The African-American Heritage Cookbook: Traditional Recipes and Fond Remembrances from Alabama's Renowned Tuskegee Institute

by Carolyn Quick Tillery

For more than 100 years, the small Southern town of Tuskegee, Alabama, has been a mecca for African Americans. The Tuskegee Institute, founded by former slave Booker T. Washington in 1881, grew from a fledgling school to become a major center of American progress and education. This unique narrative cookbook traces the history and heritage of Tuskegee through reminiscences, vintage photographs, poetry, journal entries, and more than 200 recipes for delicious appetizers, entrées, side dishes, breads, beverages, and desserts that reflect the diverse and mouthwatering flavors of Southern African American cuisine.

The African American Heritage Cookbook brings alive the pride and courage of the thousands of Tuskegee alumni, among them George Washington Carver and Rosa Parks, who have gone forth to change America and the world. Many Tuskegee graduates have contributed memories, vignettes, and classic Southern recipes—including Crab Bisque, Island Soup, Mom’s Devilish Catfish Stew, Smothered “Yard Bird,” Louisiana Gumbo, Creole Rice, Sweet Potato Casserole, Spoon Bread, Peach Pandowdy, and Dr. Carver’s Peanut Cake with Molasses.

More than a collection of wonderful recipes, The African American Heritage Cookbook is a tribute to the abundantly rich history and civil rights legacy that have made the Tuskegee Institute a landmark and an inspiration.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Nonfiction, Adult, History, Reference

210 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

It was about a decade ago that Carolyn Quick Tillery married two of her passions - history and food - to create a "pick up and go" career for herself. In 1994, she decided to write a book about the history of her alma mater, Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. And from the beginning, she decided to fold in food stories and recipes. Tillery was influenced by food and a powerful oral tradition as a child. A year and a half after beginning, Tillery published The African-American Heritage Cookbook acclaimed for its lively storytelling and Sweet Potato Soup, Mom's Devilish Catfish Stew, Smothered Yard Bird and more than 200 other recipes, rich in flavor and tradition. This was soon followed by the Military Wives Cookbook, which offers readers rare and fascinating tidbits of U.S. history from the perspective of America's military wives while framing nearly 50 sets of recipes with quotes, stories and vintage photographs, in such chapters as "An Independence Tea Party," "Yankee Doodle Pot Roast Dinner," "A Colonial Thanksgiving" and "Christmas in the Confederate White House." Martha Washington, Libbie Custer and Jefferson Davis' wife, Varina, are among the women who share their stories.
A former judicial law clerk, prosecuting attorney and United States Air Force Officer, Ms. Tillery currently manages the United States Central Command Personal & Family Readiness Program, which prepares military families for all phases of deployment and provides them with information to enhance the quality of their lives. She is the author of "A Taste of Freedom," "The African-American History Cookbook" and "Southern Homecoming Traditions," which was a finalist for the prestigious NAACP Image Award.
Southern Homecoming Traditions, the fourth installment in Tillery's African-American Heritage Cookbook series is similar in tone and style: each is really two books in one, a collection of regional recipes as well as a detailed examination of a particular facet of African-American history. Her most recent book is a celebration of the five historic black colleges and one university that comprise the Atlanta University Center: Morehouse, Spelman, and Morris Brown Colleges, Morehouse School of Medicine, Interdenominational Theological Center, and Clark-Atlanta University. Author Carolyn Quick Tillery uses the evocative power of food to take us back to the institutions where so many great African-American leaders were educated, and the region where so many great dishes were created.

Reviews

[brianna ☁️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

they don't teach us NOTHING useful about dr. george washington carver in school and this cookbook unequivocally proves that. i also learned a lot about tuskegee university that i don't think i would've learned otherwise. AND i got to see recipes for dishes that my dad makes without using one, so that was pretty neat.

i checked this book out from my local library!

[Monique · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing cookbook...the historical references, over 200 recipes, and down home goodness is well worth the cost. Every home should have a copy.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly incredible taste of southern history!!

Filled with homespun, flavorful recipes and seasoned with short stories, quotes, and photographs of a small town that quite frankly helped shaped an entire culture, this cookbook is like NO other! The African American Heritage Cookbook has LONG been a favorite of mine- So much so I own TWO copies!

[Melanie Blacksmith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a cabinet full of recipe books. Out of all of them, this is the book I use the most. I absolutely love the recipes in this book. It has everything I was raised on. I haven’t made a bad dish yet!

[Christa Van · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wonderful stories between the recipes that look at the history of the Tuskegee Institute. The institute was recently featured in a storyline on the HBO series "The Gilded Age" and it was interesting to get a little more background.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tried the Mac and cheese, it's a keeper. Would love to try other recipes. Did not read the narrative.

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4

[RavenT · Rating 4 out of 5]

Updated 2024 edition includes 19 previously unpublished profiles and an author note. From the Tuskegee Institute of Alabama, this classic collection of heritage recipes and anecdotes has more than 200 traditional African American dishes (most still popular in Southern cuisine) with pictorial accounts, personal vignettes, and poetry. Suitable for those interested in U.S. history or in authentic Southern cooking - four stars.