Soul Food

Food is a delicate object, and with it there are religious, cultural, and social implications. One could say, what does the three things stated having to do with food? Well, food can often give hints into a person’s viewpoints, cultural background, or even their socioeconomic status depending on what food they have. However, with this post, I only wish to focus on the cultural aspect of food.

­­Soul Food

This concept of “Soul Food”, is something that any person of African-American descent should be able to identify, at least if they have relatives from the southern part of the country. I was introduced to the entirety of it at the age of 7. Explained to me by my mother at the time, it was simply food to “elevate your soul”. The only thing I remember is the exasperatingly long process that it took to actually eat the meal. My Aunt, Uncle, and Mother all stood in the kitchen, each at their own station. My mother was stained by the scent of vinegar, which was the most distinguishable scent during the prep. Although most of the children didn’t enjoy the smell, we all knew that it mean that she had the job of cleaning the vegetable; Collard Greens. My Aunt, was the only one sitting down, which seemed suitable because her only jobs were to boil the elbow pasta and grate the cheese for the macaroni and cheese. My Uncle, for some odd reason distinguished himself by actually wearing an apron, as he stirred a mixture containing flour, hot sauce, and garlic powder. After doing this, he proceeded to carry a pan with all the different parts of the chicken to the stove where he would swipe them two to three times over an open fire individually. As he always does, he had to explain that, “This here is how you get rid of the hairs (feathers) on them.” Shortly after we all watched him place the chicken into the mix, and stir them up while the vegetable oil sat in a pot getting hot. By now, the children all sat back down to watch cartoons and then rushed back to the kitchen curious about a roar of hisses coming from the kitchen, which came from the chicken being tossed into the now boiling oil. As the aromas began to mix and fill the entirety of the house, my cousins and I continuously found fake reasons such as purposely throwing something the wrong way to sneak by and see the progress. About two more hours of waiting passed on and then the meal was set. All of the present family members gathered around the table all taking in the scent and look of the food. We all sat down and joined hands to participate in the process of a pre-meal prayer known as grace. After which we all started to eat and was interrupted by my Aunt shouting, “WHO’S READY FOR HUSH PUPPIES”?  In reality a hush puppy was just fried cornbread but for some reason the difference in flavor and texture lead to us not being able to call it cornbread. As I continued to partake in the meal, I quickly understood that it wasn’t the taste of the food that elevated the soul. Rather than that, it was the experience of all the family members, sitting, talking, and enjoying the meal happily that brought out this feeling that couldn’t be explained. This weird feeling of uprising in the body, is what we call the soul being elevated and this is what truly gives meaning to the concept of “Soul Food”.