SC New Year’s Day Traditions
Five...four…three…two…one…Happy New Year! Bring out the bubbly and toast to 2008. It’s out with the old and in with the new, but for New Year’s Day, dinner traditions tend to remain the same in South Carolina.
New Year’s Day is one of the most popular holidays for family gatherings where dinner is always a part of the plan and collard greens and black-eyed (or field) peas are always on the menu for South Carolinians.
A Year of Good Luck and Reward
According to tradition, collards and black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day promises a year of good luck and financial reward. The leaves of collard greens represent dollar bills and peas represent coins. These veggies aren’t served just any old way. Collards have to be chopped and seasoned just right with ham hock, bacon or fatback. Some cooks use other meat like smoked turkey wings for a healthier dish.
Check out Chef Fatback’s Savory Reel video to learn how to cook up a mess of greens in a delicious smoked turkey base.
Although collard greens came to South Carolina with the African slaves, the vegetable dates back to prehistoric times. To learn more about the history of the collard green read “What’s Cooking America.”
In South Carolina, especially in the Lowcountry, having black-eyed peas isn’t just a matter of serving them with seasoned meat. The dish has to be Hoppin’ John, a mixture of black-eyed peas, rice and ham hocks or bacon. An unusual name, huh? Although no one knows the true origin of the name, it is said to have been named after a lively server in a Charleston restaurant. But the flavor is awesome! Add some onions, cayenne pepper and green peppers for a little kick to this pilaf.
Add a Slice of Cornbread
No New Year’s Day dinner is complete without a slice of cornbread along side your collard greens. Cornbread is great for soaking up the juices from the mess of greens on your plate.
Savor the Flavors of South Carolina’s New Year’s dinner traditions and have your guests begging for the recipe. Better yet, they’ll want to come back for more next year.