80 recipes rooted in African American Southern foodways, whole-animal cooking, and the practical knowledge that comes from living off the land, from award-winning chef and food writer Amethyst Ganaway.
A beautifully photographed guide to hunting, butchering, gathering, and cooking with intention, Black South is told through the lens of the African Americans who have stewarded the land and the waters that run through it for centuries. It is an invaluable tool for practicing sustainability and connecting to the land that nourishes us.
Photography captured by Peter Frank Edwards
“As a Black woman from the South, I hope Black South inspires us to reconnect with our history, because knowing and loving where we come from is part of how we move forward.”—Carla Hall, chef, Emmy-winning TV host, and author
In the American South, sufficiency and minimizing waste live in tandem with respecting and caring for nature. Black South serves up this vision of the South with a keen eye to Amethyst’s own roots in the South Carolina Lowcountry. Interspersed among the 80 recipes utilizing ingredients you can forage, hunt, or source from local farms, you’ll find practical knowledge passed down through generations that still holds true today on topics including gathering wild plants, breaking down an animal into parts, and of course finding delicious ways to make all sorts of food.
“As the book’s subtitle conveys with a wink, Black South is a deep dive into the foodways of the region. Ignoring the genteel edit of many Black Southern cookbooks, it presents the full range of traditional African American cooking from ‘the roota to the toota.’ With nuggets of culinary history, recipes you’ll not find anywhere else, and magnificent illustrations, Black South is a book to be read, savored, and cooked from.”—Jessica B. Harris, PhD, author, lecturer, and culinary historian
Black South is filled with country recipes made simple and elegant. They’re farm-to-table and sustainable; heirloom and nostalgic; resourceful and low-waste. Enjoy unique and cherished recipes organized by ingredient such as:
• Vegetables: Sautéed Cattails, Braised Lettuce, and Pattypan Pone
• Birds: Roast Guinea Fowl with Peppery Tomato Purloo, and Pheasant and Dumplings
• Meat: Rabbit Stew, Squirrel Fricassee, and Racoon Bourguignon
• Offal: Liverpuddin’, Cracklin’, and BBQ Pig Tails
• Seafood: Catfish Stew, Alligator and Crab Gumbo, and Skate Wing with Brown Butter and Herbs
• Basics: Cornbread, Honeysuckle Syrup, and Chow Chow
• Sweets: Pound Cake, Rice Pudding, and Jelly Cake
Amethyst honors the diaspora, while situating African Americans as the architects, preservers, and forebearers of cultural practices urgently needed in this moment. As a proud Black Southerner and a millennial committed to Sankofa, Black South empowers me to return to and reimagine the foodways, techniques, and embodied wisdom of those who came before me. Now is the time for us to go back and get it.”—Sara Makeba Daise, author of Sankofa Shadow Work and “Be Here Now: The South is a Portal”