Compared to the Northern Colonies, the Southern Colonies were quite numerous in their agricultural diet and failed to have a central cultural region. The highlands and lowlands were the two main elements of the southern colonies. Slaves and poor people in the South generally ate an identical diet, consisting of many indigenous New World crops. salted or smoked pork usually complements the plant-based diet. The rural poor typically ate squirrels, opossums, rabbits, and other forest animals. Those on the "Rice Coast" generally ate large quantities of rice, while the grain for the rest of the poor and enslaved in the south was Indian flour used in bread and porridge. Wheat was not a possibility for many who lived in the southern colonies. The highland diet typically included cabbage, green beans, white potatoes, while most avoided sweet potatoes and peanuts. Non-poor whites in the highlands avoided crops foreign to the continent thanks to the perceived inferiority of African slaves' crops. People who could grow wheat or afford to buy it usually ate biscuits for breakfast, along with healthy cuts of pork. Canned pork was a staple of any meal, as it was used in vegetable preparations for flavor, in addition to its direct consumption as a protein. The lowlands, including most of the French regions of Acadia and Louisiana as well as the surrounding areas and , included a varied diet heavily influenced by Africans and Caribs, instead of simply by the French. As such, rice has an important place in the diet, as it is an important part of the diet of Africans and Caribbean people. Moreover, unlike the highlands, the lowlands have a protein subsistence...... middle of paper ......ut. as an example, the general reference Mills Betty Crockery, first revealed in 1950 and currently in its 10th edition, is common in American homes. A wave of celebrity chefs may have started with Julia Child and Graham Kerr in the 1970s, and many more followed. when the rise of cable channels like Food Network. Trendy food items in the 2000s and 2010s (albeit with long traditions) include donuts, cupcakes, macaroons, and meatballs. A potpourri of cultural influences from around the world helped make Southern cuisine what it is today. At its core, Southern food is composed of local and imported ingredients, necessity and frugality. Given the large size of the United States, there are various regional variations. The regional cuisine of the United States is characterized by its extreme diversity and elegance, with each region having its own distinctive cuisine..