The Difference Between Cajun and Creole Cooking

When it comes to understanding the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking, it pays to note that the similarities between the two cuisines are compatible—yet culturally, they are different.

Understanding this is especially important because Cajun and Creole, as it applies to food, are often mistakenly interchanged. Yet, behind all the delectable dishes coming out of the Cajun and Creole kitchens lies a distinctly African influence that needs to be known and honored.

“The word Créole comes from the Portuguese word meaning ‘born of the colony,’” relays chef and cookbook author Panderina Soumas. She strictly practices the art of Creole cooking with Soumas Heritage Creole Creations, her brand of packaged Creole food mixes.

“I am considered ‘a Creole of color’ out of New Orleans even though I live in Northwest Louisiana,” she shares. “Creole cooking originated basically between the French and Spanish back in the day…and then, of course, it later [was influenced by] the influx of slavery…[Some] people don’t know the history, but the [New Orleans] French Quarter was a slave market. You went to the French Quarter to buy your fruits, your vegetables, your meat and, unfortunately, you can buy slaves.”

Chef Soumas pinpoints that Creole cooking was born in New Orleans and was often referred to as “city food.” This is attributed to the abundance of vegetables and spices readily available in the port city.

The results are more complex recipes, rich sauces, and the use of seafood, while European influences, particularly French, added to the repertoire of cooking techniques. All set the stage for the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking.

Cajuns in Louisiana

Historically, Cajuns are an ethnic group descended from the French who established a community in Canada but were exiled in the late 1700s. The settlers eventually traveled south, making their homes in the bayous of lower Louisiana, relays Kara Johnson, the CEO/founder of The Cook Shop, a company that offers a line of Creole and Cajun seasoning blends.

“My family is from New Orleans; they’ve been here since the late 1700s, and [I grew up with] a very Creole upbringing. But Cajun food is still part of the culture , especially as time has gone on there’s a lot of blending of cultures,” she shares about the exchange of food history between the Cajuns and Creoles.

Johnson notes that Cajun cuisine enjoys a more rustic reputation featuring game (rabbit, possum, alligator) and vegetation found in the swamps and bayous.

“Cajun cooking is something you can cook in one pot. A lot of times, it may have been over an open flame. You put all your ingredients in a pot, add your seasonings and you just let it cook,” she describes.

Coloring the Difference Between Cajun and Creole Cooking

A hack to tell the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking: observe the color of the finished dish. “One of the easiest ways to tell the difference between Cajun and Creole [food] is by looking at the color—because a lot of the Creole versions [of recipes] have tomato, which makes it red,” details Soumas about how Creole cooks make use of the readily available indigenous tomato as a staple ingredient in their culinary creations.

On the other hand, Johnson points out that the base of Cajun recipes usually begins with a roux, a “gravy” made with flour and blended with fat (butter or oil). She describes the roux-making technique this way, “First you brown the flour in a pan. And once it gets to the color that you want it to be, then you add the oil, and that makes the base of your gravy—that’s the roux base—and it’s brown.”

The Holy Trinity of Taste

Onion, bell pepper and celery, otherwise known as the Holy Trinity, play a major part in blessing the flavor of Louisiana cooking. So it’s no surprise both Creole and Cajun recipes make good use of these ingredients in their recipes.

“I credit the Holy Trinity more to Cajun. But at this point in Louisiana, it’s the base for a lot of the dishes,” relates Johnson.

“They [Cajuns] also use garlic…When they came from France and Canada and they got here, they were influenced by the indigenous people, the American Indians, and they were also influenced by the Africans—and a lot of those dishes are very similar to dishes that we have in Africa.”

Johnson describes the flavor of Cajun cooking as “very bold in the spices—because they used spices to preserve their food as well.”

Soumas also confirms the use of the Holy Trinity and garlic are prevalent in both cuisines, but Creole cooking uses more of each ingredient to boost the flavor. She reveals, “In Creole cooking, outside of the Trinity, we add garlic. And, I believe, Creole cooking embodies a lot of bay leaves.”

Revving up the Trinity by adding more of it in the recipe is one way Creole cooking deepens its flavor profile. “I think spicy means more flavorful. For example, instead of using one or two cloves of garlic, I might use seven or eight,” relates Soumas.

Creole and Cajun Favorites

So who can lay claim to originating some of Louisiana’s iconic dishes? Soumas and Johnson give us a quick rundown of just a few Creole and Cajun specialties while noting the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking:

Jambalaya —The roots of this one-pot rice dish run deep. “I think Creole jambalaya, out of New Orleans or other subsidiary areas out of New Orleans, has a strong African influence because there’s a cross with jollof rice, a dish which comes out of Africa,” says Soumas, whose signature jambalaya uses a red tomato base.

Johnson agrees, noting, “The difference is with jollof rice you don’t have all the meat in the rice whereas with jambalaya you have sausage, chicken, different things that go into the rice cooked in the [Cajun] ‘gravy.’”

Gumbo —This stew’s ingredients are a delicious melting pot. “The word ‘gumbo’ means okra,” notes Soumas about the African word for the vegetable used to give gumbo its thick consistency.

“I know Creole gumbo is considered to have okra in it. In most cases in Creole cooking, gumbo basically has chicken, sausage, shrimp and okra. [Adding] okra is sometimes debatable because a lot of people don’t like the texture. But in a lot of restaurants in New Orleans, okra is incorporated if you want ‘Louisiana Creole Gumbo.”

Johnson admits her family’s recipe for gumbo is Creole, using tomato sauce as a base. However, Cajun gumbo, clarifies the businesswoman, is decidedly roux based. “Adding a scoop of potato salad on top of the bowl of gumbo is something I learned in Cajun country, and it’s something a lot of people are doing now,” observes Johnson.

Étouffée —A dish served with shellfish over rice, étouffée is found in both Creole and Cajun menus. “Most Creole étouffées are tomato based. And whether it was made with crawfish or shrimp—it was smothered in tomatoes. You might have started out with a roux base, but adding tomatoes turned it red,” explains Soumas.

Johnson adds the seafood ingredient may shift. “[Cajuns] may go with crawfish étouffée because they got the crawfish found in the swamps, while shrimp étouffée may be considered more Creole,” she adds, “But I think the étouffée in itself is a dish that everybody has.”

Seafood Boil —The origin of this communal meal is often credited to Cajuns, observes Johnson. “A lot of times, you’ll have a crawfish boil and they’ll [Cajun cooks]  put different types of seafood in with corn, sausage and potatoes. It’s one-pot cooking that is one of the biggest things we’re known for in Louisiana now. And that’s from the Cajuns.”

Soumas cites how the waterways in Louisiana provided plenty of opportunities for both Cajun and Creole cooks to put together their seafood boils. “With Cajuns living in the country along the bayou, and as close as New Orleans was to the gulf, there’s a lot of waterways in southwest Louisiana,” says the chef. “So they [Cajuns] were probably quicker to get crawfish as well as shrimp.”

A Blend of Taste and Culture

Both Soumas and Johnson acknowledge how the blending of cuisines and cultures in modern-day Louisiana has transformed traditional Creole and Cajun dishes for today’s tastebuds.

“There really is a blending of cultures, especially at this point,” observes Johnson. “You’ve always had Africans in Louisiana. A lot of the enslaved people here were from Haiti. So it’s a very rich culture and sometimes it’s hard to pin down what came from what group,” she admits about the origins of some of the area’s recipes.

Likewise, Soumas believes it’s important to recognize the African influence in Louisiana’s favorite foods. “A lot of the cooking, in my opinion, is still rooted out of the enslavement of Africans. We’re learning from each other, but there’s a lot of pull and tug,” she observes.

Much like the ebb and flow of the tides in Louisiana’s waterways, the difference between Cajun and Creole cooking will continue to flow back and forth, enriching each other with its similarities as well as its differences.

For more information about Chef Panderina Soumas, follow her on social media and learn more about her Soumas Heritage Creole Creations on her website.

Information about Kara Johnson and The Cook Shop line of spices can be found online as well as on social media.

This story originally appeared in Cuisine Noir Magazine