Filé powder

Filé powder, also called gumbo filé, is a spicy herb made from the dried and ground leaves of the sassafras tree (Sassafras albidum),^[1] native to eastern North America. Choctaw Indians of the American South (Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana) were the first to use dried, ground sassafras leaves as a seasoning, what is now called filé, or gumbo filé, used in Creole cooking. It is used in the making of some types of gumbo,^[1] a Creole and Cajun soup/stew often served over rice; other versions of gumbo use okra or a roux as a thickener instead. Sprinkled sparingly over gumbo as a seasoning and a thickening agent, it adds a distinctive, earthy flavor and texture.^[2] Filé can provide thickening when okra is not in season.^[3] Filé translates to "string", suggestive of the powder's thickening ability.^[2] "Filé gumbo" is famously mentioned in the classic country song by Hank Williams Sr., Jambalaya (On The Bayou), as it is considered a staple of Cajun cuisine.

Unlike sassafras roots and bark, the tree's leaves, from which filé is produced, do not contain a detectable amount of safrole.^[4] This is significant because safrole is regarded by the U.S. government to be a weak carcinogen.^{[citation needed]} The relationship between safrole and sassafras may be the origin of the widely reported belief that filé powder has a questionable effect on human health.

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