This Hoppin’ John Recipe Satisfies at New Year's or Anytime (2024)

FAQs

What is the Hoppin John meal on New Year's Day? ›

What Is Hoppin' John? Hoppin' John is a dish traditionally eaten in the southern United States on New Year's Day. Dating back to the early 1800s, it is made with black-eyed peas (aka cow peas), rice, and meat (usually pork, in the form of bacon or ham). The meal can also include collard greens and cornbread.

And our tastiest superstitious tradition is eating Hoppin' John on New Year's Day. This classic Southern dish, a one-pot meal of black-eyed peas, ham hock, and rice, is believed by many (not just the Sterlings) to ensure wealth and bring good luck in the upcoming year.

If you want to ensure that the new year is a lucky one, take part in the classic Southern tradition: eat black-eyed peas on New Year's day. As the tradition goes, a serving of black-eyed peas eaten on New Year's day is said to bring luck and wealth in the year ahead.

History. Hoppin' John originated from the Gullah people and was originally a Lowcountry one-pot dish before spreading to the entire population of the South. Hoppin' John may have evolved from rice and bean mixtures that were the subsistence of enslaved West Africans en route to the Americas.

Greens, Black-Eyed Peas, Cornbread, and Ham | Photo by Meredith. You may not be superstitious, but why tempt fate? Dig into these traditional lucky foods on New Year's Day to attract abundance and prosperity in the year ahead.

Greens, pork, and cornbread, as well as black-eyed peas, cowpeas, or beans, are some of the typical symbolic foods served on New Year's Day. When planning your dinner menu, add the Southern foods that some say bring good luck and avoid those that may do just the opposite in the new year.

Some say an old, hobbled man called hoppin' John became known for selling peas and rice on the streets of Charleston. Others say slave children hopped around the table in eager anticipation of the dish. Most food historians think the name derives from a French term for dried peas, “pois pigeons.”

Hoppin' John originated as a one-pot dish created by the Gullah people, an African-American ethnic group who have predominantly lived within the coastal plains, or 'Lowcountry' region, of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.

You'll find this Hoppin' John recipe gracing most tables in the South on New Year's Day. Served alongside it is a side of collard greens and freshly baked cornbread; the greens are a symbol of paper money, while the cornbread represents gold. For a complete New Year's Day spread, you'll need some pork, too.

If you don't eat your black-eyed peas you could be tempting fate for the rest of the year. So how did this start and more importantly, where you can find the best black-eyed peas this New Year's Day? The tradition of eating black-eyed peas for luck is generally believed to date back to the Civil War.

What time do you eat black-eyed peas on new year's day? ›

If you are planning to celebrate the New Year in the Southeast, it is most likely that you will be offered black-eyed peas in some form, either just after midnight or on New Year's Day.

This eastern European tradition of eating cabbage on New Year's—either as a dish or as cabbage rolls—is meant to signify luck, particularly on the financial side of things. People who eat cabbage on New Year's believe that it'll help them make more money in the year ahead.

What's the difference between Hoppin' John and black-eyed peas? Hoppin' John has black-eyed peas in it, but it also has other ingredients. In this recipe, the black-eyed peas are stewed with onion, garlic, celery, and a ham hock, similar to how some Southern-style black-eyed peas would be cooked.

Once in America, black-eyed peas were able to be planted by enslaved people in their gardens because they were viewed as a food for poor people, and were also used to feed animals. They were often used in soups, stews and fritters.

A highlight on the culinary map of the Palmetto State is Hoppin' John. Derived from the Gullah culture, this dish is as legendary as it is savory. Locally sourced ingredients, flavorful seasonings and spices and a certain level of flare are all part of what makes this a classic Southern dish.

In the Southern United States, hoppin' John—a simple, delicious dish of peas, pork and rice—is standard New Year's fare.

There's a wide range of New Year's Eve and New Year's Day food that graces family tables across the African Diaspora, but Hoppin' John or black-eyed peas and rice are high up on the list, especially among Southern African-American families. Black-eyed peas are thought to represent coins or good luck.