Regional Specialties: Northern Alabama

White sauce and mustard slaw are two of the southern specialties I discovered wandering the northern part of Alabama last week. In Florence, there’s a business incubator focused on food. With access to a health department approved facility full of equipment typical of a commercial kitchen, fledgling entrepreneurs have a chance to develop recipe ideas, hone their business plans and launch new products.

I had a chance to sample some of the items produced at Shoals Commercial Culinary Center. To my taste buds, there were two standouts: the white sauce from Firehouse Kitchen Specialties and Katie’s Mustard Slaw. As a northerner, I’d never run across either foodstuff, both of which (I was told) are standard in the South.

White sauce is the southern version of the classic French Béchamel sauce, containing butter, flour, milk, salt and pepper. In the south, this “all-American gravy” often is made with sausage and poured over biscuits for breakfast “just like Granny used to make”. This peppier version — developed in a firehouse kitchen — is used more often for barbecue. With a base of mayonnaise and apple cider vinegar, this type of white sauce is a regional rival to the tomato-based sauces found elsewhere.

For this version, two Florence firefighters, Casey Glover and Shane Dawson, have played with the seasoning to make a white sauce that’s perfect as a basting or dipping sauce for grilled chicken.

Mustard Slaw was a complete surprise to this Yankee. Made with cabbage, carrots, onions, peppers and seasonings, it’s often served by Southern food vendors as a condiment for hot dogs. Katie’s version has the added kick of jalapeño peppers. I haven’t explored all of its uses yet, but I suspect it’ll be great as a side dish for roast pork!

The Shoals Commercial Culinary Center opened in July 2001 in the Burrell Slater Community Education Center in Florence (map). The Center is one of only 15 such kitchens in the United States and the only one in the State of Alabama. Fledgling businesses get help with product development and testing, ingredient procurement, packaging, labeling, cost analysis, co-packing, health department compliance, and marketing plus the use of a licensed and permitted facility. It receives funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and was created through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Tennessee Valley Authority, ARC and Florence City Schools.

(Photos by Susan McKee)