Homework correction: The African spirit in American cuisine

History

Soon after the foundation of the first colonies in the US, the importation of African slaves began. The slaves had to work hard not only in the fields, but also in the kitchen. The African cooks could neither read nor write, which made them completely dependent on African dishes they could remember. Food that originates in Africa is called "soul food". Many ingredients were said to have spiritual properties. However, the ingredients of the original African dishes have slightly changed over time. For example, roasted pig was the main ingredient of "barbacoa". Due to availability issues, this was changed to beef in the West, while it stayed pork in the East.

African American cuisine and ingredients
African cuisine was based on vegetables that were not known in the New World. With the importation of African slaves, their food as well as their cooking traditions were brought to the colonies. Common American foods like watermelons, black-eyes peas or eggplants have their roots in Africa. Also, various kinds of stews as well as dishes rich in starch - like rice - marked the African diet. When slavery ended, many former slaves continued working for the Whites. However, they were poor and had to be creative with what they could afford: offal (internal organs of animals), pig's feet etc. This was the beginning of many dishes that are considered delicacies.

Influence on African American health nowadays
Nowadays the rate of type 2 diabetes, which is caused by obesity, is about 1.6 times higher in the black population than in any other ethnic group in the United States. Among other social factors (for example processed food is cheaper, less working out), this problem stems from their traditional way of cooking: deep-fat frying. Due to a shorter cooking time, deep-fat frying was especially useful in Africa during summer. While in 1965 African Americans were more likely to have a healthier diet than Whites, by 1996 the situation was reversed. Many organizations are still trying to deal with obesity among African Americans, but seem to be fighting a losing battle.

Keep in mind:

• be exact with tenses!! There is a difference between a simple tense and a perfect tense.