what is the difference between hoppin john and black eyed peas

The Rice

The original Hoppin John was made with the famed Carolina Gold rice, a non-aromatic long-grained variety prized for its lush and delicate flavor. But that rice was ill-suited for modern agriculture. The Lowcountry tidal swamps were too soft to support mechanical harvesters, and the rice required far too much manual labor to be viable in the post-Emancipation world. A hurricane in 1911 effectively finished off the industry in the Carolinas, and American rice production shifted to Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana, where planters grew new hybridized varieties on dry ground.

The new rice varieties are mechanically processed—heat-dried, polished, and degerminated. They arent nearly as nutty and flavorful as the old Carolina Gold and not nearly as nutritious, either, since the processing strips away all of the bran and germ. Until well after World War II, much of rural South Carolina still depended on a diet heavy on rice and beans, but that rice was the new kind brought in from the Gulf regions. During the winter months when fresh produce was unavailable, rural South Carolinians started suffering from malnutrition due to lack of proteins and nutrients. A 1956 law required that all rice sold in the state be enriched with the very vitamins and minerals that mechanical processing had stripped away.

Hoppin’ John Trips and Falls

If you try to cook Sarah Rutledges recipe for Hoppin John using bacon, rice, and black-eyed peas from the supermarket, youre probably going to be pretty disappointed. Todays ingredients have been transformed by a century of hybridization, mechanization, and standardization to meet the demands of an industrialized, cost-minimizing food system.

As weve already seen, Southern stone-ground cornmeal was replaced by hybridized corn picked unripe, air-dried, and bashed to powder by steel roller mills, forcing cooks to add sugar to cornbread to simulate its former sweetness. Tomatoes are bred to be as indestructible as racket balls, and theyre picked green, shipped to supermarkets across the country, and get a good zap of ethylene gas so they arrive perfectly round, bright red, and flavorless. Heirloom breeds of pigs, with meat so red its almost purple and marbled with thick layers of fat, gave way to lean, factory-raised American Yorkshire engineered to pass as white meat.

All three of the main ingredients in Hoppin John have suffered a similar fate. Lets start with the bacon. Not only are the breeds the pork bellies come from different, but so is the way those bellies are treated.

Hoppin’ John & Black Eyed Peas – New Years Special Recipe!

Does Hoppin’ John have Black Eyed Peas?

Hoppin’ John has black-eyed peas in it, but it also has other ingredients. In this recipe, the black-eyed peas are stewed with onion, garlic, celery, and a ham hock, similar to how some Southern-style black-eyed peas would be cooked. But the kicker is that Hoppin’ John always involves rice.

Are Black Eyed Peas high in magnesium?

Black eyed peas are considered a rich source of magnesium compared to other magnesium rich foods. A one cup serving of black eyed peas contains about 90 milligrams of magnesium, which is comparable to one cup of cooked brown rice. The recommended daily amount of magnesium for US men is 420 milligrams and for women; 320 milligrams. Analysis of data from the US national nutrition survey suggests about one-half of the US adult population may be at risk of inadequate magnesium intakes. Eating a varied diet that provides green vegetables, whole grains, legumes, fish, and nuts daily should provide most of an individual’s magnesium requirement.

Are Hoppin’ John peas the same as beans?

All of these peas are in the same family and are, technically, beans. Hoppin’ John eventually gave rise to a holiday tradition in the early 20th century that spread across much of the diaspora.

Are Hoppin’ John beans?

Wherever you have an African presence, you will find Hoppin’ John in one form or another. “South Carolina peas and rice is made with cowpeas or red peas, but if you go to other states, they will use black-eyed peas because that was what was available,” Baker explained. All of these peas are in the same family and are, technically, beans.