Georgia’s Historical Recipes: Seeking Our State's Oldest Written Foodways and the Stories behind Them

by Valerie J. Frey

Georgia’s Historical Recipes is an exploration of our state’s oldest recipes from the antebellum period through World War II, as painstakingly researched by Georgia archivist Valerie J. Frey. This volume begins with a discussion of old recipes as primary sources and what they can tell us about the history and culture of their era and how to bring them to life in modern kitchens. Frey then moves into fifty sections that can be read alone yet allow readers to build an understanding of how foodways evolved over time.

Some sections highlight a single recipe, illustrating how changes in technology, agriculture, transportation, communication, and social patterns led to changes in Georgia kitchens. Most of the recipes are previously unpublished, waiting in archives to be rediscovered. Other sections explore our oldest cookbooks, offering biographical and cultural background information that makes them more meaningful. For the first time, Georgians have a list of the state’s early cookbooks and its cooking experts. Readers will learn where to find Georgia’s oldest recipes and discover many examples to whet their appetites literally and figuratively for a taste of Georgia’s past.

400 pages, Hardcover

Published May 1, 2025

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Georgia's Historical Recipes: Seeking Our State's Oldest Written Foodways and the Stories Behind Them. Valerie J. Frey. University of Georgia Press, 2025. 400 pages.

As I always say, there's not much better than combining history and food. There are few elements of culture that reveal as much about peoples, places, and times as a culture's foodways do. Valerie J. Frey is a writer, researcher, and an archivist who specializes in finding and preserving history through food. It's also obvious that she's an avid baker and collector. Her discoveries of old cookbooks led her to do a deep dive into the history of cookbook publishing in Georgia, and she presents her findings here. She finds examples from the antebellum period through World War II and organizes them into fifty sections presented chronologically. Each section contains a biography of the cookbook writer, the historical and cultural context of the time in which it was written, and sample recipes. Frey also usually includes her own personal memories, connections, or attempts to re-create recipes, making the history all the more relatable and approachable. The recipes and cookbooks provide windows onto Georgia history: what was available, who could afford it, how was it presented, who cooked, who consumed, what did the home look and feel like, what did the larger society look like, and how did all of this evolve over time. Beyond being a fun and educational read, this book is truly a great addition to the genres of food history and Georgia history.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tidbits on several women who left their recipes for posterity. The book is more about the history of cookbooks than about recipes that are adaptable to the modern kitchen.