How Greens Became A Part Of Southern Culture

The History Of Southern Cuisine Revealed In A Pot Of Greens

You can hardly talk about deep south cooking without talking about greens. When using the term "greens" in the context of southern cooking, you can only be talking about one thing – a pot of greens.

A pot of greens cooked southern style is a history lesson. To begin, the one-pot cooking method was a necessity in the development of the south centuries ago. Working in the fields and woods didn't allow for elaborate meals or dinner breaks. Whatever could be cooked on an open fire in one pot was on the menu.

Along with one-pot cooking methods used, there was the all important issue of food preservation. In the south, there isn't a lot of cool weather to take advantage of in order to keep foods fresh. Therefore, methods of preservation were developed through time. These methods became synonymous with southern cooking in both style and in flavor.

This is where a pot of greens becomes a history lesson. Greens such as collards, mustard, beet, and kale were plentiful, so it made sense to take advantage of them in order to feed a crowd. However, without refrigeration greens wouldn't last long in the heat of the day. Preserving a batch of greens long enough to feed families and workers became a matter of survival.

Native Americans were curing meat with salt and teaching settlers and slaves both how to do the same. By placing a layer of salted meat, most likely pork of some kind, on top of a batch of greens, the greens were preserved and flavored at the same time. This method became popular because; 1) it kept the greens safe to eat for a long period of time; and 2) it was tasty! More often than not the pork was tossed out once the salty fat meat served its purpose - to preserve a batch of greens. But, the greens kept that good flavor we still know today and value in the perfect pot of greens.

Today, many southern cooks know the value of a good 'mess a greens' even though refrigeration is no longer an issue for most. Cooks may use pork or ham now just to flavor the greens rather than preserve them, and that meat is probably a leaner cut than in the old days.

If you want to try your hand at cooking up a mess of greens, this modern and simple 'recipe' is a good start. All you need is a bunch of greens, anything in season, or choose several varieties and mix them together. Get out a big heavy pot and add a good inch or so of cider vinegar to the pot and a little water, too. Then start the liquid simmering and add a hunk of smoked meat, anything you like. How much meat you add depends on how much meat you want to eat with your greens. That's simple stuff, right?

Simmer the meat until hot , then add some red pepper flakes (if you like a bit of kick), or hot sauce, whatever you prefer, and stir around a bit. Wash and trim the greens of any woody stems, then give them a rough chop. Now add the greens to the pot and don't be afraid to heap the greens up high as they will cook down a lot. Simmer the greens with the cover off until they cook down enough to set the lid on loosely and make sure the burner is down very low. Continue to simmer slowly until the greens are just tender, then remove the pot from the heat. If you are using a good heavy pot the greens will continue to cook a little, so take them off the heat before they get soft.

Now, taste and add a little molasses or brown sugar, salt, black pepper, hot sauce or red pepper flakes, or even more vinegar if you like, and stir. Taste and start the seasoning process again until you get the flavor you like. Now serve hot or stick with tradition and serve at room temperature as this dish was served historically.
Most southern cooks will agree that the fewer ingredients you use in a pot of greens, the better the results. But, no matter what ingredients you use, a pot of greens simmering slowly on the stove will awaken taste buds... perhaps taste buds with a history.