HOOKED ON HERITAGE
Get ready for a delicious celebration at this year’s Juneteenth Event! This year, we’re focusing on a staple of soul food cuisine: fish. Fish has long been enjoyed in West Africa, the ancestral homeland of most African Americans, and it remains a cornerstone of our culinary traditions today.
For centuries, West African cooks have used dried, salted, or smoked fish to season vegetable dishes or fried it for meals and snacks. When millions of West Africans were forcibly brought to the Americas during the Atlantic slave trade, they brought their rich culinary traditions with them, using food as a way to recreate a sense of home in a foreign land. Among the myriad of fish they ate, catfish emerged as a favorite because of its familiarity and abundance in the American South.
Imagine the scene: freshly caught catfish, processed and fried right on the banks of Southern waterways. It was easy to prepare, and a large amount could be cooked quickly, making fish fries on Fridays or Saturdays a staple of African American social life. These gatherings became more than just meals; they were communal events, often serving as popular fundraisers for African American churches.
The catfish industry saw a boom in the 1960s when cotton farmers in Arkansas and Mississippi, facing economic collapse, turned their fields into gigantic catfish ponds. Their success made catfish cheap and readily available nationwide. However, the industry has struggled in recent years, causing prices to rise. As a result, home cooks and restaurants often substitute tilapia or Vietnamese catfish (basa or swai), which are more affordable.
As you savor a piece of that crunchy, flaky, fried fish at our Juneteenth event, take a moment to appreciate its rich history. This simple yet comforting dish is not just food; it's a connection to our ancestors and their stories of resilience and adaptation.