Over time, both ancient methods were adopted into the epicenter of todays Southern food. These days, no-nonsense hushpuppies can be found as far as Mel's Fish Shack in Los Angeles and Snappy's Shrimp in Chicago. According to an Antebellum-era legend (1812-1860), hush puppies may have gotten their name when individuals attempting to escape slavery needed to keep any lingering watchdogs silent. Luckily for us, there are a number of clues that have been sprinkled throughout Americas complex food history to help us crack the case. Its also an example of the lasting damage caused by the reflexive instinct of food writers in the 20th century to cast every tale of Southern food in the Old South tropes of plantations or the Civil War. To cite this article in an academic-style article or paper, use: Cierra Tolentino, "The Origin of Hush Puppies", History Cooperative, May 15, 2022, https://historycooperative.org/origin-of-hush-puppies/. Although the post included no citations or claims, it approached a six-figure share count. Many of these origin stories have reached legendary status, with each one seeming just believable enough. Another fascinating fact is that the usage of cornrows by men can be traced as far back as the early 5th century BC. Most explanations seem to have started with the name itself and from there spun a tale of how the food might have come to be called that. The writer catalogs the chants and songs of African American laborers then closes by describing a post-harvest meal of fried fish, baked yams, and hushpuppies. These, the writer explains are a step-child to a corn pone. Meanwhile, the grinding of corn into a fine meal was a long-practiced method of food preparation, as well as using alkaline salt to make hominy. Maybe you know them best as three finger bread or as corn dodgers, but regardless of the name, the fried ball of cornmeal is a staple of Southern cuisine. To link to this article in the text of an online publication, please use this URL: https://historycooperative.org/origin-of-hush-puppies/. Slavery didnt start in 1492 when Columbus came to the New World. Associated with Step 2: Whisk together Wet Ingredients Hush puppy recipes vary from place to place, but all use the same basic cornmeal batter with a few tweaks here and there like the addition of sugar for a slight sweetness and a little cayenne pepper for flavor, but not really heat. They are concomitant of the hunt, above all of the fishing trip. In Puerto Rico, hushpuppies are made in the shape of a short sausage and are called "sorullos" or "sorullitos". . Hush Puppies History. Cornbread and fried breads have been around for centuries, of course, but when did hushpuppies become hushpuppies? Moss referenced a common theme in folk etymology retrofitting a story to an existing phrase in use: There is an entire category of food origin myths that I like to call absurd conjectures. I borrowed the phrase from the editors of the Oxford English Dictionary. How did Hush puppies get their name slavery? - Daily Justnow The shoes have been described as "the classic American brushed-suede shoes with the lightweight crepe sole". She was born in Sweden in 1959, lived in Montreal and Hong Kong, and came to Maine in 1977 to attend Bowdoin College. Slaves planning to escape in the wee This story specifically originates out of Southern Louisiana where there is a salamander affectionately known as a mud puppy; similarly, they are also known as a water dog. Which is why these sick hunters had no regard for human life! Just after World War II, Walter M. Thompson Jr. was operating Thompsons Fireside, a fish house and tourist camp near the tiny coastal town of Swansboro. But remember were talking about a Southern food here, so many folks feel compelled to link its originslikely every other dish or recipe in the Southto the Civil War, since thats the only event of any significance that has happened in these parts. Change). Lancaster Puppies is a federally registered trademark owned by Online Advertising, LLC. Thompson had big ambitions for his hushpuppy mix. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Hushpuppies are made from a mixture of cornmeal and flour balls of dough usually seasoned with onions and okra and sometimes other greens from the garden and then fried in oil. Further inland, they became staples at fish camps along the rivers of the Piedmont, where mill workers and their families would fish in the afternoons and pay to have their catch cleaned and fried for dinner. Its entry on barbecue notes a popular story that claims the word derives from the French barbe-a-queue, or beard to taila reference to the early practice of cooking whole pigs. Slaves use to throw corn meal out to distract the hounds from tracking them. Years ago when the hounds and the puppies would whine for food, the folks would toss them a bit of home-cook bread. hush puppies Hush Homemade Hush Puppies; What to Serve with this Easy Hush Puppies Recipe: Its Savannah, Tennessee Yall. The aroma sets their hounds to howling and yapping in anticipation, so the cooks fry up bits of cornmeal batter and toss them to the dogs to hush them. Southern Native American culture (Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek) is the cornerstone of Southern cuisine. So, the sweet lady gave the dogs some of her cornmeal cakes and bid them to Hush puppies. Talk about some Southern hospitality! The nuns from France who came to Louisiana in the early 1700s invented hush puppies and started making French croquettes with cornmeal. The history of the peanut is a well-plowed field. In fact "doohickey" was already in use by Navy sailors long before it was first documented, which was, according to Today I Found Out's website, in 1914 when it appeared in an edition of Our Navy magazine. It can be speculated that at least some men lived to tell the tale: that the Rebels successfully hushed their yapping dogs and escaped notice of the incoming Yankee soldiers. And how does it apply to child welfare cases? And, yes, this being the 1940s, the label of the can featured a drawing of an African American woman in a red headscarf. Not long after the post spread virally, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty noted that as an historical interpreter of enslaved lives, this is social media disinformation. Twitty added that Hushpuppies are a fritter with roots in Indigenous American and African Atlantic foodways, and that they were not known to be used by freedom seekers., "Escaping slaves used to throw balls of fried cornmeal out to distract the hounds from tracking them. He wrote: " early accounts of hushpuppies and red horse bread make clear that diners treated this new food not as a cheap substitute but rather as a luxury worthy of admiration. snopes There are a lot of interesting stories about the beginnings of hushpuppies. The first recorded use of the word "hush-puppy" dates to 1899. Step 2. Hush puppies may be fun to say, but it is worth wondering just how the fried cornmeal batter got its name! (its your taste buds), 4 or 5 cups vegetable oil (enough to deep fry so that they dont stick to each other). They are served with jerked meats such as pork or chicken. The origin of the puppy is not known. Apparently, these mud puppies would be captured, battered, and fried. A hush puppies recipe has about a half dozen ingredients. HEBREW ISRAELITES. WHAT ARE HUSH PUPPIES MADE OF? So lets look into where they really came from. when a guy gives you chocolate what does it mean; hush puppies origin slavery snopes Links to legal services are listed with their states. The editors curtly dismiss this notion as an absurd conjecture suggested merely by the sound of the word.. In the meantime, traditional barbeque is slow-smoked pork or brisket, and you havent lived until you have tried it at least once. Day 22 Black History Hush Puppies & the Whistle Walk Tales?! Why are those fried balls of yumminess called hushpuppies? hush puppy, a deep-fried or baked ball of cornmeal batter and spices, usually served as a side dish. Corn dodgers are popular in the South. hush puppies We cannot give legal advice, but we can try and direct you in the right direction with your case. It was told that slaves Jan 31, 2015 Hush Puppies Name came from the slavery times in the Deep South. Back in the Carolinas, local newspapers were amused that anyone could make money selling something so simple as hushpuppy mix to a bunch of Yankees. Dictionary.com defines doohickey as simply an informal word used to described "a gadget," and, amusingly enough, it supplies the word "thingamajig" -- another of the South's favorite nonword words -- as a synonym. Required fields are marked *. Born into slavery in the 1840s, Govan married a woman named Sylvia (or Silvy) Jennings shortly after Emancipation, and they settled on a plot of land near Cannons Bridge on the banks of the Edisto River, about five miles east of Bamberg. . He also perfected the art of cooking up notoriously boney River Redhorse, which is what famously gave red horse bread its name. Hush puppies or, at least the colloquial phrase dates back centuries. They were not known to be used by freedom seekers. A different breed of bogus backstory that was apparently circulated in earnest asserts that the term "hushpuppy" comes from Cajuns in Louisiana who enjoyed battering I have no idea why people would take a bunch of hunting dogs on a fishing trip, but thats how the story goes. One account that has been cut-and-pasted onto any number of Internet sites (I cant figure out who originally wrote it) asserts that thrifty cooks in plantation houses would send excess catfish dredging down to the slave quarters. Though cornmeal was in short supply, they apparently had plenty of dairy and other ingredients on hand, for the women added a little milk, egg and onion and fried it up., Pre-Internet variants of this story take the extra step of weaving in a few racist stereotypes. Cornmeal batter would be fried and, when needed, tossed to the dogs as a distraction. Last update: Jul 29, 2020 1 answer. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. As anyone would, the caregiver decided to fry cornmeal batter up into a crunchy croquette to keep the children at bay until dinnertime finally wheeled around. "Romy" Govans, as he was familiarly known, was an African American man born into slavery around 1845. 9 'Facts' About Slavery 'They Don't Want You to Know' Thank you. There will be small variations depending on the region, or a completely different story all together. As the stories go, escaping slaves concocted fried mixtures of Basically, when push comes to shove, what is better to quiet howling dogs than to give them some piping-hot, fried hush puppies? WebHush Puppies history began in 1958 when a Michigan sales manager set out to find an alternative to uncomfortable dress shoes, the source of sore feet, or rather barking dogs Cornbread in all of its many forms was relatively cheap and versatile and became a Southern staple during and after the war. The soldiers, some say, named the bread balls "hushpuppies" for the same reason as the fishermen: to quiet the hounds. Such explanations doesnt sit well with Europhiles, who insist that a bunch of Southern bumpkins would never have figured out how to fry cornmeal batter on their own. The term was used as a nickname for gravy or pot liquor as early as 1879, when the San Antonio Herald noted that the breakfast campfire of a band of Texas Rangers included a pan of hush puppy gravy. In 1899, a soldier in the Spanish-American war described the troops breakfast fare as scouse, slumgullion, hushpuppy, dope without milk, and all sorts of things. A 1912 story in the Washington Evening Post described a western cowboy cook named Frosty who could cook frijoles and hush-puppy, and make sinkers, or moss agates, or death balls, or whatever you call biscuits, as good as the best.. History of Hushpuppies. By 1949 the Wilmington Star-News was reporting that Thompsons Fireside Hushpuppy Mix was being sold in every state in the union and had been shipped to numerous countries overseas, including a package that was mailed by request to the U. S. ambassador at the American Embassy in Norway. Corn was used to make all kinds of dishes from the familiar cornbread and grits to liquors such as whiskey and moonshine, which were important trade items. [10] They are dusted with powdered sugar and served with coffee, guava dipping sauce, or fry sauce. Ingredients for Homemade Hush Puppies Recipe: Yellow cornmeal Baking powder Sugar Salt and pepper Buttermilk Eggs Vidalia onion Oil, for frying Step 1: Whisk together Dry Ingredients In a large bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt. A Risky Distraction. And it didnt start in 1619 when the first slaves landed in Meanwhile, add enough oil to a medium or large heavy-bottomed pot to come 1 1/2 inches up the sides and set it over medium-high heat. or "Where'd that doohickey with the spinning bit go?". Newspaper accounts of the Teapot Dome scandal in the 1920s expressed outrage at the Harding administrations hush-puppy methods of permitting this scandal to breed and flourish and insisted that the Republicans wont be able to hush puppy the oil deal., Fried cornbread wasnt the first food to be called hush puppy, either. How Did Hush Puppies Get Their Name? - Truth or Fiction? All Rights Reserved. https://www.britannica.com/topic/hush-puppy, The Spruce Eats - Deep-Fried Southern Hush Puppies. The hound stopped barking and tracking thanks to the cornmeal which later adopted the name hush puppies. The hounds stopped barking and tracking thanks to the cornmeal which later adopted the name hush puppies. From their culture came one of the main staples of the Southern diet: corn (maize), either ground into meal or limed with an alkaline salt to make hominy, also called masa, in a Native American technology known as nixtamalization. . John Bryan purchased the company in 2004. Though the couple never had children, Sylvia left another 50 acres along the river to her grandnephew, Paul Rickenbacker, when she died in 1924. (With images, Hush Harbors, were primarily located in places like the, Online Shopping Bedding, Furniture, Electronics, Jewelry, Teddy Wingtip Shoes by Hush Puppies on Wingtip, Eat + Drink (With images) Stagecoach inn, Salado, Stagecoach, NOT AFRICANS NOR HISPANICS. The funny name soon caught the ear of tourists from up North visiting Florida on fishing excursions. If you have a craving for freshly made hush puppies, it's easy to make them right at home. Some Southerners get all precious about hush puppies and Rawlings did as well. Best Answer. At the end of the Civil War, he settled on a plot of land Originally, hush puppy was a slang term for silencing someone or covering up misdeeds. The jonnycakeoriginates with the native inhabitants of Northern America; the Algonquians of the Atlantic seaboard are credited with teaching Europeans how to make the food. A division of Wolverine World Wide, Hush Puppies is headquartered in Rockford, Michigan. Thompson cashed in that year and sold the Hushpuppy Corporation of America to a group of investors from nearby Jacksonville, North Carolina, who promptly moved the manufacturing facility there and expanded its capacity. Sometime in 1870, Govan began catering a myriad of successful events, from hosting a fish fry on the riverbank to catering soirees for government officials: at all events besides his fried fish and catfish stew his red horse bread wowed the audience. Hush puppy | food | Britannica It is said they were called hushpuppies because eating such lowly food was not something a southern wife would want known to her neighbors. It could be fashioned into high-rising, fluffy loaves or simply fried for a fast meal. This would generally be the case in particularly tense situations, like when taking aim or when stalking cant have mans best friend throwing you off your A-game, after all. She is a Certified Life Coach and has a Certificate in Human Performance Improvement (HPI) from American Training & Development (ATD). As the stories go, escaping slaves concocted fried mixtures of cornmeal, milk, eggs and okra to throw at the slaveowners dogs to keep them quiet. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. For example, river fish like catfish and bass are the most common battered and deep-fried fish you would find at a classic Southern fish fry. The earliest effort in this line that I can find appeared in 1933 in an Associated Press story on the arrival of the cotton harvest in Mississippi. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Once a fairly obscure Southern side dish, hushpuppies have become something of a staple in seafood restaurants across the country. Is it just slang for turning a blind-eye? It also traces Doohickey's origins back to 1915, listing it as a combination of the words "doodad" and "hickey. In a way, they are a bit like a savory doughnut-hole. Red horse bread lived on after Romeo Govan and became a fixture at South Carolina fish fries. It may not be as cute and dramatic as panicked soldiers or desperate plantation cooks trying to silence a pack of dogs, but the true story of hushpuppies has more than enough twists and turns to be compelling. [1] Cornbread was popular during the American Civil War because it was inexpensive and could be made in many different shapes and sizes. The hound stopped barking and tracking thanks to the cornmeal which later adopted the name 'hush puppies.'". 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This was a new bread to the writer, and so delicious, that I beg lovers of the finny tribe to try some. By 1908, Govan was hosting fish fries almost every day of fishing season, and the State newspaper described his guests as ranging from governors, attorney generals, bishops, down to the candidates for coroner, etcetera. Though he never directly asked for payment, the gratuities he received for these events allowed him to purchase the land outright by 1910. According to Robert Moss in an article on SeriousEats.com, one newspaper from the time said the bread was made by "simply mixing cornmeal with water, salt, and egg, and dropped by spoonfuls in the hot lard in which fish have been fried.". The groups are created to raise awareness, educate, and advocate for those that might not otherwise be heard. Sometime around the turn of the 20th century, guests at South Carolina fish fries were introduced to a brand new delicacy called red horse bread. WebHush Puppies is an American brand of casual footwear. Years ago when the hounds and the puppies would whine for food, the folks would toss them a bit of home-cook bread. Hush Puppies: round, savory, deep-fried goodness. The History of Guns, Greek Mythology: Stories, Characters, Gods, and Culture, Aztec Mythology: Important Stories and Characters, Greek Gods and Goddesses: Family Tree and Fun Facts, Roman Gods and Goddesses: The Names and Stories of 29 Ancient Roman Gods, Mnemosyne: Goddess of Memory, and Mother of The Muses, iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order, US History Timeline: The Dates of Americas Journey, Ancient Civilizations Timeline: The Complete List from Aboriginals to Incans, Why Are Hot Dogs Called Hot Dogs? If you don't know what a doohickey is, then 1. you probably aren't from around here and 2. that's actually pretty fitting because "doohickey" is the word we often use when we can't remember the name of something. Change). This also ensures slaves did not eat or spit in slave owners food on the way to serve. Webhush puppies origin slavery snopes . Hush Puppies No one really knows the exact details about when a little ball of deep-fried cornmeal became such a sensation. With a a Dispatch Plus subscription you get unlimited access to all Southeastern Dispatch stories and features with no ads. As with many foods identified as belonging to the Southern U.S. (and throughout much of North America, really), hush puppies originated from local Native Americans: having some variation of corn croquettes with other fish fry delicacies was certainly not a new thing. The same can be said about the many supposed derivations of hushpuppy. One possible explanation for the name is that a simple version of the dish was first made by various peoplesuch as Union soldiers during the Civil War, fishermen, or The batter is mixed well, adjusting ingredients until thick, and dropped a spoonful at a time into hot oil. The Truth About Confederate History: Part 2 Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. The earliest effort in this line that I can find appeared in 1933 in an Associated Press story on the arrival of the cotton harvest in Mississippi. The enslaved planning an escape to freedom in the wee hours of the night would mix a concoction of cornmeal and water which was fried in hot lard. (LogOut/ One possible explanation for the name is that a simple version of the dish was first made by various peoplesuch as Union soldiers during the Civil War, fishermen, or runaway slavesto quiet howling dogs. By the 1940s, hushpuppies had crossed over from outdoor fish fries and become staples at the fish houses that served fried fish and steamed oysters up and down the Carolina coast. Just 6 more posts/days , Tena Lawyer is a retired U.S. Army intelligence professional that began her career mentoring, coaching and training while in the U.S. Army. Hushpuppies are a creation of a later era, and its a shame that the name of the person who popularized them with Caroliniansan enterprising man who drew upon his talents as a cook and a host to achieve prosperity and independence for his familywas almost lost to history. A southern hushpuppy championship is held annually in Lufkin, Texas,[3] and they are also available throughout the United States at restaurants serving deep-fried seafood. It's no secret that we Southerners have a language all our own, but the origins of the words and phrases folks in the South have been using for generations aren't nearly as well known. Generally, hush puppies will be also served with a dipping sauce or with cheesy grits. The crisp fried cornmeal orbs are starting to be served in more and more barbecue joints outside the South, too. See more in Sem categoria 0 comments 10 FEV 2021Sem categoria 0 comments 10 FEV 2021 A few years later, a correspondent for the Bamberg Herald noted that Govans famous bread was made by simply mixing cornmeal with water, salt, and egg, and dropped by spoonfuls in the hot lard in which fish have been fried. The ingredients may have been simple, but the accounts of Govans red horse bread make clear that his guests along the riverside found them a remarkable delicacy, and one that was new to them, too. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). It has been shrouded in mystery. Akin to the tale above, this next origin story has to do with some variation of an outdoor sport. Many older recipes call for the batter to be cooked in the same oil as the fish it accompanies. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. The batter is shaped into golf-ball-sized portions and fried or baked. WebHistory of Hushpuppies. Corn dishes like cornbread, corn pone, griddle cakes, and corn dodgers are part of a long legacy of Southern corn dishes. Wolverine also licenses iPhone History: A Timeline of Every Model in Order The word hushpuppy dates back to the turn of the 20th century. They are typically made with cornmeal, flour, egg, buttermilk, baking soda, and onion, though various spices and other ingredientsincluding garlic and pepperscan be added. Remind us to apologize to him (again) later for that.You can watch it now! The batter is shaped into golf-ball-sized portions and fried or baked. How Did Hush Puppies Get Their Name? | CulinaryLore According to my grandmother, there exists a totally Hush Puppies Have Strayed Far From Coast | Coastal Review Support the coastal news you value. Now operating out of Four Oaks, North Carolina, House-Autry still sells its Original Recipe Hushpuppy Mix with Onion in grocery stories across the country. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. A hush puppy (or hushpuppy) is a small, savory, deep-fried round ball made from cornmeal-based batter. At The Fish Box in Seattle, fried halibut, salmon, and catfish dinners include two complimentary golden brown hushpuppies.
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hush puppies origin slavery snopes