Differences between jambalaya & gumbo

Dee Dee said...

Quoted message said:

What is the MAIN difference between jambalaya and gumbo -- is it the
roux in one and not the other?
Are the meats different in one than the other? Is one an all-day
cooking affair and one is not?

Thanks,
Dee Dee

Except for the roux and veggie or fish stock in gumbo, they're about the
same. Jambalaya is the lighter of the two dishes but you can put just about
anything in both.

Andy
Mumbo Gumbo King
Jambalaya Jammer

Dee Dee said:

What is the MAIN difference between jambalaya and gumbo -- is it the
roux in one and not the other?

Yes, but that's only part of it. A gumbo is basically a soup. It can
be made of just about anything, including rice, but it's still a soup.
A jambalaya is primarily a rice dish like a pilaf or a paella. Both
have many ingredients in common, including the meats and spices.

Here's a great page for both:

http://www.gumbopages.com/food/basics/

nb

Quoted message said:

Are the meats different in one than the other? Is one an all-day
cooking affair and one is not?

Thanks,
Dee Dee

Dee Dee said:

What is the MAIN difference between jambalaya and gumbo -- is it the
roux in one and not the other?
Are the meats different in one than the other? Is one an all-day
cooking affair and one is not?

One is a soup.

-sw

notbob said:

Dee Dee said:

What is the MAIN difference between jambalaya and gumbo -- is it the
roux in one and not the other?

Yes, but that's only part of it. A gumbo is basically a soup. It can
be made of just about anything, including rice, but it's still a soup.
A jambalaya is primarily a rice dish like a pilaf or a paella. Both
have many ingredients in common, including the meats and spices.

Here's a great page for both:

http://www.gumbopages.com/food/basics/

nb

That's what I thought, but not being either Creole no Cajun, awaited a
definition.

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

notbob said:

Dee Dee said:

What is the MAIN difference between jambalaya and gumbo -- is it the
roux in one and not the other?

Yes, but that's only part of it. A gumbo is basically a soup. It can
be made of just about anything, including rice, but it's still a soup.
A jambalaya is primarily a rice dish like a pilaf or a paella. Both
have many ingredients in common, including the meats and spices.

Here's a great page for both:

http://www.gumbopages.com/food/basics/

nb

Bingo! 🙂 Yep, Gumbo is soup. Traditionally it is served spooned *over*
rice although some people put rice in the soop itself. Jambalaya is a rice
dish; I've mostly had it containing Andouille sausage or a combination of
shrimp & the sausage.

Jill

jmcquown said:

dish; I've mostly had it containing Andouille sausage or a combination of
shrimp & the sausage.

It's my understanding they're both more or less a catch-all for
whatever happens to be available. Sausage, chicken, seafood, whatever
veggies, etc. In the excellent PBS video, Cajun Country (Don't Drop
The Potato), they follow an authentic rural Mardi Gras celebration of
riding horseback from farm to farm to round up participants for the
main celebration at the last farm. There, they cook up a great pot of
gumbo which is made of whatever each guest brings along be it chickens
or hams or whatever. This is primarily a music video about cajun
music roots, but the cooking scenes will appeal to any foodie.

nb

Isn't okra a necessary (by definition) ingredient in gumbo, but not in
jambalaya?

Steve

Steve Pope said:

Isn't okra a necessary (by definition) ingredient in gumbo, but not in
jambalaya?

Steve

Okra is not essential (but is traditional) in gumbo. Okra is not just a
slimy vegetable (!) but also a natural thickener. I've never seen okra used
in jambalaya. Onion, celery, garlic, bell pepper (both red and green) but
not okra.

Jill

Steve Pope said:

Isn't okra a necessary (by definition) ingredient in gumbo.....

Not really. I've made plenty without and you can find recipes
likewise. Not that I don't like okra, I love it. But, it doesn't
always like me. Seems I have an on/off again allergy to it.

nb

jmcquown said:

Okra is not essential (but is traditional) in gumbo. Okra is not just a
slimy vegetable (!) but also a natural thickener.

I always think of filé gumbo as a recipe without okra. The filé
powder takes the place of okra as a thickening agent. I've never
tried it, as the filé powder I run across has no doubt been on the
shelf since Moses wore knee pants.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/artfilegumbo.html

nb

notbob said:

jmcquown said:

Okra is not essential (but is traditional) in gumbo. Okra is not just a
slimy vegetable (!) but also a natural thickener.

I always think of filé gumbo as a recipe without okra. The filé
powder takes the place of okra as a thickening agent. I've never
tried it, as the filé powder I run across has no doubt been on the
shelf since Moses wore knee pants.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/artfilegumbo.html

nb

First, locate a sassafras tree:
http://www.nolacuisine.com/2006/07/03/homemade-file-powder/

Dee Dee

Steve Pope said:

Isn't okra a necessary (by definition) ingredient in gumbo, but not in
jambalaya?

Steve

Yes. Gumbo is a West African word for okra. Try explaining that to
people who's names don't end in neau, or eaux though.

George

notbob said:

jmcquown said:

Okra is not essential (but is traditional) in gumbo. Okra is not just a
slimy vegetable (!) but also a natural thickener.

I always think of filé gumbo as a recipe without okra. The filé
powder takes the place of okra as a thickening agent. I've never
tried it, as the filé powder I run across has no doubt been on the
shelf since Moses wore knee pants.

http://www.foodreference.com/html/artfilegumbo.html

nb

Don't try thickening your gumbo with file, it will be bitter. Either use
the roux or okra or both. File is ground up, dried sassafras leaves, as
I'm sure you know. I live in Cajun country and to a good Cajun cook both
okra and file are essential items in any gumbo. The file is added during
cooking at about a quarter teaspoon and then is sprinkled on top of the
bowl of gumbo over rice as an additional pick-me-up.

If you have sassafras trees in your area go and pick some of the green
leaves, dehydrate them and put them through your spice grinder (small
coffee mill). Then you have fresh file.

George

Steve Pope said:

Isn't okra a necessary (by definition) ingredient in gumbo, but not in
jambalaya?

Steve

No, you can also use filé powder (ground sassafras leaves.) You should
never use both okra and filé in the same gumbo, although you might have
a bottle of filé powder on the table for folks to add to their own bowl
of okra gumbo. HTH :-)

Bob

George Shirley said:

Steve Pope said:

Isn't okra a necessary (by definition) ingredient in gumbo, but not in
jambalaya?

Steve

Yes. Gumbo is a West African word for okra. Try explaining that to
people who's names don't end in neau, or eaux though.

George

I think it's also a Cherokee word for sassafras ;-)

Only half-kidding,
Bob

zxcvbob said...

Quoted message said:

Steve Pope said:

Isn't okra a necessary (by definition) ingredient in gumbo, but not in
jambalaya?

Steve

No, you can also use filé powder (ground sassafras leaves.) You should
never use both okra and filé in the same gumbo, although you might have
a bottle of filé powder on the table for folks to add to their own bowl
of okra gumbo. HTH :-)

Bob

As I learned about file powder for Gumbo batch #1, it was mentioned to put
it on after it's off the stove and cooling in a bowl otherwise it gets
stringy or something. It does thicken up fast!

I haven't tried okra gumbo yet. Maybe batch #2.

Funny, I could eat jambalaya year round while the gumbo seems so hearty and
thick, I think of it as more of a winter dish. I know that probably makes
no sense to the rest of the planet.

Andy

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dee Dee said:

What is the MAIN difference between jambalaya and gumbo -- is it the
roux in one and not the other?
Are the meats different in one than the other? Is one an all-day
cooking affair and one is not?

Thanks,
Dee Dee

Gumbo is soup and jambalaya is pretty dry, I think.
--
-Barb, Mother Superior, HOSSSPoJ
http://www.jamlady.eboard.com
http:/http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/amytaylor/

In article <[email hidden]>,

Dee Dee said:

What is the MAIN difference between jambalaya and gumbo -- is it the
roux in one and not the other?
Are the meats different in one than the other? Is one an all-day
cooking affair and one is not?

Thanks,
Dee Dee

Main difference: Gumbo is a soup. Jambalaya is a variation of a rice
pilaf.

Cindy

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

Andy q said:

Funny, I could eat jambalaya year round while the gumbo seems so hearty and
thick, I think of it as more of a winter dish. I know that probably makes
no sense to the rest of the planet.

I understand and agree, Andy. I don't like thin soups, so I made (my
one and only) gumbo thick. It was delicious, but not something I'd
eat year round.

--
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