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CUISINE OF KENTUCKY
Prior to the discovery of coal deposits, the diet of Kentucky's citizenry relied primarily upon the subsistence farming of corn and beans, and the trapping and hunting of pigs, frogs, squirrel, and opossum.
As the coal-mining industry grew, these practices gave way to the modern form of factory farming with steam power turning much of the native forest into arable land. Over a period of about 100 years, people from Germany, Greece, Wales and Ireland settled most of what was once a county of Virginia, bringing new recipes and cooking methods from their homelands.
Cincinnati, Ohio, across from Kenton County, Kentucky, was once the pig-slaughtering capital of the United States and depended heavily upon Kentucky pig and hog farms to supply them. The Flying Pig Festival was a holiday given originally to the workers in this industry.
Historical ingredients
Native Americans such as the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Mosopelea, Shawnee, and Yuchi along with the early European settlers relied upon the local plant and animal population to provide for all their needs. Native Americans especially revered beans, maize and squash which were known as the three sisters. To see more go to Native American cuisine.
- Elk are not as predominant as when the Shawnee used Kentucky for their spring hunting grounds
- Maize was also used to make shoes and other woven products
- Squash
- Opossum is the only extant native marsupial in North America
- Squirrels, some of which can have up to a pound of meat on them
- Beans in the form of beans and bean sprouts
- Crawfish
The early Europeans who settled in these areas adopted for the gamey taste of local fauna with strong flavors that would eventually lead to things like Henry Bain sauce.
The fusion of southern, midwestern and other cuisine
The cuisine of Kentucky today is a blend of midwestern and southern cuisines that is increasingly incorporating more cosmopolitan ingredients and methods. The Jackson Purchase region of Kentucky is the most southern of Kentucky in culture and cuisine. A typical summer lunch of 50 years ago would be fried catfish, slaw and hush puppies served with a glass of sweet tea. Fusion cuisine that is practiced at some of the leading restaurants in Kentucky like The Waterfront serve such things as wasabi cole slaw, chili and cumin hushpuppies and stout-beer battered fish served with green tea. Frog legs unlike most of the midwest are served without batter and grilled or sautéed. In the southern and eastern parts of Kentucky, burgoo and regular chile con carne are preferred. In the northern and western parts, Cincinnati chili is more predominant with Dixie Chili from Newport, Kentucky being the only one actually incorporated in Kentucky.
Ingredients of today
Dishes or recipes of note in Kentuckian cuisine
- Burgoo, a thick stew made from vegetables and lamb
- Mint julep, a potable that is made with fresh mint
- Henry Bain sauce, a potent sauce for dealing with game
- Brains and eggs, known mostly as an English dish; this was served in Frankfort restaurants until BSE scares
- Mock turtle soup, Welsh and English settlers brought this recipe with them when they settled in Clay County
- Fried squirrel, skewered or fried with its liver squirrels taste best when they eat acorns almost exclusively
- Frog legs, as many other midwesterners
- Derby pie, a chocolate and pecan tart named for the Kentucky Derby
- Benedictine, a cheese spread made popular from Louisville's Benedict's restaurant.
- Hot Brown, an open faced sandwich topped with a Mornay sauce
- Stack cake, an Appalachian layered cake with apple preserves spread between each layer
- Johnny cake, a corruption of "Shawnee" cake this is a flat corn bread cooked by direct heat
- Bourbon balls, crushed cookies mixed with bourbon baked and than coated in powdered sugar
- Beer cheese, a cheese dip made with beer, cheddar cheese, and spices.
- Ale-8-One, a Kentucky made soft drink.
Western Kentucky Pit BBQ
The north Western Kentucky area, namely Owensboro and Henderson, has developed a unique style of pit barbeque. Served heavy with vinegar-based sauces, and often with pickles, onions, potato salad, and coleslaw. The three main meats used are chicken, pork, and mutton; but beef is not unheard of. Burgoo is a main specialty, with no two burgoo recipes being the same. Owensboro is home to the International BBQ Festival, where the best BBQ Kentucky has to offer is on display.
Fast food
Yum! Brands, the world's largest restaurant company, is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky. Yum! Brand restaurant chains include:
The Italian fast casual restaurant chain Fazoli's began in and is headquartered in Lexington.
Per capita consumption of White Castle hamburgers in Kentucky is one of the highest in the nation with over 40 restaurants across a state with only 4 million people; for example, the New York city area has 8 million people and only 46 restaurants.
Kentucky was also named the 5th fattest state in 2006, based on the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System database maintained by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sources
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