Acadian Exile (Le Grand Dérangement)

Locked in a church in 1755 and scattered across the Atlantic, about 3,000 Acadians found their way to Louisiana and became the Cajuns.

See also: Cajun French · Cajun music

Andouille

Coarse, heavily smoked pork sausage from the river parishes, and the smoky backbone of a Louisiana cornbread dressing.

See also: Gumbo · Jambalaya

Atchafalaya Basin

America’s largest river swamp, right in the heart of Cajun Country: cypress, tupelo, egrets and gators.

See also: Swamp tour reviews · The map

Bonfires on the Levee

Towering Christmas Eve bonfires along the Mississippi in St. James Parish, lit to guide Papa Noël.

See also: Festival of the Bonfires

Cajun Cooking Gear

Crawfish boilers hand-welded in Covington and Homer, black-iron jambalaya pots, and which famous “Louisiana” gear is actually made here.

See also: Fried turkey · Lagniappe Market

Cajun French

The French of Louisiana’s Acadian descendants. Hear the words spoken and learn what “cher” really means.

See also: Cajun music

Cajun Microwave

No electricity involved: a roasting box with the charcoal fire on the lid, the backyard way to make a cochon de lait.

See also: Speak Cajun

Cajun Music

Accordion and fiddle waltzes and two-steps born in the dancehalls of the Cajun prairie.

See also: Zydeco · Fais do-do

Cajun Rice Dressing (Dirty Rice)

The rice-and-giblet dressing that sits next to the turkey on Louisiana Thanksgiving tables.

See also: Thanksgiving in Louisiana

Cajuns

Acadian exiles who married into their French, Spanish, German and Anglo neighbors. The word comes from “Acadien,” shortened to “Cadien.”

See also: Speak Cajun

Certified Louisiana

The state seal that proves a product was made, grown or processed in Louisiana, not just dressed up with a crawfish on the label.

See also: Lagniappe Market

Cornbread Dressing

North Louisiana’s Thanksgiving dressing: day-old skillet cornbread, the trinity and stock, with andouille in Cajun kitchens and a never-ending fight over sugar.

See also: Rice dressing · Thanksgiving in Louisiana

Evangeline

Longfellow’s fictional Acadian heroine of 1847. Her statue in St. Martinville was a gift from the film star who played her.

See also: St. Martinville

Fais do-do

A Cajun country dance. It literally means “go to sleep,” what mamas told the babies so the grown folks could dance.

See also: Cajun music

Festivals of Louisiana

Crawfish, strawberries, jazz, bonfires, giant omelettes: the state’s festival calendar, month by month.

See also: The map

Fried Turkey

Louisiana’s Thanksgiving showstopper, and exactly how to fry one without burning down the carport.

See also: Thanksgiving traditions

Gumbo

The dark-roux pot at the center of Louisiana life, from Sunday dinner to Mardi Gras runs.

See also: The Holy Trinity

Hebert’s Specialty Meats (Maurice)

Cajun meat market just south of Lafayette, open since 1984, that says a customer’s three birds became the first turducken.

See also: Turducken · Cajuns

Holiday Season in Louisiana

Thanksgiving, Christmas and Carnival, back to back. The whole season, from fryers to king cake.

Holy Trinity

Onion, celery and bell pepper, the base of almost every Cajun and Creole pot.

See also: Gumbo · Jambalaya

Jambalaya

Rice, meat and the trinity in one pot. Cajun “brown” or Creole “red,” and folks will argue which is right.

See also: Jambalaya Festival

Konriko (Conrad Rice Mill)

New Iberia rice mill built in 1912 that bills itself as America’s oldest, with mill tours given even in French. The name exists because “Conrico” was turned down as a trademark.

See also: Rice dressing

Lagniappe

“A little something extra”: the Louisiana tradition this whole site is named for.

See also: Speak Cajun

Lake Martin

A cypress-lined lake near Breaux Bridge, famous for its spring bird rookery and alligators.

See also: Atchafalaya Basin

Louisiana-Made Food Gifts

Eleven gifts with real Louisiana roots, from Avery Island hot sauce to French Quarter pralines, and two famous names we couldn’t confirm.

See also: Lagniappe Market · Holiday hub

Louisiana Map

Our interactive map of swamps, festivals, dancehalls and food stops, with drive times from where you are.

Magnalite

The cast-aluminum roaster first poured in Ohio in 1934 that became grand-mère’s gumbo pot. Leah Chase’s, now in the Smithsonian, is stamped “Made in China.”

See also: Gumbo

Mardi Gras

Carnival season from Twelfth Night to Fat Tuesday: New Orleans parades and the country courir.

See also: Festival calendar

McWare (Mamou)

The Mamou family’s Magnalite-style pots since 1999, named “Mc” for McGee plus “ware,” and sold only through hometown stores.

See also: Cajuns

Natchitoches Christmas Festival of Lights

Louisiana’s oldest town lights up the Cane River every holiday season, a tradition going since 1927.

See also: The full festival guide

Red Beans and Rice

Creamy, smoky, slow-cooked, and traditionally a Monday dish.

See also: Why Mondays?

Red Beans on Monday

Monday was wash day, so a pot of red beans simmered for hours, often with Sunday’s ham bone, while the laundry got done.

See also: The recipe · The Holy Trinity

St. Martinville

Bayou Teche town of the Acadian Memorial, the Evangeline Oak and St. Martin de Tours, the “Mother Church of the Acadians.”

See also: The map

Steen’s Cane Syrup

Abbeville syrup born when a freeze hit a blacksmith’s cane field; the sign says 1910, a local historian says 1911.

See also: Louisiana “yams”

Swamp Tours

Where to go by town, from Henderson and Breaux Bridge to Slidell, Houma and Jean Lafitte.

See also: Reader reviews

Tabasco

Avery Island pepper sauce since 1868, its mash aged up to three years in salt-sealed bourbon barrels.

See also: Lagniappe Market

Thanksgiving in Louisiana

Nine traditions that make a Louisiana Thanksgiving different from anywhere else.

See also: Fried turkey · Rice dressing

Turducken

A deboned chicken inside a deboned duck inside a turkey, with Cajun dressing between every layer: Louisiana’s most famous holiday showpiece.

See also: Cornbread dressing · Rice dressing

Zydeco

Accordion, rubboard and a heavy beat: the Creole dance music of southwest Louisiana.

See also: Cajun music