How did the Cajuns get to using spices in their cooking?

I thought it was influenced from the slaves? Hence the “creole”

quote:

---

How did the Cajuns get to using spices in their cooking?

---

i always was told by older cajun speaking relatives, that the meats and stuff they used were often on the verge of going bad since they were too poor for fresh meats. so the abundance of spices was used as a way to mask the taint of meat that was on the verge of spoilage or maybe had already spoiled.

not sure how true or if it was just old wives tales but it sounds plausible

quote:

---

not sure how true or if it was just old wives tales but it sounds plausible

---

That’s what I’ve always heard. Same with many cultures around the world. When you think about it, “Cajun Food” is peasant food. Rice, cheap cuts of meat, cured meats, whatever is in the garden/field.

Most of our parents, and some of us, had cornbread and milk for many meals.

quote:

---

Where did the cajuns learn to use spices in their cooking?

---

there were spices in Europe - that’s what the explorers were looking for

But the Cajuns had to adapt their cuisine when they were kicked out of Canada

quote:

---

Big nope there.

---

You don’t see any similarities?

quote:

---

Where did the cajuns learn to use spices in their cooking?

---

You’re just talking about hot peppers, right? There’s obviously a much wider world of spices, many of which had been used in French cooking for quite some time before the Cajuns made their way down to Louisiana.

quote:

---

I always thought French cooking would be similar to Cajun cooking. Big nope there.

---

If you understand cooking, it's easier to see the similarities in how the dishes are based and structured. I know that sounds extremely condescending, but I promise I don't intend it to be. I just don't know how else to word it before I've had my coffee

quote:

---

Where did the cajuns learn to use spices in their cooking?

---

Mostly from African slaves from the Caribbean.

And to round things out, "spices" that are considered the backbone of "Cajun cooking", like cayenne and bell pepper, are both native to the Americas.

Cooking with spices was learned through the ages and likely started in the 1600's Europe, prior to the "Cajuns" arriving in Louisiana. Native Americans have been using cayenne for food and medicinal purposes for thousands of years. Christopher Columbus brought cayenne and other spices back to Spain and Europe in the late 1400's. The Dutch East India Trading Company was also responsible for importing spices and plant seeds to countries in Europe during the 1600 ~ 1700's. During this time period, the Italians and French perfected cooking by using spices and fresh grown vegetables & fruit. Although the "Cajuns" (original descendants from Acadie, Nova Scotia) didn't arrive in SW LA until 1764, they used spices for cooking prior to their arrival in Louisiana.

Something also to consider, Native American Indians had settled in the St. Landry Parish and Opelousas was a huge trading post for French trappers and Spanish settlers in the 1700's. The newly settled Cajuns would likely have bartered with the Indians for various spices they didn't have at the time.

Paul Prudhomme is directly responsible for commercializing and marketing "Cajun Seasoning" as we know it today. Prior to 1970, very few people living outside of the Acadiana 7 Parish region knew what the phrase Cajun Seasoning meant. Prudhomme put Cajun cooking on the map nationally and globally.

I don't know how y'all did it, but speaking for the rest of the country...

quote:

---

France had territories in South America where cayennes were native.

---

To underscore this point, the capital of French Guiana is in fact the city of Cayenne