Enjoy more than 200 traditional African-American recipes! This remarkable volume is the ultimate African-American cooking collection, with time-tested recipes for everything from beverages to soups and salads to main and side dishes to breads to desserts. And, the African-American Heritage Cookbook is more than just a recipe collection. It also features personal vignettes, pictorial accounts, literary passages, and poetry combined together to honor a notable American landmark—the Tuskegee Institute, founded by Booker T. Washington. You’ll learn to make such delectable, traditional dishes as:

-Hot Clam Dip
-Old-Time Potato Salad
-Salmon Croquettes
-Creole Rice
-And more!

Beginning with the final days of slavery and extending through the struggle for civil rights, this singular anthology is a historic tribute to African-Americans of yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

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If you've ever had that kind of dinner-- and you've tried to duplicate that good taste (and never got the recipe because your aunt or grandmother just "added a little somethin'"), it's likely you'll find that special recipe here. The book is also a valuable historical lesson-- accented with photographs and historical accounts about George Washington Carver , the Tuskeegee Institute, and other black historical figures. My only caution is that some of the recipes (such as Dr. Carver's Sliced Sweet Potato Pie) don't give exact measurements, so someone who doesn't know their way around the kitchen might have to call a more experienced cook for a little advice.

10 of 10 found the following review helpful:

Beautiful in spirit, beautiful recipesJul 12, 1999

I discovered this book recently and was truly moved by the beauty of the spirit, and the richness of the culture in which the style of cooking contained in the recipes evolved. There's something unusually special here.

8 of 8 found the following review helpful:

A true taste of African-American History!May 18, 1998

When I saw this cookbook on the shelves I knew immediately it would become the centerpiece in my collection of cookbooks. I have tried several of the recipes, and found them all to be excellent. As a former student of Tuskegee Institute, I truly appreciate the historical referances found in the book. The African-American Heritage Cookbook has earned it's place as my personal favorite. Carolyn, thanks for the memories and the SOUL FOOD.

13 of 16 found the following review helpful:

Nice, But IncompleteOct 23, 2001
By J Keistler "johnrktx@sbcglobal.net"
As a Southerner who enjoys our heritage in cooking, I ordered this book eagerly, based on prior reviews and the description.

This book gives a somewhat cursory history of Tuskegee Institute, along with some photographs. Included are recipes from Dr. Carver.

In my opinion, the greatest disappointment with this book is its incomplete documentation of the rest of the recipes. Where did they come from, or from whom? In a book that blends recipes with history, this is a significant flaw. Certainly, some of the recipes, such as Guacamole dip and El Paso cheese dip, don't sound authentic to Tuskegee. Again, who knows? Historical collections of recipes should credit these recipes to someone, or simply state that a recipe is 'traditional'.

I buy cookbooks to read as much as cook from. This book is organized with narration in italics mixed with the recipes. For me, it makes the book more difficult to read.

(...)

4 of 4 found the following review helpful:

A great source of southern recipesMay 25, 2006
By PD Rogers-Withers
While visiting with an elderly lady, I mentioned that my great grandmother went to Tuskegee Institute. She showed me this cookbook. I had to have one of my own. I think this book is excellent for those who want to learn how to cook those southern dishes that "grandma" or "aunt so-and-so" used to make.

Although I am a pretty good southern cook, some of the dishes I had forgotten about. I think the most impressive recipe was "Pokeweed". I know it as "poke salad", but I instantly recognized it. I have never cooked it personally, but years ago I had thought about cooking it many times. At the time I did not know you had to boil it and disgard the water because it has toxins in it. If I had made it years ago before I knew better, I would have been sick. To me, the addition of that one recipe seemed to put it in a category the covers "ALL" types of southern cuisine.

I ordered mine today, and I can't wait to read it from cover to cover. I spent over an hour reading my friends book. I ordered one for my mother also.

The real clincher for me was the fact that my great grandmother went there. She graduated in 1917. I searched those photos, and wondered if one of those girls was her. I felt such a bond to that book. I brought back all the memories of her stories of Dr. Carver and the peanuts. In one of her many stories, she told me that she didn't realized at the time that history was being made, and that they were more interested in eating the peanuts than learning how to make perfume from them.

This book would be an excellent wedding gift for a young couple. Or even those that find themselves trying to prepare "family holiday" meals for the first time. It brings back memories!!!

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