Good Food
‘The Jemima Code’ reveals little-known culinary legacies of Black men and women
One of the nation's most distinctive and varied regional cuisines comes from the American South.
By Evan Kleiman • • 1 min readOne of the nation's most distinctive and varied regional cuisines comes from the American South. Yet, of the 100,000 recipe collections published over the last two centuries, only 200 or so have been properly credited to African American cooks and writers.
Toni Tipton-Martin is a culinary journalist and founding member of the Southern Foodways Alliance. In 2015, Evan Kleiman spoke with her about her groundbreaking book, “The Jemima Code: Two Centuries of African American Cookbooks.” The book reaches beyond the figure of “Jemima” — a smiling Black woman with an apron and headscarf — to reveal the culinary legacies of the real men and women pushed aside by history.
The full episode
1 of 5
Green Book guide, food as protest, Zora Neale Hurston- 0:00‘The Jemima Code’ reveals little-known culinary legacies of Black men and womenYou’re reading this
- 13:14‘The Green Book’ mapped safe spaces for Black travelers. This documentarian visited 5,000 of them
- 27:53The food of famed folklorist Zora Neale Hurston
- 36:19Challenging the status quo of America’s agrarian identity
- 45:33Protesting through food and cooking
The full episode
1 of 5Green Book guide, food as protest, Zora Neale Hurston- 0:00‘The Jemima Code’ reveals little-known culinary legacies of Black men and womenYou’re reading this
- 13:14‘The Green Book’ mapped safe spaces for Black travelers. This documentarian visited 5,000 of them
- 27:53The food of famed folklorist Zora Neale Hurston
- 36:19Challenging the status quo of America’s agrarian identity
- 45:33Protesting through food and cooking