Mammy: The Hand That Rocked the South

by Patricia B. Mitchell (Illustrator)

Using primary source material, Patricia Mitchell describes the role of Mammy her influence; the devotion often felt between this iconic figure and the family dependent upon her; her tasks; and some of her recipes. Moving accounts and poems, as well as reproductions of images of actual mammies, bring to life Mammy: The Hand that Rocked the South. Abundant endnotes reveal Patricia's sources so that interested readers can delve even deeper into this fascinating topic.

Some recipes in the book include Chicken Patties, Persimmon Cornbread, and Mammy Ellen's Spiced Ginger Cake.

This stirring tribute is a worthwhile addition to the book collection of all those interested in the history of African-American culture and cuisine.

37 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Patricia Mitchell began foodwriting as a contributor to The Community Standard magazine in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the early 1970's. After she and her husband Henry returned to their hometown of Chatham, Virginia, in 1975, Patricia put her writing on the “back burner” while restoring an old home (the Sims-Mitchell House, which the Mitchells operated as a bed and breakfast for over twenty years) and starting a family (now her collaborators Sarah, David, and Jonathan). In 1986, requests from B&B guests helped motivate Patricia to compile some of her recipes into book form. In a providential turn of events, a visiting museum director asked to purchase some of the little books for resale in his museum's shop. Soon a re-order came, with suggestions for an even greater emphasis on food history.

Through the years, the resulting Inkling Series has included over a hundred titles, selling over three-quarters of a million copies at museums, historic sites, bookstores, and shops in 49 states and internationally.

Poring through diaries, letters, microfilmed records, and mountains of old books, Patricia spends endless enjoyable hours in her search for clues to Americans' eating habits and cooking techniques of years gone by.

Reviews

[F Rahlo Leonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great shirt read

I've been reading Patricia Mitchell books for years and haven't found 1 I didn't like. From ones with recipes to ones with stories like this one, I love the research she takes time to do before publishing.

[Stephanie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've had an interest in mammy historiography since reading Slave in a Box: The Strange Career of Aunt Jemima, so I picked this up for pocket change at the Frederick Douglass National Historical Site in DC. On reflection, that's a very odd place for this little book (really more of a pamphlet) to be lurking, given that Mitchell's "stirring tribute" to the mammy alchemizes 40 pages of personal testimony, poetry, and recipes into a fairly blatant slavery apologetic. In fairness to Mitchell, this subject does seem to lend itself to that kind of outcome, but, well, I don't really want to be fair to Mitchell. I'd give her half a star if I could.

But then the rating system can be a bit deceptive in this kind of situation-- I can't see myself giving Notes on the State of Virginia a five-star rating, either. But that doesn't mean I regret reading it. That's U.S. history for you.