Gumbo started out black, the word "kombo" is okra, in some African language, Yoruba, maybe? People from Western sub-Saharan Africa brought some of their favorite foods with them when they were enslaved: okra, yams, peanuts, greens.
Rice of course comes from China, but the Arabs imported it, and the Arabs were the main slave-traders inside Africa. Rice is grown in the Carolinas and Louisiana.
Hot peppers are from the Americas.
Gumbo file is powdered sassafras, that's American Indian.
You can make gumbo with chicken, sausage, fish, or shellfish. That's kinda universal. |
