Southern, shmouthern. Many of these are Soviet food. Congealed salad, rabbit stew, liver mush, chicken livers, fried bologna, deviled eggs. We had all those AND jam made of watermelon rinds. Plus, candied orange peel. Delicious!
Southern or Soviet?
Opinions, art, debate
Clarissa's Blog 
“Southern”
My score is around 18-20… (being very conservative).
I remember a conversation with a university secretary (African American) who had asked about food in Poland…
Me: It’s a little like southern food…
Secretary: Really?
Me: Breaded pork chops, mashed potatoes, cole slaw, pickled pigs feet…
Of course it all tastes different from the southern equivalents but a lot of the basics (leaving out the fruit soup, blood sausage, tripe, pierogies and sauerkraut) are not all that different.
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“Southern”
And they don’t even have boiled crawfish!
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I have the fondest childhood memories about boiled crawfish. We’d play with them for hours before eating them.
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“fondest childhood memories about boiled crawfish. We’d play with them for hours”
But did you suck the heads?
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You crawfish cannibals! I can’t stand it. Poor little creatures. I guess I played in too many creeks growing up and love crustaceans. (I know I’m very weird–but we cry over squished frogs and toads too). And I don’t fit anywhere–I can’t stand PETA.
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IKR? No collards? Sweet potato pie?
I only scored 23. There’s a place in town that sells gator tail, but I’ve never tried it. I’ve had frog legs, though…
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“No collards?”
Or mustard greens? Turnip and collard and mustard are the three greens and they’re not the same.
I’ve had sweet potato casserole which is far sweeter than most deserts (pecans and marshmallows on top).
I haven’t had frog legs or gator tail but I did have fried turtle as a child (and loved it until I found out what it was at which point… I freaked out a little)
As an adult I’ve had armadillo a couple of times…
And swamp cabbage (really delicious when made fresh).
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Cheese-grits and fried okra also conspicuously missing… and thought poke was more of an Appalachian taste?
Always wondered about swamp cabbage, but never had it.
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“fried okra”
The biggest enigma of my childhood… I went through periods of hating it (I’ve never been a picky eater but I drew the line there and at baloney tomato sandwiches) and obsessively loving it. It was mostly hate but there were occasional flashes of love…
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I’ve never tried okra. It looks incomprehensible at the grocery store and invariably greasy at restaurants.
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Chicken-fried steak decided my professional trajectory. I interviewed at a school where they REALLY wanted to hire me. They took me out to eat to the best restaurant in town where I was served “chicken-fried steak,” which, to my horror, turned not to be chicken but a tortured piece of extremely dry beef in thick breading under a white greasy sauce.
I refused the job offer even though I had absolutely no other prospects at that time.
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Haha! I don’t understand the appeal, either… but then I was raised by vegetarians so I missed out on a lot.
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Ah, Clarissa, how naive you were. EVERYBODY who’s been through Texas or Oklahoma knows exactly what chicken-fried steaks are. And if you still order periodically from the overpriced “Omaha Steaks” website (which has secret much-lower-cost sales for regular buyers who know where to look), you can buy them in bulk for a very low price.
I follow a health diet of one-and-a-quarter meals a day: A full meal at supper, but nothing at lunch except a can of soup and/or a single piece of light “breakfast” meat such as a hamburger covered with horse radish or mustard, or a jumbo frankfurter w. mustard and ketchup or soy sauce, or a chicken fried steak covered w. soy sauce or a slice of cheddar cheese.
For supper I eat “serious” meat like beef filet mignon, beef tenderloin, t-bone pork cops, or bone-in chicken breasts, along with the mandatory serving of vegetables and usually something starchy like potatoes. (I rarely cook fresh fish.)
The post-meal beverage of choice is usually a cold Dr. Pepper.
Following this high-red-meat diet for the past 40 years or so has enabled me to keep my bad cholesterol low, my good cholesterol high, my arteries clear, and my average blood pressure at about 115/55. So I really don’t care what my primary-care doctor that I see once a year thinks of my dietary cuisine.
(No, when I was practicing medicine, I never recommended this diet to my patients.)
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That does sound like a great diet. I know I should follow something like this but it’s so hard.
That was my first time in Oklahoma and it was a huge cultural experience.
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“chicken-fried steak”
If it was in Oklahoma… then just be glad you survived… the plains states (Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Eastern Colorado all of which I know pretty well…) are the…. what’s the opposite of food capital? Food provinces is too good…. food nowhere? Nice people, but…. not much going on in the kitchen….
When I describe Chicken Fried Steak in Poland the idea of breaded and fried beef is a tough sell (a breaded pork chop is the national dish, but… breaded beef?) but the real deal killer is gravy…. there’s no real equivalent to any gravy of any kind here…
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In Ukraine, the breaded pork chop is also very popular. I don’t like it but I don’t like any pork unless it’s bacon.
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13, at least. I’m from the deep south – southern California. No fried okra and potatoes? A family favorite my East Texan mom made for my Okie dad.
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100% but this isn’t a very good list and a lot of what’s on it is also eaten elsewhere, or comes from elsewhere.
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