It evolved as people adapted to the new environment and availability of ingredients as West Africans had done upon their arrival to the new world. Whether on the shores of West Africa, in the Mississippi Delta or in the South Side, African American cuisine continually evolves ritually linking ancestors together creating cultural and familial unity. Soul food has become marketed as African American cooking which has its roots in southern slave culture. African American cuisine has been handed down from generation to generation, from one family member to another just like other African American rituals. Edna's specialty, fried catfish and french fries, mealtime brings the family together.
Soul has to do with a style associated with black culture.
It's family food. The act of cooking served as ritual that linked the family together while also providing sustenance and daily nutrition. In African American kitchens throughout Mississippi Delta, food was prepared by instinct, touch, sight and smell. The cook tasted rather than measures. I cook by vibration.