re: Tomatoes in da Gumbo

Cajun Gumbo - No Tomatoes

Creole Gumbo - Tomatoes


Both can exist. I don’t put them in my gumbo because I’m not sure they’d let me back into my hometown without being arrested, but I’ve had gumbo in Nola with tomatoes and it was different but still tasty.

It’s almost like different cultures eat different but similar foods or something wild like that that no one else ever thought of

Well the same can be said for those that don't use okra. Okra literally means Gumbo.

A Short History Of Gumbo

One ingredient that does arouse controversy is the tomato. Some cooks use it in their gumbos, others wouldn’t be caught dead putting tomato in theirs. In that respect, the situation is analogous to jambalaya, where the question of the appropriateness of tomato is a burning issue. Tomatoes are most often found in okra gumbos, but I’ve had roux-based seafood gumbo that also contained tomato. I don’t have any hard evidence to back this up, but in my experience gumbos containing tomato are more common on the eastern side of Bayou Lafourche than they are farther west. Personally, I am for tomato in okra gumbo and against it in non-okra gumbo.

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Potato salad in gumbo is actually a traditional thing

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Not in Avoyelles. We always had sweet potatoes as the side. My wife introduced tator salad to me at 27 years old.

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It makes it taste better so who the frick cares if it's not traditional.

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You are not el Gaucho, but if you believe this you've never eaten Cajun gumbo.

I once taught at a school in Jefferson Parish that had gumbo in the cafeteria several times a year. The gumbo that they served had a good flavor. the cafeteria also served jam. several times a year. The jam. was always red and it had a good flavor. I used to bring my lunch to school but if the cafeteria had jam. or gumbo I would just put my lunch in the refrigerator. I once made a big mistake when I tried one of their hamburgers. It was nothing but a soybean patty on a hamburger bun. When I was in school all of our dishes were cooked in the morning. Everything that I ate in school was usually prepared with real butter. I'm glad that I was out of school when the soybean lovers took over.