What are the traditional foods unique to the American South?

To some extent, it depends on which part of the American South you're talking about...but let's make a generalization first. European settlers throughout what would become the United States quickly adopted corn (Zea mays) from the Indians. They learned a technique invented in Mexico: soaking corn in alkali, which sheds the indigestible seed coat and allows the starch to form into a dough, thereby increasing the nutritional content. Corn treated like this is called hominy (see Ben Wagner's answer to What is the most important invention in human history) and is used in dishes across the United States. Common foods in the South include polenta (grits) and various forms of cornbread, including small thick pancakes baked or fried on a griddle, also known as cornbread.

That is, in areas such as southern Louisiana and the South Carolina coast, rice is widely grown and may be more common on the table than corn. Wheat is also grown here, and its flour is used to make biscuits (known to British readers as "scones", although if made correctly the biscuits have a much lighter texture). But wheat is not grown as much in the Midwest, and in the past it was a luxury food. There's a scene in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" where Huck watches a ferry boat search for his body on the river because they think he's dead, and the people on the boat throw bread-spreading mercury over the side because they believe it will float on his body. Huck caught hold of one of the loaves floating on the water, removed the mercury from it, and relished: "This is 'baker's bread'—eat the good ones; don't use your mean tortillas." “The rich like to eat wheat bread; the poor have to make do with corn.

Pigs were probably the most common domestic animals in the early days; they could thrive on a wide variety of foods, and they were the most efficient at converting food into meat. It is said that Southerners "used every part of the pig except the scream." To preserve as much of the meat as possible after slaughter, various smoking and curing techniques are used.

So, in addition to various roasts, ribs, and hams, many of the various sausage varieties are pretty traditional—and you might be happier not knowing exactly how they're eaten. Common, if not unique, in the South is the skinless "breakfast sausage," usually cooked in the form of a patty. Fatty or boney parts of pigs, such as feet or backs, can be added to dishes for flavor. "Pig's head cheese" is made by boiling pig's head until tender and sticking it together with gelatin. Even pig intestines are eaten; these are called "chitterlings" (often shortened to "chitlins"), which take hours to cook and don't smell very nice while they're cooking. Pork intestines are associated with African-American cooking—dating back to slave times, when slave owners kept the best meat for themselves and gave the less tasty portions to their slaves. I can find them in my local supermarket today, but I have never eaten them and don't know anyone who has.

In the South, of course, we also developed a technique for making tougher cuts of meat more tender by cooking them extremely slowly over smoky wood fires—by which, of course, I mean barbecue. (Sorry, people cooking hot dogs and burgers on their backyard grills are enjoyable and fun, but that's not "barbecue.") Barbecue styles vary across the South. In Texas, beef and sausage are preferred; in North Carolina, pork shoulder is popular; in Memphis, pork ribs are famous; and in parts of Kentucky, lamb is a favorite. North Carolina uses a vinegar-based finishing sauce, South Carolina likes a mustard sauce, Memphis favors a dry rub (a dry mixture rubbed on the meat for seasoning), and Kansas City likes a sweet ketchup-and-molasses sauce, which I like best in The Arkansas joint offers a list of six different sauces for those who like to experiment.

The nearly forgotten chickens are raised throughout the South, but their eggs are often more valuable than their meat. Fried chicken is a quintessential Southern food, but not an everyday food; it's the kind of thing you'd make when the pastor or other distinguished guests come to a dinner party.

(There’s a joke in the Ozark Mountains about a farmer who claimed he had received a call from God to preach the gospel and become a pastor. Upon further questioning, he revealed that his qualifications included “the most obnoxious man in the neighborhood.”) , and 'Desperate Craving for Fried Chicken'") Southern chicken recipes often require long cooking times because they are cooking "tough old chicken." Most chicken sold in supermarkets today is raised to produce large amounts of meat and slaughtered at a young age, but traditional fried or stewed chicken uses older, stronger chickens.