There is nothing quite like eating some deviled Cajun eggs after after church to hold you over until supper time. Many people get the terms Cajun and creole mixed up and sometimes think the two are interchangeable. Other times they will think that anything with a little red spice on them, like the eggs mentioned above, are examples of true Cajun type cooking.
To really understand the differences you must first understand the background of each style of cooking and how it evolved over time. True Cajuns cooking is about using whatever you have on hand and being happy about it. When the French settlers arrived in south Louisiana from Canada they did not have much. They looked around them and used the food sources nature provided.
The general term Creole is a reference to the primary settlers of the New Orleans, Louisiana area. These were often wealthy families who had chefs on their staff from other famous cities. Because most of the types of food they would normally use were not available to them, the governor asked his own personal chefs to help teach them to use many indigenous animals or native plants for their cooking.
There is an old expression in Louisiana that goes something like, a creole will feed one family with 3 chickens while Cajuns feed 3 families one chicken. Most creoles will use butter and flour as the base for their soups and sauces. Most Cajuns will use lard and flour as the base for many of their soups and sauces.
A good example is traditional gumbo. Most creole gumbo has a tomato like base with butter and flour. The final result is that it is more like a soup when finished. Most Cajuns use a Roux base for their gumbo made from pork lard and flour. The resulting dish ends up being much more like a thick stew than a soup.
The creole style cooking is more like the city cooking most people were used to. While they did make great use of many spices like pepper, red pepper, mustard and allspice to name a few; they also incorporated garlic, tomatoes and potatoes into their cooking. There was more emphasis placed on cream and butter and the sauces they made.
Even though most people believe that Cajuns like their food fiery hot, that is not always true. They do season foods more with chili peppers, allspice, and white and black pepper than is typical. Most of their meals are based around what animals could be caught in the ocean and swamps. From crayfish to clams to more exotic forms of game, fish and grains.
So if you do ever wonder what makes Cajun eggs Cajun or anything else on the menu for that matter, it is in all likely hood the addition of hot sauce and course ground pepper. Though historically nothing could be further from the truth. What it would really need is a nice seafood stew with some potatoes, celery, garlic and onions floating in it. Only than would the average person from Louisiana say; yep, just like home.
To really understand the differences you must first understand the background of each style of cooking and how it evolved over time. True Cajuns cooking is about using whatever you have on hand and being happy about it. When the French settlers arrived in south Louisiana from Canada they did not have much. They looked around them and used the food sources nature provided.
The general term Creole is a reference to the primary settlers of the New Orleans, Louisiana area. These were often wealthy families who had chefs on their staff from other famous cities. Because most of the types of food they would normally use were not available to them, the governor asked his own personal chefs to help teach them to use many indigenous animals or native plants for their cooking.
There is an old expression in Louisiana that goes something like, a creole will feed one family with 3 chickens while Cajuns feed 3 families one chicken. Most creoles will use butter and flour as the base for their soups and sauces. Most Cajuns will use lard and flour as the base for many of their soups and sauces.
A good example is traditional gumbo. Most creole gumbo has a tomato like base with butter and flour. The final result is that it is more like a soup when finished. Most Cajuns use a Roux base for their gumbo made from pork lard and flour. The resulting dish ends up being much more like a thick stew than a soup.
The creole style cooking is more like the city cooking most people were used to. While they did make great use of many spices like pepper, red pepper, mustard and allspice to name a few; they also incorporated garlic, tomatoes and potatoes into their cooking. There was more emphasis placed on cream and butter and the sauces they made.
Even though most people believe that Cajuns like their food fiery hot, that is not always true. They do season foods more with chili peppers, allspice, and white and black pepper than is typical. Most of their meals are based around what animals could be caught in the ocean and swamps. From crayfish to clams to more exotic forms of game, fish and grains.
So if you do ever wonder what makes Cajun eggs Cajun or anything else on the menu for that matter, it is in all likely hood the addition of hot sauce and course ground pepper. Though historically nothing could be further from the truth. What it would really need is a nice seafood stew with some potatoes, celery, garlic and onions floating in it. Only than would the average person from Louisiana say; yep, just like home.
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