Cajun History

The French province of Acadia (today's Nova Scotia and surrounding regions) was settled in the 1600s by French colonists, but the area became a British possession soon afterwards. In 1755, as war neared between France and England, the British authorities demanded that the Acadians renounce their Roman Catholic faith and swear allegiance to the Crown. The Acadians refused and the mass exile that followed is well known to all who have read Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Evangeline".

The migration of the French Acadians to Louisiana was neither smooth nor immediate. Many were shipped to the New England colonies, others to the West Indies or back to France, and many wandered for 20 years before learning that they were welcome in the predominantly French territory of Louisiana. Here they established small farms along the Mississippi River, Bayou Teche, Bayou Lafourche and other streams in the southern part of the region. Fishing and trapping villages were established in the swamplands. Cajun (the word is a corruption of the original French pronunciation of Acadian--A-ca-jan) Country today lies within a triangle whose base is the Louisiana coast and whose apex is near Alexandria in the central part of the state. The triangle contains 22 parishes and the region's principal city, Lafayette, is the unofficial capital of "Acadiana".

Originally farmers, trappers and fishermen, today's Cajuns occupy virtually every occupation and are the backbone of the state's oil and gas exploration and production industry, particularly offshore. When oil was first discovered in the North Sea more than 5,000 Cajuns with experience working on oil rigs in the open sea were employed to drill the first wells and to provide training. Along with its food and music, the major trademarks of Cajun Country are pirogues (canoes made from a single cypress log), Spanish moss, alligators, swamps, bayous and "Cajun Cabins".

A taste of CAJUN flavor…………………….

Listed are some of the most popular Cajun dishes with correct spelling and English phonetics, so any newcomer will be able to get the pronunciations close when ordering from the menu:

BOILED CRAWFISH: (also called mudbugs, but never crayfish)—These spicy treats are abundant in late spring and early summer. If their hard shells look intimidating, fear not. Included is helpful directions for eating this unfamiliar treat.

CRAWFISH EATIN’ 101

For those unfamiliar with the “art” of eating crawfish, Andrew Jaeger’s House of Seafood in New Orleans offers this quick primer on dealing with these delicious little crustaceans.
• Begin by snapping apart the head and the tail.
• If you’re not a fan of the head, toss it aside, and then peel the tail for working your thumbs down the sides of the hard shell to release the sweet meat.
• For the true crawfish lover, the renowned sucking of the head gives full access to a fiery concoction of spices and fat.

Andrew Jaeger shares his family’s secret Crawfish Boil recipe so you can recreate an authentic Cajun Crawfish Boil in your own backyard.

Ingredients:
1 ½ gallons water
10 bay leaves
1 cup salt
¾ cup ground red pepper
¼ cup whole allspice
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon dill seeds
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon whole cloves
4 celery ribs, quartered
3 medium-size onions, halved
3 garlic bulbs, halved crosswise
5 pounds crawfish

BRING 1 ½ gallons water to a boil in a 19-quart stockpot over high
heat. Add bay leaves and next 12 ingredients to water. Return to a
rolling boil.

REDUCE heat to medium, and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes.

ADD crawfish. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat; cook 5 minutes

REMOVE stockpot from heat; let stand 30 minutes. (For spicier
Crawfish, let stand 45 minutes.)

DRAIN crawfish. Serve on large platters or newspaper.

Yield: 5 pounds Prep: 1 hr. Cook: 55 min Stand: 30 min

BOUDIN: (boo-dan, the n is silent)—An incredible delicious sausage made with pork, rice, onion tops (green onions) and varying degrees of cayenne. Some boudin masters add a bit of liver and/or gizzards. How do you eat it? Pop one end in your mouth and squeeze a bite through your lips and teeth leaving the casing behind.

COURT BOUILLON: (koo-bee-yaw)—It is definitely not pronounced the way it is spelled. This is an interesting tomato-based dish that’s a cousin to the gumbo and is a seafood dish with either catfish, shrimp, crab, red fish or just about any fish as the main ingredient.

CROQUETTES: (crow-kets)—This is an interesting way to eat chicken or other meats cut into bite-sized pieces. The pieces of meat are coated with a batter and rolled in either a spicy flour or bread crumbs and quickly fried.

CHICKEN FRICASSÉE: (frick-ah-say)—This dish goes way back to the days when the Acadian exiles from Nova Scotia settled Acadiana. Meat was a luxury, and the Acadians used a very thick sauce called roux (roo), to make a rich and filling sauce. The chicken is added and coated with the roux. Ingredients such as onions, celery, bell pepper and various spices are added along with water and cooked for nearly an hour. The chicken is tender, and the roux-based gravy over rice is hearty and delicious.

ÉTOUFFÉE: (ay-two-fay)—Another rich, sauce-based dish in which the ingredients are slowly smothered (the literal translation of étouffée) into a creamy sauce. There are many variations on this staple dish, some rich in butter while others might actually incorporate ingredients such as cream of mushroom soup and even a touch of steak sauce. Shrimp is sometimes used, but crawfish is king when it comes to étouffée.

GUMBO: (gum-bo)—Easy to pronounce and even easier to eat. Gumbo is without a doubt at the top of the Cajun food list. Everyone loves it. Like fricassée, gumbo is a roux-based dish but plenty of water is added to make this a “soup.” There are literally dozens of variations, such as chicken and sausage; seafood with shrimp, crabs and oysters; redfish; rabbit and duck. In fact, Cajuns insist that you can put any kind of meat imaginable into a gumbo (except beef), and it will be a meal fit for a king.

JAMBALAYA: (jum-buh-lie-yuh)—A combination of meat, staple vegetable, spices and rice all cooked together. The meat is usually beef, pork, chicken or shrimp, but can also be made with more exotic meats such as alligator.

SAUCE PIQUANT: (PEE-KAW)—If you say “pee-can’t” when ordering, you must be from Texas. This dish usually incorporates seafood, slowly cooked in a very sharp, zesty, slightly pungent, tomato-based sauce (the holy trinity is evident). Just about any hearty type of meat can be used, but exotics such as turtle and alligator are usually the meats of choice when making sauce piquant, serve over steaming white rice.

Whatever dish you decide to try, always ask about the “hot” factor. Cajun chefs are in love with spice, but the amount of pepper is usually tempered to taste. For example, boiled crawfish at most restaurants are listed as mild, spicy (medium pepper) and hot (four-alarm). Just remember, when a menu item says hot, it means plenty of pepper. But whatever you decide on, it is safe to say that every Cajun meal is not simple a meal, but rather an experience. When it comes to food, once you go Cajun, you’ll always come back for more.

A Dictionary of Delights by Wayne Lejeune

Cajun Music

Cajun music can be lively or melancholy and sometimes both at once. The traditional instruments are fiddle, accordion and triangle, and those still dominate (although drums and guitars have found their way into Cajun bands in recent years). Like the spoken language of the Cajuns, the lyrics of their songs are part French, part English. The themes are universal, love (lost and found) and the beauty of their land, but the melodies and phraseology are unique.

Cajun Music - Cajun music has its roots in early Acadian (Nova Scotia), French, Creole, and Anglo-Saxon folk songs. Many Acadians arrived in Louisiana in the mid-1700's, settling in New Orleans and the surrounding prairies, marshes and bayous. Troubles and hard times were frequent themes in the early ballads and lullabies and were often hummed or sung a cappella. Later, simple instrumentation was added in the form of violins, German accordian and home-made rhythm instruments like the triangle ( 'tit fer). The Acadians brought with them the influences of Native Americans and the Scots-Irish; and the Cajun repertoire includes jigs, reels, and contradances. The Cajuns recognized a good thing, and in Louisiana, they absorbed more music and culture from the Spanish, Germans and Caribbeans.

Zydeco Music - Zydeco is actually the most modern form of Creole music from Acadiana, first appearing shortly after World War II. Zydeco is a popular accordion-based musical genre originating from southern Louisiana and is the music of south Louisiana’s Creoles. According to the Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture, the Creoles borrowed many of zydeco’s defining elements from Cajun music. Recognizing a good thing, the Cajuns also adapted musical influences of the Creoles. Zydeco now incorporates pop music sources like the blues, soul, disco, rap, and even reggae, using modern instrumentation that includes drums, electric and steel guitars, saxaphones, horns and keybords. Many songs are in English as well as French and Creole patois.

Zydeco Music - Zydeco is actually the most modern form of Creole music from Acadiana, first appearing shortly after World War II. Zydeco is a popular accordion-based musical genre originating from southern Louisiana and is the music of south Louisiana’s Creoles. According to the Encyclopedia of Cajun Culture, the Creoles borrowed many of zydeco’s defining elements from Cajun music. Recognizing a good thing, the Cajuns also adapted musical influences of the Creoles. Zydeco now incorporates pop music sources like the blues, soul, disco, rap, and even reggae, using modern instrumentation that includes drums, electric and steel guitars, saxaphones, horns and keybords. Many songs are in English as well as French and Creole patois.