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For Southerners, our most passionate arguments might seem silly to some—”is it pronounced puh-KAHN or PEE-can?”—but they can be an affront of the most serious nature, especially when we’re talking about food. For example, those who grew up eating gumbo often retain lifetime loyalties to the way it was made in their family, community, or favorite restaurant—and that goes for how they eat it, as well.
Out of all the opinions in the South, there is one that goes back generations and will likely keep going until the end of time: Does potato salad belong on gumbo or not?
Do You Put Potato Salad On Gumbo? What Our Readers Had To Say
Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christina Dailey
For those in Louisiana and Cajun-Creole pockets of other states, it’s a common argument. Many believe that you’d never, ever, ever put potato salad on top of gumbo. (These folks are the most outspoken.) Yet, plenty others don’t agree and say that it is a tradition that adds a tasty, creamy component. More folks note that having potato salad on the side is very common as well. So, who’s right? The answers that our readers gave might even surprise lifelong Louisianans.
Some Said “Heck No!”
- “Why would you put a mayo-based salad in the middle of hot gumbo?!”
- “When I cook my seafood gumbo, don’t even bring potato salad into my neighborhood.”
- “I wouldn’t want mayo floating around in my gumbo! Yuck!”
- “If it goes in my gumbo, I’m filing a police report. That’s a culinary crime.”
- “Does brown gravy belong on coconut cake?”
Others Said “Absolutely Yes!”
Fred Hardy; Food Stylist: Margaret Monroe Dickey; Prop Stylist: Hannah Greenwood
- “Smack dab in the middle of the bowl!”
- “I scrolled looking for Cajun names. They know the correct answer. Gumbo is their dish. And the correct answer is yes.”
- “Just a ‘dollop’ of cold potato salad on the side of the bowl allows you to take a scant spoonful with your gumbo to cool the spice level in your mouth.”
Many Preferred “On the Side”
Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Julian Hensarling, Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
- “Take a little scoop of potato salad from the side and then add a little gumbo in the same bite. That way the potato salad doesn’t get mushy in the gumbo.”
- “I don’t eat gumbo cooked by anyone north of Alexandria, Louisiana, west of Lake Charles, or east of Slidell. Sorry, not sorry. And I dip my potato salad in my gumbo.”
- “Potato salad was always a side dish. Rice in the gumbo.”
Some Are “Staying Out of It”
Dotdash Meredith
- “If you like it that way, knock your lights out. Life’s too short to debate how a person enjoys his or her meals. Eat, enjoy, take a nap afterwards.”
- “If you like it, yes. If you don’t like it, no.”
All in all, you’re not going to convince anyone to switch sides, but hopefully there’s a peaceful understanding that, at the very least, everyone loves their gumbo. And who’s to judge how anyone likes to eat it? (For those of us not raised on gumbo, we might be best leaving this fight to the Louisianans.)