If you’ve ever spent time in a Southern kitchen, you know that pulling a meal together is an event itself. There might be splattered recipe cards, spiral-bound cookbooks, cans of leftover bacon grease, and relatives popping in and out of the kitchen all afternoon. Everyone is welcome in a Southern grandma’s kitchen, but she just might put you to work.
In the spirit of celebrating Southern home cooks and the food they’ve preserved, we asked our readers on Facebook to share some of the best phrases you’d only hear in a Southern kitchen, and they surely didn’t disappoint.
“Measure with your heart.”
Southerners know that there’s a time to count out individual measurements, and there’s a time to toss in and taste as you go. While my colleagues in the Test Kitchen would always recommend following our recipes closely for the best results, I know that when you’re making a special dish off a smudged recipe card sometimes it’s best to let memory be your guide. If it tastes like it needs another dash of Tony Chachere’s, sprinkle until your heart says stop.
“Stay close and stay clean.”
Since our meals often include extended family members and neighbors that have become dear friends, getting the guests to the table is a task itself. This becomes even more challenging when the weather is beautiful and everyone wants to be outside. When you hear a Southern cook say that it’s almost time to eat, that’s your cue to wash your wands and see if the table is set.
Credit:
Stacy K. Allen; Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
“Don’t you dare throw out the bacon grease.”
If you see a mug, a jar, or a lidded tin by the stove in a Southern kitchen, there’s no need to rinse it out. In fact, to pour away the treasured ingredient inside would be close to sin. Down here, we’re nearly experts at repurposing our scraps and bacon grease is one of the most celebrated. From cocktails to salad dressing, there’s hardly a dish that this treasured ingredient can’t improve. So when you’ve finished frying up the bacon, add your leftovers to the vessel of choice and store it safely for your next kitchen marathon.
“Keep that margarine container, I’ll use it for leftovers later!”
In a Southern kitchen, don’t trust the plastic containers in the fridge. Everything is kept to be used as tupperware later on.
“Mama would roll over if she knew you used the boxed stuff.”
While we’re never too proud to make the most of a boxed mix in a pinch, most Southern dishes are best made from scratch or not at all.
Credit:
Beth Dreiling Hontzas
“Honey, that’s not near enough sugar in the tea.”
Flavor isn’t a suggestion, it’s a requirement—and we do not care how much butter, salt, or sugar it takes to get there.
“It’s not seasoned until you’re sneezing.”
It is best to assume you need a few more shakes of Cajun seasoning or salt to fully achieve Southern approval.
“We have a whole mess of greens.”
When a Southern cook says there’s a mess of something, it doesn’t mean there’s chaos on the countertops. This phrase is usually translation for garden bounty that’s made its way into the kitchen. If there’s a mess of collards, that means there will be enough to feed the aunts, cousins, and maybe even the preacher, too.
Credit:
Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
“It’s too hot to turn on the oven.”
If you’ve lived through one Southern summer, you know just what I’m talking about. There are very few recipes that are worth heating the entire house over, especially when the farmers’ market is full of fresh produce that’s nearly ready to serve.
“Needs more butter…”
Betty Jo Melvin, mother of “Today” show anchor Craig Melvin, said it best, “Mac and cheese does not taste good without butter. I’ve gone places that do not put enough and I’ve told them.” From our appetizers to our layer cakes and all the casseroles in between, Southern cooks understand the power of butter. We’ll use it generously and we know those classic recipes taste better for it.
“You’ve got a good scald on that.”
No this phrase doesn’t mean the chicken’s burned. If a Southerner tells you this after taking the first bite of a home-cooked meal, it means your kitchen efforts certainly paid off.
Credit: Photography: Caitlin Bensel; Food Stylist: Torie Cox
“Everyone grab a shucker, the sweet corn just came into season!”
When it is time to make creamed corn from scratch for the whole family, everyone knows that grandma’s kitchen becomes a shucking headquarters.”
“We’re going to need to crack into my secret mayo stash.”
Southern cooks make sure to keep plenty of extras in the pantry of their most-used ingredients, lest we get stuck up the creek.
“Go ahead and fix yourself a plate.”
While small dinner parties and other intimate gatherings are treasured, Southern kitchens are also known to have a bit of an open door policy. These large-format suppers lend themselves to large creamy casseroles, vegetable side dishes, and multiple main courses. With choices like these, who wouldn’t want to pick out their own selections and portion sizes?
Credit:
Greg Dupree, Food Stylist: Chelsea Zimmer, Prop Stylist: Shell Royster
“That potlikker is liquid gold.”
Next time you make a mess of greens, be sure to save the concentrated liquid that’s left after cooking. Known as potlikker, this flavor-packed broth can improve everything from Bloody Marys to pappardelle pasta. My personal preference? Dipping my New Year’s Day cornbread into the potlikker from the lucky batch of collard greens.
“Hold on, let’s throw in some Sister Schubert’s, just in case.”
That tin of yeast rolls is a Southern table staple, especially when grandma gets (unnecessarily) worried that she didn’t make enough food.
“But it’ll eat.”
This is a phrase you can lean on when your recipe didn’t come out quite perfect. So it might not look like the magazine photo, but is the dish edible? It’ll eat and you’ll still have supper tonight.
“I’m full as a tick.”
While this might not be the most appetizing expression to say after a meal, that’s just what Southerners will say at the end of Thanksgiving dinner each year.
Credit: Caitlin Bensel
“You’re cleaning the cast-iron with dish soap?!”
It’s no surprise to hear a traditional Southern cook forbid suds coming anywhere near his cast-iron pans. While it’s fine to cling to that tradition, modern-day soaps aren’t made with lye, an ingredient that could strip cast-iron of its seasoning. Follow grandpa’s wishes in his kitchen, but feel free to scrub your stuck-on messes with a bit of soap.
“Just leave that covered dish on the counter.”
With refrigerator space at a premium during big family gatherings, our grandparents were known to push the limit when it comes to food safety. One too many casseroles in the icebox? Don’t be surprised if Aunt Wilma’s butterbeans stay on the kitchen counter or get relegated to the screened-in porch. I wouldn’t recommend doing this at your own home, folks.
Credit: Alison Miksch; Prop Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas; Food Styling: Kellie Gerber Kelley
“There’s nothing better than cornbread and buttermilk before bed!”
Not quite a full meal or even a dessert, crumbled cornbread in buttermilk is another creative way that Southerners make the most of their leftovers. A common late-night snack in my grandmother Hazel’s household, I never developed a taste, but it’s still a nostalgic treat for older members of my family.
“Mama never needed money to make a good meal.”
Cheap meals are a Southern grandma specialty, whether we’re talking about cream-cheese-and-olive spread or a good old-fashioned tomato sandwich.
Dining and Cooking