A New Year's Day Tradition Back to Library Menu Black-eyed Peas In the southern United States, blackeyed peas are available dried, fresh, canned, and frozen. Blackeyed peas are neither a pea nor a bean. They are lentils. Brought to the West Indies from Africa, they came north into Georgia in the 1730s and multiplied so rapidly that they became known as the common "field pea". The blackeyed pea is also known as the cowpea because they were important as a feed for cattle in eighteenth-century America. President Jefferson even planted blackeyed peas at Monticello.   There is an old Southern tradition for serving blackeyed peas on the New Year's day table that is popular in many American homes. Blackeyed peas are often cooked with pork, rice and pungent seasonings and served with collard greens and cornbread to complete the meal.  The custom of serving a humble dish like blackeyed peas, greens and cornbread on New Year's Day equates to the belief that this will bring good luck and financial success for the coming year. The blackeyed peas are “coins”, the collard greens represent  “greenbacks” and the cornbread is gold. American New Year's Day Tradition Be sure to try my recipes featuring black-eyed peas , or add Hoppin John to your New Year's holiday table for good luck. I always wondered how the tradition of serving blackeyed peas got started, and while on a visit back home I had an opportunity to ask some of my elderly relatives what they knew about this time-honored tradition. Here's what they had to say: Grandma Myrtle says that back in the days of the Old South, during the time of Southern gentility, and Northern hostility, the celebrated black eyed peas were used strictly for the feeding of cattle. During the Civil War battle of Vicksburg, the town was under siege for over 40 days. The Yankee soldiers burned all the crops except for the "cowpeas" which they considered worthless weeds. The Union army raided all the food supplies and took everything except the "cow peas" stored for the winter. With no supplies coming in the citizens suffered great deprivations.The entire town was on the brink of starvation, so in desperation they ate those humble "cowpeas" and were lucky to survive the war, thus starting a Southern tradition. Nowadays that is why it is considered good luck to eat black eyed peas on New Years Day. Aunt Leda told me the black eyed peas signify coins and the collard greens represent currency and thus represent hopes of prosperity and good luck in the coming new year. She says that hasn't happened yet, but maybe this year will be the one… Aunt Irma, a retired librarian, said that all the way back to the days of the Pharaoh, blackeyed peas have been a symbol of luck and fortune. The superstition is that those who eat blackeyes, an inexpensive and modest food, show their humility instead of vanity, and thus save themselves from the wrath of the gods. My mother's neighbor, Miss Aggie, a wizened lady of nearly 90 says that her mother always began the New Year's Day dinner with the ceremonious passing of the bowl of blackeyed peas in which a dime has been embedded. She was adamant that you "firstly had to wersh n' wrench the dime real good". Each person takes only one spoonful of peas -- no stirring around allowed -- until someone lucky gets the dime. That person is supposed to have unusually good luck during the year. My second cousin, John who isn't at all fond of blackeyed peas, but nonetheless attends to the family tradition on New Years day, has a different solution. The basic idea is that each black eyed pea eaten on New Years Day ensures one day of good luck in the coming year. He emphasizes the blackeyed peas must be eaten before noon to bring good luck. His wife, June, added that all the football games start at noon, and John only eats enough black eyed peas to be lucky for about two weeks. Uncle Joe tells me "Hoppin' John" is the recipe of the day for New Year's. He says the, "The rice is for riches and the peas are for peace".   Want to read about New Year tradtions around the world click here. Hoppin' John Hoppin' John is a favorite New Year's day dish for many Americans, especially those with Southern roots. The first mention of the dish by name was in 1830. Some scholars identify it as a West African dish carried to the colonies by slaves from the Congo. Yet another popular theory highlights the influence of the Seminole Indians. Most folks agree that "Hopping John" is an American dish with African/French/Caribbean roots. Recipes for Hoppin' John are numerous and constantly changing. While the basics include rice, beans, and meat in some combination, it has included cowpeas, red peas and small black peas, often with bacon, fried sausage, ham, onion, mint, red pepper, file powder, cured pork, pork jowls, ham hock and so on. Traditionally hoppin John is served on the same plate but some like the rice, beans, and meat kept separate from one another. There are just as many ways to cook Hoppin' John, with some cooking the peas and rice in one pot, while others insist on simmering them separately. There are many tales or legends that explain how Hoppin' John got its strange name: Some say that the dish got its name from a corruption of the word, bahatta-kachang, the latter is a Madagascar term for "pea", and the former a Hindi word for "cooked rice." It was the custom for children to gather in the dining room as the dish was brought forth and hop around the table before sitting down to eat. A man named John came "a-hoppin" when his wife took the dish from the stove. An obscure South Carolina custom was inviting a guest to eat by saying, "Hop in, John". The dish goes back at least as far as 1841, when, according to tradition, it was hawked in the streets of Charleston, South Carolina by a crippled black man known as Hoppin' John New Years Hoppin' John with Sausage and Greens Hoppin' John is a traditional New Year's dish that brings lots of good luck in the upcoming New Year. To top it off nicely, add a bottle of vinegar, some pickled hot peppers like pepperoncini or jalapeños, and some Tabasco. Don't forget the cornbread! 2 tablespoons olive oil 1/2 lb bulk sausage, variety of choice 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 large onion, chopped 1/2 lb smoked kielbasa, cut into 1" pieces 1 bay leaf 2 teaspoons dried thyme 2 cups dried black-eyed peas, picked clean and rinsed 2 (16 ounce) cans chicken broth 1 bunch (about 1 lb) collard or greens of choice Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes to taste 1 teaspoon liquid smoke Heat a large pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Add the oil and saute the onion until translucent. Add the bulk sausage and brown, stirring to get it nicely crumbled. Add the kielbasa and garlic, bay leaf and thyme, the black-eyed peas and chicken broth. If needed, add enough additional water to cover the ingredients by 2 inches. Bring the contents to a boil over medium-high heat using only the regulaer lid. In he meantime, wash the greens thoroughly, trim off the thick stems and ribs, and remove any discolored spots. Stack the leaves and roll them up cigar-fashion, from top to bottom. Cut the leaf roll into 1-inch strips. Add the greens when the liquid begins to simmer pushing the down until the begin to wilt. Lock the lid into place. Bring to 15psi over high heat then lower the heat to maintain the pressure. Cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and use the natural release method to open the lid. If the peas are not done to your satisfaction, return to high pressure for another 2 minutes. Next, stir in the liquid smoke and adjust seasonings to taste. Serve the Hoppin' John on a deep plate next to a mound of hot fluffy white rice with a big square of cornbread to sop up all that "pot liquor.       Read how New years is celebrated in other countries here.