African American Food Culture

Slavery and African Food Culture in the Americas

Michael Twitty is a food writer and culinary historian best known for preparing, preserving and promoting African American food ways and its origins in Africa. He emphasizes how African food culture has made a great impact on the American South. His cooking helped him to learn about his identity and culture. He describes “identity cooking” a way to better understand him and his culture as a Jewish-African American. A project he developed called “The Cooking Gene” is what he explains as a means of “exploring my family history through food, from Africa to America, from slavery to freedom.” Race, food and ethnicity all have a more complex and cultural meaning especially when fused together. Different

A cook might be fixed with a horse’s bit to prevent them from eating the food, or find their whole head caged in the most severe of cases” (Twitty 2016). He tells the story of how a mistress in the French Caribbean “calmly entertained guests after having her cook burned alive in the oven for burning a cake.” The kitchen for African American slaves was not a place of smiles, but more of a place where many horrific things took place. Even written works as sensitive as children’s books should be honest about the past and the tribulations faced by slaves. The culture and true history of slavery should be more evident in literature, so that when historical recounts of slavery are shown in books, the misinterpreted history of the struggles and triumphs throughout this era is depicted honestly. I agree with what is being said in this article, because I, myself come from African American descent. The truth about slavery and African impact on American food should not go untold and unnoticed. My grandmother often cooks what people call soul food. My favorite dish is her collard greens that she makes with her a twist by adding ingredients like neck bones and ham to add flavor. “Soul food” often creates mental connotations of greasy and over