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HomeCookbooksSoul Food CookbooksHigh on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America |
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|  | | | Customer Reviews: | | | Average Customer Review: ( 11 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
 Savor This Book! Mar 09, 2011
By Nancy Mulvany
"Author of Indexing Books"
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I learned so much! Jessica Harris brings together food and cooking from West Africa and the Caribbean to the United States. She chronicles the African origin of familiar foods such as okra, yams, millet, and rice. New World crops like tomatoes, corn, peanuts, and chile peppers made their way to Africa and became an important part of African cookery. Readers are introduced to the splendor of African courts and importance of culinary rituals. The Transatlantic Slave Trade brought Africans to American shores along with a deep culinary history. The enslavement of Africans and African Americans provides the early context for the spread of traditional food and cooking. Harris draws from much original material: diaries of ship captains and travelers, interviews from the WPA slave narratives, and excerpts from old cookbooks.
As can be expected from Jessica Harris, this book is meticulously researched and written with dashing prose. This is not a cookbook. In fact, there are only twenty-two recipes. Instead, Harris pulls together the cuisines of African, Caribbean, African American, European, and early American cooking. The book includes historical illustrations, a reading list, an annotated bibliography of selected African American cookbooks, and a thorough index.
I highly recommend this book. You will learn about black cooks in kitchens of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, the origins of the Philadelphia pepperpot and creole gumbo with its odd number of greens. Harris' book will inform you and leave you hungry and wanting more.
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Cultural history from the kitchen Feb 28, 2011
By Eloise
"eloiseat21"
The cultural history in this book is fascinating and gives an interesting perspective for someone who is not a person of color. If you are looking for a cookbook, however, the book is a bit light on recipes. I like to collect cookbooks even though I don't cook from them much. This book was an excellent example of why that can be so satisfying. I enjoyed this book very much.
-Eloise
10 of 11 found the following review helpful:
incredible book food for thought Feb 20, 2011
By A customer
"mistermaxxx"
growing up as a child, i lived down south and i often wondered why certain foods represented new years day and how certain other foods were called soul food and what that all meant, well finally here is a book that answers that and then some in full detail.Jessica Harris brings the full course and side dishes from Africa to America. talks about the food prepared on the Plantation And the impact of the food and time period. this is required reading and it will make you understand so much of the then and now. very detailed and quite informative.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
 Pleasantly surprised Mar 28, 2011
By LYNDA L. BROWN
This book wasn't at all what I thought it would be, I was pleasantly surprised.
High on the Hog is a history of foods and recipes,starting in Africa and continuing on to North America, passing on from generation to generation. Not only a culinary history of African Americans, but also a basic history lesson as well. The combination of stories of real people and personal experiences makes for a very interesting book.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Not just a cookbook! Mar 29, 2011
By Connie
It is always interesting to find out the history of items - it is very, very interesting to find out the history of food! Some of the foods that we like so much today have a wonderful and colorful history. Even the title of this book has a background of history.
See all 11 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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