Cajun cuisine

Cajun cuisine originates from the French-speaking Acadian or "Cajun" immigrants in Louisiana, USA. It is what could be called a rustic cuisine — locally available ingredients predominate, and preparation is simple. An authentic Cajun meal is usually a three-pot affair, with one pot dedicated to the main dish, one dedicated to steamed rice, skillet cornbread, or some other grain dish, and the third containing whatever vegetable is plentiful or available.

Misconceptions

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 Traditional Cajun food...

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• is not fancy.
• is not extremely hot from pepper.
• does not use wine as part of the cooking.
• does not require expensive or exotic ingredients.
• is not available from a box.
• is often simple and brown.
• does not contain cream or pasta as an ingredient.
• is not often seen on restaurant menus.

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There is a common misconception outside of south Louisiana that Cajun food is hot and spicy. An authentic Cajun dish will usually have a bit of a "kick" but will not be eye-wateringly hot. The Cajun cook does not seek to overpower the dish with simple heat — this is done by the diner at the table if they so wish. Rather, a balance of different pepper flavors is strived for, usually involving a mixture of black, white and cayenne pepper in various ratios. The sensation of these three peppers along the palate is what makes Cajun seasoning unique.

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Cajun dishes prepared outside of Louisiana, are often hotter than their Louisiana counterparts, and lack the flavor of the original dishes. Even andouille sausage, mild and smoky in Louisiana, gets the pepper treatment elsewhere. This is partially a result of the "Cajun" foods craze of the 1980s, when Cajun-style seasoning was popularized by chef Paul Prudhomme's creation of the very spicy dish called Blackened Redfish at his New Orleans restaurant "K-Paul's". It is also a result of recent "extreme" food fads, where many items are hotter than the originals.

Related Topics:
1980s - Paul Prudhomme

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Outside of southern Louisiana, foods prepared using Cajun-style seasoning are called Cajun, including some decidedly non-Cajun dishes such as red beans and rice, and blackened redfish. Sometimes the label is applied incorrectly to any dish including traditional Cajun ingredients such as cayenne pepper, or merely as a slogan, as in McDonalds's "Spicy Cajun McChicken".

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Cajun cuisine is sometimes confused with Creole cuisine, and many outside of Louisiana don't make the distinction. This matter is complicated by the sharing of several dishes between the cuisines, including gumbo, gumbo z'herbes (a vegetarian gumbo), seafood à l'etoufée, and jambalaya, although New Orleans jambalaya is prepared differently than its Cajun counterpart.

Related Topics:
Creole cuisine - Gumbo

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Further complicating this is that the term Creole is used to designate several somewhat distinct New Orleans food cultures. So-called 'haute-creole' cuisine was influenced in the past few decades by Cajun food as Creole restaurants such as Commander's Palace, Jacques Imo's, and K-Paul's created a distinct "Cajun-Creole fusion" cuisine combining Cajun flavors with Creole ingredients and preparation. Dishes endemic strictly to the New Orleans metropolitan area such as smothered cabbage, po'-boys, barbecued shrimp, beignets, or red beans and rice are in general Creole, not Cajun, as are pasta dishes like pasta jambalaya, and anything involving a cream sauce or the French mother sauces.

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