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My family's from Louisiana and North Florida (in essence, South Georgia), and I don't really think there's a difference. I think of any kind of greens (collard, mustard, turnip) as being 'southern', as well as pecan pie and casseroles. Maybe the Louisiana influence resulting in our home food being spicer, so that's what;s blurring them in my mind. But the only dish I really think of as 'soul food' are chicken and waffles.

Mmmmm, chicken and waffles -- I think I've just decided on lunch!

As a devotee of southern cooking and more importantly, southern eating, I have to give credit where credit is due: Soul Food is the genisis of what is now Southern Food. I also thought that that fact was widely known.

I think Gourmet magazine did a story about how slaves created southern cooking. Fried Chicken? yeah, the slaves that were brought into the kitchens made that. Collards, mustard greens, turnip greens and ham hocks? yeah, the slaves did that first. Bread pudding? slaves.

You know, I am not African American, but while I was writing this, I had to start and restart a few times, because I started getting really fired up about differentiating the two cuisines based on race. I hope in the future, you might want to consider how the wording of a post might be interpreted by others.

@bitter--I'm willing to admit, I can get fired up and carried away.

Hmmmm, as to the fried chicken. I was either told or read somewhere, years ago, that frying a chicken was an African (don't know which specific African country or region) custom to indicate an honored guest. Using flour didn't come about until the slaves entered Southern plantation kitchens.

I'm going to visit google, I'll be back.

Apparently the origins of fried chicken are unknown. One author quipped,"there is no clear smoking skillet" or wok or cauldron or whatever.

I just know I love it no matter what it's called. The only difference I can see is that the term "soul food" is simply more contemporary. When I think of soul food I think of the basics; fried chicken, greens, etc.
When I think of "southern cooking" for some reason I think of Nathalie Dupree. Remember her?

Yah, I remember Miss Dupree! I make her Pecan Tassies every chance I get! They are a pain in the butt to make, but they are so good and people just love them. I think I found her recipe in The South The Beautiful Cookbook

I used to watch Nathalie Dupree cooking on TV when I was a kid. I remember how perfectly manicured her nails were while pressing pastry dough into a pie tin. And her perfectly sparkling collection of copper mixing bowls.

@bitter--I would classify Miss Dupree as an authority on Southern cooking and cooking in general. I think I see classic French technique in addition to her Southern roots behind her food. I believe she represents a more genteel South than say, oh, Miss Deen, who is a little more salt of the earth, shall we say. lol

Bitter and Wookie: Yes, I remember Miss Nathalie and even met her once at a kitchen and bath convention in Atlanta. She is a Jewish lady who somehow became a Southern Cook with books to prove it. Once the funny guy on 'How to Boil Water' on the Food Network spilled something and made a quip about how his set would look like Dupree's once he was finished. Apparently aside from cooking Southern, she left a messy kitchen.

I would like to add pound cake to specialties from the South. As to soul food, our family in NC regurarly ate creamed rice and fatback for breakfast - or is that just poor Southern?

What great posts from all of the above. YaYa

my white family is definitely southern but my mother (who actually became acquainted with Ms. Dupree later in her life) never tasted collards until she was an adult. Our family recipes include imp cake and baked alaska and persimmon pudding (weird that they're all desserts). My mother told me that growing up in the 40s & 50s, they never had cornbread or collards or fried chicken or any of the kinds of things that are generally associated with southern food today. (They did eat biscuits). Years ago I thought it was just a myth that southerners ate cornbread and collards and that sort of thing, then I thought maybe it was actually a race thing, then I got to know white southerners who ate cornbread and decided it was a class thing. Now I think it's just way more complicated than any of that but certainly has to do with the historical interactions of class and race in a predominantly rural south, and how these have evolved and interacted with food culture (eg with rural black women coming to work for increasingly urban white families with increasing exposure to national and international trends and standards in part through-- and I think this is really to the point-- country clubs and junior leagues and the networks of information and aspiration their cookbooks supported and represented). Sorry to wander off on a tangent.

i think the distinction totally hinges on race. southern food is regional cuisine, distinguished by ingredients, cooking method (someone above mentioned casseroles for example) and geography. soul food - a term that didn't even emerge until the 1960s - is a national cuisine that is also connected to ingredients, but is very much connected to the idea and reality of blackness. i mean, the term "soul" is totally about essence and innateness, is it not? a couple of you mentioned how chicken and waffles sprung up in the venues of late night jazz culture. i would say soul food is just as connected to blues venues and gospel music. in fact, soul is almost analogous to rhythm in some ways. they are both terms that evoke the innate color and life of a people. to me, soul is inseparable from race.

I wasn't born in the South, but I got here as quick as I could. Personally, I think that Southern and Soul are virtually indistinguishable. I absolutely love them both! And you can throw Cajun, Creole, and Cuban into that mix. Now I'm REALLY hungry!

Best chicken and waffles - EVER - Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, Hollywood CA - and I know where of I speak because I've had Sylvia's too!!

What is this chicken and waffles I keep hearing about. I'm intrigued.

It was interesting reading everyones remarks on this question-as I have wondered this myself.

Wookie -Thanks for the info. I lived in Alexandria area for years. Worked in hospitals in Hampton, Chesapeake and Va Beach areas. I asked your whereabouts because I like your comments on these talks. Enjoy the food up Nawth. yaya