Guest Blogger - reprinted with permission from Richard Bienvenu who blogs on everything New Orleans. Check him out!
This question I got from Yahoo! answers.
The short answer is no. Most New Orleans food is not spicy.
I am assuming you are referring to New Orleans food as being full of cayenne pepper and such. Most New Orleans food is not this way. That New Orleans food is spicy hot really is a fallacy.
Just How Spicy is New Orleans food? Is New Orleans food spicy? Depends on the dish and who is making it.
Then there is the confusion between what is New Orleans food and what is Cajun food. There is a cross over, to be sure.
This is something that has happened with restaurants across the country making dishes full of cayenne pepper and then calling them Cajun or Creole.
That just ain’t the way it is. To be sure, a lot of Cajun food can be spicy. Crawfish are usually that way, some batches being spicier than others depending on who makes them. I’ve eaten some crawfish that were so hot with cayenne as to be inedible. Some Cajun sausage is hot but not all. Boudin is usually not spicy but Andouille is.
Now, getting back to New Orleans food. You might find some Creole dishes, like shrimp Creole, to be a little on the spicy side but you can always ask and request that they lay off the cayenne.
Gumbos can be spicy as well. Not always though and again it depends on who makes it and how heavy their hand is with the pepper. If you are in a restaurant and want to order gumbo just ask if it’s spicy and ask them to bring a sample. They’ll be more than willing to oblige.
But what makes New Orleans food the way it is is not how spicy it may be or not, but the blend of vegetables and herbs that give it its flavor. An addition of cayenne is just a way to, as Emeril says, “kick it up a notch.”
And I make gumbo a lot and rarely put cayenne in it. That’s something I leave up to the eater to do.
So as far as the constant “fire poo” as you say most food here just is not that spicy to cause that. You’d have to add the extra hot sauce or cayenne to have that wondrous experience. And, again, when you eat out just ask about the spiciness. Most of it, I think, will be to your liking.
This question I got from Yahoo! answers.
The short answer is no. Most New Orleans food is not spicy.
I am assuming you are referring to New Orleans food as being full of cayenne pepper and such. Most New Orleans food is not this way. That New Orleans food is spicy hot really is a fallacy.
Just How Spicy is New Orleans food? Is New Orleans food spicy? Depends on the dish and who is making it.
Then there is the confusion between what is New Orleans food and what is Cajun food. There is a cross over, to be sure.
This is something that has happened with restaurants across the country making dishes full of cayenne pepper and then calling them Cajun or Creole.
That just ain’t the way it is. To be sure, a lot of Cajun food can be spicy. Crawfish are usually that way, some batches being spicier than others depending on who makes them. I’ve eaten some crawfish that were so hot with cayenne as to be inedible. Some Cajun sausage is hot but not all. Boudin is usually not spicy but Andouille is.
Now, getting back to New Orleans food. You might find some Creole dishes, like shrimp Creole, to be a little on the spicy side but you can always ask and request that they lay off the cayenne.
Gumbos can be spicy as well. Not always though and again it depends on who makes it and how heavy their hand is with the pepper. If you are in a restaurant and want to order gumbo just ask if it’s spicy and ask them to bring a sample. They’ll be more than willing to oblige.
But what makes New Orleans food the way it is is not how spicy it may be or not, but the blend of vegetables and herbs that give it its flavor. An addition of cayenne is just a way to, as Emeril says, “kick it up a notch.”
And I make gumbo a lot and rarely put cayenne in it. That’s something I leave up to the eater to do.
So as far as the constant “fire poo” as you say most food here just is not that spicy to cause that. You’d have to add the extra hot sauce or cayenne to have that wondrous experience. And, again, when you eat out just ask about the spiciness. Most of it, I think, will be to your liking.
RSS Feed