Succotash

From what is known, succotash is a dish originally given to English settlers by the Native people of what became Massachusetts. Interestingly, while succotash came from New England, the dish found a devoted following in the southern part of the United States, although its cheap ingredients, and the availability of those ingredients, made succotash a "go to dish" in bad economic conditions all over the country, especially during the Great Depression. When I was a kid, succotash was pretty common, but that's not surprising, because those of us who grew up in the 1950s and 1960s were the children and grandchildren of those who survived the Great Depression and the rationing of World War Two; plus, we grew up with Warner Bros cartoon characters (Looney Tunes) saying, "Sufferin' succotash!"

 

Over the centuries, although especially before many foods were processed in ways to make them easier to prepare and consume, "msickquatash," the Algonquin from which English developed "succotash," was much more of a stew prepared by the Native and Colonial people with dried corn, dried beans and squash. Over time, Americans began to use lima beans, besides corn and other vegetables they had on hand, like "bell peppers" (red, yellow or green), and/or tomatoes (during the growing season). Preparation of this stew took more time to cook, but of course, when canned, and then frozen, vegetables became common, the preparation time dropped significantly. To me, from back when I was a kid, up until the time I began checking around about succotash, because I wanted to do an article about it, succotash was simply corn and lima beans. I wouldn't be surprised if other people have had the same belief. I must admit, I don't know of any special seasonings my mother or my grandmothers used, and I think they just used butter or margarine and some salt and pepper. Butter was something used for special occasions, if even then, by many people during the Great Depression; thus, margarine was likely used by average families, which certainly fit in with succotash being popular in hard times. Bacon, salt pork or ham hocks served as the meat part of a meal, as they were all cheap in those times.   

        

Succotash 

1 1/2 cups corn

1 cup dried cranberry beans

2 cups pumpkin, acorn squash or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 to 2 inch chunks

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons salt (divided use)

1 bay leaf

water

2 tablespoons olive oil + 2 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

The evening before cooking: rinse the dried beans under cold water, then put the beans into a bowl or pan and cover with fresh cool water (add enough water to go about 1 inch or so over the beans). Pick out any beans that are bad. Cover the bowl/pan with plastic wrap or a lid and let the beans sit about 15 to 18 hours. The next day, drain the beans and put them into a pan with 4 to 4 1/2 cups of fresh water, 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 bay leaf. Bring to beans to a boil, then adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer and cook for 1 hour; check to determine that the beans are tender. For the pumpkin/squash: put the pumpkin/squash chunks into a pan and cover with fresh water; add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil and then adjust the heat to maintain a steady simmer; simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the pumpkin/squash are tender. Remove from the heat and drain.To a pan over medium heat, add the butter and oil. When the butter melts into the oil, add the garlic and let saute for about one minute, then add the corn, beans and pumpkin/squash. Season with pepper. Let cook 3 to 4 minutes, and serve.

 

Succotash and some cottage ham ...

 

 

WORD HISTORY:

Thresh (thrash)-"Thresh" is related to "throw" and to "thread," both from the Germanic roots of English, and it is distantly related to "turn" and to "trauma," both words being of Greek origin, then borrowed by Latin, with "turn" borrowed by English from French, and "trauma" borrowed directly from Latin. "Thresh" goes back to Indo European "ter(e)," which had the meanings of "to rub, to twist, to turn." This gave Old Germanic "þreskanan" (þ=th), meaning "to separate seeds/grains from stalks/husks by beating or tramping on them." This gave Old English "þrescan/þerscan," by dialect, and the change of place of the "r" and "e, in the one version (this also happened in some other Germanic languages). These then became "thresshen," "threschen," "thrasschen," before "thresh" and the variant "thrash" (thrash is from the last quarter of the 1500s). The figurative use of the verb (as the "thrash" spelling) for "to beat someone severely," is from circa 1625, and the figurative noun use of "thrashing" for "a terrible beating" is from circa 1845. Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "dreschen," Low German "dröschen" and ", döschen," with the 'r' having died out, West Frisian "terskje," Dutch "dorsen" (once spelled "derschen"), Danish "tærske," Norwegian "treskja" and "treske," Swedish "tröska" and Icelandic "þreskja" (þ=th), all with the general meaning of "to thresh grains."