Nancy, I'm not familiar with the article, but your post got me to thinking... about southern food. I don't think I have a strict interpretation of "southern," but it somehow fits my needs. We've mentioned Virginia and Smithfield Ham, biscuits and real butter, and buttermilk. I'm pretty sure I saw a couple of folks mention peanuts and peanut soup in their post. But what about... Fried chicken? The best fried chicken on the planet, no contest, hands down, is southern fried chicken. Gravy? To go with that fried chicken we need the world's best gravy. Yep, chicken gravy just ain't right if it ain't made in the southern way. Its got to have those little bits and pieces of fried chicken stuff in it. And talk about GREAT eatin', oh my, how about some of those buttermilk biscuits lathered with real butter and dipped in that good ol' southern chicken gravy! I hate to say it, but you might as well toss the potato salad out if it isn't made with a southern touch (and, yes, there are bunches of ways to make good southern potato salad). Once you take the southern out of the potato salad you end up with "pickle juice mush," "mustard lumps," or some other concoction that doesn't even resemble potato salad. Peaches? Yep, give me my peaches from the south. A reminder though, not all southern peaches have to come from Georgia. There are some other really great southern peaches out there. Fried okra? I don't know if you can get that anywhere except the south. Hog jowl? Yesssssssssssssss! I love fried hog jowl; plus it's great for seasoning. Something tells me I'm not going to find fried hog jowl in Boston or Walla Walla. Dressing or stuffing for Thanksgiving? The very best ones are southern hand-me-down recipes. Not to mention the giblet gravy -- notice how I got back to gravy. Clam chowder? Give me the clean, salty Chesapeake Bay clam chowder with cherrystone clams everytime. I could go on and on with this list, but I'm going out of my mind drooling over what I've already said. Tom Eastern Shore & More Forum http://www.easternshoremore.com/forum/ ----- Original Message ----- From: "Sunshine49" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Thursday, January 11, 2007 10:37 AM Subject: the ethnic south > At least 20 years ago I read a very short piece in the Richmond TD > about a group of ethnologists who had gone around the country, > looking at various regional cultures, and they determined that the > only place in the US with a true, indigenous ethnic culture was the > south. Looked at that way, it explains an awful lot about the region > and its history. I wish I'd saved the article, I can't find any > mention of this study now. Have any of you heard of it? > > Nancy > > ------- > I was never lost, but I was bewildered once for three days. > > --Daniel Boone To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html