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Hoppin' John
 | |
| Alternative names | Carolina peas and rice |
|---|---|
| Course | Meal |
| Place of origin | Southern United States |
| Region or state | South Carolina |
| Main ingredients | Black-eyed peas and rice, chopped onion, sliced bacon |
| Variations | substitute ham hock, fatback, or country sausage for the conventional bacon, or smoked turkey parts as a pork alternative. |
Hoppin' John, also known as Carolina peas and rice, is a rice and beans dish of legendary origins associated with the cuisine of the Southern United States. Similar dishes are found in regions with a significant African-origin demographic like Louisiana red beans and rice. The Carolina version is known for the addition of bacon and other kinds of pork.[1]
The starchy long-grain Carolina rice that is used in this meal must be washed well and cooked in bacon fat with onions until the grains are translucent before it is simmered with the parboiled black-eyed peas or Sea Island red peas and some chopped ham, ham hock or pork sausage. To finish the one-pot meal, the rice, having absorbed all the cooking liquid, is left to steam using the paper towel method for around 10 minutes and it is fluffed before serving.[2] Some recipes use ham hock, fatback, country sausage, or smoked turkey parts instead of bacon. A few use green peppers or vinegar and spices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in the South Carolina Lowcountry and coastal Georgia. Black-eyed peas are the norm elsewhere.
In the southern United States, eating Hoppin' John with collard greens on New Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck.[3][4] The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls.[5] Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, chard, kale, cabbage and similar leafy green vegetables served along with this dish are supposed to further add to the wealth, since they are the color of American currency.[6]
Another traditional food, cornbread, can also be served to represent wealth, being the color of gold. 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 an even better chance of prosperity in the New Year.[7]
- ^ "The Historic Problem With Hoppin' John". Serious Eats. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
- ^ Hoppin John What's cooking America.Another name for it is Stew Peas
- ^ "On New Year's Day, it gets the full Southern treatment, which usually means Hoppin' John – a traditional Soul Food fixin' consisting of F peas cooked with ham hocks and spices, served over rice. In the South, eating field-peas on New Year's is thought to bring prosperity" Celebrate New Year's with Field- peas Archived 18 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine by Rachel Ellner 31 December 2008 Nashua Telegraph
- ^ Chesman, Andrea (1998). 366 Delicious Ways to Cook Rice, Beans, and Grains. New York: Plume. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-452-27654-3.
- ^ "'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." Field Peas: New Year's good-luck foods by Mick Vann 26 December 2008 Food section Austin Chronicle
- ^ "Collard greens (or kale, chard, mustard, or turnip greens) symbolize money in the South" Beyond Field - Peas: New Year's good-luck foods by Mick Vann 26 December 2008 Food section Austin Chronicle
- ^ "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 26 December 2008 Food section Austin Chronicle
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