A deeply contextual tour of Southern food for home cooks who want well-explained recipes shaped by real history.
Michael W. Twitty maps the South dish by dish, noting where a recipe is rooted, how it shifts from place to place, and the paths—Indigenous, African, and European—that brought it to the table. Headnotes reflect careful research and teaching experience, with clear cues on technique and variation.
The collection spans more than 260 recipes across 400+ pages, organized in familiar chapters (vegetables; fish & shellfish; desserts; pies and sweets) with step-by-step instructions and thoughtful ingredient guidance. It’s everyday cooking, presented with context so you understand what makes each version distinct.
Expect the classics alongside regional specifics: spoonbread, jambalaya, and benne seed wafers share space with chicken bog from South Carolina’s Pee Dee, antebellum-era Madeira picnic ham, and sorghum taffy. Handsome photography and clean design make this as informative to read as it is inviting to cook from.
