In February 2010, the wine dinner at blu seafood and bar celebrated the rich culinary heritage of the Lowcountry.
What is Lowcountry, you may ask. Well, geographically speaking, the Lowcountry is defined as the coastal areas from around Pawley's Island (about 60 miles north of Charleston) all the way down to the Savannah River. Here among the palmettos, the Spanish moss, and the saltmarshes can be found some of America's richest remnants of culture, especially in the culinary traditions of this region, which run very deep. French Huguenots, Spanish conquistadores, English merchants, and Native-American tribes have all influenced Lowcountry cuisine, but the major contributions were made by African-American slaves. Many of the ingredients and cooking methods that are most popular in Lowcountry cooking traveled the Atlantic Ocean from West Africa, and the Gullah people -- descendants of slaves -- of South Carolina keep these traditions alive.
There are two major components to Lowcountry cooking: The sea and agriculture. While there are many staples to so-called "Southern Food" that are shared by Lowcountry cuisine, one of the major separation points between Southern and Lowcountry have to be marked by the presence of seafood. Sure, grits is an important item on any Southern plate, but when you add fresh shrimp to the dish, Lowcountry has accented the dish. Crab, fish, oysters, and shrimps are major ingredient to Lowcountry cuisine. One of the more popular dishes, Frogmore Stew, is sort of a "Lowcountry Boil" -- a one-pot stew of shrimp, corn-on-the-cob, and spicy sausage. Here, oysters are steamed in their own liquors and she-crab soup is the Soupe du Jour.
Agriculture has played a large part in the culinary tradition as well. The lush, fertile marshes proved to be best suited for rice-growing. Again, slaves played a large part in this major development, as it is believed that West Africans provided slaveowners the expertise to cultivating the grain which was more common in their homeland. Rice is often one of the more common bases to Lowcountry dishes, such as pilau (per-LOO), chicken bog, and Savannah red rice. Many other ingredients were introduced to the Americas via the slave trade, with the Lowcountry providing the same growing conditions as West Africa, such as yams/sweet potatoes, turnips, okra, sesame (benne is another major menu item in Charleston restaurants), black-eyed peas, and many more. Those of us lucky to live in this part of the nation enjoy close proximity to such wonderful, diverse food cultures.
There are two major components to Lowcountry cooking: The sea and agriculture. While there are many staples to so-called "Southern Food" that are shared by Lowcountry cuisine, one of the major separation points between Southern and Lowcountry have to be marked by the presence of seafood. Sure, grits is an important item on any Southern plate, but when you add fresh shrimp to the dish, Lowcountry has accented the dish. Crab, fish, oysters, and shrimps are major ingredient to Lowcountry cuisine. One of the more popular dishes, Frogmore Stew, is sort of a "Lowcountry Boil" -- a one-pot stew of shrimp, corn-on-the-cob, and spicy sausage. Here, oysters are steamed in their own liquors and she-crab soup is the Soupe du Jour.
Agriculture has played a large part in the culinary tradition as well. The lush, fertile marshes proved to be best suited for rice-growing. Again, slaves played a large part in this major development, as it is believed that West Africans provided slaveowners the expertise to cultivating the grain which was more common in their homeland. Rice is often one of the more common bases to Lowcountry dishes, such as pilau (per-LOO), chicken bog, and Savannah red rice. Many other ingredients were introduced to the Americas via the slave trade, with the Lowcountry providing the same growing conditions as West Africa, such as yams/sweet potatoes, turnips, okra, sesame (benne is another major menu item in Charleston restaurants), black-eyed peas, and many more. Those of us lucky to live in this part of the nation enjoy close proximity to such wonderful, diverse food cultures.
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