If you’re interested in history and culture, don’t leave cookbooks off of your reading list! These cookbooks, from a variety of authors and viewpoints and a variety of time periods, examine the different ways that African American history is alive in the foodways of Black Americans. Cookbooks can be a fascinating document of people’s lives and the way they come together as a community and keep traditions alive.
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400 recipes are enhanced by anecdotes and sayings from the congregation of the author’s church, many of whom had families who participated in the Underground Railroad. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on Hoopla.
Medearis collects recipes from all over Africa, the Caribbean, and Southern America to celebrate the culinary heritage of Black Americans.
Historian Spivey uses recipes to enhance this culinary history laced with memoir and cultural commentary. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
Recipes, food history, artwork, essays, and celebrations of Black culture fill the pages of this culinary anthology.
Summary: Both a memoir and a history that looks anew at race and food, Twitty dives deep into archival research to unearth a fascinating story. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on OverDrive/Libby, an eBook on Hoopla, and in eAudio on Hoopla.
The collective known as Ghetto Gastro pours their unique blend of food, music, fashion, visual arts and activism into this delicious manifesto of Black culinary and cultural history.
One of the revered members of the Gullah Geechee community in the Sea Islands of South Carolina and Georgia shares her recipes and memories in this cookbook. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on OverDrive/Libby and an eBook on Hoopla.
Published in 1958, this classic cookbook offers a historical look at traditional recipes of its era, collected by the National Council of Negro Women.
Playwright and poet Shange mixes memories, food histories and political commentary with recipes from various countries.
Journalist and activist Tipton-Martin presents the fruit of years of research within Black cookbooks in this anthology of recipes presented with nuanced views of their origins. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on OverDrive/Hoopla.
Onwuachi presents more than 125 global recipes from the food of the African Diaspora, as handed down through his family. The book also includes stories of his travels, showing the connections between food, place, and culture.
Food Network fav Samuelsson pays homage to current Black chefs and the diversity of Black cooking with recipes that are inspired by their work and the history of the Black diaspora. This title is also available for checkout as an eBook on OverDrive/Libby.
Introduced by a narrative, each of these recipes is informed by the rich history of the South and the legacy of slavery in America, highlighting the food traditions that came to American and were transformed into Black culinary soul food culture.
A mother and daughter take a look at their family recipes and revise them to their standards of healthy but delicious fare.
The café at the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a standout example of how to integrate historical foodways into the entire museum experience – and now home cooks can learn about these foodways and recreate the meals offered at the café.
This is the first cookbook published to specifically celebrate Juneteenth, written by a cookbook author with decades of experience celebrating the holiday.