What Does Cajun And Creole Foods Consist Of? Is It Good?

nola_caj on Mon, 8th Feb 2010 10:11 pm 



ok .. Blah doesn’t know what shes talking about ..
I’m sorry .. but dont expect to get good cajun food in Chicago or anywhere else BUT Louisiana. .. Thats A No Brainer. We have the real stuff and the best food in the nation. Theres not 1 Cajun food I can think of that I would rate lower then between 8-10, 10 being excellent.
Cajun food can be anywhere from spicy .. to .. having a kick. Its whatever you like. I dont know what I would do without Cajun food.. after having tried it .. everything else is very bland
To read more about the cuisine .. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun_cuisi…
.. also type a search for a list of Cajun food
.. and if you ever plan a trip here .. this site is helpful for activities and restaurants http://frenchquarter.com/
————————————–…
EDIT to ljhsullivan
Please.. the Mexican food here is NOTHING in comparison to food IN Mexico .. whether the restaurant is authentic or not .. its NOT the same. You may think its good but only if you never went to mexico and actually tried their food ..
and as for cajun restaurants in Chicago .. U are not going to get the same sea food
I went to a cajun restaurant in both Phoenix and Austin and both were an embarrassment

The_Doc_ on Tue, 9th Feb 2010 3:44 am 



OK, to start with:
“Creole” refers to “old Louisiana family” and can be as bland as any food could ever be or as hot. “Cajun” (a corrupt form of “Arcadian” originating when the French moved from Nova Scotia after England took over Canada) refers to a cuisine based on spices to hide the age of the food in a time that lacked refrigeration.
Both are based on local foods as opposed to imported foods. Which means chicken, pork, lots of fish and shellfish. Not that much beef.
Both are based on local spices, and Avery Island, LA has some of the hottest peppers you will find for miles around.
Creole food can get very complex. Cajun food is usually less complex. But that’s “usually” not “always.” They overlap a bit.
Creole recipes will use familiar sources of flavor such as onions, bell pepper, garlic, shallots, etc. Cajun might or might not include those items but can include peppery elements such as ground cayenne pepper. Cajun food more often involves frying or boiling, Creole food covers the entire spectrum of preparation.
If you want to think of Creole as being “old family recipes” and Cajun as being “old swamp-country recipes” – that is an over-simplification, because both are more complex than that. But those are good starting points for the definition. Just don’t stop there.

?Houston on Tue, 9th Feb 2010 7:23 am 



That girl blah should be banned from this group for being the worst source of information and defamation.
Cajun/creole foods are foods that you can find in the State of Louisiana. It is a mixed amongst French/African/Spanish foods. It is mostly French based (that’s why it is so very delicious). The base for it is the roux which is a paste made of butter and flour to basically thincken the soups and stews. The ingredients consist of roux, cayenne pepper, paprika, salt, butter and so on. They use a lot of seafood and also many kinds of meat such as pork, pheasant, alligator, nutria, chicken, turkey, and beef.
Gumbo, Jambalaya, bisque and andouille sausage are the most popular foods but there are a million different recipes for cajun/creole. Beignets are the French Donuts. As a matter of fact, the beignets from Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans were chosen as best beignets in the entire country. Also, they have the best culinary schools in the world in Louisiana. Emeril Lagasse graduated from the School in New Orleans and he is originally from Boston. I could go on and on. I hope this information was helpful.
Good Luck

ljhsulli on Tue, 9th Feb 2010 1:09 pm 



I have traveled all over the US and I can promise you, Louisiana has the best cooking! Cajun food is typically spicy and very flavorable. Wal Mart now carries a brand of spice called “Tony’s” it’s great on just about everything!
Hope I helped a little!
EDIT: Your first answer doesn’t know what she is talking about. You aren’t going to get good Cajun food in Chicago! Come on now! That’s like saying you can get a good Mexican meal here(in Louisiana)! lol

Jennifer M on Tue, 9th Feb 2010 6:13 pm 



We have the best food in the country for sure! Lots of seafood with good spices…not going to burn you’re tongue off, but you’ll taste it. I have been fortunate enough to be married to a Cajun from down the bayou. Red beans and rice w/pickle meat, jambalaya, shrimp creole, dirty rice, sausage, etc. There’s no doubt that we have a very overweight population in this area of the country. Love it!

candymom on Tue, 9th Feb 2010 10:47 pm 



Have you ever eaten food that was so spicy that you broke out into a sweat but was so good you couldnt stop just for a swig of the beer you had sitting right in front of you? That how it is.. Louisiana Resident, and my maiden name is Boudreaux. You cant get any more cajun than that!
Everyone else is giving really good answers. Its hard to say what its made of, like its something out of the ordinary. I think a lot of it, has to do with how you cook it. Like for example, the roux that someone mentioned before. A really good roux needs to be copper like a penny, almost burnt but not. We use a lot of what people call the holy trinity, onions, celery, and bellpeppers, in what we cook. One time,way back when, after visiting a friend of mine in Winnfield, La. i asked my mom if she could make chicken n dumplings like my friends Grandma did, (white gravy and all) lmao! my mom made chicken stew with a dark roux and threw bread in it! Its a way of life, and if we had to be anything else, well, we’d be obviously screwed. My brother went to Chicago for Optometry school and my parents shipped him sacks of crawfish up there to boil! We like to enjoy our food with friends and family. Any excuse to have a party, and be merry.

hunny414 on Wed, 10th Feb 2010 5:44 am 



YUM YUM you will love it

blah on Wed, 10th Feb 2010 6:32 am 



depends if its in upper louisiana or any where not in louisiana(south is best) then no. its gross. like my friend went to a “cajun” restaurant in Chicago and it was soo gross and uneditible.
cajun is sorta spicy. well actually it depends. i like spicy but i hate it too. but the deep cajun is spicy spicy.
creole is i think maybe gross. if the blackened food is creole then yeah gross
i live in lafayette btw

Tell us what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!