What Foods Were Eaten in the Southern Colonies?

A variety of foods were eaten in the original southern colonies of Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia:

When the colonists first arrived, they brought some things with them, like cows, chickens, flour, sugar, etc, as well as the European style of cooking.
They could not have survived without the help of the native people, who introduced a staple of their diet, corn. Corn can be used to make cornbread, hominy, and moonshine.
The Indians showed the colonists how to slowly cook meat with smoke.
Other foods eaten in the southern colonies were potatoes, yams, peanuts, rice, string beans, and cabbage.

When the Spaniards arrived, they brought pigs with them that somewhat changed what the southern colonists ate.

Salted pork became a common food in households.
After time, Cajun and Creole cooking was developed, with help from the French, Latin Americans, and Spanish.
Soul food was introduced to the diet from the African American population.

Influences on Foods Eaten in the Southern Colonies

When looking at what foods were eaten in the southern colonies, it is also helpful to look at what influenced southern cuisine in the southern states. These southern states included the original southern colonies as well as Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Tennessee and Florida:

The Indians had the most influence at first on the colonists. They had lived here many years before the European settlers arrived and they shared their farming, cooking, and hunting techniques with them. Some of the helpful tribes were Caddo, Choctaw, and Seminole.

The French, Spanish, and people from the Caribbean contributed to the creation of Cajun and Creole cooking. Dishes usually had rice and also included crawfish, crab, oysters, or shrimp. Other foods that are native to the region, with most of it being Louisiana, are okra, pecans, peanuts, grapes, figs, and plums.

The African American influence on southern cooking can be seen in dishes using: black-eyed peas, okra, greens, rice, eggplant, kola nuts, sesame seeds, field peas, and melons. Stews and rice were very common. If you were black and poor, you had to use as much of an animal that you could, so dishes like chitlins (pig intestines) and pig’s feet were consumed.

Modern Day Southern Food and Cooking

The foods eaten in the Southern colonies has evolved over time, so it is interesting to look at Southern cuisine today.

Louisiana will feature crawfish and hot sauce along with seafood and vegetables served on a bed of rice.
In the Carolinas, expect rice, black-eyed peas, and pork.
Virginia has ham, apples, and peanuts.
Central southern states have cornbread and beans, biscuits and gravy, catfish, and barbecue.
Barbecue is enjoyed throughout the south.
We can’t forget Florida with its key lime pie, orange juice, and swamp cabbage or Georgia, with its peaches, pecans, and peanuts.

In the past, the cuisine of the Appalachian regions includes pigs and chicken, so people can eat ham, bacon, and sausage. Seafood would only be locally caught catfish. The mountains offered wild game, like deer and squirrel, and when grains were more plentiful, biscuits became very popular. So today you can find a variety of meat dishes with a side of biscuits and gravy.

In the south, historically and today, when meat is pan fried, the drippings are collected and used to make gravy. If you are traveling through the south, biscuits and gravy will be available to you everywhere. Desserts that you may enjoy include: sweet potato, chess, pumpkin, pecan, or peach pie and apple, peach, or berry cobbler. You might also want to try bread pudding, key lime pie, or baked apple slices.

What Foods Were Eaten in the Southern Colonies?

Influences on Foods Eaten in the Southern Colonies

Modern Day Southern Food and Cooking

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