Program

Hungry for History®

Subject

Arts & Culture, People

Location

1914 Main St, Haynesville, LA 71038, USA

Lat/Long

32.961242, -93.13875

Grant Recipient

Claiborne Parish Library

Potlikker, or pot liquor, is made from the broth remaining in the pot after boiling green leafy vegetables such as collards, turnip greens, mustard greens, cabbage, or kale with pork fat, salt, and pepper. It was a staple food eaten by enslaved people in the South, often eaten along with baked or fried cornbread either dipped or crumbled into the potlikker. By the early 1850s, potlikker was a mainstay in Southern diets.

During the Great Depression in the United States, potlikker was an affordable and nutritious food in the South. In June 1935, Louisiana Senator Huey Long praised its value on the floor on the United States Senate, providing for the Congressional Record, a detailed description on how to prepare potlikker. Shortly before this, the April 8, 1932 edition of the Shreveport Journal reported that Senator Long considered potlikker a national dish, after he was successful in getting potlikker on the menu of the Senate dining room. He noted that it was to be made of “turnip greens from Louisiana” and served alongside cornpone, a Southern version of cornbread. The article concluded that:

“Senator Long has worked vigorously on his cornpone ticket and potlikker campaign. It will be possible, largely because of his efforts, for dignitaries of the land to dunk or crumble according to the dictates of their consciences and discuss affairs of state between mouthfuls.”

Potlikker has continued to be eaten in the South, with local variations and preparations of the dish developing over time. In Louisiana, potlikker is commonly derived from cooking collards, black-eyed peas, and purple hull peas, with many connoisseurs adding a Cajun seasoning or a vinegar-based pepper sauce to the greens or to the potlikker once drained off the greens.