For Southerners, our most enthusiastic arguments might seem silly to some–” is it pronounced puh-KAHN or PEE-can?”– but they can be an affront of the most serious nature, especially when we’re talking about food. Those who grew up eating gumbo frequently keep life time loyalties to the method it was made in their family, community, or preferred restaurant– and that goes for how they consume it.
Out of all the opinions in the South, there is one that returns generations and will likely keep going till completion of time: Does potato salad belong on gumbo or not?
For those in Louisiana and Cajun-Creole pockets of other states, it’s a typical argument. Many think that you ‘d never ever, ever, ever put potato salad on top of gumbo. (These folks are the most outspoken.) Yet, plenty others do not concur and say that it is a tradition that includes a tasty, velvety element. More folks note that having potato salad on the side is extremely typical. Who’s? The responses that our readers offered might even surprise lifelong Louisianans.
Some Said “Heck No!”
” Why would you put a mayo-based salad in the middle of hot gumbo?!”.
” When I prepare my seafood gumbo, don’t even bring potato salad into my neighborhood.”.
” I would not want mayo floating around in my gumbo! Yuck!”.
” If it enters my gumbo, I’m filing a cops report. That’s a culinary criminal offense.”.
” Does brown gravy belong on coconut cake?”.
Others Said “Absolutely Yes!”.
” Smack dab in the middle of the bowl!”.
” I scrolled searching for Cajun names. They know the appropriate response. Gumbo is their meal. And the correct response is yes.”.
” Just a ‘dollop’ of cold potato salad on the side of the bowl enables you to take a little spoonful with your gumbo to cool the spice level in your mouth.”.
Many Preferred “On the Side”.
” Take a little scoop of potato salad from the side and after that add a little gumbo in the exact same bite. That way the potato salad doesn’t get mushy in the gumbo.”.
” I do not consume gumbo cooked by anybody north of Alexandria, Louisiana, west of Lake Charles, or east of Slidell. Sorry, not sorry. And I dip my potato salad in my gumbo.”.
” Potato salad was always a side meal. Rice in the gumbo.”.
Some Are “Staying Out of It”.
” If you like it that way, knock your lights out. Life’s too brief to debate how a person enjoys his/her meals. Consume, delight in, sleep later on.”.
” If you like it, yes. If you don’t like it, no.”.
All in all, you’re not going to encourage anybody to change sides, however hopefully there’s a serene understanding that, at the minimum, everybody loves their gumbo. And who’s to evaluate how anybody likes to eat it? (For those of us not raised on gumbo, we might be finest leaving this battle to the Louisianans.).
