Spirit of the Harvest: North American Indian Cooking

by Beverly Cox, Martin Jacobs

The reissued James Beard and IACP award winner Spirit of the Harvest brings authentic Native American recipes into the modern home kitchen. This carefully researched cookbook presents 150 recipes from across the United States, incorporating many indigenous ingredients and traditional dishes from the Cherokee, Chippewa, Navajo, Sioux, Mohegan, Iroquois, Comanche, Hopi, and many other North American tribes. Each chapter is introduced by an expert on the region and discusses the cultures of major tribal groups, their diets, their ceremonial use of food, and the historic dishes they developed. Spirit of the Harvest celebrates the many cooking traditions that have stood the test of time and are still very much alive today.

Praise for Spirit of the

“Those readers who are unfamiliar with the amazing natural bounty of food that this country provides . . . are in for a real surprise.”
— Spirituality and Health


“Most of us have scant knowledge about what might be called the original American cuisine. Beverly Cox and Martin Jacobs offer the book to right that wrong.”
—Today’s Diet and Nutrition

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Indigenous, Native American, Food, Nonfiction, History

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Kitchen Tourist · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my favorite of the Native American cookbooks I found as I was researching recipes for our Thanksgiving feast. The book's organization makes it easy to find local recipes and learn more about the tribes that prepared the food and the evolution of the recipes. Each recipe is illustrated with a large full-color photograph, so it's a beautiful book to browse as well.

This will definitely be going on my wishlist - I'd love to continue trying more of these recipes.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

A variety of interesting recipes, but very anglicized. For example, a standard tortilla recipe is listed as "Ute tortillas," which if fried is then listed as "fry bread." While there's much worth cooking here, it's obviously written by a food stylist from Cooks Illustrated & a food photographer rather than by a tribal historian. Thankfully, there are several more useful contemporary books and this one is best left in the shadow of those.

[K · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked the pumpkin and ground beef recipe, as well as the strawberry bread recipe. In my opinion, the ingredients are easy to find but the dishes are somewhat under-seasoned. I suppose this is to stay true to tradition, but I often had better results by adding more seasoning or ingredients, then tasting as I went. The book is a solid guideline for the dishes, but creativity and personal additions are what really make them shine.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book, especially the information about pre-colonial foods. I'd really like to try some of these - perhaps a nice addition to the Thanksgiving table? Some of the ingredients are difficult to source, but in most cases, the authors have provided ideas for alternatives.

[Lauren Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this book on travel several years ago and have used it many times - it's fun and educational to cook up a Native Harvest Feast, and the guests love it too. I've also converted several of the recipes to vegetarian and even vegan to accommodate various guests.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mmmm. So much delicious. Only thing I'd say is that the recipes occasionally feel a little bland to my palate, but then I tend to like very robust spice profiles.

[Katterley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed the ease of use with this cookbook and found the recipes meshed with the knowledge of the cultures I was most familiar. I recommend this cook book.

[Amber Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great recipes, the kind that impress guests to no end.

[Eric Hines]

food & cooking