n the American South, cooking is not just "cooking," it is "Southern Cooking." Southern cooking is a culmination of many different traditional foods from the many different peoples that made their way into the region. West Africans introduced their fare of collard greens, eggplant and okra, while American Indians showed settlers from Europe how to grow and cook corn. Creoles, descendants of French and Haitian immigrants who intermingled with Spanish settlers, contributed their knowledge of spices, while Spanish explorers introduced pork to the South.

One of the most popular Southern food traditions, and an important part of the Southern American culture, is barbecuing, with the preparation differing both in region and methodology. From Alabama, to Georgia, to Tennessee, barbecue connoisseurs will debate what constitutes true Southern barbecue. In Tennessee, barbecue-loving Southerners serve "pulled" pork instead of chopped pork. Pulled pork is cooked using a low-heat, long-cook method. When the pork becomes tender enough to be "pulled" and shredded by hand, it is then doused with a saucy barbecue. In what is known as the pulled pig region, around Memphis, pulled pork is typically served with coleslaw, cornbread, and, on occasion, French fries.