Dr. Fred Opie on the “Fascinating” African Roots of Florida Foods

We always love digging into food history, so we’re excited to welcome back friend of the pod Dr. Frederick Douglass Opie. He’s an author and professor of history and foodways at Babson College outside of Boston. Among the courses he teaches is African History and Foodways. We always learn something from Dr. Opie, and he has the best stories. 

In this conversation, he explains the African roots of Southern staples like watermelon, beans and rice, and Coca-Cola. He also details how enslaved Africans brought their farming techniques and cooking methods to America, and how Reconstruction-era politics led to racist food stereotypes that persist today.

Related episodes:

• James Weldon Johnson’s Foodie Life
• Zora Neale Hurston’s Foodie Life
• Toni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in ‘Jubilee’
• Two USF Professors Offer a Crash Course in American Food History