Category: African american culture

Over 7,000 years ago, corn was first domesticated in what is now Mexico, later becoming a foundational crop for enslaved Africans who adapted their culinary heritage with available ingredients. This ingenuity led to cornmeal replacing African staple starches, reshaping the traditional black southern diet.

West African diets for thousands of years were centered around staples like rice and yams. This rich history definitively proves that rice is considered soul food, serving as a foundational ingredient in African American cuisine and a vital link to ancestral heritage.