“Because our recipes were seldom written down, we had to rely on momma’s and grandma’s experience and what we could learn by watching as they went about their chores in the kitchen” writes cookbook author Pearl Bowser. “The advantage of learning at grandmother’s elbow is discovering things which are not found in any book.” You learn how to season and cook food by “being there” when momma does it. Then one day somebody finally turns to you and tells you to make something like macaroni and cheese from scratch and you do it. “For this reason the soul food cook usually knows instinctively how much salt to add, when the grease in the pan is hot enough, and how long before it’s time to open the oven,” writes Bowser.
