What is Cajun Spice
Cajun, the name alone sounds tasty! But what is Cajun spice? And how to cook with it? Well, today we’re telling you all about it.
There are plenty of famous spice blends out there, from the Chinese 5-spice blend to the herbs de Provence, from curry powder to even the Pumpkin spice mix.
With time, we’ve developed a sense of flavor pairing that has allowed us to mix and match herbs and spices to achieve combinations more delicious than the sum of their parts.
The Cajun spice mix, though, is quite special because Cajun is more than a food seasoning; it’s an entire culture.
The History of Cajun
Cajun people are descendants of French immigrants in the USA. They arrived at the new continent between the 17th and 18th centuries, and they brought their cultural baggage with them.
Many French communities gathered in today’s Canadian maritime provinces, but others looked for warmer and more humid weather and called Louisiana their home.
These were troublesome times; there was slavery in the region and lots of economic turmoil. Louisiana became a cultural hotpot where every culture, including those with African heritage, became a creole society.
Cajun was for a long time the definition of people of French descent with low economic standing. Still, what they lacked in economic and political power, they had in traditions — the best of them took place in the kitchen.
The Cajun Spice Blend
Cajun cuisine combines French, Spanish and West African cooking techniques applied to Louisiana’s local products. Corn, rice, wheat, bell peppers, cayenne peppers, collard greens, lemons, okra, onions, parsley, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and chili peppers. And there are lots more.
As for the meat, both freshwater fish and marine seafood about in coastal Louisiana. Beef is rarely seen, but pork and poultry are a given, and sometimes alligator is cooked too!
A typical Cajun spice blend comprises salt, cayenne pepper and garlic. But that’s just the base. Paprika, bell peppers, oregano, green onions, parsley, black pepper and even brown sugar can play a part and often do.
Both establishments and households often have their own unique Cajun blend, passed from generation to generation, and some of them are now sold in retail. There are endless combinations for these herbs and spices. What they all have in common is their intense color, spiciness and astounding Cajun flavor.
If you want to join the Cajun tradition and start your own legacy, learn how to make your own here!
How to Cook with Cajun Spices
The most representative Cajun dish relying heavily on Cajun spices is the gumbo. A family-style, large pot of meat and veggies featuring okra, shrimp or crawfish, and many other ingredients, thickened by a French-inspired brown roux. Where there’s gumbo, there’s a party – as simple as that!
The Jambalaya, a paella-like rice dish, is also blessed by the color and flavor of Cajun spices, and it is too a crowd-pleasing dish to feed large crowds.
Cajun spices are widely known as a fabulous dry spice rum. Seasoning chicken, turkey, pork shoulder or even fish with the red-hued spices turns everything into a worthy ambassador for Cajun cuisine — it’s immediately recognizable.
Cajun Spice Health Benefits
Although a Cajun spice blend can include a wide variety of herbs and spices, each with impressive health benefits, including garlic, oregano and parsley, the featuring component, and the one that adds most health benefits to the spicy blend is cayenne pepper.
Cayenne Peppers are part of the hot pepper family, which means they get their spiciness from a compound called capsaicin.
Consuming capsaicin makes you hot, literally increasing your body temperature effectively increasing the number of calories you burn, speeding up your metabolism.
Cayenne Peppers can make you feel less hungry, meaning you eat less and control your weight. It also satiates you faster.
Capsaicin can reduce your blood pressure by relaxing your blood vessels: something important to avoid inflammation and prevent circulatory and heart disease.
Cayenne peppers are awesome to promote proper digestive health; they boost your stomach defense mechanisms and help you reduce the risk of getting an ulcer.
Add Some Cajun To Your Life
Cajun spices are addictively spicy and forget about bland meals; a pinch of this gorgeous red powder can make veggies, stews, broths and roasts a real delight with a Louisiana spirit.
Herbs and spices are the best way of adding your signature to your food, and what better than a spice blend with such a rich history! Try Cajun, at our curated shop and you’ll never go back.
Highly Rated – Social Media Chatter on Cajun Spice
Remembering Clifton Chenier (June 25, 1925 – December 12, 1987) He was a Louisiana French-speaking native of Leonville, Louisiana, near Opelousas, and was an eminent performer and recording artist of zydeco, which arose from Cajun and Creole music, with R&B, jazz, and blues influences. He played the accordion and won a Grammy Award in 1983. He was a recipient of a 1984 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts, which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. He was inducted posthumously into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2014, he was a recipient of the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.(Wiki)
Slide 1 ::: Chenier on his front porch playing "Baby Please Don't Go," from the 1973 #LesBlankFilms masterpiece "Hot Pepper."
Slide 2 :: Chenier live at JazzFest from the film "J'ai ete au bal" by Les Blank and Chris Strachwitz.
Clips courtesy of arhooliefoundation
#cliftonchenier #zydeco #cajun #cajunmusic #louisiana #louisianamusic #jazzfest #neworleans #accordion #cajunaccordion #creole #creolemusic #dimestoreradio
Cajun Shrimp is one of the easiest, quickest and tastiest dinners, on your table in less than 20 minutes!
It’s exploding with a zesty, spicy, aromatic kick and the option of drinkable Lemon Parsley Garlic Butter.
This speedy Cajun Shrimp recipe can be cooked on the stove, in the oven or grill and can be served with practically any sides or in salads, tacos, pasta and more!
*Swipe LEFT to see how to make it in a 1 minute video 🎬
*Want the recipe? Tap CarlsbadCravings and click the “linkinprofile” link at the top of the page in my profile description OR search for the recipe at CarlsbadCravings.com
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#buzzfeedfood #instayum #foodie #FOODWINEWOMEN #feedfeed #instafood #foodideas #buzzfeast #yahoofood #marthafood #beautifulcuisines #onmytable #huffposttaste #thekitchn #foodie #cajunseasoning #dinner #easydinner #dinnertime #dinnerideas #dinnerfortonight #dinnertonight #cajunshrimp #cajun #30minutemeal ⠀#shrimp #shrimprecipes #30minutemeals #easyrecipes #easyrecipe #cajunfood
Here’s the idea: Years back, during a vacation in Europe, I came to appreciate how train travel can put you in the center of town; you step off the platform and into the action.
Could I replicate something like that back home in Louisiana?
Was there enough action these days in downtown Lafayette for a weekend of exploring without a car, on foot, just trying what's new and reuniting with old favorites?
It was fun, delicious, quirky, revealing, and I would do it all over again.
Here’s a few glimpses from the trip, including that industrial high wire act of crossing the Mississippi River, and dance floors swirling with people as amis.du.teche tear the tin roof off of bluemoonsaloon and Chas Justus and the Jury get them going at hideawayonlee .
More to come on the food and wine here, and you can check out the whole story and a photo gallery of the trip on NOLA.com (and coming to your Sunday print edition).
#louisiana #louisianatravel #lafayettelouisiana #nola #amtrak #train #cajunmusic #cajun #neworleans
Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun_cuisine
- https://www.myrecipes.com/ingredients/spice-recipes/cajun-seasoning-how-to-use
- https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-benefits-of-cayenne-pepper
Wow, I didn’t know that Cajun spice also has okra in it. I’d like to look for a place that offers authentic Cajun food because I’m thinking about trying out more varied kinds of food in the future. Being able to try out different kinds of cuisine will surely help me in my own culinary endeavors.
great Alice.
One of the joys for me with cooking and spices, is finding new ingredients that I’ve never heard of before and learning how to use them to give my meals a different vibe or taste than what it had before which, in my way, is a form of experimentation and adventurous cooking. Thanks for sharing this article about cajun spice.
Thank Sean
Hello there, thanks a lot for sharing this beautiful piece of information here with us. I must say i really did enjoyed going through your review as it contains valuable informations one needs to be aware of. Just looking at the health benefits of cajun spice makes me want to get it this instant, thanks for this
Thank you Philebur
On your website here, this is the first time that I am seeing anything about this Cajun spice but looking at what you have written here I think they are a very good spice that would be worth being bought. I really love how you are able to tell me so much about it here on your website and I would be looking to buy into it. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you Jackie