While West African cooking culture forms the foundation of Gullah cuisine, it is heavily employed in Lowcountry dishes as well, along with lighter influences from English, French and Caribbean cuisines. Colonial settlers in and around the Charleston area brought the cooking techniques of their respective countries.
For example, all soul food is, indeed, Southern food, but not all Southern food is soul food. Lowcountry dishes typically have Gullah roots, but there are often other influences at play. And Southern cooking, well, it's somewhat of a catch-all. If you're thinking South Carolina's culinary leanings are a might bit complicated, you're not alone.
Lowcountry dishes typically have Gullah roots, but there are often other influences at play. And Southern cooking, well, it's somewhat of a catch-all. If you're thinking South Carolina's culinary leanings are a might bit complicated, you're not alone.
In South Carolina’s Lowcountry, descendants of the Gullah-Geechee, Africans brought to the state during slavery, are reviving the cuisine that defined the city. Okra soup, a Gullah staple, is similar to gumbo but starts with a tomato base instead of a roux.