The link between my topic of Savannah foodways and the marker for the town of Riceboro is quite remarkable and cannot be understated. The historical marker talks about the important role that both rice cultivation and shipping industry brought the region its wealth. The rice plantations that were established in the region are the reason for the formation and creation of what has become the distinct culinary culture of the region. With the exception of the Indigenous peoples, every other group of people who came to the region were tied to these plantations and the shipping industry. The wealthy Europeans came and set up the plantations, and forcibly brought the enslaved Africans to work these plantations. Had these plantations not taken root in the region as they did, the need for enslaved Africans who had knowledge of rice farming would not have been needed. Perhaps the cotton plantations would have still flourished in northern portions of the region, but the distinct Gullah/Geechee culture that plays a tremendous role in defining Savannah foodways is undeniably tied to rice cultivation. Having deeply Southern roots myself, I have always been interested in how the food and cuisine of the region have shaped and been shaped by the region and its people. Moving to Savannah, I was already aware of some of the culinary traditions of Savannah and the Georgia Lowcountry, but I was still fascinated by the uniqueness of the city and region as a whole, and how different it was from other parts of the South. Having traveled to Savannah many times before, I was especially interested in learning more about the Gullah/Geechee people, especially since the Lowcountry seemed to have such strong ties to West Africa, ties which really created this specific insulated bubble around the city and region.

For my creative component I decided that the best way to explore the foodways of the region was to actually prepare some dishes and to actually taste them. For the dishes I chose, I looked for dishes that incorporated a variety of cultural backgrounds and dishes that reflected the historic cultural exchanges of the cuisine. To formulate my recipes I studied a variety of cookbooks and recipe books along with historic sources documenting the culinary traditions and tastes of the area. I looked at sources from the 19th and early 20th century as well as more modern sources so that I could adapt these recipes to today while also remembering the historic origins. I first prepared a pot of okra soup and beaten biscuits because these are some of the dishes that best represented historic Savannah (Figure 6). The okra soup which I cooked with a beef shank bone and a few slices of salt pork for a few hours to create a stock, which I added fresh and canned tomatoes to. I then sliced fresh okra and added it to the pot along with onions, seasonings, and aromatics like bay leaves and let the soup simmer slowly. I then added green butter beans and white corn kernels to the pot and let the soup finish cooking. To stay with Savannah tradition I served the soup with freshly cooked white rice. The beaten biscuits were made with all-purpose flour, shortening, milk, sugar, and salt which were kneaded into a dough that I turned out onto the counter. I then used a wooden rolling pin to start beating and folding the dough until it blistered and formed air pockets. I then cut out the biscuits and baked until they had dried out to the texture that was described in historical sources. I then prepared Hoppin’ John, a dish made of field peas cooked with aromatics, hog jowl, and smoked sausage until tender, before then stirring in raw rice and allowing the dish to finish simmering together until the rice had absorbed all of the stock. To go with the Hoppin’ John I made a skillet of cracklin’ cornbread which I did by first making cracklins, slowly cooking a pound of salt pork until all of the grease had rendered from it and it turned golden and crispy (Figure 7). I folded the cracklins into a batter made of cornmeal, salt, buttermilk and an egg, and baked in a hot cast iron skillet until it was golden and fluffy. For my final dish I prepared a batch of benne seed wafers which have been a staple in the Lowcountry and connect the region to West Africa (Figure 8). I made a dough of butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, salt and baking powder and then folded in benne seeds (sesame) that I lightly toasted in a dry skillet. I dropped the dough by scant quarter teaspoons onto a baking sheet and baked until they were crisp and browned. All of these dishes engage the topic and concept of Savannah cooking as all of these dishes represent a collective mixture of peoples and cultures that are foundational to Savannah cuisine. The okra soup is African in origin and served with corn and butter beans, which are staples of the Indigenous peoples of the region. Hoppin’ John, a dish that has Afro-Caribbean roots is served with cracklin cornbread, two dishes that originated and were staples in the African American community and is consumed by many in the region, both Black and white. Both the okra soup and Hoppin’ John use rice as a major component, highlighting the role of rice in the foodways. Benne seed wafers utilize a key African ingredient of benne seeds, and were and are popularly served by hosts and hostesses both Black and white. These dishes engage with my topic of Savannah cuisine and the melting pot that served as the basis for the foodways that have carved out a distinct culinary legacy and rich tapestry of history and culture.

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