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Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking
Adapted from historical texts and rare African-American cookbooks, the 125 recipes of Jubilee paint a rich, varied picture of the true history of African-American cooking: a cuisine far beyond soul food.
Toni Tipton-Martin, the first African-American food editor of a daily American newspaper, is the author of the James Beard Award-winning The Jemima Code, a history of African-American cooking found in--and between--the lines of three centuries' worth of African-American cookbooks. Tipton-Martin builds on that research in Jubilee, adapting recipes from those historic texts for the modern kitchen. What we find is a world of African-American cuisine--made by enslaved master chefs, free caterers, and black entrepreneurs and culinary stars--that goes far beyond soul food. It's a cuisine that was developed in the homes of the elite and middle class; that takes inspiration from around the globe; that is a diverse, varied style of cooking that has created much of what we know of as American cuisine.
Toni Tipton-Martin, the first African-American food editor of a daily American newspaper, is the author of the James Beard Award-winning The Jemima Code, a history of African-American cooking found in--and between--the lines of three centuries' worth of African-American cookbooks. Tipton-Martin builds on that research in Jubilee, adapting recipes from those historic texts for the modern kitchen. What we find is a world of African-American cuisine--made by enslaved master chefs, free caterers, and black entrepreneurs and culinary stars--that goes far beyond soul food. It's a cuisine that was developed in the homes of the elite and middle class; that takes inspiration from around the globe; that is a diverse, varied style of cooking that has created much of what we know of as American cuisine.
320 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 5, 2019
660 people are currently reading
5640 people want to read
About the author
Toni Tipton-Martin
11 books66 followersToni Tipton-Martin is an award-winning food and nutrition journalist who is busy building a healthier community through her books, classes, and foundation. She is a James Beard Book Award winner and has appeared as a guest judge on Bravo’s Top Chef. In 2016, Toni was featured on CBS Sunday Morning’s annual Food Show; in the anthology, Best Food Writing of 2016; and in Aetna’s 35th Annual African American History Calendar. She received Notable Mention in The Best American Essays of 2015.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama invited Toni to the White House twice for her outreach to help families live healthier lives, and in 2014 she earned the Southern Foodways Alliance John Egerton Prize for this work. With the Egerton Prize as seed money, Toni hosted Soul Summit: A Conversation About Race, Identity, Power and Food, an unprecedented 3-day gathering that invited writers, scholars, authors, chefs, students and anyone interested in food justice to come together and celebrate African American Foodways.
In 1991, Toni became the first African American woman to hold the position of food editor at a major daily newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Prior to that post, she was the nutrition writer for the Los Angeles Times and a contributing editor to Heart and Soul Magazine (a health and fitness book for African-American women).
Toni has been a guest instructor at Whole Foods Culinary Center, and has appeared on the Cooking Channel’s Foodography and the PBS feature Juneteenth Jamboree. She has been a featured speaker at the Library of Congress, Duke University, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and Charlotte; Austin History Center; the Longone Center for American Culinary Research, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan; Roger Smith Cookbook Conference; Foodways Texas; Culinary Historians of Southern California; International Association of Culinary Professionals; Les Dames D’Escoffier; Webster College; Prairie View A&M University; Women Chefs and Restaurateurs; the College of Charleston; Mississippi University for Women; and Austin Foodways. She has shared her passion for cooks and the community as a freelance writer for Epicurious, the Local Palate, UNC Wilmington’s Ecotone Journal, the Austin Chronicle, Edible Austin Magazine, Texas Co-op Magazine, Gastronomica The Journal of Food and Culture, and Cooking Light Magazine.
In 2008, after 30 years teaching cooking in the media and demonstrations, Toni founded The SANDE Youth Project as a grassroots outreach to improve the lives of vulnerable families. The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit is dedicated to combating childhood hunger, obesity and disease by promoting the connection between cultural heritage,
cooking, and wellness. Through community partnerships with universities, private and public entities, including Oldways Preservation Trust, the City of Austin, Edible Austin Magazine, and others, Toni’s foundation has presented two community events, Soul Summit: A Conversation About Race, Identity, Power and Food and the Children’s Picnic A Real Food Fair.
Toni is a member of the James Beard Awards Committee, Oldways African Heritage Diet Pyramid Advisory Committee, Les Dames D’Escoffier Washington, D.C. Chapter, and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She is a co-founder and former president of Southern Foodways Alliance and Foodways Texas. Toni is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Journalism. She and her husband are restoring a 19th Century rowhouse, one of the “Painted Ladies” in Baltimore’s historic Charles Village. She is the mother of four.
Former First Lady Michelle Obama invited Toni to the White House twice for her outreach to help families live healthier lives, and in 2014 she earned the Southern Foodways Alliance John Egerton Prize for this work. With the Egerton Prize as seed money, Toni hosted Soul Summit: A Conversation About Race, Identity, Power and Food, an unprecedented 3-day gathering that invited writers, scholars, authors, chefs, students and anyone interested in food justice to come together and celebrate African American Foodways.
In 1991, Toni became the first African American woman to hold the position of food editor at a major daily newspaper, the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Prior to that post, she was the nutrition writer for the Los Angeles Times and a contributing editor to Heart and Soul Magazine (a health and fitness book for African-American women).
Toni has been a guest instructor at Whole Foods Culinary Center, and has appeared on the Cooking Channel’s Foodography and the PBS feature Juneteenth Jamboree. She has been a featured speaker at the Library of Congress, Duke University, the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill and Charlotte; Austin History Center; the Longone Center for American Culinary Research, William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan; Roger Smith Cookbook Conference; Foodways Texas; Culinary Historians of Southern California; International Association of Culinary Professionals; Les Dames D’Escoffier; Webster College; Prairie View A&M University; Women Chefs and Restaurateurs; the College of Charleston; Mississippi University for Women; and Austin Foodways. She has shared her passion for cooks and the community as a freelance writer for Epicurious, the Local Palate, UNC Wilmington’s Ecotone Journal, the Austin Chronicle, Edible Austin Magazine, Texas Co-op Magazine, Gastronomica The Journal of Food and Culture, and Cooking Light Magazine.
In 2008, after 30 years teaching cooking in the media and demonstrations, Toni founded The SANDE Youth Project as a grassroots outreach to improve the lives of vulnerable families. The 501(c)(3) not-for-profit is dedicated to combating childhood hunger, obesity and disease by promoting the connection between cultural heritage,
cooking, and wellness. Through community partnerships with universities, private and public entities, including Oldways Preservation Trust, the City of Austin, Edible Austin Magazine, and others, Toni’s foundation has presented two community events, Soul Summit: A Conversation About Race, Identity, Power and Food and the Children’s Picnic A Real Food Fair.
Toni is a member of the James Beard Awards Committee, Oldways African Heritage Diet Pyramid Advisory Committee, Les Dames D’Escoffier Washington, D.C. Chapter, and Jack and Jill of America, Inc. She is a co-founder and former president of Southern Foodways Alliance and Foodways Texas. Toni is a graduate of the University of Southern California School of Journalism. She and her husband are restoring a 19th Century rowhouse, one of the “Painted Ladies” in Baltimore’s historic Charles Village. She is the mother of four.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 136 reviews
April 9, 2020
This book is absolutely scrumptious, and has been a godsend during quarantine. I've cooked and baked my way through a good portion of this book already and I have the extra five pounds to prove it. What made it great for quarantine was the fact that most all ingredients are things you have in your cupboard already, and many are long-lasting staples such as beans, rice, and root vegetables. I got my supplies three weeks ago, have cooked almost exclusively from this cookbook, and still have at least two more weeks of supplies before I have to leave the house again.
What a time for book reviews, eh?
I've made the following in just the last few weeks:
Gingerbread Waffles - SO delicious. I might add some chopped bacon in the batter next time.
Spanish Cornbread - Fed me for a week. Thick and delicious.
Apple Fritters - Oh lordy, these are to die for. I single handedly ate half a dozen of these the first day and have been snacking on them ever since.
West African Groundnut Stew - I've made this TWICE already. A simple chicken stew with a bit of peanut butter stirred in.
Wilted Mixed Greens with Bacon - This had everyone on my Instagram salivating.
Baked Barbecued Beans - Another recipe to die for, I might make this again before quarantine is over.
Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie - Easier than I expected, and definitely something I might do again next week since I still have all the ingredients. DELICIOUS comfort food.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake - This cake is covered in sugared pecans and soaked in rum. I brought a large slice over to my neighbor, and the next time he delivered a load of cut wood to me he said "No charge, just bring me another slice of cake some time!!" I guess that slice of cake was worth $80!
Next on my list to make before quarantine is over:
Sweet Potato Biscuits with Ham - This is on my list to make next week!
Nigerian Black Eyed Pea Fritters - I'm a sucker for a fritter
Rice and Peas with Coconut - I love adding coconut to any "regular" foods
Collard Greens with Cornmeal Dumplings - The only reason I haven't made this yet is the store was out of collard greens.
Sweet Potato Mango Cake - I'm getting mangoes delivered today, so this is next on the list!
There are also many recipes for seafood/shellfish, beef & pork, and an amazing above-average beverage chapter that I haven't had time to get into yet, but the Ginger Punch is top of my list.
This is five full stars from me, and there is something for everyone in this book. I'm so grateful I got this in time for quarantine, but this will be a favorite for decades to come.
The photographs are beautiful and make you want to try every single recipe. Nothing I've tried yet has been difficult or complicated.
What a time for book reviews, eh?
I've made the following in just the last few weeks:
Gingerbread Waffles - SO delicious. I might add some chopped bacon in the batter next time.
Spanish Cornbread - Fed me for a week. Thick and delicious.
Apple Fritters - Oh lordy, these are to die for. I single handedly ate half a dozen of these the first day and have been snacking on them ever since.
West African Groundnut Stew - I've made this TWICE already. A simple chicken stew with a bit of peanut butter stirred in.
Wilted Mixed Greens with Bacon - This had everyone on my Instagram salivating.
Baked Barbecued Beans - Another recipe to die for, I might make this again before quarantine is over.
Biscuit Topped Chicken Pot Pie - Easier than I expected, and definitely something I might do again next week since I still have all the ingredients. DELICIOUS comfort food.
Pineapple Upside Down Cake - This cake is covered in sugared pecans and soaked in rum. I brought a large slice over to my neighbor, and the next time he delivered a load of cut wood to me he said "No charge, just bring me another slice of cake some time!!" I guess that slice of cake was worth $80!
Next on my list to make before quarantine is over:
Sweet Potato Biscuits with Ham - This is on my list to make next week!
Nigerian Black Eyed Pea Fritters - I'm a sucker for a fritter
Rice and Peas with Coconut - I love adding coconut to any "regular" foods
Collard Greens with Cornmeal Dumplings - The only reason I haven't made this yet is the store was out of collard greens.
Sweet Potato Mango Cake - I'm getting mangoes delivered today, so this is next on the list!
There are also many recipes for seafood/shellfish, beef & pork, and an amazing above-average beverage chapter that I haven't had time to get into yet, but the Ginger Punch is top of my list.
This is five full stars from me, and there is something for everyone in this book. I'm so grateful I got this in time for quarantine, but this will be a favorite for decades to come.
The photographs are beautiful and make you want to try every single recipe. Nothing I've tried yet has been difficult or complicated.
June 24, 2021
I bought this new cookbook for Juneteenth this year. It has a ton of recipes, but sadly I don't think I would end up making most of this besides the desserts. I am not a huge fan of pork and as much as I love lamb, I don't like the high cost that comes with it. There are some recipes where Tipton-Martin brings up the Instapot and I wish there were more like that. I found myself reading and wondering what if anything I can do in the Instapot since I really don't have the energy to stand over a stove anymore.
This cookbook is broken into appetizers, beverages, breads, soups and salads, sides and vegetables, main dishes, and desserts.
I do love the pictures and that the ingredients list and step by step for all of the recipes were very well done. I also loved the introduction and the history behind some of the recipes/beverages that Tipton-Martin provides to the reader.
This cookbook is broken into appetizers, beverages, breads, soups and salads, sides and vegetables, main dishes, and desserts.
I do love the pictures and that the ingredients list and step by step for all of the recipes were very well done. I also loved the introduction and the history behind some of the recipes/beverages that Tipton-Martin provides to the reader.
November 3, 2019
Like with most modern and recent cookbooks, Jubilee is beautifully photographed. Along with these food-porn worthy shots are wonderfully researched recipes. She uses her expertise (and I’m sure her expansive library) to introduce us to 200 years of African American cooking and its influence on not only Southern but American cuisine.
Although the book is not jam packed with recipes, what is included is quality stuff. Since the thermometer is dipping down to freezing here some nights, I immediately went to the soup section and landed on a rich but simple sounding recipe: Peanut Soup.
Tipton-Martin made this soup even richer by increasing the peanut butter and using cream instead of plain milk.
I whipped this up in about thirty minutes, from chopping board to table. It’s a perfect weeknight meal.
As the holidays near, I will be delving into the “Sides and Vegetables” section (A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That). I have my eye on most of the sides like Baked Beans, Black-Eyed Peas and Rice, Louisiana Red Beans and Rice, Red Rice, Okra Pilaf, Rice and Peas with Coconut and Baked Macaroni and Cheese.
Also, has the holidays near, I would like to suggest that this book could make a fantastic holiday present for the cook on your gift list.
Although the book is not jam packed with recipes, what is included is quality stuff. Since the thermometer is dipping down to freezing here some nights, I immediately went to the soup section and landed on a rich but simple sounding recipe: Peanut Soup.
Tipton-Martin made this soup even richer by increasing the peanut butter and using cream instead of plain milk.
I whipped this up in about thirty minutes, from chopping board to table. It’s a perfect weeknight meal.
As the holidays near, I will be delving into the “Sides and Vegetables” section (A Little Bit of This, a Little Bit of That). I have my eye on most of the sides like Baked Beans, Black-Eyed Peas and Rice, Louisiana Red Beans and Rice, Red Rice, Okra Pilaf, Rice and Peas with Coconut and Baked Macaroni and Cheese.
Also, has the holidays near, I would like to suggest that this book could make a fantastic holiday present for the cook on your gift list.
July 6, 2020
To categorize this solely as a cookbook would not even come close to capturing this work of art. It is an exquisitely-written history that intertwines a wealth of research, nostalgia (in the best way), and a "larger vision of African American culinary history" (311) that both embraces and expands beyond soul food and the standard narrative. Toni Tipton-Martin says:
There is no clichéd history here. Instead, Tipton-Martin crafts a story of urban enclaves in Los Angeles, Louisiana kitchens, Civil War plantations, West African villages, "African botanical heritage" (15), segregated black towns in Kansas...all of it, she says, to "help you see some of the ways dishes and styles have evolved over time, spurring your imagination, broadening your perception of the black culinary experience." (17) She picks up the unfinished work of Arthur (Arturo) Schomburg, the Afro-Puerto Rican historian who started an outline that would celebrate "black cooking as an expression of black achievement." (14)
Tipton-Martin sees all the moving parts of history--the shifting narratives, the untold stories, and the hegemonic stereotypes (e.g. Aunt Jemima). I have not yet read her The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks, but that is absolutely going on the list of must reads. Jubilee is fully deserving of its awards on merit of the narrative alone, but then there are the recipes...
For the uninitiated (like myself), there are some surprises in store. Despite two lengthier trips to New Orleans, I learned that "'Barbecue shrimp' is just the name Louisiana Creole cooks assigned to shrimp braised in wine, beer, or a garlic-butter sauce." My Italian grandma would have recognized the recipe as what she called "scampi" with...Worcestershire sauce. There are several wonderful meat recipes I haven't tried yet, but I've dug into some of the veggie ones. The "Braised Summer Squash with Onions" pairs rosemary, bacon drippings, and patience for probably the only summer squash I've ever actually enjoyed. The "Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Curried Dressing" might make you rethink your dislike of raw vegetables (do make this one ahead, however, unless you like very sweet mayonnaise--the sugar needs time to dissolve and draw out the flavor from the veggies). There are "classics" too, including an absolutely terrific "Country-Style Potato Salad" that will be my "go-to" recipe henceforth. Split into sections on appetizers, beverages, breads, soups & salads, sides & vegetables, main dishes, and desserts, it is hard not to keep this book on the kitchen counter everyday.
What is also very striking is how Tipton-Martin steps back (unlike so many other cookbook authors), and amplifies ancestral voices, colleagues' voices, and steps back in just to put in her own twist here and there. The photos by Jerrelle Guy and Eric Harrison are stunning. The food and its history take center stage.
And back to the barbecue shrimp-meets-scampi. As with many of the sentences she writes, Tipton-Martin packs in a lot of punch that reminds those of us who are not part of the African diaspora why we need to read the book:
And as much as there are common threads, there is also a "distinct African American canon" (14) that celebrates the creative force of hard truths, ingenious spirit, and culinary artistry that is the tapestry of African American food.
And I have tried to end dependency on the labels "Southern" and "soul," and on the assumptions that limit my ancestors' contributions to mindlessly working the fields where the food was grown, stirring the pot where the food was cooked, and passively serving food in the homes of the master class.
There is no clichéd history here. Instead, Tipton-Martin crafts a story of urban enclaves in Los Angeles, Louisiana kitchens, Civil War plantations, West African villages, "African botanical heritage" (15), segregated black towns in Kansas...all of it, she says, to "help you see some of the ways dishes and styles have evolved over time, spurring your imagination, broadening your perception of the black culinary experience." (17) She picks up the unfinished work of Arthur (Arturo) Schomburg, the Afro-Puerto Rican historian who started an outline that would celebrate "black cooking as an expression of black achievement." (14)
Tipton-Martin sees all the moving parts of history--the shifting narratives, the untold stories, and the hegemonic stereotypes (e.g. Aunt Jemima). I have not yet read her The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks, but that is absolutely going on the list of must reads. Jubilee is fully deserving of its awards on merit of the narrative alone, but then there are the recipes...
For the uninitiated (like myself), there are some surprises in store. Despite two lengthier trips to New Orleans, I learned that "'Barbecue shrimp' is just the name Louisiana Creole cooks assigned to shrimp braised in wine, beer, or a garlic-butter sauce." My Italian grandma would have recognized the recipe as what she called "scampi" with...Worcestershire sauce. There are several wonderful meat recipes I haven't tried yet, but I've dug into some of the veggie ones. The "Braised Summer Squash with Onions" pairs rosemary, bacon drippings, and patience for probably the only summer squash I've ever actually enjoyed. The "Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad with Curried Dressing" might make you rethink your dislike of raw vegetables (do make this one ahead, however, unless you like very sweet mayonnaise--the sugar needs time to dissolve and draw out the flavor from the veggies). There are "classics" too, including an absolutely terrific "Country-Style Potato Salad" that will be my "go-to" recipe henceforth. Split into sections on appetizers, beverages, breads, soups & salads, sides & vegetables, main dishes, and desserts, it is hard not to keep this book on the kitchen counter everyday.
What is also very striking is how Tipton-Martin steps back (unlike so many other cookbook authors), and amplifies ancestral voices, colleagues' voices, and steps back in just to put in her own twist here and there. The photos by Jerrelle Guy and Eric Harrison are stunning. The food and its history take center stage.
And back to the barbecue shrimp-meets-scampi. As with many of the sentences she writes, Tipton-Martin packs in a lot of punch that reminds those of us who are not part of the African diaspora why we need to read the book:
When I tied all these diasporic practices together, I observed a culinary IQ that is both African and American, the very definition of fusion cooking. You might think this intelligence is not all that different when compared to other world cuisines. And you would be right. But the idea that African Americans shared these qualities with the rest of society has been ignored for far too long (italics mine)
And as much as there are common threads, there is also a "distinct African American canon" (14) that celebrates the creative force of hard truths, ingenious spirit, and culinary artistry that is the tapestry of African American food.
July 27, 2020
Liked the history interlaced with the recipes. It would make for an interesting docuseries. As another reviewer said, I think the cooking time on some recipes might be off and I wish the publisher had thought more about the font (the 3 and 5 look similar at a glance.) It can be difficult to find fresh okra and seafood where I live, so I'll probably end up donating this book to the library.
December 10, 2019
Amazing recipes and beautifully written!
February 8, 2021
Part cookbook, part history book. I’m so hungry now. ETA: I've now made the red beans & rice, the honey-soy chicken wings, and the boiling water cornbread from this cookbook and holy smokes they are good. Adding it to my collection...
September 14, 2022
A beautifully constructed cookbook with amazing photos, rather complex recipes, and historical snippets of the African diaspora's contributions to Southern cookery. The house slaves that cooked for their white plantation owners developed very special and delicious cooking skills and recipes that became the foundation of most American cookery today, known as comfort food.
February 23, 2020
4.5 stars
Excellent, approachable cookbook of African American recipes. So far I've made the bread pudding and the Creole Shrimp and they've both gotten rave reviews. I have at least a dozen other recipes bookmarked.
Excellent, approachable cookbook of African American recipes. So far I've made the bread pudding and the Creole Shrimp and they've both gotten rave reviews. I have at least a dozen other recipes bookmarked.
February 22, 2020
It's not often that I read an entire cookbook, but Tipton-Martin's writing is beautiful, and you want to settle in with the stories she tells. I've never been so excited to get started cooking!
January 23, 2021
The best in-depth look at African American cooking that I have read outside of The Cooking Gene. The recipes and photos are absolutely stunning!
October 13, 2021
Not as healthy as I would have liked. Lots and lots of carbs
May 19, 2022
I have huge respect for Tipton-Martin's cookbook with Joe Randall, A Taste of Heritage, so I bought this Kindle version simply based on the strength of that first book and from what I've heard about The Jemima Code. (Haven't gotten around to that one yet.) That will teach me to judge one book by another book's cover.
The book is clearly a labor of love and had very high goals. I just feel like it has a split purpose and neither won out. Tipton-Martin made too many changes of her own (without a lot of explanation why) for it to be a historical survey of food heritage. In that way, it's really just her version of older recipes. After all, as she says herself near the end of the book, make a slight change in a recipe, and it's not a copyright violation, but your own. But there's too much historical content for it to be fully a cookbook either. And that historical content lacked focus, IMO. Maybe she just cast too wide a net.
The book is clearly a labor of love and had very high goals. I just feel like it has a split purpose and neither won out. Tipton-Martin made too many changes of her own (without a lot of explanation why) for it to be a historical survey of food heritage. In that way, it's really just her version of older recipes. After all, as she says herself near the end of the book, make a slight change in a recipe, and it's not a copyright violation, but your own. But there's too much historical content for it to be fully a cookbook either. And that historical content lacked focus, IMO. Maybe she just cast too wide a net.
June 16, 2020
There is a lot of great material in this book, and I couldn't be cooking out of it at a more meaningful time. As our nation confronts, yet again, our continued history of racial injustice, it feels good to be immersing myself in the cooking that has been going on in African American communities for two hundred years.
Toni Tipton-Martin is know for having written a food column in the Los Angeles Times that did not include a recipe, but was rather an exploration of the place that food plays in the culture of a people and a community. Perfect. That is what we have here. Well researched stories, recipes with historical context as well as alternative ways of making traditional dishes, and along the way, an appreciation for the wonder that this food represents.
There are a lot of recipes with very little meat, a stretching of a scarce resource in homes eating on a budget. There is a lot of the holy trinity of creole cooking--green pepper, onion, and celery, which I love. There are a lot of rice and corn recipes, another favorite. Check out this cookbook, it is something special.
Toni Tipton-Martin is know for having written a food column in the Los Angeles Times that did not include a recipe, but was rather an exploration of the place that food plays in the culture of a people and a community. Perfect. That is what we have here. Well researched stories, recipes with historical context as well as alternative ways of making traditional dishes, and along the way, an appreciation for the wonder that this food represents.
There are a lot of recipes with very little meat, a stretching of a scarce resource in homes eating on a budget. There is a lot of the holy trinity of creole cooking--green pepper, onion, and celery, which I love. There are a lot of rice and corn recipes, another favorite. Check out this cookbook, it is something special.
September 12, 2020
Wow! No wonder this is a James Beard cookbook! Ms. Tipton-Martin is a scholar of African American cooking history as well as an incredible cook! She provides so much rich history from her in-depth research and the photos! The imagery is beautiful! I just want to sit and read and read and read. Amazing.
July 9, 2020
Grounded in encyclopedic (well, if encyclopedias were written rooted in broad and deep historical knowledge of African American culinary trends...)
Ok, so the backstory and the recipes wrestle for most impressive. She’s friendlier with lard, shortening and butter than I can be every day but soooo many special occasion recipes. I can’t wait!
Ok, so the backstory and the recipes wrestle for most impressive. She’s friendlier with lard, shortening and butter than I can be every day but soooo many special occasion recipes. I can’t wait!
December 24, 2019
Amazing cookbook, as fun to read as to cook from, and I want to cook pretty much every recipes in this book. An instant classic.
September 8, 2020
4.5 stars, rounded up! Every recipe a winner--I used this for my August CTBBC book.
October 9, 2020
Part history, part cookbook. Mouthwater recipes for gatherings and interesting history.
October 18, 2024
A very valuable book, both for cooking as well as a historical record.
April 6, 2022
I picked up this cookbook as part of my local library's cookbook book club, and I'm so glad I did! The amount of research and writing that was put into this book - both the historical information shared for sections and individual recipes, and the comparison and testing of multiple recipes for the same thing, arriving at a hybrid to include in the book - is jaw-dropping. I have never seen a cookbook for which the care for each individual recipe is so obvious.
I've only tried about five of the recipes so far, but I've read through the entire thing, and I have about a dozen more to try this week and weekend, with more to do before our meeting at the end of the month. I never expected to have a "historical cookbook," particularly one that does not reflect my own race and ethnic identity, but this is awesome cooking, and an excellent way to learn more about a group of chef who have been overlooked for centuries. If the recipes I try in the future are as easy and tasty as the ones I've made so far (benne wafers, sweet potato biscuits with ham, hot water cornbread, layered salad, quick cinnamon rolls), I will be returning this cookbook to the library and purchasing my own. I'm honestly looking forward to it!
I've only tried about five of the recipes so far, but I've read through the entire thing, and I have about a dozen more to try this week and weekend, with more to do before our meeting at the end of the month. I never expected to have a "historical cookbook," particularly one that does not reflect my own race and ethnic identity, but this is awesome cooking, and an excellent way to learn more about a group of chef who have been overlooked for centuries. If the recipes I try in the future are as easy and tasty as the ones I've made so far (benne wafers, sweet potato biscuits with ham, hot water cornbread, layered salad, quick cinnamon rolls), I will be returning this cookbook to the library and purchasing my own. I'm honestly looking forward to it!
August 22, 2020
It feels odd to rate and review a cookbook, but this is one I read more as a good history book and less as cookbook. I did make a few recipes and they were fine to good, but I thought the real value in this book was the history about black cooks and food that was presented throughout the book. I actually read this book cover-to-cover and the recipes almost felt like a fun enhancement to the historical text.
After reading the Jemima Code, I felt disappointed that it didn’t have more information about historical themes and ways readers could access some of the recipes that were discussed. This book provides both. If you have a lot of time and interest, it was really fun to read Jemima Code and then this, but if picking one, go with this.
After reading the Jemima Code, I felt disappointed that it didn’t have more information about historical themes and ways readers could access some of the recipes that were discussed. This book provides both. If you have a lot of time and interest, it was really fun to read Jemima Code and then this, but if picking one, go with this.
November 6, 2019
I was pleasantly surprised to find this book at my door (thanks for the free book, @clarksonpotter). Not only does it have a wide variety of recipes that sound amazing, like crawfish bisque & coconut-lemon layer cake, it provides a historical look at recipes I might not have found otherwise (gumbo from 1881 & crab soup from 1930, for example) & stories about the author's experiences. The photography is appetizingly beautiful. I can't wait to cook my way through this book.
November 13, 2019
Well written, and beautifully photographed. I learned a lot about the history of African-American cooking and how much more it is than fried chicken and soul food.
My favorite part was the inclusion of recipe snippets taken from Tipton-Martin's extensive collection of antique cookbooks. They added a fascinating dynamic to modern recipes.
My favorite part was the inclusion of recipe snippets taken from Tipton-Martin's extensive collection of antique cookbooks. They added a fascinating dynamic to modern recipes.
January 26, 2020
This is the first time a cookbook has made me cry. There are so many things I never thought I'd have again--so many things I'd even forgotten I'd ever even had--now that my grandmother is gone.
I judge a cookbook by how quickly I go from reading it to cooking from it...in this case, it was less than an hour.
I judge a cookbook by how quickly I go from reading it to cooking from it...in this case, it was less than an hour.
January 1, 2021
beautifully comes together as memoir, research, cookbook, and scrapbook.
A cookbook you sit and read through- and come back to cook through.
people highlighted to con’t researching:
Samuel Fraunces— GW
Augustus Jackson (& ice cream)
Thomas Downing
Cato Alexander
Bobby Seale (and food service programs)
Sally Seymour(pastry chef-Charleston)
Mary McLeod Bethune & Dr. Dorothy Height (NCNW)
A cookbook you sit and read through- and come back to cook through.
people highlighted to con’t researching:
Samuel Fraunces— GW
Augustus Jackson (& ice cream)
Thomas Downing
Cato Alexander
Bobby Seale (and food service programs)
Sally Seymour(pastry chef-Charleston)
Mary McLeod Bethune & Dr. Dorothy Height (NCNW)
November 5, 2020
3 starts mostly for history and photography. Very few recipes I was actually interested to make. The few that I tried were ok. Drinks section is interesting. I would’ve been content to borrow from the library.
March 9, 2022
This cookbook is a treasure trove of deliciousness. Not for everyday use, or you’d be drunk and/or have a heart attack. But every single recipe sounds amazing, the photos are stunning, and the history needs to be told and retold.
March 31, 2020
Interesting read to see all the recipes collected and the stories that went along with them. Only giving 1-star as there were only a couple of recipes I was interested in making.
December 22, 2020
What pure luxury to hold hardcover cookbooks in my hands. The joy of libraries! Loved the prelude page's quote so picked it up for kicks. Gorgeoussss broody instaworthy images, with my favorite being little snippets&history through the almost 400 rare black cookbooks the author had gathered, from as early as 1827, to create a culinary collection that spans beyond the stereotypical soul food or aunt jemima recipes. The general bougie-ness of the whole book (though intentional: to show that black american food history is not exclusively rooted in slave food) was a bit off-seong for me, palette wise at the least as I do like my hearty deeply flavorful dishes (reading about it though was very interesting). Some of the recipes did not result in too exact a flavor as I'd hoped, but, maybe that's just me not interpreting directions very well... anywhose, a lovely dive in! Looking forward to that next cookbook on music and meals! Mmm!
And as for that track stopping quote as a preface to a cultural cookbook, that still has me mulling: "Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your clan." Leviticus 25:10
And as for that track stopping quote as a preface to a cultural cookbook, that still has me mulling: "Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each of you is to return to your family property and to your clan." Leviticus 25:10
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