5 replies to this topic

[HungryC]

I'm searching for info or contacts relating to outdoor "beehive" mud ovens in South Louisiana...seeking info in print, or (even better) if you know anyone who has one lingering out behind the garage, or if anyone out there knows-someone-who-knows-someone who can still construct such an oven. TIA.

[patti]

I guess you don't mean the old bousillage (mud and Spanish moss) ovens made by early Acadians (who learned it from Native Americans)?

[HungryC]

Yes, I am referring to exactly those ovens...typically elevated, made of mud over a lightweight shaping frame. LSU's archives include some information gathered/compiled by Fred Kniffen from the first half of the 20th century, and use of the ovens survived into the second half (as best I can tell) as a sort of "quaint" or occasional practice. I'm trying to track down any contemporary survival, either of the ovens as artifacts or of the skills to build the ovens and/or the skills to bake bread in them.

[patti]

Vermilionville, which is a Cajun/Creole folk life village in Lafayette, has one (and maybe a smaller, second one) on display. I know someone there must know how to make them, because they have to rebuild it every couple of years, because that's just what you have to do with bousillage, whether it's used in a chimney, as insulation, or an outdoor oven.

I hope that helps. If I think of anything else, I'll let you know.

[HungryC]

Hey--thanks ever so much for the Vermillionville tip...I haven't been there in years. I'll have to check it out & make some inquiries. I wonder if the oven is just a display or if anyone cooks in it?

[patti]

I'm pretty sure it's only used for display right now. They've lost a lot of tourism business since the hurricanes, and don't have as many craftspeople on-site as they used to. I think things will be looking up by spring.