Lost Treasure in Old Cookbooks

Regional recipe collections are filled with hidden gems

- JESSICA B. HARRIS

THE WELCOME TABLE

WITH THEIR distinctive spiral bindings and often torn and food-spattered paper covers, my beloved community cookbooks quietly distinguish themselves from the surrounding tomes on my shelves. Bearing names like The Black Family Reunion Cookbook (from the National Council of Negro Women) and Cane River Cuisine: Louisiana's Finest Recipes (from the Service League of Natchitoches), they are snapshots of a time and place.

Titles created in the mid-20th century feature dishes like glistening, jiggly aspics and cheese balls enrobed in crushed pecans. Thumbing through them is a delight—a trip down cooking’s memory lane. Today’s offerings often tout the virtues of various superfoods or devices like Instant Pots and air fryers. But no matter the era, a lot of the dishes have been passed down for generations within families. Publishing them is a way to honor the cooks and ensure the recipes aren't lost to time.

Many of these books, like