The greatness of Gumbo

Perhaps nothing is better known as a staple of Cajun cuisine than gumbo, a spicy, hearty stew or soup whose name literally means "okra". He called one of the greatest contributions of Louisiana Cajun cuisine with kitchenette, he came to the state with the first French settlers, who loved bouillabaisse, a highly seasoned French stew. Unable to find their usual ingredients to make fish soup, substituting local ingredients such as shrimp, fish and okra. After a century mixing with Spanish, African and native cuisine in the region, the step was no longer recognizable as its French precursor and was instead something completely new - gumbo.

It is still very common in Louisiana gumbo is also found along the Gulf of Mexico and is often eaten in the coldest months when cooking long needed to make the usually large batches of the dish will not heat the room to uncomfortable levels.

Gumbo consists of two main components - rice and broth. The two are mixed only to serve, and while new rice must be prepared daily, broth can be frozen and stored for future consumption.

Rice soup is usually white or rice steamed or boiled with salt and a little white vinegar to taste. There is some controversy over the proper ratio of rice soup - "wet rice" for those who like a lot of rice with 

broth and, at the opposite end, only a little rice. In some areas, it is also common to add potato salad to soup, with or without rice.

The broth comes in several varieties. One of the most common is seafood, containing crab, oysters and shrimp. Equally common is chicken stew with Cajun sausage called audouille. There are also ducks and oyster soup and a variety of okra with other birds such as quail or turkey. Rabbit can be used for soup, as the Cajun smoked pork known as tasso. Z'herbes soup (of the French soup aux herbes), vegetable soup thickened with roux suffocated, and was also a commonly eaten during Lent, when meat was traditionally forbidden by the church.

Gumbo was originally made with okra, and some, especially in southeast Louisiana could argue that anything made without okra can not rightly be called gumbo. Gombos okra generally have lighter, like chicken or shrimp, okra meat is cut into pieces and simmered in the pot along with the meat and the three spices that form the "Holy Trinity" of Cajun cooking - celery, onion and pepper. Other spices, and rarely processed meats such as sausage, are added to the mix. Contrary to popular belief, it is disapproved by a chef making too hot or spicy Cajun cooking - these are left to the diners if they want to add more spices later.

Gumbo can also be made with a roux base, which has a much stronger taste and takes any kind of meat. Roux by itself is often very dark, but can be combined with okra to make a lighter action. Philae, a powder of dried and ground sassafras, can also be used as a base for soup, but is never, under any circumstances, combined with okra. Originally, it was used as a substitute when okra was not in season. In modern times, it is commonly added as a powder to a roux based gumbo.

Regardless of its base and its history, gumbo remains a tasty staple of Cajun cuisine.