Get on the soul food train and join in the culinary celebration!

Every year, June is known as “Soul Food Month” – it’s there to celebrate the African-American tradition of these rich, enticing and positively delicious dishes now known as soul food. This celebratory month is sponsored by the Culinary Historians of Chicago (a city famous for its comfort food establishments).

Where did the term “soul food” come from? Well, came into wide use in the 1960s and started out as a pretty name for dishes which utilized cheap ingredients – unusual cuts of meat or unpopular vegetables for example. However, the brilliant African-American culinary art and knack for turning unappealing “scraps” into mouth-watering hearty meals soon transformed America’s view of this type of food. Once a euphemism, it is now a trademark for a dining experience with satisfaction guaranteed.

Keeping traditions alive is another aspect of Soul Food Month and an important reminder that we should continue to do so. Many families celebrate with special dishes passed on over generations. What kind of dishes, we hear you ask! Take a look at our list of traditional soul food that you should try and get your hands on throughout the month (and feel free to extend the month – you’ll want to!)…

– Fried chicken
– Macaroni and cheese
– Jambalaya
– Gumbo
– Fried fish
– Smothered pork ribs
– Collard greens
– Oxtail soup
– Curried mutton
– Shrimp and grits
– Corn bread
– Black eyed peas
– Candid yams
– Okra, corn and tomatoes
– Banana pudding
– Peach cobbler
– Sweet potato pie

This is just a short list of some of the traditional dishes but there’s plenty more! If you have a look online, you’ll find tons of recipes to follow if you want to try making some of them yourself this June.