Southern Foodways--Introduce a Southern Food Essay

Southern Foodways--Introduce a Southern Food - Essay Example Astoundingly, black-eyed peas do not fall under the category of peas at all. Instead, they fall under an array of beans such as the cowpea and regarded as legumes, that is they comprise edible seeds and pods. The earliest records at the Library of Congress reveal the cultivation of black-eyed peas in China and India that date back to pre-historic times. Furthermore, evidence points out that ancient Greeks and Romans also used to consume them. Similarly, the chronicles of history reveal black-eyed peas to symbolise fortune and luck even during the time of Pharaohs. They advanced that those who consumed black-eyed peas, a cheap and modest meal, demonstrated their humbleness and protected themselves against the wrath of hell, which they viewed to be a consequence of vanity. In addition, records from medieval times suggest the initial domestication of black-eyed peas to have occurred in West Africa. This is supported by evidence of the transportation of black-eyed peas from West Africa t o West Indies by slaves. Later down the road, with the inception of slave trade in America, black-eyed beans reached the low-country areas including Carolinas and Georgia (Kittler, Sucher and Nelms 200). Soon after that, these were planted in Florida and Carolinas, and Texas. However, it was after the American Revolution that the crop took firmer hold in crop plantations. To this day, black-eyed pea ranks amongst the most consumed and popular ingredient in Southern cuisines. In particular, George Washington promoted cultivation of black-eyed peas, because being a legume meant that it offered nitrogen to the soil besides being high in nutrition. Nevertheless, black-eyed peas can only be planted in warm soil, as it is heat-loving crop. Moreover, seeds planted too early decay before germination. Due to their drought resistant nature, they should not be excessively watered. On the bright side, this crop is not much susceptible to pests or diseases. However, black-eyed pea crops should b e regularly rotated or else they become prone to root-knot nematodes. Being an antirogen fixing crop, it has the capacity to thrive for three weeks without nitrogen-based fertilizers after germination. The blossom results in the production of a plethora of nectar and extensive plantations serve as a vital source of honey. Nonetheless, the bloom is a prime attraction for an array of pollinators; thus, insecticides must be applied cautiously to the crop. The chronicles of history are filled with illustrations of countless taboos, superstitions, practices associated with New Year’s Day. The vast majority of cultures believed there to be an affiliation between person’s doings on New Year’s Day and their luck in the subsequent year. Such a tradition of good luck by eating black-eyed peas at Rosh Hashana, which marks the beginning of Jewish New Year, has been found in Talmud, complied during the Babylonian times. It records that Horayot and Abaye instructed Jews to in culcate a habit to see ‘rubiya’ or black-eyed peas on every New Year in hope of good luck. Another corresponding text is dated back to Kritot that advocated the consumption of symbols of good fortune. This Jewish law from the sixteenth century is still adhered to by the Sephardi and Israeli Jews. The arrival of