Biographical Readings Week 1, The Cooking Gene by Michael W. Twitty
Chapter 17 – The Devil’s Half Acer
Twitty discusses his exploration into the origins of his name and the relevance of cooking and cooking knowledge in the slave markets. He begins by discussing his research into the Grandfather “Washington” who left slavery with the name Twitty and his journey and life in America. Twitty traces his ancestry back to four Lancaster County, South Carolina, in which five white families owned and regularly traded slaves amongst themselves. Of these five families (the Twitty’s, Stewarts, Cauthens, Masseys, and Blackmons) Twitty finds the records of his great-great-great grandfather’s sale to the Blackmons in 1860, along with his father and brother. Due to the close nature of these families, Washington was given as part of a dowry in a marriage between the Blackmons and the Twitty’s and consequently separated from his father and brother. Having changed ownership before being freed, he left with the name Twitty. I wish there was more personal reflection from Twitty on his name, not that he owes it to I, us his view on his name and how it is associated with his identity could be really powerful. This section got me thinking a lot about my associations with both my first and family names and how they reflect on my family connections and my identities.
Twitty briefly explores the popularity of a slave trained in cooking, particularly English and French-style cooking. He discusses a project created by Chefs Kevin Mitchell and David Sheilds, along with Professor David Sheilds in which they complied newspaper advertisements for cooks for sale in Charleston, South Carolina. Reading through the few Twitty included, I struggled to keep going as it is not often you see the actual words used to sell a human being. I am not going to try and type them out but they are on page 325 of my copy.
Chapter 18 – The Kings Cuisine
“I am still convinced cotton is something only the Lord could have created. What good is its fiber to anything else in Creation, but humankind?” (pg.342)
This chapter is focused on Cotton and its direct effect on the experience of enslaved people. The part if the chapter I found most captivating was also dark in nature, referencing the constant sexual abuse of enslaved women on Cotton plantations, and a specific story including his great-great-great grandmother Sallie. Twitty writes about the use of a very specific tea made from the roots of cotton plants, used in performing abortions in circumstances of rape or incest.
“It was a special tea, meant only for the most vile and disastrous situations; and so well guarded that its use was never told to slaveholders on pain of death, namely because it could literally kill their business of breeding new workers.” (pg.343)
Twittys seems to have mixed feelings on Cotton, citing instances of triumph and oppression that have stemmed from the crop. He claims to see the beauty in the same sentence he seems to grieve the pre-colonial diet he credits cotton with destroying, writing in a way that demonstrates the personification that Twitty obviously has given to plants, one that allowed him to have such complex feeling on a plant that one might have on a problematic relative.
“King Cotton had its own way of eating; and in contrast to the diversity of foodways from the mid-Atlantic to the Lower Mississippi Valley, the stars of King Cotten’s cuisine were maize and oversalted swine, swallowed down with rancid molasses and spoiled leftovers. In the King’s grip, a killer diet was born.” (pg.344)
Twitty goes on to discuss the impacts of slavery on the nutrition of enslaved and formerly enslaved people, specifically those residing on Cotton plantations. Despite having been legally freed, many people were forced to remain in similar lifestyles as they had no money to start a new life. Twitty tells the story of turning his nose up at cornbread sprinkled in his buttermilk and his grandmother’s disapproval before he knew the history behind this historic food habit. Having spent time working and living on a cotton plantation, and eating the meals slaves would have had after a day of doing so, he compares the two meals and habits, explaining that the 1800’s meal was almost inedible without dropping the starch in the milk. The diet of an enslaved or formerly enslaved person was one that left the consumer vulnerable to a variety of malnutrition-based diseases, as many vitamin-rich vegetables, fruits, and protein-rich meats were all but unavailable for most. Twitty also later references the debate about the sweet potato as a dietary staple which I didn’t know existed.
Chapter 19- Crossroads
“Our food was never just food. It was medicine and a gateway to good fortune, and a mystical lubricant between the living and the dead.” (pg.365)
In chapter 19, Twitty explores the relationship between food, religion, spirituality, and superstition by retelling memories and beliefs of his own as well as exploring the role of food in historically spiritually involved ceremonies. I enjoyed reading about his more common superstitious beliefs such as throwing spilled salt, as well as ones that stemmed from his lived experiences. Early in the chapter, he tells the story of a lie to his grandmother that stemmed a childhood fear and an adulthood aversion to piggy banks. Twitty discusses how slavery changed the black experience with religion, exploring the beliefs existing in much African spirituality prior to slavery and their connection to food and existing practices. This chapter has inspired some of my “expressions” work that I have planned for the quarter, and I will hopefully get to recreate the black-eyed peas recipe.