Essential cookbooks for Black History Month

“It really is impossible to separate what people eat from the history that’s come before them,” says Matt Sartwell, co-owner of Kitchen Arts and Letters, a New York-based bookstore specializing in books about food and wine.

Want to learn more about African-American cooking? Sartwell recommends these books:

1.   "Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African-American Cooking," Toni Tipton-Martin (2019)

2.   "Recipes for Respect: African American Meals and Meaning," Rafia Zafar (2019)

3.   "The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African-American Cooking History in the Old South," Michael Twitty (2018)

4.   "Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing," Jerrelle Guy (2018)

5.   "Princess Pamela’s Soul Food Cookbook: A Mouth-Watering Treasury of African American Recipes," Pamela Strobel, Matt Lee, et al. (2017)

6.   "The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African-American Cookbooks," Toni Tipton-Martin (2015)

7.   "The Taste of Country Cooking: The 30th Anniversary Edition of a Great Southern Classic Cookbook," Edna Lewis. (2006)

8.   "Sweets: Soul Food Desserts and Memories, Patty Pinner" (2006)

9.   "High on the Hog: A Cuinary Journey from Africa to America, Jessica B. Harris and Maya Angelou" (2012)

10.             "The House Servant’s Directory: An African American Butler’s 1827 Guide," Robert Roberts (2006 — reprint)

11.             "What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Southern Cooking," Abby Fisher (1995 — reprint).

12.              "The Virginia Housewife,  Mary Randolph (1984 — reprint)