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What is one of items most talked about by natives and tourists to New Orleans? Food.
It is not too often that you can go into any restaurant in a city and know exactly what the special of the day is going to be based on the day of the week. Although some days may vary, Monday is always Red Beans and Rice while Friday is always seafood, usually either a fried catfish or a fried shrimp po-boy sandwich. The story behind these two dishes is well entrenched. Red Beans, or kidney beans, are best cooked slow and long. Before the many marvels of todays kitchen appliances, they were often cooked for six to eight hours. Because of this long cooking time and that once the beans were in the pot you could forget about them, they became the perfect dish to serve on Mondays. What made Monday so important? Monday was wash day. This meant a full day of scrubbing clothes and hanging them out to dry. The women of the day didn't have the available time to spend watching pots over a fire, which lead to a search for an easy dish to cook, hence red beans on Monday. Fridays dish comes about entirely different. When New Orleans was founded back in the early 1700's, it had as residents' people who were deeply religious Catholics. One of the major religious seasons for Catholics is Lent, the forty days between Ash Wednesday and Easter. During this period, Catholics do not eat any type of meat or poultry on Fridays, which left only seafood. Of course, our oldest forefathers did not get to eat a shrimp or catfish po-boy, as they were not invented until the early 1900's, but they did get to enjoy their seafood cooked in other ways. In a future issue, we'll discuss the history of po-boys and other ways that Lent has shaped the eating habits of New Orleanians. Westley Annis
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The copyright of the article What to Eat and When to Eat It in New Orleans is owned by Westley Annis. Permission to republish What to Eat and When to Eat It in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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