The Taste of Country Cooking-Edna Lewis

The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis is a celebrated cookbook and culinary memoir that captures the flavors, rhythms, and soul of rural Southern life. Originally published in 1976, it stands as a landmark work in American food writing.

In this deeply personal book, Lewis shares the seasonal recipes and traditions she grew up with in Freetown, Virginia—a small, close-knit farming community founded by formerly enslaved people. Organized by the seasons and special occasions (such as “A Spring Dinner for Friends” or “Emancipation Day Dinner”), the book not only provides delicious, unpretentious recipes—like skillet cornbread, fried chicken, fresh garden peas, and wild strawberry preserves—but also evokes a way of life rooted in community, self-sufficiency, and respect for the land.

What makes The Taste of Country Cooking unique is Lewis’s elegant prose and her emphasis on fresh, local ingredients long before the modern farm-to-table movement. It’s more than a cookbook—it’s a cultural document, a tribute to African American culinary heritage, and a timeless reminder of the beauty in simple, honest food.

Whether you're cooking from it or reading it for pleasure, Lewis’s book is both a practical guide and a heartfelt narrative of a life richly lived through food.