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Here are today’s five thing to know about Southern Food

The most notable influences on southern cooking come from English, Scottish, Irish, German, French, Native American, and African American cuisines.

Many items such as squash, tomatoes, corn (and its derivatives, including grits), as well as the practice of deep pit barbecuing were inherited from the southeastern American Indian tribes such as the Caddo, Choctaw, and Seminole.

The South’s propensity for a full breakfast is derived from the English fry up, although it was altered substantially.

A traditional Southern meal is pan-fried chicken, field peas (such as black-eyed peas), greens (such as collard greens or mustard), mashed potatoes, cornbread or corn pone, sweet tea, and a dessert that is usually a pie (sweet potato, chess, shoofly, pecan, and peach are traditional southern pies), or a cobbler (peach, blackberry, or mixed berry are traditional cobblers).

At least a dozen soups also have their origins in the American South.

Today’s Food History

• 1521 Emperor Charles V opens the Diet of Worms.
• 1892 Coca-Cola was incorporated.
• 1939 Chef, Jeff Smith,The Frugal Gourmet was born
• 1985 A cold wave damaged 90 percent of the Florida citrus crop.
• 1997 A weekend freeze cost Florida farmers at least 100 million dollars in crop losses. Winter vegetables in south Dade County and southwest Florida were hardest hit
• 2008 The Jewish Holiday, Tu B’Shevat, celebrated by planting trees that bears fruits, is permitted work

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