About this guide
This research guide presents a selection of nonfiction sources on the history, study, and practice of the food and foodways of the Southern region of the United States. Foodways, in a nutshell, is the place where folklore and food meet - how family and community practices influence cooking, often with distinctive regional or local results.
The South has long possessed one of the most distinctive food styles in the United States. That style is enjoying recent national popularity with celebrity chefs and television personalities such as Emeril Lagasse and Paula Deen. But Southern cooking is often at its best far away from the limelight, and is in fact far more localized than many Americans realize. In other words, it’s not all biscuits, fried chicken, and collard greens.
The sources listed in this guide are intended as both introduction and assistance with in-depth investigation for the researcher. Many of the detailed sources listed here emphasize the highly local nature of Southern foodways. Most focus on preservation of traditional food practices, while modern adaptations of these practices are only somewhat discussed.
Many more sources are available on Southern food and foodways than are listed here - it is in no way intended to be comprehensive. With that said, the section of suggested search terms should be helpful for the researcher who carries his or her investigations beyond the scope of this guide.
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Copyright © 2005-2007 Jamene Brooks-Kieffer. Email jbkieffer@gmail.com
Created December 4, 2005. Last updated January 21, 2007.