The Potlikker Papers

The Potlikker Papers: A Food History of the Modern South by John T. Edge               Audio Book: 10 hours    Hardback Book:  384 pages             

This book is a telling of United States history as well as the culinary evolution of the food grown, bred and served in the U.S. Southern states.   The term potlikker in the title is taken from the days of slavery in the South when a slave cook would stir up a mess of greens, the slave owner and his family would eat the greens and leave what is termed the potlikker or the broth left over from the greens in the pan.    Slaves would use this left over broth to feed their families.     The good news about the potlikker is that it is nutrient rich more so than the greens are so while it may have been the leftover part it was very good for the health of the slave families who created many recipes using this and other leavings from the plantation tables to create wonderful soulful heartwarming and delicious dishes and meals that added to the state of health of the slave families, a  God given benefit added that the masters knew nothing about.    The book balances what was going on historically from slavery times to current day and how the food changed along with the times throughout the South.   After the Civil War some black women began cooking and selling food to their neighbors to help support their families and as word of mouth got out requests increased and these home businesses prospered to the point some families began opening up their homes as restaurants increasing their business even more.   Even local politicians started showing up to sit and chat as they purchased home cooked meals.   Blacks and whites ate together at the tables in these homes.   As the population began to increase and move from place to place,  Cajun and Creole cuisine became popular as recipes were brought from Louisiana  and new spices started turning up in Georgia rues.   WWI and WWII brought in more and more people from various places bringing many more family recipes handed down and by the end of WWII BBQ joints became popular.      Southern whites would purchase food from black establishments but black people were still suffering apartheid when it came to their entering white establishments.   Martin Luther King took up the call to stop discrimination and segregation in the South.    The author tells it like it was at the time citing many examples along the way.    Edge is a good writer who comes from a place of emotion, respect and appreciation.    The story he tells is true to the times – all the times he speaks of and he is as much a teacher of history as a connoisseur of the excellent cuisine that has risen up from the Southern United States.   He brings the story of Soul Food, Home Cooking and Southern Fried all the way to the nouvelle Cuisine and ethnic fusion of groups moving into the South today bringing even more variations to the recipes and ingredients that have always been a part of Southern cookery.   An excellent book,  harsh times and harsh language are covered here with names named and details of actual events given and lots of wonderful dishes and ingredients discussed throughout.