Why do Southerners eat collard greens?

Classic slow-cooked Southern-style greens originated in the South during slavery. African slaves brought to America had to feed their families from precious few foods. Because greens such as collards grew abundantly, they often used them as the basis for one-pot meals.

Why are collard greens popular in the South?

Collard greens have been cooked and used for centuries. The Southern style of cooking of greens came with the arrival of African slaves to the southern colonies and the need to satisfy their hunger and provide food for their families.

Why do Southerners eat black-eyed peas and collard greens?

According to legendary Southern food researcher John Egerton's Southern Food: At Home, On the Road, In History, black-eyed peas are associated with a "mystical and mythical power to bring good luck." As for collard greens, they're green like money and will ensure you a financially prosperous new year.

Why do we eat collard greens on New Years?

Secondly, collard greens and cabbage are both considered lucky foods. They are said to represent green “folding money,” and by eating it, you open yourself up to prosperity in the new year. The same is believed true of cornbread; its golden color might just bring gold into your new year, traditions says.

Why did slaves eat collard greens?

During the antebellum period enslaved Africans only had time to make sides dishes such as collard greens on Sundays. Masters gave their slaves off on Sundays and on few holidays and religious days. Collards are a fibrous greens which required extensive cooking to make them tender and easy to digest.

WHY DO SOUTHERNERS EAT BLACK EYED PEAS AND COLLARDS FOR NEW YEARS?

What do collard greens symbolize?

Black-eyed peas and collard greens are traditionally eaten on New Year's Day across the South, to symbolize luck and money in the forthcoming year. Like so many of my favorite Southern foods, they came out of the African diaspora.

What are collard greens called in Canada?

Growing Collards (Collard greens, Borekale) in Canada - Zone 2a Sub-Arctic climate.

Why do Southerners eat black-eyed peas?

Why Are Black Eyed Peas Good Luck? The practice of eating black-eyed peas for luck is generally believed to date back to the Civil War. Originally they were used as food for livestock and later as a food staple for enslaved people in the South.

Who invented collard greens?

Collards have been cultivated in Europe for thousands of years with references to the Greeks and Romans back to the 1st Century. In Montenegro, Dalmatia and Herzegovina, collard greens, locally known as raštika or raštan, were traditionally one of the staple vegetables.

What is the traditional Southern new year's meal?

According to Southern lore, you will have good luck for the entire year if you have the traditional New Year's Day supper. In the South, that means a meal of greens, hoppin' John, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and pot likker soup.

Did slaves eat black-eyed peas?

The enslaved grew black-eyed peas in their plantation gardens. By the mid-1700s, both the enslaved and slaveholders were eating black-eyed peas on a regular basis.

What should you not eat on new year's day?

What does hog jowl mean on New Years?

Hog jowl is used to season beans and peas, or fried and eaten like bacon. On New Year's Day, hog jowls are traditionally eaten in the south to ensure health, prosperity and progress.

Why do African Americans eat greens?

The choice of greens, usually cooked with pork for flavor, comes from the perception among Black Americans that folded collard greens look like paper money, said Adrian Miller, an author and food scholar. Eating greens on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day is believed to bring about greater financial prosperity.

Which is healthier collard greens or spinach?

Collard greens are frequently eaten in the Southern U.S. regions, but deserve attention everywhere for their health benefits. Collard greens provide nearly twice the amount of calcium as spinach and are high in potassium and magnesium, too.

What are two interesting facts about collard greens?

Collard greens are the oldest leafy green within the cabbage family dating back 2000 years, originally grown by the ancient Greeks and Romans. In 1975, Ayden, North Carolina named their town's annual festival The Ayden Collard Festival. The festival still continues today over 45 years later!

Are collard greens a black thing?

These days everything has kale and collard greens near it, on it or in it, just like quinoa a few years ago. But collard greens, kale, mustard and turnip greens have always been staples of African American culture. Greens are actually part of West African cuisine where the slaves were captured.

Are collards native to America?

Collards (Brassica oleracea acephala) aren't native to the American South, nor did enslaved Africans bring the plant here, as some folklore suggests. Researchers believe the greens descended from wild cabbages grown in Asia in prehistoric times, then spread throughout Europe—the Greeks and Romans were big fans.

What are collards called in Australia?

Growing Collards (Collard greens, Borekale) in Australia - temperate climate.

Why do we eat pork on new year's day?

The Pennsylvania Dutch, as well as many other cultures, believe eating pork on New Year's Day brings good luck because pigs root around with their snouts in a forward motion. (We want to move forward, not backward in the new year).

What happens if you don't eat black-eyed peas on new year's?

So, we've established that eating black-eyed peas on January 1 will bring you a year's worth of prosperity. But the luck won't stick, according to many legends, if you don't eat them with greens (which symbolize money), cornbread (which symbolizes gold), and pork (which symbolizes luck, as pigs root forward).

Why do people eat black-eyed peas and turnip greens on new year's day?

* Eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day brings good luck in the new year. * For the best chance of luck every day in the new year, eat 365 black-eyed peas on New Year's Day. * When served with greens (collards, mustard or turnip), black-eyed peas represent coins and greens represent paper money.

Are collard greens a Superfood?

Collard greens' long history in Southern cooking includes lots of saturated fats and sodium, but among healthy eaters the vegetable has now earned a reputation as a superfood to include in your diet, especially when you are trying to shed excess pounds.

Is kale a collard green?

The main difference between kale and collard greens is that the leaves of kale are curly and its color varies from dark green to violet-green whereas the leaves of collard greens are plain and its color varies from dark green to light green.

Are Swiss chard and collard greens the same thing?

Swiss chard is more tender – but not as easy to tear as collard greens, which have the thinest (and largest) leaves of the three greens. Flavor. When cooked, Swiss chard has a very similar taste to spinach, but slightly sweeter. It's a bit less bitter than collard greens or kale when raw.