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Wayne Boatwright

On Sat 27 Sep 2008 10:35:10a, told us...

> On Sep 27, 12:28�am, sf wrote:
>> On Fri, 26 Sep 2008 14:02:22 -0500, Becca >
>> wrote:
>>
>> >Those are excellent looking dumplings, I give you an A+! �My hus
> band is
>> >accustomed to dumplings that look like noodles. �Those are fine,
> but I
>> >told him, that is not how we do it in the south, Darlin'!
>>
>> I thought "rolled" dumplings were southern.
>>
>> --
>> I never worry about diets. The only carrots that interest me are the numb
> er of carats in a diamond.
>>
>> Mae West
>
> I'm from the South and I've always eaten the fluffy drop dumplings. I
> think rolled dumplings may be more popular in the South but it's not
> ubiquitous. It's like putting spaghetti in chili. It's hard trying
> to figure out exactly which region of the country puts spaghetti in
> chili. I do by the way.

Were fluffy drop dumplings the common throughout the area where you live?
Was it common practice to add spaghetti to chili in that area?

The South is a big place, generally considered to include the states of
Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia,
Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi,
Tennessee, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. some would argue that
some of these states are not part of the South at all.

These states are variously grouped as belonging to the South Atlantic States,
the East South Central States, the West South Central States, the Old South,
the New South, the Solid South, Southern-Appalachia, Southeastern United
States, the Deep South, the Gulf South, the Upper South, Dixie, the Mid-
South, or the Border South. There is considerable overlap of which state(s)
is part of which group.

I sometimes think that many people who are not from any part of the South
view it a somewhat small region having rather nebulous borders. Even some
people in the South have trouble defining the component states.

Given that "The South" encompasses a rather large area, there's no doubt that
food preferences and preparation vary considerably from one region to
another.

I could not and would not say that rolled dumplings are ubiquitous throughout
the entire South, but that's not to say that they are not ubiquitous in
certain regions, just as dropped dumplings may be ubiquitous in other
regions. There is no resemblance to food commonly found in Louisiana and
Texas to that found in southern states on the east coast.

When one says "dumplings" in the area where both my parents' families are
from, it would definitely imply rolled dumplings.

As to putting spaghetti in chili, I doubt that has any direct retionship to
the South at all. Neither spaghetti nor chili are part of Southern heritage
cooking, regardless of region. Chili clearly arrived through Texas, and in
its purest form was derived from Mexican cooking. Its popularity spread in
various guises, not only throughout the South, but throughout the entire
country. Variations abound, and seem to be influenced most by region.

Considering the vast georgraphy of the United States, one cannot generalize
with any degree of accuracy.

--
Wayne Boatwright

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Date: Saturday, 09(IX)/27(XXVII)/08(MMVIII)
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Countdown till Veteran's Day
6wks 2dys 10hrs 14mins
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