Hoppin' John

Hoppin' John

Hoppin' John is the Southern United States' version of the rice and beans dish traditional throughout the Caribbean. It consists of black-eyed peas (or field peas) and rice, with chopped onion and sliced bacon, seasoned with a bit of salt.^[1] Some people substitute ham hock or fatback for the conventional bacon; a few use green peppers or vinegar and spices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in the Low Country of South Carolina and Georgia; black-eyed peas are the norm elsewhere.

Throughout the coastal South, eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck,^[2].^[3] The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls.^[4] Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, chard, kale etc. along with this dish are supposed to also add to the wealth since they are the color of money. ^[5] On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" is called "Skippin' Jenny," and further demonstrates one's frugality, bringing a hope for a even better chance of prosperity in the New Year. ^[6][7] During the late middle ages, there was a tradition of eating beans on New Year's Day for good luck in parts of France and Spain. The European tradition mixed with an African food item to become an early that food item belongs to the New World.

Variants

Many regional variants exist, including "Hoppin' Juan," which substitutes Cuban black beans for black-eyed peas, and the Brazilian dish Feijoada (fay-shwaa-da), which uses black turtle beans instead of black-eyed peas.

Etymology

Variations of this dish are seen throughout the American South and the Caribbean, and the dish is believed to have been typical slave food in early colonial times. The origins of the name are uncertain, one possibility is that the name is a corruption of the Haitian Creole term for black-eyed peas: pois pigeons (pronounced: [pwapiˈʒɔ̃]).

The Oxford English Dictionary's first reference to the dish is from Frederick Law Olmsted's 19th century travelogue, A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States. "The greatest luxury with which they are acquainted is a stew of bacon and peas, with red pepper, which they call ‘Hopping John’." There is also a recipe for Hopping John in The Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge, which was published in 1847.

See also

• Gallo Pinto - the equivalent dish of Nicaragua and Costa Rica
• Pabellón criollo - the equivalent in Venezuela
• Platillo Moros y Cristianos - the Cuban equivalent

References

1. ^ Hoppin John What's cooking America http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/HoppinJohn.htm
2. ^ "On New Year's Day, it gets the full Southern treatment, which usually means Hoppin' John – a traditional Soul Food fixin' consisting of black-eyed peas cooked with ham hocks and spices, served over rice. In the South, eating black-eyed peas on New Year's is thought to bring prosperity" Celebrate New Year's with black-eyed peas by Rachel Ellner December 31, 2008 Nashua Telegraph http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081231/FOOD/312319991/-1/food
3. ^ http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hoppin-John/Detail.aspx
4. ^ "'Eat poor on New Year's, and eat fat the rest of the year,' echoed the refrain...A shiny dime is often thrown into the Hoppin' John cooking pot, and the person getting the dime in their bowl is due an extra portion of good luck." Beyond Black-Eyed Peas: New Year's good-luck foods by Mick Vann December26, 2008 Food section Austin Chronicle http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A718923
5. ^ "Collard greens (or kale, chard, mustard, or turnip greens) symbolize money in the South" Beyond Black-Eyed Peas: New Year's good-luck foods by Mick Vann December26, 2008 Food section Austin Chronicle http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A718923
6. ^ "Skippin' Jenny" is transgenerational verbal history from the South Carolina Low Country; no known published reference.
7. ^ "On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" becomes "Skippin' Jenny," and eating it demonstrates powerful frugality, bringing one even better chances of prosperity." Beyond Black-Eyed Peas: New Year's good-luck foods by Mick Vann December26, 2008 Food section Austin Chronicle http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A718923

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