"A former slave, Mrs Fisher came from Mobile, Alabama and began cooking for San Francisco society in the late 1870's"--Back cover.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

This special edition of "What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking" was written by Mrs. Abby Fisher, and first published in 1881. Mrs. Fisher was "Awarded Two Medals at the San Francisco Mechanics Institute Fair, 1880, for the best pickles and the best assortment of jams and jellies," and went on to write this cook book of her down-home comfort food. Some of the sections featured include Breakfast Breads, Roast Meats, Croquettes, Cakes, Pickles, Sauces, Pies, Salads, Soups, Chowders, and more. IMPORTANT NOTE - Please read BEFORE buying! THIS BOOK IS A REPRINT. IT IS NOT AN ORIGINAL COPY. This book is a reprint edition and is a perfect facsimile of the original book. It is not set in a modern typeface and has not been digitally rendered. As a result, some characters and images might suffer from slight imperfections, blurring, or minor shadows in the page background. This book appears exactly as it did when it was first printed.

"What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Southern Cooking" is a cookbook published in 1881 by former slave Abby Fisher who moved from Alabama to San Francisco. A wonderful collection of 160 authentic and tasty recipes of the Old South. It is one of the first cookbooks written by an African-American and remains one of the best.

What Mrs. Fisher knows about Old Southern Cooking by Mrs. Abby Fisher, former Slave of Mobile, Alabama. The publication of a book on my knowledge and experience of Southern Cooking, Pickle and Jelly Making, has been frequently asked of me by my lady friends and patrons in San Francisco and Oakland, and also by ladies of Sacramento during the State Fair in 1879. Not being able to read or write myself, and my husband also having been without the advantages of an education--upon whom would devolve the writing of the book at my dictation--caused me to doubt whether I would be able to present a work that would give perfect satisfaction. But, after due consideration, I concluded to bring forward a book of my knowledge--based on an experience of upwards of thirty-five years--in the art of cooking Soups, Gumbos, Terrapin Stews, Meat Stews, Baked and Roast Meats, Pastries, Pies and Biscuits, making Jellies, Pickles, Sauces, Ice-Creams and Jams, preserving Fruits, etc. The book will be found a complete instructor, so that a child can understand it and learn the art of cooking. Respectfully, MRS. ABBY FISHER, Late of Mobile, Ala. EXAMPLE: Pap for Infant Diet. Take one pint of flour, sift it and tie it up in a clean cloth securely tight, so that no water can get into it; and put it in boiling water and let it boil steady for two hours, then take it out of water, and when it gets cold take outside crust from it. Whenever you are ready to nurse or feed the child, grate one tablespoonful of the boiled flour, and stir it into half a pint of boiled milk while the milk is boiling; sweeten the same with white sugar to taste. When the child has diarrhea, boil a two-inch stick of cinnamon in the pap. I have given birth to eleven children and raised them all, and nursed them with this diet. It is a Southern plantation preparation.

Includes nearly 600 mouth-watering recipes: chicken gumbo, chestnut stuffing with truffles, cherry dumplings, southern style waffles, and scores of other dishes from haute cuisine to family-style meals.

“A celebration of African American cuisine right now, in all of its abundance and variety.”—Tejal Rao, The New York Times JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER • IACP AWARD WINNER • IACP BOOK OF THE YEAR • TONI TIPTON-MARTIN NAMED THE 2021 JULIA CHILD AWARD RECIPIENT NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • The New Yorker • NPR • Chicago Tribune • The Atlantic • BuzzFeed • Food52 Throughout her career, Toni Tipton-Martin has shed new light on the history, breadth, and depth of African American cuisine. She’s introduced us to black cooks, some long forgotten, who established much of what’s considered to be our national cuisine. After all, if Thomas Jefferson introduced French haute cuisine to this country, who do you think actually cooked it? In Jubilee, Tipton-Martin brings these masters into our kitchens. Through recipes and stories, we cook along with these pioneering figures, from enslaved chefs to middle- and upper-class writers and entrepreneurs. With more than 100 recipes, from classics such as Sweet Potato Biscuits, Seafood Gumbo, Buttermilk Fried Chicken, and Pecan Pie with Bourbon to lesser-known but even more decadent dishes like Bourbon & Apple Hot Toddies, Spoon Bread, and Baked Ham Glazed with Champagne, Jubilee presents techniques, ingredients, and dishes that show the roots of African American cooking—deeply beautiful, culturally diverse, fit for celebration. Praise for Jubilee “There are precious few feelings as nice as one that comes from falling in love with a cookbook. . . . New techniques, new flavors, new narratives—everything so thrilling you want to make the recipes over and over again . . . this has been my experience with Toni Tipton-Martin’s Jubilee.”—Sam Sifton, The New York Times “Despite their deep roots, the recipes—even the oldest ones—feel fresh and modern, a testament to the essentiality of African-American gastronomy to all of American cuisine.”—The New Yorker “Jubilee is part-essential history lesson, part-brilliantly researched culinary artifact, and wholly functional, not to mention deeply delicious.”—Kitchn “Tipton-Martin has given us the gift of a clear view of the generosity of the black hands that have flavored and shaped American cuisine for over two centuries.”—Taste