Why read High on the Hog?

Book cover of High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America

Book description

New York Times bestseller
From the Winner of the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award
Now a Netflix Original Series

The grande dame of African American cookbooks and winner of the James Beard Lifetime Achievement Award stakes her claim as a culinary historian with a narrative history of African American cuisine.…

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Why read it?

1 author picked High on the Hog as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Rachel Kousser

Author

This book gave me a different perspective on U.S. history—and especially the Black experience in America—through the lens of food.

I learned about how watermelons come from Africa, the difficulty of cooking with an open fire while wearing a long skirt, and what Civil Rights leaders ate as they planned their struggle (fried chicken and collard greens). Along with these cool facts, what the book showed me was how, from colonial times to the present, Blacks in the U.S. have used food creatively to survive, nurture communities, and prosper.

I loved the author’s empathetic voice and her combination of deep…

From Rachel's 3 favorite reads in 2023.