LAFAYETTE, La. (AP) - It's just 8 a.m. and Ronnie Brown, affectionately known as "The Gumbo Lady" at Vermilionville Living History Museum and Folklife Park, is cutting up chicken thighs for La Cuisine de Maman's daily gumbo.
Although most people have only just eaten breakfast, the kitchen is filling with the smoky-sweet smells much of Acadiana and associates with a chilly Louisiana day.
"I know it's good when I see my bowls come back and they're empty, and I go back and talk to my customers and they say it's the best gumbo they've ever had," Brown said.
GUMBO'S BEGINNINGS
Arguably Louisiana's most famous dish, gumbo's origins can be traced back to the late 1700s in south Louisiana.
"We have accounts, written accounts, in the early 1800s right around the turn of the century in various parts of Louisiana," said John Laudun, a folklorist and associate English professor at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. "The word gumbo, people call it a melting pot of Louisiana. The word itself has interesting origins. We know that the African word for okra ("gombo") sounds sort of like gumbo."
The earliest gumbos did not start with the famed phrase "first you make a roux" that many modern-day area cooks use. Instead, either the African okra - brought to the area by slaves - or the Native American Choctaw filé powder - derived from sassafras leaves - were used to thicken gumbo.
The most primitive gumbos were not served over rice, either. They were typically served over cornmeal mush, according to Laudun.
Laudun said he believes that Haitian refugees added tomatoes, now considered a Creole gumbo ingredient.
Everything from seafood (crab, shrimp, crawfish, oysters) to poultry (chicken, duck, quail) to pork (tasso, andouille) has been and continues to be used in gumbos, often in combination. Although modern-day gumbos are often thought of as a fall or winter meal, the oldest gumbos were served year-round with whatever seasonal ingredients were available.
Gumbo z'herbes, an old variation of gumbo mainly served during the Catholic season of Lent, typically had a variety of greens, such as collard, mustard, turnip, cabbage, spinach, lettuce and chard. Although rarely seen in restaurants, the dish is still made occasionally in homes.
Today, gumbo varies from one parish to the next in Louisiana. But the oldest versions of gumbo showed even greater variation as people experimented with different local ingredients.
"There's a lot of variation when people are first exploring an idea," Laudun said.
GUMBO BY AREA
Although Louisiana gumbos have been influenced by Cajun, Creole, Choctaw and African ingredients and cooking methods, modern-day gumbos tend to be classified by where in Louisiana they are prepared, not the ethnicity of the cook.
"The fact of the matter is if you have a Cajun and a Creole living in the same area, their gumbo is going to be pretty much the same," Laudun said.
The most noticeable difference in gumbos by region is the color, according to Laudun. In the southernmost parishes of Acadiana, roux tends to be lighter, close to the color of peanut butter. The northern parishes in Acadiana tend to have darker, coffee-colored roux.
The method of cooking a gumbo varies by region, too.
"Importantly, where does the roux process begin?" asked Laudun. "Down on the Teche, they cook their roux in the pot, then they'll (add) their seasoning vegetables, and that stops the roux from cooking further. Up around Lawtell, people are usually going to brown their chicken and meat first. They've made their roux earlier."
It is no coincidence that jarred roux sold at area grocery stores comes from the northern parts of Acadiana. It can all be traced back to the tradition of making the roux separately from the gumbo, Laudun said.
Almost all gumbos begin with the browning of ingredients, whether it's the vegetables, meat or roux that is browned.
"You've got a pretty amazing amount of flavor in every bite," Laudun said. "An onion is not allowed to be just an onion. The browning is an integral part of it."
Chopped onion, celery and bell pepper are often called the "holy trinity" of gumbo vegetables, but Laudun said that also varies.
"In parts of southwest Louisiana, you might just have onions," said Laudun. "Along the Bayou Teche, you have onions, garlic, bell peppers and celery all chopped up."
While cooking her pot of gumbo Tuesday, Brown used chopped bell peppers, onions, celery, green onions and parsley as part of what she called seasoning.
"It's all about the place," Laudun said. "There is this idea of the 'holy trinity,' but what that is changes. If you were to ask about the 'holy trinity' or what the older people call 'seasoning' - or seasoned vegetables - you could hear, 'filé, garlic and onion.'"
Ultimately, Laudun says it right: "There are as many types of gumbo as there are people in south Louisiana."
GUMBO AS WE KNOW IT
Almost every gumbo eater has preferences on how a gumbo is made, whether he or she is arguing over filé or okra, meat or seafood or a light or dark roux.
To Café Vermilionville's executive chef Michael Collins, who is from Ohio, the biggest learning curve to Cajun cooking was learning how to properly make a roux.
"Making a chocolate flour and oil roux was an interesting learning curve," Collins said. "I enjoy the food culture. To me, it's - the food here is really homey. It's good, stick-to-your-bones, go-work-in-the-fields food."
Café Vermilionville offers two gumbos on its menu: a smoked, pecanwood turkey and andouille gumbo and a gulf crab, shrimp and oyster gumbo. Both begin with a roux, followed by the "trinity."
At Vermilionville's Cuisine de Maman, however, Brown's gumbo begins with a pot of water, followed by sausage and chopped vegetables. Brown then adds jarred roux, chicken base, filé, seasoning and kitchen bouquet to the boiling water before adding pieces of raw chicken thighs to cook.
"If I make the roux over here, it'll take a lot longer, would take until 11 o'clock," said Brown, who begins making gumbo before 8 a.m. each morning.
Fresh vegetables matter more than a fresh roux, Brown said.
Those looking to make a roux instead of starting from a jar can take Collins' suggestion to avoid burning.
"Put it in the oven," Collins said. "That's the most even way to heat the pot because it heats from all the way around, so there's not the risk of burning it."
Mandy Migues, resident Cajun and French teacher at Lafayette High School, has been experimenting with a gluten-free gumbo recipe after recently being diagnosed with gluten sensitivity.
Using white rice flour instead of regular flour to make a roux takes longer to get the desired color, Migues said.
"The results are very similar to a regular roux. It just takes patience," said Migues.
Migues, who grew up in southern Vermilion Parish, likes shrimp and egg gumbo best but considers chicken and okra a close second. She recommends patience and finding a great brand of sausage when making a gumbo.
To her, making the gumbo, eating the gumbo and talking about the gumbo are as important to the area as the actual dish itself.
"I think gumbo is synonymous with Louisiana," Migues said. "It's a dish everyone eats and enjoys. We enjoy talking about how we make gumbo and what things we do differently."
And that, perhaps, is the beauty of gumbo. No matter how it is made or what gets put into it, gumbo is a dish that brings people and cultures together in Louisiana.
"The dish is a living, breathing dish," said Laudun. "And as long as it serves a purpose, it will continue to serve its communities in different ways, in its many varieties."