Resources for Books on African American Cooking & Foodways
- 47 Food Studies Books, Not Just for Black History Month (Emily Contois) These books matter as they address many themes, including: the significant contributions of African and African American foodways to “American” food culture; the knowledge, expertise, and agency of enslaved people, expressed through agriculture, cooking and domestic labor, botanical medical traditions, and food commerce; the meaning and historical trajectory of soul food; and the intersections of food and race with embodiment, health, medicine, agriculture, and power.
- 21 Black-Authored Cookbooks to Add to Your Shelf (Food52) oday, we're celebrating Black-authored cookbooks (keep an eye out for future articles on black-authored food books and black-created blogs). We understand this is a small start.
- Elevating the visibility of black cookbook authors (Eat Your Books) American cuisine, especially that of the American South, owes a great deal to the influence of black cooks. As Smithsonian Magazine explains, it was often enslaved black chefs who created the feasts that gave the South its reputation for hospitality.
Related Guides
Libraries & Organizations
Libraries & Library Research Guides
- American Antiquarian Society Library, Cookbook Collection The American Antiquarian Society has a spectacular collection of approximately 1,200 of the earliest American cookbooks. Almanacs and household manuals often contained recipes (or “receipts” as they were called then) for food and household products.
- Arthur & Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America The library holds more than 100,000 volumes, ranging from rare 16th-century texts to 21st-century titles. Approximately 20,000 of these volumes are cookbooks or food related
- John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary Library Located in New Orleans, the John & Bonnie Boyd Hospitality & Culinary Library contains over 11,000 volumes of culinary books, food and cocktail menus, pamphlets, archival documents and a growing number of important collections, other literature and ephemera, all collected by and donated to the Southern Food & Beverage Museum. The collection is non-circulating but available for reference.
- New England Chowder Compendium, UMass Amherst Pulling from the archives of the Beatrice McIntosh Cookery Collection at the University of Massachusetts this compendium hopes to investigate the hows and whys of chowder's rise to its place as an essential part of New England regional cuisine through recipes, advertisements, and other forms of visual expression.
- "Food for Thought," Blog entry, Congregational Library & Archives "As we continue to feature the CLA's food-related collections for Archives Month, it feels like a perfect opportunity to share some of our favorite recipes, advertisements, and food related stories highlighted from our collections between the 17th and 20th centuries." The Library is at 14 Beacon St., Boston.
Organizations
- Culinary Historians of Canada The mission of the Culinary Historians of Canada is to inspire appreciation and advance knowledge of Canada’s food history. The CHC researches, interprets, preserves and celebrates Canada’s culinary heritage, which has been shaped by the food traditions of the First Nations peoples and generations of immigrants from all parts of the world. Through programs, events and publications, CHC educates its members and the public about the foods and beverages of Canada’s past.
- Southern Foodways Alliance The Southern Foodways Alliance documents, studies, and explores the diverse food cultures of the changing American South. Our work sets a welcome table where all may consider our history and our future in a spirit of respect and reconciliation.
