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| Alternative names | Carolina peas and rice |
|---|---|
| Course | Meal |
| Place of origin | Southern United States |
| Region or state | South Carolina |
| Main ingredients | Black-eyed peas andrice, chopped onion, slicedbacon |
| Variations | substituteham hock,fatback, orcountry sausage for the conventional bacon, or smoked turkey parts as a pork alternative. |
Hoppin' John, also known asCarolina peas and rice, is a rice and beans dish of legendary origins associated with thecuisine of the Southern United States. Similar dishes are found in regions with a significant African-origin demographic like Louisianared beans and rice. The Carolina version is known for the addition of bacon and other kinds of pork.[1]
The starchy long-grain Carolina rice that is used in this meal must be washed well and cooked in bacon fat with onions until the grains are translucent before it is simmered with the parboiledblack-eyed peas orSea Island red peas and some chopped ham,ham hock or pork sausage. To finish the one-pot meal, the rice, having absorbed all the cooking liquid, is left to steam using the paper towel method for around 10 minutes and it is fluffed before serving.[2] Some recipes useham hock,fatback,country sausage, or smoked turkey parts instead of bacon. A few usegreen peppers orvinegar andspices. Smaller than black-eyed peas, field peas are used in theSouth Carolina Lowcountry andcoastal Georgia. Black-eyed peas are the norm elsewhere.
In the southern United States, eating Hoppin' John withcollard greens onNew Year's Day is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck.[3][4] The peas are symbolic of pennies or coins, and a coin is sometimes added to the pot or left under the dinner bowls.[5]Collard greens,mustard greens,turnip greens,chard,kale,cabbage and similar leafy green vegetables served along with this dish are supposed to further add to the wealth, since they are the color of American currency.[6]
Another traditional food,cornbread, can also be served to represent wealth, being the color of gold. On the day after New Year's Day, leftover "Hoppin' John" is called "Skippin' Jenny" and further demonstrates one's frugality, bringing a hope for an even better chance of prosperity in the New Year.[7]
TheOxford English Dictionary's first reference to the dish is fromFrederick Law Olmsted's 19th centurytravelogue,A Journey in the Seaboard Slave States (1861).[8] A recipe for "Hopping John" inThe Carolina Housewife by Sarah Rutledge,[9] which was published in 1847, is also cited as the earliest reference.[10] An even earlier source isRecollections of a Southern Matron, which mentions "Hopping John", defined, in a note, as "bacon and rice", as early as 1838.[11][12]
The origins of the name are uncertain. One possibility is that the name is acorruption of theHaitian Creole term forblack-eyed peas:pwa pijon (pronounced[pwapiʒɔ̃])lit. 'pigeon peas' meaningblack-eyed peas.Pwa pijon is aborrowing from the Frenchpois pigeon.
Hoppin' John originated from the Gullah people and was originally aLowcountry one-pot dish before spreading to the entire population of the South. Hoppin' John may have evolved from rice and bean mixtures that were the subsistence of enslaved West Africans en route to the Americas.[13] Hoppin' John has been further traced to similar foods in West Africa,[10] in particular the Senegalese dishthiebou niebe.[14]
One tradition common in the United States is that each person at the meal should leave three peas on their plate to ensure that the New Year will be filled with luck, fortune and romance.[citation needed] Another tradition holds that counting the number of peas in a serving predicts the amount of luck, or wealth, that the diner will have in the coming year.[citation needed] OnSapelo Island in the community of Hog Hammock,Geechee red peas are used instead of black-eyed peas.Sea Island red peas are similar.[15]
American chefSean Brock claims that traditional Hoppin' John was made withCarolina Gold rice, once thought to be extinct, and Sea Island red peas. He has worked with farmers to re-introduce this variety of rice. As of 2017, several rice growers offer Carolina Gold rice.[16]
Other bean and rice dishes are seen in Southern Louisiana and in theCaribbean, and are often associated with African culinary influence in the Americas. The Louisiana Creole version is calledcongri, and other regional variants include the Guyanese dish "cook-up rice", which uses black-eyed peas and coconut milk; "Hoppin' Juan," which substitutes Cubanblack beans for black-eyed peas; the Peruvian tacu-tacu; and the Brazilian dishbaião de dois, which often uses black-eyed peas.[citation needed]
The greatest luxury with which they are acquainted is astew ofbacon andpeas, withred pepper, which they call 'Hopping John'.
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