The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks by
These cookbooks offer firsthand evidence that African Americans cooked creative masterpieces from meager provisions, educated young chefs, operated food businesses, and nourished the African American community through the long struggle for human rights.
The Cooking Gene: a Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South by
Culinary historian Michael W. Twitty brings a fresh perspective to our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry--both black and white--through food, from Africa to America and from slavery to freedom. Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who "owns" it is one of the most provocative touchpoints in our ongoing struggles over race.
Religion in the Kitchen: Cooking, Talking, and the Making of Black Atlantic Traditions by
Elizabeth Pérez reveals how seemingly trivial "micropractices" such as the preparation of sacred foods, are complex rituals in their own right. Drawing on years of ethnographic research in Chicago among practitioners of Lucumí, the transnational tradition popularly known as Santería, Pérez focuses on the behind-the-scenes work of the primarily women and gay men responsible for feeding the gods. She reveals how cooking and talking around the kitchen table have played vital socializing roles in Black Atlantic religions.
Hog and Hominy: Soul Food From Africa to America by
Frederick Douglass Opie deconstructs and compares the foodways of people of African descent throughout the Americas, interprets the health legacies of black culinary traditions, and explains the concept of soul itself, revealing soul food to be an amalgamation of West and Central African social and cultural influences as well as the adaptations blacks made to the conditions of slavery and freedom in the Americas.
Black Hunger: Food and the Politics of U.S. Identity by
By positioning African American women at the nexus of debates over domestic servants, black culinary history, and white female body politics, Black Hunger demonstrates why the ongoing narrative of white fascination with blackness demands increased attention to the internal dynamics of sexuality, gender, class, and religion in African American culture.
Building Houses Out of Chicken Legs: Black Women, Food, and Power by
Psyche A. Williams-Forson examines the complexity of black women's legacies using food as a form of cultural work. While acknowledging the negative interpretations of black culture associated with chicken imagery, Williams-Forson focuses her analysis on the ways black women have forged their own self-definitions and relationships to the'gospel bird.'
The President's Kitchen Cabinet: The Story of the African Americans Who Have Fed Our First Families, From the Washingtons to the Obamas by
Miller vividly tells the stories of the African Americans who worked in the presidential food service as chefs, personal cooks, butlers, stewards, and servers for every First Family since George and Martha Washington. Miller brings together the names and words of more than 150 black men and women who played remarkable roles in unforgettable events in the nation's history.
High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America by
Harris weaves an utterly engaging history of African American cuisine, taking the reader on a harrowing journey from Africa across the Atlantic to America, and tracking the trials that the people and the food have undergone along the way. From chitlins and ham hocks to fried chicken and vegan soul, Harris celebrates the delicious and restorative foods of the African American experience and details how each came to form an important part of African American culture, history, and identity.
Sweet Home Café Cookbook by
Since the 2016 opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, its Sweet Home Café has become a destination in its own right. Showcasing African American contributions to American cuisine, the café offers favorite dishes made with locally sourced ingredients, adding modern flavors and contemporary twists on classics. Now both readers and home cooks can partake of the café's bounty.
Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean & Southern Flavors Remixed by
A cookbook from chef-activist Bryant Terry, drawing from African, Afro-Caribbean, and Southern food to create over 100 enticing vegan dishes
A Real Southern Cook: In Her Savannah Kitchen by
In her first cookbook, a revered former cook at Savannah's most renowned restaurant divulges her locally famous Savannah recipes—many of them never written down before—and those of her family and friends
Hundreds of thousands of people have made a trip to dine on the exceptional food cooked by Dora Charles at Savannah's most famous restaurant. Now she invites us into her home to taste the food she loves best.
Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing by
Growing up sensitive and slightly awkward in a race-conscious space, Guy decided early on that good food is the most powerful way to connect, understand, and heal. She leaders readers on a sensual baking journey, using the fives senses, as she retells food memories with ingredients that involve whole flours, less refined sugar, and vegan alternatives.
A Taste of Heritage: The New African American Cuisine by
African-American cooking has evolved over more than 200 years to become a sophisticated and distinctive cuisine. More than just "soul food," African-American cuisine has become world class. Experience Catfish Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings, Southern Fried Quail, or Crepes with Country Fried Apples. Geared to the home cook, the recipes are also enhanced by a section of menus, complete with wine selections. The final section introduces readers to the stories and menus of the prominent African-American chefs who contributed to the book.
Coconut, Ginger, Shrimp, Rum: Caribbean Flavors for Every Season by
The recipes in this book will highlight seasonal bounties and four major Caribbean flavors, resulting in a basketful of healthy recipes (many vegetarian), which the author refers to as “edible treasures.” This innovative cookbook presents a new way to look at the four seasons through four ingredients that are integral to Caribbean flavors and culture, but available everywhere.
Carla Hall's Soul Food by
Hall takes us back to her own Nashville roots to offer a fresh, lip-smackin’ look at America’s favorite comfort cuisine and traces soul food’s history from Africa and the Caribbean to the American South. Carla shows us that soul food is more than barbecue and mac and cheese. Traditionally a plant-based cuisine, everyday soul food is full of veggie goodness that’s just as delicious as cornbread and fried chicken.
The Edna Lewis Cookbook by
Lewis is renowned as one of the greatest American chefs and as an African-American woman who almost single handedly revived a forgotten world of refined Southern cooking.
Soul: A Chef's Culinary Evolution in 150 Recipes by
Black American chefs and cooks are often typecast as the experts of only one cuisine—soul food, but Todd Richards’ food is anything but stereotypical. Taste his Hot-Chicken-Style Country-Fried Lamb Steak or Blueberry-Sweet Tea-Brined Chicken Thighs as evidence. While his dishes are rooted in family and the American cuisine known as soul food, he doesn’t let his heritage restrain him. The message of Soul is that cooks can honor tradition yet be liberated to explore.
Sweet Potato Soul: 100 Easy Vegan Recipes for the Southern Flavors of Smoke, Sugar, Spice, and Soul by
Claiborne shares soul food and Southern cooking plant-based recipes. She explores the history behind some of the recipes, as well as their innate health benefits. If you've wondered how one can make dandelion, mustard, and turnip greens into nutrition superstars, this is your chance to see how Claiborne infuses these plants with the flavors and the depth that feed the soul.
The Family Table: Recipes and Moments from a Nomadic Life by
Sunday suppers -- Pasta night -- The great outdoors -- New Orleans roots -- Specialty salads -- The best side dishes -- Party bites & snacks -- Saturday brunch -- More sweets, please -- Special feast menus.