New Orleans is unlike other American cities in that it has a definitive cuisine shaped by 300 years of overlapping cultures. It’s not identifiably French or Spanish or Sicilian or West African or American Indian — all ethnicities that have had significant influence at various times. Instead, these ethnic inspirations synergized to create something new.

During a recent visit to the port city, two cooking classes at two cooking schools shed light on the cuisine. Elizabeth Williams, cooking instructor and author of two books about food and cocktails in New Orleans and founder/director of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in the Oretha Castle Haley neighborhood, is a de facto culinary anthropologist and kitchen whiz. Instructor Harriet Robin, at the New Orleans School of Cooking in the French Quarter, is both educator and entertainer. Both Southern Food & Beverage Museum and New Orleans School of Cooking offer classes to the public.

The syllabi for our classes included a combination of remoulade salad dressing, gumbo, jambalaya, bananas foster, bread pudding and pralines. Each recipe has a history of adaptation to local culture.

Williams provided historic perspective. American Indians aside, she talked about the French “founding” New Orleans in 1718, the influx of Acadians (French-Canadians) 1755-1763, ownership by Spain in 1763, a return to French ownership in 1800 and The Louisiana Purchase in 1803. In addition to these influences, Williams added that of American Indians (file), free and enslaved blacks (okra) and Sicilian immigrants (muffalata).

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The fusion of these cuisines over 300 years of history is often grouped under the umbrellas Cajun or Creole.

“Creole food developed and was eaten in and around New Orleans,” wrote Williams in her book New Orleans, A Food Biography. “The raw materials of Creole food are the foods found in and around New Orleans.”

Meanwhile Cajun refers to the food from areas settled by the Acadians, the French-Canadians who were kicked out of Nova Scotia for religious reasons. That area is typically the bayou to the west of the city.

To complicate things, both cuisines have influenced each other. Still, one might consider Creole to be “city” food, while Cajun is “country” food.

Perhaps the best way to demonstrate the evolution and differences of the genres is to consider jambalaya, a New World dish of rice and leftovers, often made with a meat and andouille sausage. French influence would call for mirepoix — carrots, onions and celery, as well as andouille sausage made with pork organs. Creole and Cajun cooking replace carrot with green pepper, because of availability. And andouille sausage uses smoked pork shoulder.

Taking that one step further, Creole jambalaya includes tomatoes because they’re available near the city. Meanwhile, Cajun may use wild game as meat of choice but omit tomatoes because they’re tough to grow in bayou. Recipe structure is standard, but ethnic influence and local availability require substitutions. This evolved into the new cuisines.

Gumbo is another example adapted by cooks. The thickener for this meat and rice stew is roux from French tradition, okra from West African tradition and file from Native American tradition. So if you’re in the city, you’re more likely to have the French influence, while folks in the bayou might find American Indian file more accessible. All thicken and have a unique flavor contribution, but all make gumbo.

A roux is made by cooking equal parts flour and fat until smooth and meeting a desired level of brownness. Used to thicken gumbo, it adds some flavor and texture as well.

File is an herbal powder made by drying and grinding ground leaves of the sassafras tree. It thickens and flavors gumbo. Or it can be sprinkled to flavor gumbo that’s thickened other ways.

Okra is a warm-climate vegetable that thickens gumbo and adds another component of texture.

Pecan pralines are a Creole-created confection rooted in French experience. Robin explained that French couldn’t make sugared almonds because they lacked almonds in the New World, so they substituted local pecans and the praline was born.

The evolution of the city’s cuisine goes marches on. For more information on the food of New Orleans:

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Southern Food & Beverage Museum: 1504 Oretha C. Haley Blvd., New Orleans, 504-569-0405, www.southernfood.org. In addition to regular cooking classes, the 15,000-square-foot museum has state-by-state exhibits to highlight their contributions to the South’s distinctive culinary heritage. SoFAB is also home to the Museum of the American Cocktail.

New Orleans School of Cooking: 524 St. Louis St., New Orleans, 504-208-5320, www.neworleansschoolofcooking.com. Set in an 1800s molasses warehouse, the NOSC entertains students with demonstration and hands-on classes. Visitors learn Creole and Cajun dishes like gumbo, jambalaya and pralines.

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