DVD 2: African Influence

The Hand that Stirred the Pot (African Foods in the Americas)
Over 10 million slaves were transported from Africa to the Americas, bringing with them their knowledge of how to grow and cook their traditional foods. The slaves came from many different tribes with many different diets. This program shows the major influence these diverse cultures had on western cooking and culture. Africans played a significant role in the creation of American Cuisine, particularly in the Caribbean territories and the southern states. Peanuts, bananas, watermelon, rice, yams and okra are all part of our African culinary heritage.

How Sweet It Is (The Story of Sugar)
In 1493, Columbus planted sugar cane in Haiti. It eventually became one of the crops associated with “Triangular Trade,” the basis for all British International Commerce. The Caribbean area could not hold onto a paid labor force because land was free and abundant. The sugar plantations needed cheap labor to survive. Slaves became the answer and Africa was the closest place to find them. This program shows how the ships sailed to West Africa with manufactured goods from Europe. They were traded for slaves and the slaves were shipped to the West Indies. The profits from their sale bought sugar and other crops, which were sent back to Europe. For centuries, no other commodity on the world market wielded as much political influence. Sugar affected almost every aspect of government policy, from wages to wars, in much the same way as oil does today.

Some Like it Hot (The Story of Chili Peppers)
When Columbus set out from Spain his objective was to get King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella into the black pepper business. He believed that the islands he landed on in the Caribbean were off the coast of China. When the natives showed Columbus chilies he decided to call them peppers for two good reasons. First, when the chilies hit his tongue they felt like black pepper. More important, he was getting paid to find “peppers” and so he called this new food “peppers”. This program looks at how the hot pepper was adapted into the African culture, where a new cuisine was born and subsequently transported back to the Americas. It changed the way we cook from China to Texas.