Editing Cajun cuisine (section)

==History==

The [[Acadians]] were a group of French colonists who lived in Acadia, what is today Eastern Canada. In the mid-18th century, they were deported from Acadia by the [[Kingdom of Great Britain|British]] during the [[French and Indian War]] in what they termed [[Expulsion of the Acadians|''le Grand Dérangement'']], and many of them ended up settling in southern Louisiana.<ref name="Gutierrez">{{Cite book |last= Gutierrez |first= Paige C. |title= Cajun Foodways |publisher= University Press of Mississippi |date= 1992 |isbn= 0-8780-5563-0}} Retrieved 2014-04.</ref>{{rp|6}}

[[Image:Skillet cornbread (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|[[Cornbread]] is a staple Cajun starch.]]
Due to the extreme change in climate from that of Acadia, Acadians were unable to cook their original dishes.<ref name="Bienvenu">{{Cite book |author1=Bienvenu, Marcelle |author2=Brasseaux, Carl A. |author3=Brasseaux, Ryan A. |title= Stir the Pot: The History of Cajun Cuisine |publisher= Hippocrine Books |date=June 2008 |isbn= 978-0-7818-1212-2}} Retrieved 2014-04.</ref>{{rp|20}} Soon, their former culinary traditions were adapted and, in time, incorporated not only Native American traditions, but also African-American traditions—as is exemplified in the classic Cajun dish "[[gumbo]]", which takes its name from the word for its principal ingredient, [[okra]], in the West African [[Bambara language]]. In Louisiana, the Acadian settlers replaced the whole wheat bread they were accustomed to with [[cornbread]], which by the beginning of the 19th century they were eating with [[Sugarcane#Ribbon cane syrup|cane syrup]]. Between 1790 and 1810 most Louisiana Acadians bought one to three enslaved black persons, many of whom who had come from the West Indies, from whom they learned the use of new ingredients, including okra, to incorporate in their cuisine. The ragu sauces that the Cajuns developed are very similar to sauces used in French West Africa, possibly introduced by enslaved cooks.<ref name="Brasseaux1987">{{cite book |last1=Brasseaux |first1=Carl A. |title=The Founding of New Acadia: The Beginnings of Acadian Life in Louisiana, 1765–1803 |year=1987 |publisher=LSU Press |isbn=978-0-8071-4163-2 |page=135 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R3xaRPSluLsC&pg=PA135}}</ref>

Many other meals developed along these lines, adapted in no small part from Haiti, to become what is now considered classic Cajun cuisine traditions (not to be confused with the more modern concept associated with [[Paul Prudhomme|Prudhomme]]'s style).<ref name="Read">{{cite news|title= Real Cajun Food, From Swamp to City: [Dining In, Dining Out / Style Desk] |author= Read, Mimi |newspaper= New York Times |id = {{ProQuest|434010916}}}}</ref>

Up through the 20th century, the meals were not elaborate but instead, rather basic.{{r|Bienvenu|p=23}} The public's false perception of "Cajun" cuisine was based on Prudhomme's style of Cajun cooking, which was spicy, flavorful, and not true to the classic form of the cuisine.{{r|Read}}

Cajun and Creole cuisine have mistakenly  been considered the same, but the origins of Creole cooking are in New Orleans, and Cajun cooking arose 40 years after its establishment.<ref>{{cite news |last1= Gonsoulin |first1=Brandy |title= 70 Miles of Distinction; Exploring the differences between Cajun and Creole cuisines |url= http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/food/sc-food-0130-creole-vs-cajun-20150127-story.html#page=1 |agency= Tribune Newspapers |issue=4pp |publisher= Orland |date= 5 February 2015}}</ref> Today, most restaurants serve dishes that consist of Cajun styles, which [[Paul Prudhomme]] dubbed "Louisiana cooking".<ref name="Prudhomme">{{cite book |last= Prudhomme |first= Paul |title= Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen |publisher= William and Morrow Company, Inc. |year= 1984 |isbn= 0-6880-2847-0 |page= [https://archive.org/details/chefpaulprudhomm00prud_2/page/16 16] |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/chefpaulprudhomm00prud_2/page/16 }} Retrieved 2014-04.</ref> In Cajun home-cooking, these individual styles are still kept separate.{{r|Prudhomme}} However, there are fewer and fewer people cooking the classic Cajun dishes that would have been eaten by the original settlers.{{r|Bienvenu|p=30}}