African Americans, how often do you eat soul food and what’s your fav?

24 comments

  1. Honestly only twice a year, on Christmas and Thanksgiving but sometimes randomly here and there throughout the year

  2. Contrary to Reddit belief IRL when someone specifically uses the phrase “Soul Food” the vast majority of time they’re referring to dishes traditionally eaten by Black Americans, in the same way that when someone says “anime” the vast majority of the time they’re referring to animated shows specifically from Japan. But of course this is Reddit so any time you bring up anything about Black people outside of r/BlackPeopleTwitter there will be a thousand “Well ackshully” comments to try & diminish whatever the topic is using semantics or just out right incorrect information.

    That being said, it kind of depends on the dish and whether or not there’s someone in your family that “really cooks”. I’d say in the same way that I’m sure Hispanic people don’t think of Mexican food as “Mexican food” it’s just food to them I’m sure if I sat and thought about it there’s things I just see as regular that someone else would consider “Soul Food”.

  4. As others said, being black isn’t a requirement to this question.

    If I eat 3 times a day, 7 days a week, that’s 21 meals a week. Of that 21, I’d say at least 7 of them are mostly or completely what is considered Soul food. So on average, one meal every day.

    When I still lived in Mississippi, easily half or more of my meals were mostly or all Soul food.

    And outside of meals, I routinely snack on pickled pig feet, which I guess counts.

    Edit: And back when I was in school, easily half or more of our cafeteria lunch was what you’d call Soul food. We had turnip, mustard, or collard greens with cornbread basically every day. So for example, even on “pizza day!”, we were served pizza with greens and cornbread. And probably butter beans with ham hocks or diced jowl.

  5. Only around the holidays when I go to stay with family. I love fried fish, chicken, or pork chops and always have to have collard greens and a carb (corn bread or hush puppies) if I’m eating soul food. I eat barbecue or other generally southern foods more often, but still not regularly.

  6. Pretty often. Probably some aspect of it weekly. Chicken, mac, yams and greens. Making that tn actually

  7. I’d say (if you exclude greens) 4-6 times a year.

    Greens are a side, so I don’t consider it “eating soul food” if I’m just having some collard greens with my steak or whatever. I’m assuming OP’s question is for like a whole dinner: entree and 2-3 sides.

    As far as that goes… probably 4-6 times a year. My favs are Smothered pork chops, oxtails, chicken fried steak and cream gravy, Cajun/creole food (specifically etouffee, red beans and rice, gumbo and jambalaya).

  8. Well I guess quite often although it’s just the food that I grew up with. A lot of the stuff that I cook my husband wouldn’t eat when he met me because his mother had no idea how to cook much of anything and wouldn’t season beans or greens or really anything. I learned to cook from my mother and grandmother. When I was a kid my brother and sister made fun of me because if there were cooked greens around I had a bowl in my hand.

    Mom taught me how to cut up a whole chicken when I was 13 and fried chicken was on the menu every week at least once. If I eat fried chicken now though I get it out because that’s a huge greasy mess to clean up.

    All beans and peas require some kind of good ham seasoning. Smoked hocks do it best but ham trimming work too. A pot of beans requires a pone of cornbread. My grandmother and grandfather used to put cold cornbread in a glass and fill it with buttermilk. I just like it in beans or hot with a slab of butter melted on it.

    I recently found out that a local restaurant has fried catfish every Friday. It’s good too! They have really good mac and cheese too. Where I grew up we had catfish houses. Most places in NC serve flounder or white fish.

    If you want really good mixed greens or turnip greens go to YouTube and find Loveless Cafe turnip greens recipe. You don’t even have to splash those with vinegar to eat them and I could drink a whole bowl full of the pot likker.

    Gotta run now. I’m hungry. LOL

  9. Whenever I go home lol 😂

    And besides fried chicken I’d say Mac and cheese but honestly the whole meal feels collective.

  13. I am not from the south, my parents aren’t either. Their parents were though.

    I consider soul food food that is fried and sides like macaroni and cheese, collard greens, etc.

    Outside of thanksgiving and Christmas, I don’t really eat soul food. I’m more of a fan of making Asian or Mexican food at home.

    Soul food doesn’t really work in my house because my husband is gluten intolerant and a vegetarian.

    Also, while there are recipes for soul food, it’s food people make that just know how to make it. Can’t make it good if I’m not taught.

  14. About once a week or two. I love fried catfish with collards and yams.

    When I was a kid, my grandmother would cook a big dinner every Sunday, and the whole family would hangout together. Once she passed we stopped the tradition. Now my wife and I want to start doing it again.

  16. I want to thank my darker skinned brothers and sisters for bringing soul food into my life and all the women and men in my childhood that made it for me. I will never forget how much I love you even though I now live in lily white New England and soul food is like a few hundred mile trip to get.

  18. Black American, present!☝🏾 Certainly on holidays but also whenever I have a hankering and whenever my mother cooks it

    My mother throw down

    My favorite thing ever is candied yams. I also love baked mac & cheese. Of course fried chicken, cornbread. I’ve grown to love collard greens (pork). As far as desserts go, I love yellow cake with chocolate frosting, love sweet potato pie.

    Soul food is one thing about my cultural heritage that I am very, very proud of.

  19. Not since my mom died 17 years ago. She was a great cook but failed to teach me how to cook so I never learned how to make her dishes. My aunts do not cook as well so I don’t bother eating their cooking.

  20. Does it count if I’m white but I eat it all the time because there’s a restaurant literally right down the street from my house that bills themselves as a “Cajun soul cafe”?

  21. Not African American, but my southern cooking grandma (Oklahoma is not considered part of the South because it was Indian territory during the civil war, but is basically aligned with it in most ways) cooked good Southern food.

    My mom always makes black eyed peas and hog jowls on New Year’s Day (along with chili) for good luck in the new year.

    Whenever I get an opportunity to eat fried okra and fried catfish, I take it. I can get fries okra pretty easily in my small town on the west coast, but not fried catfish.

    My mom will also cook canned green beans with bacon (sometimes onions), and a bit of brown sugar, until they are almost mush. Not quite soul food but it’s soul food adjacent.

  22. About once or twice a month (I’m trying to lose weight).

    I like the usual: fried chicken, fried pork chops, collard greens, fried okra, Mac & cheese, hush puppies, BBQ, brisket, cornbread, yams, cabbage, the occasional fried fish, dirty rice and pinto beans, etc

  23. Not a while, honestly. Mostly if I’m hanging out with extended family or something, which doesn’t happen often.

  24. While it definitely tastes good, I only eat traditional soul food occasionally. Mostly at family events.

    Part of that is due to health concerns for some of the food. But I also just like variety and wouldn’t want to limit myself to one type of food.

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