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Cajun cuisine (French: cuisine cadienne [kɥi.zin ka.dʒɛn], Spanish: cocina acadiense) is a style of cooking developed by the Cajun–Acadians who were deported from Acadia to Louisiana during the 18th century and who incorporated West African, French and Spanish cooking techniques into their original cuisine. Cajun cuisine is often referred to as a "rustic" cuisine, meaning that it is based on locally available ingredients and that preparation is simple. A traditional Cajun meal is a three-pot affair, with one pot dedicated to the main dish, one for steamed rice or bread, and the third containing a vegetable, although Cajuns historically often cooked a dish such as gumbo in one pot. Crawfish, shrimp, and andouille sausage are staple meats used in a variety of dishes. The aromatic vegetables green bell pepper (piment doux), onion, and celery are called "the trinity" by chefs in Cajun and Louisiana Creole cuisines. Roughly diced and combined in cooking, the method is similar to the use of the mirepoix in traditional French cuisine which blends roughly diced carrot, onion, and celery. Additional characteristic aromatics for both the Creole and Cajun versions may include parsley, bay leaf, thyme, green onions, ground cayenne pepper, and ground black pepper. Cayenne and Louisiana-style hot sauce are the primary sources of spice in Cajun cuisine, which usually tends towards a moderate, well-balanced heat, despite the national "Cajun hot" craze of the 1980s and 1990s. History The Acadians were a group of French colonists who lived in Acadia, what is today Eastern Canada. In the mid-18th century, they were deported from Acadia by the British during the French and Indian War in what they termed le Grand Dérangement, and many of them ended up settling in southern Louisiana.: 6  Due to the extreme change in climate from that of Acadia, Acadians were unable to cook their original dishes.: 20  Soon, their former culinary traditions were adapted and, in time, incorporated not only Native American traditions, but also African-American traditions—as is exemplified in the classic Cajun dish "gumbo", which is named for its principal ingredient (okra) using the West African name for that very ingredient: "gumbo," in West Africa, means "okra". In Louisiana, the Acadian settlers replaced the whole wheat bread they were accustomed to with corn bread, which by the beginning of the 19th century they were eating with cane syrup. Between 1790 and 1810 most Louisiana Acadians bought one to three enslaved black persons, many of whom who had come from the West Indies, from whom they learned the use of new ingredients, including okra, to incorporate in their cuisine. The ragu sauces that the Cajuns developed are very similar to sauces used in French West Africa, possibly introduced by enslaved cooks. Many other meals developed along these lines, adapted in no small part from Haiti, to become what is now considered classic Cajun cuisine traditions : 19–20  (not to be confused with the more modern concept associated with Prudhomme's style). Up through the 20th century, the meals were not elaborate but instead, rather basic.: 23  The public's false perception of "Cajun" cuisine was based on Prudhomme's style of Cajun cooking, which was spicy, flavorful, and not true to the classic form of the cuisine. Cajun and Creole cuisine have mistakenly been considered the same, but the origins of Creole cooking are in New Orleans, and Cajun cooking arose 40 years after its establishment. Today, most restaurants serve dishes that consist of Cajun styles, which Paul Prudhomme dubbed "Louisiana cooking". In Cajun home-cooking, these individual styles are still kept separate. However, there are fewer and fewer people cooking the classic Cajun dishes that would have been eaten by the original settlers.: 30  Cajun cooking methods Barbecuing—similar to "low and slow" Southern barbecue traditions, but with Creole/Cajun seasoning. A classic example is Johnson's Boucaniere ("smokehouse") in Lafayette, which was named best barbecue in Louisiana by the Food Network in July 2022. In the Ville Platte area, a unique sauce is made from dried onions reconstituted in water and vegetable oil thick with ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and seasonings. The flavorful oil that rises to the top is applied directly to meats being cooked as a baste. Two popular brands are Jack Miller's and Pig Stand, which are available online and in grocery stores across the state. This sauce is also commonly used on hamburgers, hot dogs, pork chops, chicken, and other grilled items. Baking—direct and indirect dry heat in a furnace or oven, faster than smoking but slower than grilling Grilling—direct heat on a shallow surface, fastest of all variants; sub-variants include: Charbroiling—direct dry heat on a solid surface with wide raised ridges Gridironing—direct dry heat on a solid or hollow surface with narrow raised ridges Griddling—direct dry or moist heat along with the use of oils and butter on a flat surface Braising—combining a direct dry heat charbroil-grill or gridiron-grill with a pot filled with broth for direct moist heat, faster than smoking but slower than regular grilling and baking; time starts fast, slows down, then speeds up again to finish Boiling—as in boiling of crabs, crawfish, or shrimp, in seasoned liquid, often with side items like corn on the cob, whole new potatoes, and mushrooms cooked in the same boiling pot. A seafood boil is often a large outdoor social event. Deep frying—lightly breaded and fried seafood including various fish, shrimp, oysters, and soft-shell crab is universally popular in Cajun cuisine, often on French bread po-boys in the New Orleans style, along with traditional Southern favorites like fried chicken, fried okra, and pork chops. Smothering—cooking a vegetable or meat over low heat with the sauteed "trinity," plus small amounts of water or stock, similar to braising. This forms a pan sauce or gravy, and the finished product is served over rice. Étouffée is a popular variant done with crawfish or shrimp. A meatless version might feature mushrooms and eggplant. Two commonly smothered meats are pork chops and round steak; these heartier meats may sometimes have a bit of roux added to the gravy. Pan-broiling or pan-frying Injecting—using a large syringe-type setup to place seasoning deep inside large cuts of meat; this technique is much newer than the others on this list, but very common in Cajun cuisine Stewing, also known as fricassée; a whole chicken cut into pieces is a popular choice for this method, particularly an older hen. Deep-frying of turkeys or oven-roasted turduckens entered southern Louisiana cuisine more recently. Also, blackening of fish or chicken and barbecuing of shrimp in the shell are excluded because they were not prepared in traditional Cajun cuisine. Blackening was actually an invention by chef Paul Prudhomme in the 1970s, becoming associated with Cajun cooking, and p.... Discover the Donald Link Paula Disbrowe popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Donald Link Paula Disbrowe books.