I thought this was a fascinating book. It was a very interesting read and I loved the images included with the text. Thank you for shining a spotlight on this important, often overlooked, piece of history.

Shelf Awareness for Readers Column, November 27 2020: Food, Race and American History
The best cookbooks are windows into other kitchens, other cultures, other countries--an invitation to step into someone else's food traditions and, in so doing, better understand the world around us and ourselves. That's why cookbooks will forever beat any Internet recipe collection in my world; I am as hungry for the stories and the photos cookbook authors prepare as I am for the dishes they promise I can make at home.

Like so many others, I currently find myself cooking more at home than ever before; amidst the long overdue racial reckoning we've seen after the murder of George Floyd, I've also been hunting for books that explore the history of race in America. These two pulls converged when I picked up Jubilee (Clarkson Potter, $35), which promises two centuries of African American cooking "that goes far beyond soul food." Author Toni Tipton-Martin delivers exactly that, drawing on decades of historical cookbooks by Black writers and chefs that represent "a gift of... culinary freedom." Alongside Tipton-Martin's recipes for gumbo and pureed parsnips and roast leg of lamb, fried chicken, lemon tea cake and sweet potato bread are snippets of these historical cookbooks, pulling recipes and notes from Black chefs dating back to the early 19th century.

I quickly snagged a copy of Tipton-Martin's earlier work, The Jemima Code (University of Texas Press, $45), a history of these centuries of cookbooks, to continue my reading. I also picked up The Cooking Gene (Amistad, $28.99), in which culinary historian and historical interpreter Michael Twitty embarks on a journey to follow the paths of his ancestors across the Old South, "a place where people use food to tell themselves who they are, to tell others who they are, and to tell stories about where they've been." I cannot imagine a better way to continue my own historical education than via those very stories.

Y'all I'm a white girl from West Texas. My family raised me better and I know my area of the world taught me a better view of African Americans.
I've never thought of Aunt Jemima as a negative representation. In my mind she's always been a smart, loving presence. And she showed her love in her cooking. I don't picture a slave or servant. I see someone above myself because she's my elder. It makes me sad that this is not acceptable because of others and their horrible views.
African American women can cook, y'all. They are resourceful and able to feed an army just like you and I cook for two. I liked this book. It is a historic accounting of women who helped shape the taste buds of a nation...From comfort food to things more complicated. If you know a foodie this book would be the best thing since buttered biscuits for their collection.

A groundbreaking work of African-American cooking history. I thoroughly enjoyed it and recommended it my foodie friends.

The Jemima code is an analysis of the seemingly exhaustive list of historical cookbooks by Americans from African descent dating back from the 1820s. This one is sure to have you draw out a list of books you want to check out. I am not American so I’m not that familiar with that western/African fusion style food we find in the American South, but I know it is one I am curious about and would love to try. For me that means trying my hand at it through books, I have a particular fondness for historical cookbooks (medieval, and Roman), but there we have an added painful dimension. The creation of that food style emerged from a long and horrible history of slavery and white supremacy and the topics are obviously looked in depth in the book. The analysis felt pertinent, without pathos, and oddly empowering: the kitchen is a place of power, a real managerial position in any household and workplace (restaurants/hotels) and the cook had to wield this power. I really enjoyed reading that book, especially after plunging into Octavia Butler's Kindred, and I hope I will be able to find some of the books it talked about.

A page rich chronology of the initial and essential contribution of Black people all things culinary. A deep dive into how culinary practice and history mirrors institutionalized racism particularly in the United States. Black is in the earth that grows food. Black is in the metals mined and melted into the pots, pans, stoves and ovens food is prepared in. Black is in the fires used to cook up sustenance and it is in the meat, harvest, farms to tables and levels of service that provides it. Yet Black has gone undocumented or unnamed in terms for those who have created food philosophy beginning most quietly and prominently in the South and extending across the country. Tipton-Martin makes this case. This exhaustively researched work is a major resource that should be added to every library, text and perhaps be translated into other forms of media as it is quite a door stopper in terms of the length and needs to be read patiently over time. I very much enjoyed this work thus far and continue to do so. Thank you Netgalley for such a unique and wonderful opportunity to read this work.

I’ve been in love with Toni Tipton-Martin’s cookbook, Jubilee, that came out last year and I was excited to learn about this book. I was expecting a book that included lots of recipe examples. This book is not that. It is a rich history about African American cooks and cookbooks. I highly recommend checking out this book. Tipton-Martin is an avid collector of African American cookbooks. I would love to see some of the cookbooks that Tipton-Martin referenced in this book. If you’re a cookbook connoisseur, like I am, you will appreciate the history within this book. If you’re looking for more recipes, you might want to check out her cookbook. Better yet, pair the two together!

Thank you to the University of Texas Press and NetGalley for a complimentary copy.

This is not a cookbook, though it does has a few recipes included, this book is instead a deep and interesting history. It does a wonderful job explaining and exploring the history. Readers discover the importance of this culture throughout history on food in America. She tells the rich story of the African American women who shared their cooking talents impacting communities and families with their food. She spent time researching information and even detailing cookbooks for this book including various elements of published cookbooks over the decades. The illustrations and photos are priceless adding to the wonderful details of her book. This is a fascinating book!

The download does not work for this book. Please review and fix this as I have seen more than a few people commemt on this so far.

This would make a beautiful coffee table book that explores the history of African-American cooking and heritage. I expected more recipes but I was definitely not disappointed. I would look at this as more of a wonderful history book with great information.

I received a complimentary copy of this from the publisher and Netgallley, in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

The Jemima Code by Toni Tipton-Martin is a historical treasure. The is a culinary history and reference book detailing black cookbooks published over two centuries in America. The author not only provides information on the cookbooks but also provides historical context on the time periods of when the cookbooks were published. While this is not a cookbook, there are some recipes shared throughout the book. I really enjoyed both the forwards and the introductory chapter. What I most enjoyed about the book was the historical context the author provided in each chapter because it provided a reference point for the featured cookbooks. Prior to requesting this title on NetGallery, I had heard of this award-winning book before but did not have an idea of what kind of book it was. I thought this was a cookbook with heavy historical background. I was a bit disappointed that this wasn't a cookbook but because of The Jemima Code's beautiful and detailed writing, I will be purchasing Toni Tipton-Martin's "Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking." Ultimately, The Jemima Code is an important book that ensures that African American culinary history is preserved and shared for generations to come.

The Jemima Code gives the reader the HISTORY of 150 black author cookbooks from 1827 to modern day classics. One of my favorite cookbook story highlights is from Ethel Brown Hearon , a High School Family Living Teacher that encouraged her students to help in soliciting recipes from the community to help create the cookbook “Cooking with Soul.
Author Toni Tipton-Martin’s research has given me a greater appreciation for all of the Strong, Courageous, resilient and passionate cooks that have and are still sharing their LOVE of cooking.

The Jemima Code by Toni Tipton-Martin is a fascinating historical read.

I was expecting this to be a bit of history with a lot of recipes and instead, I got the opposite. However, it was absorbing. There were tons of cooking books broken up by time. Each book was shown and there was a critique written about it. There is so much food can teach you about culture and history, and this book is a shining example.

If you are interested in history, cooking, or both this book would be an enjoyable read.

I received an eARC from University of Texas Press through NetGalley. All opinions are 100% my own.

Unfortunately I was unable to download this book for review. Due to the error I am leaving only a moderate rating of 3/5.

The Jemima Code provided me with a brilliant insight in to the history of soul food and African American Cooking Culture. The level of detail of the various sources (e.g. notes from personal cookbooks, photos, etc.) and the depth of analyses were definitely on par with any academic text or Museum exhibit, and I found this book highly informative and fascinating (and practical! All of those recipes!).

Five stars.

I received a complementary copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I wasn't able to download this book and ended up purchasing a copy because the author is wonderful - Toni Tipton-Martin is a historian and chef. The Jemima Code is based on African American chefs and cookbooks from history over the last like 150 years. Reading this book has helped me to understand the true background of 'southern' cooking and the distorted history created with stolen recipes and work. I have read about Edna Lewis before but this book was an amazing history and I realized how little I knew. I can't say enough about this book - I purchased a copy so obviously I really love it!

A very informative read. This book details the racist histories that stifled African American chef's abilities to publish cook books and also what cook books they were able to publish. Tipton-Martin goes through the trends in African American cook books through the years and provides scans of pages from the original documents.

When I requested this book, the world was not in the state it currently is in. With Uncle Ben & Aunt Jemima now verboten, this became a much more interesting read.

I wanted to see black southern recipes and there is certainly some of that in this book. However, it was a much more eye opening experience then perusing recipes.

To learn about history thru this topic was interesting. I don't quite know how I feel about so I know I certainly can't express it.

Very interesting read!

I think this will be a great book to add to our FCS classroom! Our students and staff are beginning to learn more about black history (and Indigenous, and other people of color) this year. We will be diving into our curriculum and adjusting the resources we use, etc. I cannot wait to book talk this one with students and have it in the classroom library.

This book is a glorious black history collection dressed up like non-fiction, with the aroma of the best scents of a southern kitchen and sage advice, from long ago. I greatly enjoyed this book, especially the photographs of recipes in their original form. Vegans, like myself, could even benefit from this book because of the many recipes that involve nuts. Then there is the poetry sprinkled throughout the pages that satiates the reader like a most savory after-dinner treat. Can't wait to return to this book over and again.