Texas caviar

"Cowboy caviar" redirects here. For the dish made from bull's testicles, see Rocky Mountain oysters.

Texas caviar

Dish of Texas caviar, served with basket of tortilla chips
Type	salad or dip
Place of origin	United States
Region or state	Texas
Associated cuisine	American cuisine
Created by	Helen Corbitt
Main ingredients	black-eyed peas vinaigrette
Ingredients generally used	red onion chili pepper bell pepper tomato cilantro scallion garlic
Similar dishes	börülce salatası bean salad
Media: Texas caviar

Texas caviar, also called cowboy caviar,^[1][2][3][4] is a bean salad consisting of black-eyed peas lightly pickled in a vinaigrette-style dressing, often eaten as a dip accompaniment to tortilla chips.^[5][6]

History

Texas caviar was created in the U.S. state of Texas around 1940 by Helen Corbitt, a native New Yorker who later became director of food service for the Zodiac Room at Neiman Marcus in Dallas, Texas.^[7][8] She first served the dish on New Year's Eve at the Houston Country Club. When she later served it at the Driskill Hotel in Austin, Texas, it was given its name, "Texas caviar," as a humorous comparison to true caviar, an expensive hors d'oeuvre of salt-cured fish roe.^[9]

Variations

In addition to black-eyed peas and a piquant dressing, the dip can be modified by adding black beans, alliums like red onion, scallions, and garlic, hot or mild peppers, tomato, cilantro, corn, and spices like cumin and coriander.^[10][11][12]

See also

• Hoppin' John, a black-eyed pea dish served for good luck on New Year's Eve, as Texas caviar originally was
• Texas portal
• Food portal

References

1. Nasello, Sarah; Nasello, Tony (August 8, 2018). "Home With The Lost Italian: Saddle up! Cowboy Caviar boasts bounty of veggies". Minot Daily News. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
2. "Texas Caviar serves as a dip, relish, side dish or entree". New Jersey Herald. February 21, 2018. Archived from the original on October 16, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
3. Vaneveer, Victoria (November 22, 2016). "What Exactly Is Texas Caviar?". Houstonia. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
4. Schwartz, Francine Wolfe (June 4, 2018). "Don't let the Florida heat spoil your picnic". News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
5. Fain, Lisa (December 28, 2006). "Black-eyed peas for New Year's Day". Homesick Texan. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
6. "Texas Caviar". Saveur (121). June–July 2009. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
7. Minora, Leslie (October 27, 2013). "The Zodiac restaurant at Neiman Marcus: 60 years strong, and why". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
8. Bond, Courtney (January 2014). "Texas Caviar: A tasty get-rich-quick scheme". Texas Monthly. Austin, Texas. Retrieved February 23, 2014.
9. Harris, Joyce Senz (June 19, 2010). "Try some Texas Caviar: Black-eyed pea salad a regional treat". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved February 23, 2014. She pickled the peas in a vinaigrette marinade and served them for New Year's Eve at the Houston Country Club. Only later, when she took her pickled black-eyed peas to Austin's Driskill Hotel, did the dish get the nickname of Texas Caviar.
10. Cooknik (October 27, 2022). "Cowboy Caviar". AllRecipes.com. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
11. Diana Rattray (February 25, 2022). "Texas Caviar Black-Eyed Pea Dip With Jalapeño Peppers". TheSpruceEats.com. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
12. Erin Merhar (October 3, 2022). "Best Cowboy Caviar Recipe - How to Make Cowboy Caviar". ThePioneerWoman.com. Retrieved January 29, 2023.