Southern Cast Iron – September 2019

61 SOUTHERN CAST IRON

“I think our area was

probably one of the last that

got away from growing their

own food,” says Susi. “We’re

in such a closed county that

it’s hard to travel anywhere.

I live 25 miles away from

the nearest one-stoplight

town and 50 miles from the

nearest town where you

could get anything that’s

considered upscale. Most

people did have to grow

their own food because that

was the only option.”

Hailing from North

Carolina’s Madison County,

Susi’s family lived this

home-grown life.

“We had a garden that was

about a quarter of an acre

for a family of four back at

that time,” she remembers.

“We had all of the animals—

cows, pigs, chickens, geese,

rabbits, honey bees, ducks.

Just about everything you

would need to survive.”

In Appalachia, living off

the land meant adapting

recipes and fi nding inventive

ways to utilize food.

Early settlers ate what

they grew, so it was these

easily found ingredients

that became foundational

foods of the area.

“A lot of the dishes were

born out of what was at

hand, and a lot of others

were born out of necessity,” says Susi. “You couldn’t just go out to

the supermarket to fi nd what you needed. You had to survive on

what you had. For example, bread recipes that may call for fl our

could be made with cornmeal because that’s what they had more

frequently than wheat. Things like drying leather britches, salting

pork, and pickling were ways of preserving without refrigeration.”

Simple, rustic dishes like cornbread, soup beans, and burgoo

(a hearty, empty-the-fridge-style stew of assorted meat and

vegetables) became menu mainstays. Just as

important as living off the land, though, was

sharing.

Growing up in Bristol, Tennessee, Karl

remembers fondly the camaraderie shared

between neighbors, friends, and even strangers.

“We tended to trade around a lot and always

had bacon or country ham,” he recalls. “Every

Saturday morning, my mom would cook a big

country breakfast, and even if it was just four

people there, there was enough food for 15. It was

community at its essence. If someone had more

than they could eat, they would share it around.”

Perhaps the most noteworthy example of

culinary sharing, though, has to do with the

Appalachian Apple Stack Cake. Originally, each

layer of the cake was baked in a cast-iron skillet

by a diff erent member of the community. For

supper or gatherings, everyone would arrive

with their layer of the cake, and together build a

beautiful and delicious autumnal dessert. Early

fall also signals the harvesting and extraction

of thick, sweet sorghum syrup that still graces

so many of our favorite Southern recipes today.

From chopping the stalks and milling the cane

to cooking the sweet green juice into syrup,

sorghum making is an annual communal event

in many towns across the region.

“The South in general has a gift for that kind

of inclusiveness and sharing,” says Susi. “I don’t

know what it is about Southern culture. Perhaps

it’s the warmth that comes with more Southern

climates that makes life a little friendlier.”

While Appalachia’s close-knit, self-suffi cient

community is impressive, many have a skewed

view of the people who live there today thanks to

television and other media. Though Appalachia

is the same in many ways, it has also evolved with

time. The cliché of a coonskin-capped hillbilly or

a moonshiner who lives in the backwoods is an

inaccurate and unrealistic stereotype. Envision, rather, a mother

teaching her children how to grow their own vegetables or passing

down the secrets of making a comforting dinner of soup beans and

skillet cornbread. View Appalachians as those who have learned

to utilize their resources to the fullest extent.

Try your hand at traditional Appalachian cuisine with our

classic takes on burgoo and apple stack cake.

Vintage photography for this article was provided by The Foxfi re Institute, a nationally recognized organization dedicated to preserving the

traditions of Southern Appalachia. Find more recipes and information on Appalachian foodways in their newest revised edition of The Foxfi re Book of

Appalachian Cookery or visit their website at foxfi re.org.