There Was No American Regional Cuisine Until One ‘Virginia Housewife’ Thought to Compile a Diverse Collection of Recipes

 

Mary Randolph, an in-law of the Jefferson family who was influenced by enslaved cooks and traditions of European immigrants, didn’t change Southern cooking with her 1824 cookbook … she originated it                                                                 Michael Twitty’s technique for preparing okra soup evokes West African cooking traditions. His recipe includes a broth—either chicken or beef—that takes about an hour or two to create. Onions, garlic, tomatoes and other vegetables, and herbs such as thyme and sage add flavor. It is garnished with parsley. Scott Suchman

There was no instruction manual for Mary Randolph to refer to during the 13 years she spent running a Richmond, Virginia, boardinghouse. A wife, mother and entrepreneur in the early 1800s, she had to figure out the most efficient ways to complete her many tasks in the kitchen. Once she discovered what worked, Randolph compiled her refined cooking techniques and recipes into 1824’s The Virginia House-Wife, widely recognized as the seminal Southern cookbook.

Randolph’s work inevitably represents the melding of traditions without which Southern cooking could not be what it is today. The book’s nearly 500 recipes—many originating in plantation kitchens—not only speak to the South’s unique culinary heritage but also tell the story of trans-Atlantic nations. 

Mary Randolph contributed more than 40 recipes to the menu at Monticello. LOC

Born in 1762 on her family’s plantation in what is known today as the “Black Belt” of Virginia, where some 50 to 70 percent of the population were of African descent, Randolph was exposed to diverse cuisines early on. The enslaved cooks who prepared meals for her family upheld West African cooking traditions, using the ingredients that were most similar to those of their homeland. When visiting her brother, Thomas, and his wife, Martha (Thomas Jefferson’s daughter), at Monticello, Randolph would likely have enjoyed the cuisine prepared by enslaved cooks Edith Fossett and Fanny Hern, who had been taught by White House culinarian Honoré Julien. At Monticello, the women continued the work of formerly enslaved, French-trained master chef James Hemings, who became the first to prepare macaroni and cheese in the United States; The Virginia House-Wife is said to be the first U.S. cookbook to include a recipe for it.

The enslaved Africans and free people of color working around Randolph were central in introducing her to the foods and flavors that became the core of Southern cuisine. West Africans were fond of layered, spicy, one-pot stews with various starches; deep-fried proteins; vegetables and fritters; grilled and barbecued meats, and braised leafy greens. They used peppery spices to amplify or temper the key ingredients allowed them. For example, a muddy-flavored catfish became pleasant under the influence of turmeric, ginger and cayenne pepper. 

Randolph drew on other traditions too, incorporating oysters, wild game such as rabbit, and Indigenous crops like squash and pumpkin into her recipes. She included popular British dishes, such as plum pudding, as well as Spanish “gaspacho”; gumbo, described as a West Indian dish; East Indian curry; Scottish collops of veal; and French macarons, offering a glimpse at Virginia’s distinct demographics.