Food is one way I stay anchored to my sense of home, despite living in California. A recent visit to a barbecue restaurant rekindled memories of authentic Southern fish and hush puppies, and invoked nostalgia for the tastes of my childhood. From the unique flavor of fried catfish to the treasured tradition of homemade dishes during winter holidays, the rich and comforting food heritage of the South will always be a part of me.
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I cannot remember where I have eaten fried catfish. It was probably during my time in the midwest, in Michigan and Ohio.
I found fried catfish to be very tasty, with a definite bacony flavor. I’ve mostly avoided that fish, wherever I’ve been when it has been available, because, like other farmed fish, or freshwater fish generally, it’s full of undesirable pollutants of various sorts. When I lived in Michigan, among the Great Lakes, many kinds of fish were verboten because of the long history of chemicals in those freshwater oceans.
Fried catfish are very good to eat; I know this.
What I didn’t know was that Southern cornbread is, indeed, less sweet than the Northern versions. One always assumes that there is more sugar in Southern cooking of any kind than in Northern cooking. The closest I get to cornbread these days is with homemade tortillas, made half with masa with lime and half with cornmeal medium grind.
Corn is corny and it is good.