.

The colonial French were also fond of the seafood soup bouillabaisse, along with pralines (the French original made with almonds) and imported liqueurs and wine.

The Africans

The French began importing slaves in 1719, and with Africans came black-eyed peas, watermelon, okra, a love of simmered greens and rice.

Slaves also knew how to season with spices, and in the kitchens of their masters they continued doing what they had done in their own countries: skillfully stew and fry.

The Germans

Because slaves were considered too valuable to spend time growing food to sell to locals in New Orleans, in the 1720s Scottish speculator John Law lured Germans.

An industrious group of them settled in what is today St. James and St. Charles parishes, where they set up the state’s first dairies. They also grew turnips, spinach, cauliflower, artichokes, onions, garlic, cabbage, white potatoes and sweet potatoes, were prolific bakers and knew how to cure meats, such as the smoked pork sausage we call andouille.

The Spanish

When the Spanish took over the Louisiana colony in 1762, they brought along jamó n (ham), chaurice (spicy smoked sausage), tomatoes and cayenne pepper, along with a love of onions, garlic and parsley.

They also had an affinity for eating beans with rice and for cooking paella, the one-pot ham and rice dish.

The Acadians

The Acadian French arrived in New Orleans in 1785 and ended up west of the city in the prairies and marshes, where they foraged for just about anything that flew, crawled, climbed or swam.

Although they’d been living in Nova Scotia, the Acadians were still partial to the one-pot meals of peasant France. They were also unfamiliar with Louisiana ingredients and, consequently, adopted cooking techniques from established residents.

Over time they developed into their own hearty Cajun cuisine, including robust roux-based versions of gumbo and jambalalya . The Acadians also became experts at cattle ranching and smoking meats, and are now the state’s leading rice growers.

The Croatians

During the 1840s, commercial sales of oysters, fish and shrimp got a big boost with the arrival of seasoned Croatian fishermen.

These former sailors from the Adriatic Sea lived on Louisiana’s coast south of New Orleans, and started the state’s oyster cultivation.

The Sicilians

In the 1880s, waves of Sicilians arrived, bringing with them a passion for bread, wine, pasta and tomatoes. Louisiana’s Italians took to truck farming almost immediately, growing vegetables like zucchini, spinach, garlic, lemons, eggplant, fennel, figs, leeks and cucumbers.

In many cases, traditional Italian dishes melded with Creole dishes .

Although the line of distinction between fancy Creole cooking and rustic Cajun cooking has over the years been blurred, chef John Folse makes the distinction eloquently: “Creole … is that melange of artistry and talent, developed and made possible by the nations and cultures who settled in and around New Orleans.” And Cajun is “the mirror image of [the Cajun] unique history … a cooking style that reflects their ingenuity, creativity, adaptability and survival.”

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Tulane students fais do-do

Photos by Paula Burch-Celentano


Musician Bruce Daigrepont brings his accordion as well as an assortment of other instruments to demonstrate the sounds of Cajun music in the French Around the World class taught by Nathalie Dajko.


French has been spoken in Louisiana since the early 18th century when the French colonized the region. Over time, the Cajun variety of French and distinctive sound developed in certain areas of Louisiana, says Dajko, a visiting assistant professor with joint appointments in anthropology and French at Tulane.

La. history meeting provides food for thought

I attended my very first Louisiana Historical Society meeting last night. After struggling with questions about historical dates and lineage for my writing assignments, I decided that becoming a member might provide some ready resources for future use.

The lecture was held in a huge St. Charles Avenue mansion, the Round Table Club. A surprising number of people had gathered to hear Michel-Anthoine Goita-Nicolas, an expert on Basque history.

Now, you might wonder, why should we be so interested in the tiny country lodged between France and Spain but, as I would soon learn, the Basques were pretty much responsible for everything.

First of all, Basque territory was not always small. There was a fight between brothers when they killed off the rightful king and divided the state into French Aquitaine and Spanish Navarre. (Its history is way more complicated than that, trust me, but I couldn't follow all the marriages, wars and invasions.)

As Sr. Goita-Nicolas started going through his slide presentation, we learned that Basques were the only sailors in France and Spain, so they got the jobs looking for the New World. Thus, all the great explorers were, actually, Basque, including Christopher Columbus; Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle; Louis Jolliet and just about everybody else who ever voyaged up and down the St. Lawrence Seaway.

There are 400 Canadian towns with Basque names, Basque shipwrecks sunk in the Seaway and Basque derivations for the names of folks in the audience - undeniable proof!

He explained Basques were fishermen who followed Cod fish - not just up the Western European coast, but to Iceland and Greenland and waters further west. They salted the Cod because it was such a long way home and also harpooned a few whales en route, which they had to boil down for oil - on land. And this point is key.

They had to set foot on land to salt and boil, which meant that Basques were first to discover America!

Goita-Nicolas claimed that early Basque explorers taught the Indians the Basque language and vice-versa. So, when later voyagers sailed through the Seaway, they were greeted by Indians speaking le langue.

Sr. Goita-Nicolas recounted a story about an American researcher who dug up every one of Christopher Columbus' relatives to see if their DNA was Basque. I didn't know bones could withstand the ravages of 500 years, but apparently they checked out. Those remains were definitely not Italian - of this he was absolutely certain.

They found grapevines on an island near Nova Scotia that matched the DNA of Basque vines.

Even the animals were DNA-tested.

As I was listening to this exhaustive list of accomplishments and connections, I began to ask myself: Why should I care? And then it occurred to me. Ah-ha! The Basques were the original Acadians who later ended up in Louisiana, playing accordian and doing fais do-do at Tipitina's on Sunday afternoons, no longer eating Cod, but instead crayfish and sucking the juice out of the heads.

Redhead history on a car

Similarly, this all-encompassing claim to Basque superiority reminded me of the Redhead Car, which lays claim to practically every discovery by redheads. Redheads, and perhaps redhead Basques, were first to create a roux. They invented wigs to avoid carrot-top jokes. They invented the thumbs-up and carrot cake.

Like Basques, redheads have been very productive and widely traveled. 

Always a new way to celebrate

When I was in college in New Orleans decades ago, if there was a festival almost every weekend, I was not aware of it. Perhaps I was too engrossed in my studies or campus life or it might be a "new" phenomenon.

This weekend is the (combined) Louisiana Cajun-Zydeco/Creole Tomato/Seafood Festival, which mesh together nicely. Yesterday at the Old U.S. Mint, Cajun dancers were stomping, sweating and swinging to the Cajun sounds. Two Grammy Award winners - The Zydeco Experience and BeauSoleil with Michael Doucet - belted out the songs with guitars, drums, accordians and washboards. It is raining hard right now, so wonder if that will stop the fete today, but I sincerely doubt it. There is plenty of seafood - crawfish bisque, crawfish pies, crab rolls, BBQ shrimp and plenty of alcohol to keep the dancers energized.

A little late, but still fun, are photos from the Gay Easter Parade - a different twist on Judy Garland's theme.