Vegetarians and non-pork eating populations spin off with other fat foods: butter or ghee, olive oil, coconut fat, or fried foods in general.įish: Because they swim only one way, forward, not backward. Often, in the American South, a ham hock or ham bone is thrown in to simmer with the beans, greens, or both. Pork and Fat: Think “high on the hog” and “fat of the land” and you’ll get the connection. Cutting it could be dangerous to your longevity. Thing is, you need to slurp it, unbroken, into your mouth. Long noodles: this one is Chinese and only Chinese. Gold: need we say, again, symbolizes wealth? In some parts of America, the gold theme is carried out in our native bread: cornbread (bake it in a skillet, and you get double-lucky because it becomes a round food, see below, too). Golden foods: go to a Chinese New Year’s celebration and you’ll see pyramidal stacks of oranges and pomelos (a large round greenish-yellow citrus fruit, which looks like a large grapefruit). where, of course, our folding money is green. Although cultures other than American make this symbolic link, it’s particularly strong in the U.S. Greens: Leafy cooking greens - collards, kale, turnip, spinach, cabbage - are also associated with wealth, in this case folding paper money. Photograph of collard greens by Mark Boughton Others see the bean as a seed (which, of course, it is), reminding the eater of new life and new beginnings. Some cultures hold that each bean represents a coin, bringing wealth. Many of which are purely delicious.Ĭheck these basic components, then make your menu therefrom.īeans and lentils: from ancient Rome’s lentils to the American South’s black-eyed peas, legumes are considered auspicious in many times and places. Much as I like Hoppin’ John (though my own version of it is vegetarian), it would be a pity not to look a little more deeply at the what and why of fortunate foods, and to try some of the more exotic offerings. if you knew about black-eyed peas before I told you, you may be used to them most frequently cooked with ham hocks, as in Hoppin’ John, the traditional black-eyes and rice dish in many parts of the South.īut the world’s cultures have cooperated in providing us with many other such dishes, made with established (though, okay, not proven) lucky ingredients for the various New Years celebrated around the globe. Health, longevity, and general sweetness, also figure). (Money is a major contender, but by no means the only one.
If you look at these dishes, you can also get a good idea of what human beings equate luck with. Such foods are most often are served on whatever a particular culture observes as the start of a new year. So, I have offhandedly been exploring, for years, the traditional dishes said to bring luck. Seriously, I’m always fascinated by food as a window into human hopes, fears, aspirations, and customs.
Yes, of course we make our own luck in this world, but a little assist now and then is helpful. You say, well, you didn’t know? You ask, why should you eat black-eyes on New Year’s Day? Well, to insure good luck for the coming year, of course.Īnd if you didn’t know until just now, well, now you do. What? Don’t tell me you didn’t know you really must eat black-eyes on New Year’s Day! Time for my annual re-post of what I consider a couple of the BEST ways to eat your black-eyed peas for New Years’ Day. BUT WHEN IT COMES TO BLACK-EYES - IF YOU DON’T HAVE ‘EM GOING NOT, WHY NOT? LOOK AT THE CALENDAR! HAVE YOU PURCHASED YOUR BLACK-EYED PEAS YET? DO YOU, PERHAPS, EVEN HAVE ‘EM SOAKING? (EITHER BECAUSE YOU LIKE TO DO THINGS A LITTLE AHEAD, OR BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT THE LONGER INGREDIENTS IN ALMOST ANY KIND OF STEW-Y DISH CO-MINGLE, THE BETTER THE FLAVOR?) HOWEVER… HERE IS A CROCKPOT VERSION OF AN EXCELLENT BLACK-EYED PEA RECIPE, WHICH YOU CAN EVEN START THE NIGHT BEFORE (ON NEW YEAR’S EVE!), WITHOUT SOAKING.
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