10 more foods that make America great

Gumbo
It all starts with okra.

Sure, there are versions of gumbo that manage without the gummy green pods, but the very word “gumbo” hails from the Bantu word kigombo and its linguistic cousins. Roux has an essential place, but okra is what gives gumbo its history.  (And let us not talk here of filé.)

You might argue that gumbo is more process than foodstuff, a pathway to flavor far more significant than any one recipe. Is it a matter of including andouille?  Are shrimp essential? Perhaps the sheer brilliance of gumbo is that it has never required uniformity.

Bill Haber / AP file A pot of gumbo cooks on the stove at Mytle Bossier's home in Edgard, La. Bossier hosted a party in March for New Orleans friends whose lives were upended by Hurricane Katrina.

Even in New Orleans, hungry eaters can detect major shifts in density and spice from block to block. Various styles have their fans, but never forget: When you tuck into a bowl, you keep a crucial tradition alive.

It has never been more important to appreciate the value of Louisiana cooking, and though it's impossible — almost demeaning — to pick just one symbol for this list, gumbo's case is strong indeed. 

At post-Katrina benefits across the nation, gumbo has more often than not been the featured centerpiece, and as New Orleans grows itself back to health, gumbo will help tie together memory, loss and hope.