Celebrating Black History Month Through Food | Mechanics' Institute

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Celebrating Black History Month Through Food

We're celebrating Black History Month with a list of staff-recommended cookbooks highlighting the accomplishments of Black chefs. All are available for checkout in the library.

Black Food: stories, art and recipes from across the African diaspora by Bryant Terry- A beautiful, rich, and groundbreaking book exploring Black foodways within America and around the world, curated by food activist and author of Vegetable Kingdom, Bryant Terry.

 

Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue by Adrian Miller - In Black Smoke, the author chronicles how Black barbecuers, pitmasters, and restaurateurs helped develop this cornerstone of American foodways and how they are coming into their own today

The Cooking Gene: a journey through African American culinary history in the Old South by Michael W. Twitty - Food historian Twitty, creator of the Afroculinaria blog, serves up a splendid hearth-based history, at once personal and universal, of the African-American experience

 

Grandbaby Cakes: modern recipes, vintage charm, soulful memories by Jocelyn Delk Adams - Featuring 50 vintage cakes with modern twists and a memoir tracing the roots of the author's family recipes.

 


 

High on the Hog: a culinary journey from Africa to America by Jessica B. Harris - 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 such an important part of African American culture, history, and identity.

 

 

Jubilee: recipes from two centuries of African American cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin - More than 100 recipes that paint a rich, varied picture of the true history of African American cooking.

 

 


Red Rooster Cookbook: the story of food and hustle in Harlem by Marcus Samuelsson - When Samuelsson opened Red Rooster in Harlem, he envisioned a restaurant that would be the heart of his neighborhood – a meet-and-greet, serving Southern black and cross-cultural food ... and one that would reflect Harlem's rich history. 

 

 


Soul Food: the surprising story of an American cuisine, one plate at a time by Adrian Miller - In this insightful and eclectic history on the influences, ingredients, and innovations that make up soul food tradition. Each chapter focuses on the culinary and social history of one dish, such as fried chicken, chitlins, yams, and more. 

 

 


The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis - In recipes and reminiscences equally delicious, Edna Lewis celebrates the uniquely American country cooking she grew up with some fifty years ago in a small Virginia Piedmont farming community that had been settled by freed slaves. With menus for the four seasons, she shares the ways her family prepared and enjoyed food, savoring the delights of each special time of year.

 

Posted on Feb. 10, 2022 by Celeste Steward