Foodways are about more than what we eat.
They include how people grow and gather food, where ingredients come from, how food is prepared and cooked, when and why it is served, and how recipes and cooking knowledge are passed from one generation to the next.
For Gullah Geechee people, food can tell stories about African heritage, the coastal land and waterways, survival, family, community, creativity, and generations of knowledge.
Rice, okra, peas and beans, seafood, vegetables, and other ingredients became part of food traditions that developed throughout Gullah Geechee communities.
And some of the dishes many families still know and love today—like Gullah Geechee red rice—carry pieces of that history forward. 🍅🍚
It can carry a family's history from one generation to the next.
Gullah Geechee cooking reflects generations of knowledge, local ingredients, African influences, and the coastal environment. Recipes vary from family to family and throughout the Corridor, but certain foods have important places in Gullah Geechee food traditions.
🍚 Rice — Rice became central to the economy and food culture of the Carolina and Georgia Lowcountry. Enslaved Africans brought valuable agricultural knowledge and skills that contributed to rice cultivation in the region.
🍅 Red Rice — A beloved rice dish prepared with tomatoes and seasonings, with variations passed through families. Red rice also reflects connections between Gullah Geechee food traditions and rice dishes of West Africa.
🌿 Okra — A plant with African origins that became an important ingredient in Southern and Gullah Geechee cooking. Its name also has African linguistic roots.
🦐 Shrimp, Crab, Oysters & Fish — Coastal waters provided—and continue to provide—important foods for many Gullah Geechee communities. Fishing, crabbing, shrimping, and gathering oysters are also part of generations of coastal knowledge.
🫘 Peas & Beans — Peas, beans, and rice appear in many dishes throughout the African diaspora, including Gullah Geechee food traditions.
🥬 Foods From the Garden — Families also grew vegetables and other crops for their tables. Gardens, farms, and knowledge of the land helped families feed themselves and their communities.
Gullah Geechee red rice is more than a side dish. It connects rice, family, the Lowcountry, and the African diaspora.
Red rice is commonly prepared with rice, tomatoes, seasonings, and other ingredients that can vary from cook to cook and family to family.
The dish reflects connections to West African rice traditions, including tomato-and-rice dishes such as jollof. The dishes are not identical, but their similarities help us explore how food traditions can travel, adapt, and take on new forms across generations and places.
One family's red rice may not taste exactly like another family's—and that's part of the story!
Recipes can change as they are passed from grandparents → parents → children, while still carrying family memories and traditions.
Food is one of the ways families pass culture from one generation to the next. Ask someone in your family:
Does our family make red rice?
Who taught you how to make it?
Who made the best red rice when you were growing up?
Do you follow a written recipe, measure everything, or cook it “by eye”?
What makes our family's red rice special?
And then:
Write down what they tell you. One day, you may be the person passing the recipe—and the story—on to the next generation.
Okra has deep roots in Africa and has been grown and eaten there for centuries. During the transatlantic slave trade, African food traditions and knowledge crossed the Atlantic, and okra became an important ingredient in the Americas.
In Gullah Geechee cooking, okra can be found in soups, stews, and other dishes. Its story is another example of how food can connect Africa, the Gullah Geechee Corridor, and generations of families.
Okra isn't only something to eat. The plant itself has a story—from its beautiful flowers to the pods that grow above the ground.
For generations, Gullah Geechee communities have lived among the rivers, creeks, marshes, Sea Islands, and coastal waters of the southeastern United States.
The water provided food, work, and knowledge that could be passed from one generation to the next.
🦐 Shrimping — Coastal waters are home to shrimp that became an important part of Lowcountry and Gullah Geechee cooking.
🦀 Crabbing — Blue crabs are gathered from creeks, rivers, and coastal waters and prepared in many different family dishes.
🦪 Oystering — Oysters have long been harvested from coastal waters. Oyster gathering and oyster roasts remain familiar traditions in many coastal communities.
🐟 Fishing — Fishing from creeks, rivers, docks, boats, and shorelines helped families put food on the table and created knowledge that could be taught from elders to children.
Knowing where to fish, when the tide changes, where crabs gather, how to cast a net, where oysters grow, and how to prepare the catch are all forms of knowledge.
Much of that knowledge wasn't learned from a textbook.
It was learned by watching, doing, listening—and going with somebody who already knew.
Food isn't only about ingredients. It can also be about who taught you, who cooked, who gathered around the table, and the memories created while eating together.
In Gullah Geechee families, cooking knowledge may be passed down by watching an elder in the kitchen, helping prepare vegetables, cleaning seafood, learning when something “looks right,” or hearing a recipe explained without a measuring cup anywhere in sight.
Some recipes are written down. Others live in people's memories.
That is why asking questions matters.
What dish reminds you most of our family?
Who was known as the best cook?
What did your parents or grandparents teach you to cook?
Is there a family recipe we need to make sure isn't forgotten?