Donna Pierce is a national award-winning food and travel journalist, and the driving force behind Black America Cooks. This Mobile, AL native also is a traveler, having been “to Africa, Europe, and the Caribbean exploring the roots of African-American culinary traditions.”

She recently connected with I’m Black & I Travel for a discussion about the sometimes surprising cultural connections that take place through food, a return among young black Americans to traditional cooking — and why it pays to listen to your grandmother:

Q: What Parts of Black American cooking can be traced back to Africa and which ones developed in the diaspora.
A. The foodways exchange between West Africa and the Americas is a fascinating two-sided study. By the time of the 15th century slave trade, a variety of New World ingredients had already crossed the ocean and become incorporated into West African cuisine.

Enslaved Africans in the Americas were already familiar with tomatoes, hot peppers, corn and ground nuts (peanuts). On the other hand, okra, benne (sesame seeds) and watermelon, indigenous to West Africa, were introduced to the Americas during the slave trade.

The word gumbo, which we have come to know as a Creole soup/stew…is derived from a West African word for okra.

Q: What role, if any did contact between Africans and Native Americans ultimately influence Black American cooking?
A. Some recipes may be the result of an exchange and others may have occurred due to intuitive reactions to wildlife, ingredients or similar circumstances, such as people using available products to survive. (On a visit to France in the 1980s, I was surprised to learn that a dish known as andouillette among French peasants, who also learned to eat the pig from “snout to hoof,” was chitterlings.)

Cornbread, hominy, file (ground sassafras leaves we use to thicken soups and gumbos ) were all present in Native America culinary traditions, as were some of the methods used to cook game such as venison, raccoon and squirrel.

Q: Has America’s Black cooking risen to the level of “cuisine” and does it really make any difference?
A. Some argue that there is evidence of a Eurocentric prejudice regarding the definition of “true cuisine” and recipes.

I had an interesting interview recently with Chef Jefferson Evans, the first African American to graduate (1947) from the institution that would become the Culinary Institute of America. When he speaks about his early run-ins with other instructors and chefs at the institution, he speaks about a strong opposition to techniques and ingredients that were non-European in tradition. He doesn’t consider this imposition, labeled as “rising to the level,” a good thing or an advantage.

In American culinary history, “scientific cooking” became popular at the turn of the 20th century based on cookbooks by Fannie Farmer, who promoted precise measures and “standards” which differed from the more creative and intuitive cooking used by most family cooks. Today, when I observe beginning cooks struggle with precise methods, I am reminded (of) what has been lost…namely creativity.

Our ancestors understood how ingredients change according to the region and the season and recipes need adjustments based on these fluctuations in change. Right now, I’m experiencing my yearly challenge with onions and garlic. One medium onion that has been stored through the winter is very different from one selected mid-July at a Farmer’s Market. What do I do? Use less; add a pinch of sugar; replace yellow onions with green onions…many of the things my grandmother (who rarely followed cookbooks) did to enhance a dish.

Q. Is Black American cooking homogeneous, or are there regional differences?
A. As with most foodway traditions, there are wide varieties of regional menu and recipe differences.
Nashville’s famous meat-and-three (diner and small cafe meals served with one meat selection accompanied by three vegetables such as greens, macaroni and cheese and creamed corn) offer an example of everyday regional menu distinctions. Special occasion menus identifiable by region include the sauerkraut which always accompanies holiday turkey in some parts of Maryland and the fresh oyster dressing was mandatory at my grandmother’s house.

Barbecue offers a good example of regional differences based on both local flavor choices, ingredients and available livestock. Today, included among the geographic barbecue styles we celebrate and appreciate are the mustard and vinegar-based Southeastern sauces over pork shoulders; Memphis-style ribs seasoned with dry rub; and Texas-style beef brisket and hot links. My favorite sweeter, tomato-based Kansas City brisket and ribs, offers another hybrid regional flavor.

Q. If a foreign visitor came to you and asked for three “must” stops on a “foodie” tour of Black American cooking, where would you send them?
A. Foreign is the operative word here. I would point someone looking to learn about Black American Cooking traditions in a different direction than I may or may not recommend for someone with a different objective.

Off the top of my head, with only three choices, I would send a foreign visitor to
B.Smith’s in Washington D.C.; Dooky Chase in New Orleans and Gates Barbecue in Kansas City. I would love feedback from your readers.

Q. Are the techniques and traditions of Black American cooking being picked up by the younger generations, or are they being lost to fast-food joints and the microwave oven?
A. I’m excited about how many young men and women from the younger generation are excited about learning more about Black American cooking traditions. Some regard learning about traditional ingredients and recipes as a means of honoring ancestors by maintaining traditions. Others express the intent of fostering strong Black cultural traditions with their children. Some, and I would consider this the majority, are motivated by wanting to recreate delicious food they remember around the dinner table.

The five most requested recipes from the younger generation in my family are: Gumbo, Yeast Rolls, Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Poppy Seed Cake and Pound Cake.

Q. There are two concurrent beliefs about “soul food.” One is that it’s good, but not good for you. The other is that it was been prepared in healthy ways, but loses out in the flavor department. What’s your take on this?
A. From Italian tiramisu, Mexican tamales, Jewish schmaltz and German strudels, many ethnic dishes and ingredients may not be what one wants to consume on a daily basis. But like all traditional ethnic cuisine, they play an important role in our holiday and special-occasion traditions. That’s why I feel it’s so important for young families to reserve Black American recipes and cooking traditions.

Because we’re concerned about healthy eating on a daily basis as well as supporting our First Lady’s campaign against childhood obesity, I think the notion of delicious, healthy versions of soul food, offers one of the most exciting things about our website.

I invite anyone who doesn’t believe that soul food can be healthy to try the “Alter-Ego” recipe on BlackAmericaCooks.com.

Photos courtesy of D. Pierce unless otherwise noted. Gumbo photo by James Camp.

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