Much already has been said and written about Creole and Cajun foods, the major cuisines of Louisiana. But other influences also have affected the region's cooking. The Cajuns in the Western bayous were very close to what once was Mexico, and the food influences were in the form of hot peppers, spices, salsas and tamales. There is a band of land that used to be called “The Neutral Strip” (located approximately along the Texas-Louisiana border), where the Spanish built a fort in 1717 at Los Adaes. As a result, in the town of Zwolle, La., there is a “tamale fiesta” every October. South of New Orleans, toward the mouth of the Mississippi, in Plaquemines parish, the “Islenos” have their own cuisine, which may be Spanish or Portuguese, depending upon whom you ask. Emigrating from the Canary Islands as fisherman, they call their soups “caldos,” and their jambalaya is “paella.” That area is rich in seafood harvest but also is the producer of most of Louisiana's citrus, including the delicious satsuma.
Several producers of staple Louisiana food products are in Acadiana. Two items found on most Cajun and Creole shelves, Steen's Cane Syrup and Mahatma Rice, come from Abbeville, La. Chef John Folse, who produces his own extensive line of Creole and Cajun products, recently has started making Creole Cream Cheese in a dairy subsidiary of his food manufacturing complex. In New Orleans, there are several coffee roasters, big and small, and coffee with chicory remains very popular. Louisiana's best-selling hot sauce is made in New Orleans under the Crystal brand, but several other manufacturers throughout the state also produce this popular, all-purpose condiment.