Exploring the Foodways of Black Appalachia Means Exploring Its Families

"Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts" is equal parts memoir, heirloom, and secret recipe.

For as long as she can remember, Crystal Wilkinson has made many meals with her late grandmother’s yellow mixing bowl. The mixing bowl is a family heirloom that has survived nearly 75 years—and it is something that Wilkinson hopes will be passed down to future generations. In addition to the mixing bowl, the author, professor, novelist, and poet also treasures a set of wooden spoons and two hand sifters. These items are essential for Wilkinson’s kitchen today. And they are items that she believes future generations will distinctly remember her by.

In her forthcoming culinary memoir, Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts, Wilkinson excavates a unique culinary history of her family who has resided in the hills of Appalachia for the last five decades. A term attributed to writer and scholar Frank X Walker, Affrilachia, or Black Appalachia, is approximately 10% of the estimated 26 million people residing in or near the Appalachian Mountain region which stretches across 13 states. In addition to generations of African American contributions to food preservation techniques, this region has a rich history of foodways that center on fresh, seasonal ingredients. Delicious staples like poke salad, johnny cakes, and bourbon-inspired baked goods are in the recipe books of many Affrilachians.

By including the stories and recipes of generations of cooks who prepared meals with love not solely for their own families but for the community, Wilkinson illuminates the significance of family bonds through food. The book honors the “kitchen ancestors” while providing a framework for families to create new culinary traditions.

“Right now, Black people are rewriting the history of American cuisine, and that starts with what individual families are cooking,” says Wilkinson. “We should be thinking about what we learn from each other through food,” she continues.

Wilkinson learned about her ancestors and the food she made while researching for her memoir. One discovery was especially enlightening. Wilkinson learned that her fourth great-grandmother, Abby of Color, was given a set of kitchen tools—and these utensils were the catalyst for generations of cooks who not only fed the Wilkinsons but fed many other members of the community as well.

Growing up in her grandmother’s kitchen, Wilkinson also saw firsthand how important food is to parenting Black children. “Cooking is indeed a tool for teaching your children,” she explains. “It is important to include your children in the process. Don’t shoo them away. Buy them that knife set. Buy them that kitchen set. Give them tasks and tell them stories,” she emphasizes.

Children’s book author Alliah L. Agostini agrees. In her forthcoming book, The Juneteenth Cookbook: Recipes and Activities for Kids and Families to Celebrate, the author includes her late maternal grandmother’s ‘Calico Potato Salad recipe as one of the signature dishes alongside fun, creative cooking activities that are centered around Juneteenth.

“My grandmother was a retired dietician and home economics teacher who put her foot into everything she made. No cookout was complete without her creamy potato salad…and I fondly remember so many bites of the dishes she made and being her sous-chef in her turquoise-accented kitchen, where I still feel her presence!” says Agostini.

For Black families, in particular, culinary exploration is a great conversation starter and history lesson.

“I would encourage young families to bring out photographs of their ancestors and encourage children to make good use of their imaginations. ‘You know, your great-grandmother was born in 1940. Can you imagine what she might have been eating or preparing during this time period?’” advises Wilkinson. “Even if you don’t have photographs from people in your own family, you can still discuss what cooking might have been like in a particular time period. What tools were they using? How did they grow and store the food?”

One topic that Wilkinson discussed with her own children (and now grandchildren) centered on the rations of salt pork present in many of the family recipes. “Since my children were raised vegetarians, they always wanted to know about this. And I told them how salt pork was preserved and why it was given to our enslaved ancestors.”

In culinary exploration, parents and caregivers have the ability to practice mindful eating. This does not only entail being conscious about the nutrients in the meals you serve your families, but mindful eating means being conscious about the history of the food and how it is processed.

“The week that I put the biscuit recipe on social media, a family sent me a photograph of the entire family making the biscuit recipe. It wasn’t just the woman cooking, but it was an entire family affair. This is what families can do to start or create traditions,” says Wilkinson.

Both Wilkinson and Agostini advise expanding family recipes or creating brand-new food traditions altogether.

“My favorite Juneteenth treat has always been snow cones. And now, my children have created their own snow cone concoctions. It’s glorious!” says Agostini.

Wilkinson’s children (and grandchildren) adore a green jello recipe that she threw together in the 1970s. “My children think that this green jello mess that I make is a family tradition. Outsiders are always like, Oh, my God, what is that? It's got cottage cheese, pineapples, pecans, and marshmallows…and all of these things that don't seem like they belong together. But the kids love it and gobble it up! Even though they're all adults now, it is a tradition in our family. It's an odd one. But it’s also a treasured one.”

There is such vast diversity within African American foodways which includes preparation, cooking, and storytelling. Creating new food traditions while exploring familial food histories works against the homogenization of Blackness. Among that oneness, families can honor the multiple pasts and ways of being.

“You may not realize it right now, but what you do today with your children in the kitchen will last for many lifetimes,” says Wilkinson. “My ancestors are always with me…while I’m chopping or stirring or standing at the stove. The art of cooking and engaging with my kitchen ghosts made me realize that food is never just about the present – every dish, every slice, every crumb and kernel also tethers us to the past.”

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