Review: What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Southern Cooking

What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Southern Cooking by Abby Fisher
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mrs. Fisher was the second African-American free woman to write a cookbook. Originally published in 1881, the reprinted book includes 160 recipes over 72 pages. They are written in prose and were recipes she used when living on a plantation. She dictated her recipes orally to writers who composed them into this book.

Many recipes are for large amounts of people or for a large amount of food to be canned for later use. She also includes receipts for home remedies for various ailments. This is an interesting book on the foodways of the mid-nineteenth century.

View all my reviews