"The man and the woman who became enslaved enslaved the palate of those who enslaved them. From feijoada, to jambalaya, we flipped it on ’em. And we keep flipping it on ’em."
--Michael Twitty
Racism cuts through much of American history and life. Food is no different. Enslavement and oppression have impacted the food that we eat to this day.
There is work to do to rectify this culinary injustice. Telling the true history is one step towards justice.
We invite you to learn to learn more about the history of our people and our food so that you can create and share with friends and families.
The Cooking Gene: A Journey Through African American Culinary History in the Old South
by Michael W. Twitty
Illustrations by Stephen Crotts
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"A renowned culinary historian offers a fresh perspective on our most divisive cultural issue, race, in this illuminating memoir of Southern cuisine and food culture that traces his ancestry—both black and white—through food, from Africa to America and slavery to freedom.
Southern food is integral to the American culinary tradition, yet the question of who "owns" it is one of the most provocative touch points in our ongoing struggles over race. In this unique memoir, culinary historian Michael W. Twitty takes readers to the white-hot center of this fight, tracing the roots of his own family and the charged politics surrounding the origins of soul food, barbecue, and all Southern cuisine.
From the tobacco and rice farms of colonial times to plantation kitchens and backbreaking cotton fields, Twitty tells his family story through the foods that enabled his ancestors’ survival across three centuries. He sifts through stories, recipes, genetic tests, and historical documents, and travels from Civil War battlefields in Virginia to synagogues in Alabama to Black-owned organic farms in Georgia.
As he takes us through his ancestral culinary history, Twitty suggests that healing may come from embracing the discomfort of the Southern past. Along the way, he reveals a truth that is more than skin deep—the power that food has to bring the kin of the enslaved and their former slaveholders to the table, where they can discover the real America together."--from the publisher
Cooking gives us another way to consider history and honor culture. These two recipes are just a taste of the culinary legacy that enslaved people gave to our country.
INGREDIENTS:
1 ham hock
½ onion, diced
½ green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic,
minced 1 - 1 ½ cups red peas (or substitute with black-eyed peas)
2 cups Carolina Gold rice (or substitute with long-grain white rice)
2 teaspoons of pepper vinegar
Pinch of:
Salt
Onion powder
Garlic powder
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Seasoning Salt
Garlic Salt
METHOD:
Let ham hock boil for 30-40 minutes or until tender. Dice onion, bell pepper and garlic–set aside. Add red peas once ham hock is tender. Stir occasionally. Next, add onion, bell pepper, garlic and pepper vinegar. Mix ingredients. Add dry spices (salt, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, seasoning salt and garlic salt). Add water as needed for peas (enough to cover ingredients in dish) and cover dish with lid. Rinse rice until water runs clear. Add rice to dish and cover in water. Mix ingredients and let cook for 30 minutes.
Recipe courtesy of Discover South Carolina
"Rice in South Carolina made ten out of the first twelve millionaires who were involved in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It took two seasons and freshly-bought Africans to make the rice planters of Charleston millionaires. Not one single Gullah/Geechee person, who are losing their land, has a single rice field in Charleston, South Carolina today, and you can Charleston Gold rice at fourteen dollars a bag. That’s food injustice."--Michael Twitty