The Soul Food Cookbook Today: Changing The Soul Food Cooking Game

Soul food cookbook back in style? Yes! Because of the economic downturn of late, more people are eating more meals at home and saving money in the process. That means more people from the fast food generation of the past are learning how to cook, many for the first time. This has caused a renewed interest in cooking in general and recipes in particular.  Because of the ease of preparation and the comfort food feeling it gives,  the interest in southern food is growing fast. The south has risen again, at least when it comes to recipes and cooking.

Soul food cooking has emerged as a skill of renewed interest to many African American families who continue to look for ways to stretch their food budgets.  “When times were the toughest for our ancestors, they knew they could always turn to their traditional food for comfort and economic stability. Our great grandmothers and grandmothers always new how to stretch a meal, now the recession is forcing us to take another look at how they did it,” says Martha  Hastings,  former Howard University, Black History Professor.

Soul food cookbooks continue to  experience a surge in interest as evidence of this growing trend. With today’s  health conscious consumer,  more cookbooks are changing to meet that challenge. Many of today’s  southern recipe books have eliminated the unhealthy ingredients associated with soul food of the past. For example, many have excluded high-fat pork products, which also contains large amounts of sodium.

You’ll find more recipes containing more natural seasonings and spices to satisfy the increasing numbers of people watching their health and their diets. These changes is quickly changing the cooking landscape when it comes to southern food.  No doubt more soul food cookbook publishers are watching the sales figures closely to see if the upward trend continues. Stay tuned!