The Cooking Gene

“The real history is not in the food, it’s in the people. We are working against the loss of our cultural memory; against the consequences of institutional oppression; against indiscriminate and flagrant appropriation; and against courts of public opinion that question our authenticity, maturity, and motives in the revolutionary act of clarifying and owning our past.” (Twitty, 404)

 

Hear the voices of a black boy captured by the Natchez, a couple of mixed African origins that can’t get along, a white woman and her black mate, a black concubine to a white overseer, tri-racial groups living in mountains and swamps, and fifty languages—from Ladino to Cherokee to Kikongo to Gaelic to French and Canary Island Spanish and Serer—and you will understand how beautifully bewildering our heritage is, and why it was impossible to birth this cuisine anywhere else on the planet. (Twitty, 163)

 

The southeastern states contain some of the most delicious, flavorful foods in the country. Many characterize southern, or “soul” food as American cuisine, born in the United States. Through reading The Cooking Gene, by Michael Twitty I have come to realize that southern food has deep roots and a vast multi-ethnic background. The story of southern food is multifaceted; it is built on slavery, hardships, and a diminishing hold on the recollection of heritage, while also acting as an adhesive for community, empowering those who know it’s origins. I newly understand the depth of connection between people and their food. Southern cuisine is as complex in its derivation as those who created it. Its journey has been long, although only recently has ownership begun to be accurately allocated. Sadly, a great deal of cultural information has been lost due to little recording. Twitty has traced his heritage through food and connected it with modern day genealogy technology. The intricacies of his journey have helped me to understand why southern food is also called soul food.

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Restoring Heritage Grains

“Of the approximately 250,000 plant species on our planet, about 50,000 are edible, yet only 15 crops provide 90 percent of our calories. Wheat, corn, and rice provide 60 percent, yet only a tiny fraction of their vast biodiversity is grown in the modern field.” (Rogosa, 4)

“We do not need waving fields of monocropped grain like the Midwest mega-farms. Landrace wheat is a welcome addition to small scale, diversified cropping rotations. It builds soil, breaks disease cycles of vegetable crop pests and pathogens, and yields enough for a year’s supply of fresh-milled, homemade bread, or for a seed exchange, or a backyard seed company…” (Rogosa, 38)

 

Many producers and consumers alike regard wheat as a low value commodity crop, with little need to improve its nutritional value. Almost every culture grows and consumes wheat; some have cultivated it for over 12,000 years, making it the oldest domesticated crop. Although humans have learned a great deal through recent technological advances and industrialization, there is a singular mindset in wheat production. This mindset includes not weighing important variables, such as soil health and residual chemicals found in processed grain. Through heavy chemical use wheat is now grown uniformly, densely, and “efficiently” but is extremely weak, and lacks adequate nutrition. Education is required for small farmers to understand the benefits of landrace grains for both their land, and the health of their consumers. Knowledge of heritage grains must simultaneously be spread through communal discourse to create an accepting population of consumers.

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