Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spicy

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicina ...

made from the dried and ground leaves of the North American

sassafras ''Sassafras'' is a genus of three extant and one extinct species of deciduous trees in the family Lauraceae, native to eastern North America and eastern Asia.Wolfe, Jack A. & Wehr, Wesley C. 1987. The sassafras is an ornamental tree. "Middle ...

tree ''( Sassafras albidum)''.

Culinary use

Filé powder is used in Louisiana Creole cuisine in the making of some types of gumbo, a thick Creole

soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling soli ...

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been cooked in liquid and served in the resultant gravy. A stew needs to have raw ingredients added to the gravy. Ingredients in a stew can include any combination of vegetables a ...

often served over

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

. Several different varieties exist. In New Orleans, what is known as Creole gumbo generally varies from house to house though still retaining its Native American origins. The Creoles of Cane River make a gumbo focused much more on filé. Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in season, in types of gumbo that use

okra Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with su ...

or a

roux Roux () is a mixture of flour and fat cooked together and used to thicken sauces. Roux is typically made from equal parts of flour and fat by weight. The flour is added to the melted fat or oil on the stove top, blended until smooth, and c ...

as a thickener for gumbo instead of filé. Sprinkled sparingly over gumbo as a

seasoning Seasoning is the process of supplementing food via herbs, spices, salts, and/or sugar, intended to enhance a particular flavour. General meaning Seasonings include herbs and spices, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings". ...

and a

thickening agent A thickening agent or thickener is a substance which can increase the viscosity of a liquid without substantially changing its other properties. Edible thickeners are commonly used to thicken sauces, soups, and puddings without altering the ...

, filé powder adds a distinctive, earthy flavor and texture. Filé powder is made by harvesting the young leaves and stems of the sassafras tree and grinding them. Filé powder is generally not added until after the vegetables and meats or seafood are finished cooking and removed from the heat source.

History and etymology

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

Native Americans of the American South (Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana) were the first to use dried, ground sassafras leaves as a seasoning. The French word '' filé'' is the past participle of the verb ''filer'', meaning (among other things) "to turn into threads", "to become ropy". The name ''gumbo'' may derive from the word ''ki ngombo'', often shortened to ''gombo'', which meant

in the Central Bantu dialect. Okra was a common thickener in soups and stews prepared by the African inhabitants of Louisiana, who were brought to the colony in large numbers beginning in 1719. Some scholars have suggested that the gumbo was adapted from the West African soups and stews which were thickened with okra. Eventually, okra was replaced as a thickener with the traditional sassafras. The earliest known mention of the dish is from a transcript of the interrogation of an enslaved African woman named Comba in 1764. In it, she states that she gave "un gombeau" to another slave. Other scholars have suggested that the name may derive from the Choctaw word for filé (kombo). Some early 20th century authors, most notably Celestine Eustis, suggested that gumbo including filé powder was an early special-occasion dish for native tribes. This is further implied by a late 18th-century Creole practice. At that time, rice was a luxury for many Creoles. They served gumbo over corn grits, a pairing common in the stews of native tribes.

Health concerns

Safrole and sassafras oil have been banned by the FDA as a

carcinogen A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive sub ...

since 1960 and cannot be used in food manufacture for this reason. According to a study published in 1997, sassafras leaves (from which filé is produced), do not contain detectable amounts of safrole.

Cultural references

"Filé gumbo" is famously mentioned in the classic

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whi ...

song by

Hank Williams Sr. Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...

, "

Jambalaya (On the Bayou) "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" is a song written and recorded by American country music singer Hank Williams that was first released in July 1952. It is Williams' most covered song. Named for a Creole and Cajun dish, jambalaya, it spawned numero ...

", which held the number-one position on the U.S. country music charts for fourteen non-consecutive weeks in 1952. It was also mentioned in the song by Gene Watson, " Love in the Hot Afternoon", which was a #3 country hit for the singer in 1975.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:File Powder Choctaw culture Herbs Edible thickening agents Louisiana cuisine Native American cuisine Native American cuisine of the Southeastern Woodlands Okra dishes Powders