Tennessee-based, New York Times bestselling cookbook author Anne Byrn's new book, "Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and their Untold Stories," mixes the cookbook genre with historical nonfiction.
As part of her upcoming book tour, Byrn will attend the Sept. 14 Mississippi Book Festival at the State Capitol Building in Downtown Jackson.
Byrn's previous publications include "The Cake Mix Doctor" and "American Cake."
Byrn's newest cookbook, "Baking in the American South: 200 Recipes and their Untold Stories," publishes Sept. 3, and is different than a typical collection of Southern recipes.
The book still contains Southern classics such as pound cake and corn bread, but Byrn adds something different to the mix. Each recipe includes historical context and navigates the complicated and often unpleasant history surrounding the dishes, many of which predate the Civil War.
The book does not shy away from tough topics. For example, Byrn said many of the complex, involved recipes such as layered cakes and custards are the direct result of many Southerners having enslaved people who put in the labor.
"That's a difficult concept," Byrn said. "How do you navigate the concept of slavery in these recipes, in these histories? When I felt like it was difficult to write about, I let the recipe do the talking."
A journalist by trade, Byrn used her innate curiosity and story-telling skills to combine the recipes with their regions' histories.
"I always thought that someone else's story was more interesting than mine," Byrn said. "I've always been collecting stories from other people all my life … so I brought that to the book. I have a curious mind, so I thought, 'What if there's a baking book that really seeks to bring everybody together and is expansive in the way that it covers the South in 14 states?"
While traveling the South digging for these stories, Byrn aimed to uncover and illuminate the true nature of Southern baking, without sugar coating. She said most people tend to think of Southern history in a romanticized way, often picturing sprawling plantations or a scene from "Gone With the Wind." The reality, however, is that many Southern baking recipes stemmed from poverty.
"A lot of the South has just been poor and it has been rural," Byrn said. "And when you have poverty and you have rural surroundings, people are very isolated, and they have to fend for themselves. They have to cobble together meals. They have to grow and cook with what they have."
Byrn also emphasized the generational aspect of Southern baking.
"We didn't have the latest developments and we didn't have commercial bakeries or reams of cookbooks," Byrn said. "But, we may have had a family diary of cookbooks that was passed down from mother to daughter, and that's how recipes were preserved in the South."
Byrn is one of dozens of authors slated to speak on different panels during the 2024 Mississippi Book Festival on Sept. 14 in Jackson. The festival has not yet announced the panel schedule, but Byrn said she will be signing copies of "Baking in the American South."
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About "Baking in the American South"
- Author: Anne Byrn
- Publisher: Harper Celebrate
- Hard cover page count: 512 pages
- Hard cover price: $44.99
- On sale starting Sept. 3
Got a news tip? Contact Mary Boyte at mboyte@jackson.gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Author of 'Baking in the South' slated for MS Book Festival. Read details on cookbook here
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