The Taste of Country Cooking: 50th Anniversary Edition: A Cookbook (HC) (2026)

"A classic, showing Americans the bounty of Southern cuisine and influencing generations." --Melissa Clark, The New York Times

"Indispensable . . . An inspiration to all of us who are striving to protect both biodiversity and cultural diversity by cooking real food in season and honoring our heritage through the ritual of the table." --Alice Waters, James Beard award-winning chef and founder/owner of Chez Panisse

With the publication of The Taste of Country Cooking in 1976, Edna Lewis proclaimed the food of the American South one of the world's great cuisines. From the field greens and salads of spring; pan-fried chicken and crushed peaches in summer; preserves and sweet potatoes for fall; and hearty soups and stews during the cold winter months, Miss Lewis (as she was almost universally known) extolled the vir­tues of the good food of her childhood, spent in a Virginia farming community founded by her grandfather and his friends after Emancipation.

A celebration of eating locally--decades before "farm to table" became common parlance--the book showcases the joys of cooking with the seasons.

The 150 accessible recipes in its pages include:
-Baked Virginia Ham, Buttered Jerusalem Artichokes, and Rhubarb Pie in Spring
-Green Tomato Preserves, Wilted Lettuce with Hot Vinegar Dressing, and Fresh Blackberry Cobbler in Summer
-Crispy Biscuits, Green Bean Salad with Sliced Tomatoes, and Country-Fried Apples in Fall
-Oyster Stew, Pan-Braised Spareribs, and Coconut Layer Cake in Winter

An affirmation of a distinctly American way of eating, fifty years after its publica­tion, The Taste of Country Cooking remains the definitive book on Southern food.