Today, October 12, is National Gumbo Day. That means you don't have to look for any other reason for your party. Just invite your family, friends, neighbors and so on, to a delicious Gumbo meal. Now you may be asking what Gumbo actually is? "Gumbo", an African word for okra, was introduced to the white population by African cooks who came here with the slave trade.
"Gumbo is a stew or soup that probably originated in southern Louisiana during the 18th century. It typically consists primarily of a strongly-flavored stock, meat or shellfish, a thickener, and seasoning vegetables, which can include celery, bell peppers, and onions (a trio known in Cajun cuisine as the "holy trinity"). Gumbo is often categorized by the type of thickener used: the African vegetable okra, the Choctaw spice filé powder (dried and ground sassafras leaves), or roux, the French base made of flour and fat," Wikipedia says.
Gumbo is also used as a metaphor for the culture mix in southern Louisiana. In the 18th to 19th centuries, French, Spanish, native tribes, African slaves, Italians, and Germans lived in a quite small area with hardly any mobility. This resulted in new traditions and cuisine, one of them being Gumbo, a combination of the culinary practices of the above.
Check out great Gumbo recipes in the related section below!
