The African Cookbook
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Manufacturer: Citadel
Publisher: Citadel
Author: Bea Sandler
The African Cookbook Description
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.596
EAN: 9780806513980
ISBN: 0806513985
Label: Citadel
Manufacturer: Citadel
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2001-02-01
Publisher: Citadel
Product Release Date: 1993-02-01
Studio: Citadel
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.596
EAN: 9780806513980
ISBN: 0806513985
Label: Citadel
Manufacturer: Citadel
Number Of Items: 1
Book Pages: 256
Publication Date: 2001-02-01
Publisher: Citadel
Product Release Date: 1993-02-01
Studio: Citadel
Editorial Review of The African Cookbook
A national food magazine editor for years, gifted cook, lecturer, and restaurant consultant, the late Bea Sandler traveled throughout Africa collecting recipes and learning about African eating customs and methods of food preparation. Here are menus for complete meals from 11 African countries: Senegal, the Sudan, Mozambique, the Malagasy Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, South Africa, Morocco, Ghana, and Tanzania. She has devoted a chapter to each country, telling something about the food and serving customs and offering suggestions on how an American might present an African meal with some degree of authenticity and arranged by courses.
Customer Reviews of The African Cookbook
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Excellent
Review: Gave as a gift to a friend who went to africa on mission trip. This book has recipes from several regions. I even made one of the recipes in the book, excellent choice!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not at all representative of Aftrican Cooking
Review: I had an african friend look at this cookbook, and was told that the recipes do not represent true african cooking. He suspects that the author at with the upper crust of African society, and the cookbook is so colored. In an example of the inaccuracies of the cookbook, Dagga is represented as consisting of dried fish from Scandinavia. The ordinary people do not have money to buy these products: it is actually small dried prawns.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Outdated but Interesting
Review: "The African Cookbook" was initially published in 1970 and represented one of the first widely available cookbooks to explore the cuisine of Africa. Author Bea Sandler (who is now deceased) traveled extensively in Africa, and this cookbook was her attempt to introduce regional African food to America. Chapters cover different countries, including Ethiopia, Morocco, and Senegal. Some of the recipes are likely to be familiar to many cooks who have never before read an African cookbook (e.g., chapattis, couscous), but some are refreshingly unfamiliar. Each chapter describes how to put together an entire meal typical of that country, which is likely to appeal to many readers. Additionally, Sandler includes some nice anecdotes, such as the use of pieces of bread as a "tablecloth" of sorts that was common in Ethiopia. Thus, the reader gets some idea about the country's culture (or at least the culture circa 1970).
Although the all-meal approach is interesting and likely to appeal to many readers, it does have a drawback. Specifically, the author seems to expect that readers will make all the recipes in a particular chapter. The result is that many of the dishes made alone do not have much flair of Africa. For example, I made the braised cabbage, which consisted of cabbage and onion simmered in beef broth with some crushed red peppers. The dish was fine, but it didn't exactly sweep me away to Africa or make me feel like I was making anything unusual. I'm sure that the dish makes more sense in the context of the full meal.
The recipes are also presented in a confusing format - specifically, each ingredient is listed when it is to be added to the recipe. Thus, the ingredients are scattered throughout the recipe directions, making it somewhat difficult to gather together everything you need. The author tries to solve this problem by including a "shopping list" for each chapter, but these lists essentially include what you'd need to make every single recipe in the chapter. In addition, as happens with some foreign cuisine cookbooks, some of the ingredients are not explained in enough detail, such as "salad herbs."
In sum, this cookbook is of importance due to its historical place in helping to bring African cuisine to American readers, and some of the stories are interesting. However, some of the formatting issues and the outdated feel of the cookbook made it less than ideal for me. Recommended with reservations.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: ok for the timid, but...
Review: I bought this book from a used book store to bolster my library of african cookbooks (of which, until recently, there are precious few). In general, I found the book a disappointment. The author uses too many packaged foods and cuts spice levels to the point that the dishes are bland facsimiles of themselves, almost unrecognizable. There are other dishes which hardly qualify as african: roast beef, for example.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Absolutely brilliiant!
Review: Simple recipes that include chicken stews, fried cheese, coffee desserts, and entire buffet menus. As a teacher of African American Studies, I use this book to teach to my students. It's very helpful, resourceful, easy, and fun.
Review Summary: Excellent
Review: Gave as a gift to a friend who went to africa on mission trip. This book has recipes from several regions. I even made one of the recipes in the book, excellent choice!
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Not at all representative of Aftrican Cooking
Review: I had an african friend look at this cookbook, and was told that the recipes do not represent true african cooking. He suspects that the author at with the upper crust of African society, and the cookbook is so colored. In an example of the inaccuracies of the cookbook, Dagga is represented as consisting of dried fish from Scandinavia. The ordinary people do not have money to buy these products: it is actually small dried prawns.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Outdated but Interesting
Review: "The African Cookbook" was initially published in 1970 and represented one of the first widely available cookbooks to explore the cuisine of Africa. Author Bea Sandler (who is now deceased) traveled extensively in Africa, and this cookbook was her attempt to introduce regional African food to America. Chapters cover different countries, including Ethiopia, Morocco, and Senegal. Some of the recipes are likely to be familiar to many cooks who have never before read an African cookbook (e.g., chapattis, couscous), but some are refreshingly unfamiliar. Each chapter describes how to put together an entire meal typical of that country, which is likely to appeal to many readers. Additionally, Sandler includes some nice anecdotes, such as the use of pieces of bread as a "tablecloth" of sorts that was common in Ethiopia. Thus, the reader gets some idea about the country's culture (or at least the culture circa 1970).
Although the all-meal approach is interesting and likely to appeal to many readers, it does have a drawback. Specifically, the author seems to expect that readers will make all the recipes in a particular chapter. The result is that many of the dishes made alone do not have much flair of Africa. For example, I made the braised cabbage, which consisted of cabbage and onion simmered in beef broth with some crushed red peppers. The dish was fine, but it didn't exactly sweep me away to Africa or make me feel like I was making anything unusual. I'm sure that the dish makes more sense in the context of the full meal.
The recipes are also presented in a confusing format - specifically, each ingredient is listed when it is to be added to the recipe. Thus, the ingredients are scattered throughout the recipe directions, making it somewhat difficult to gather together everything you need. The author tries to solve this problem by including a "shopping list" for each chapter, but these lists essentially include what you'd need to make every single recipe in the chapter. In addition, as happens with some foreign cuisine cookbooks, some of the ingredients are not explained in enough detail, such as "salad herbs."
In sum, this cookbook is of importance due to its historical place in helping to bring African cuisine to American readers, and some of the stories are interesting. However, some of the formatting issues and the outdated feel of the cookbook made it less than ideal for me. Recommended with reservations.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: ok for the timid, but...
Review: I bought this book from a used book store to bolster my library of african cookbooks (of which, until recently, there are precious few). In general, I found the book a disappointment. The author uses too many packaged foods and cuts spice levels to the point that the dishes are bland facsimiles of themselves, almost unrecognizable. There are other dishes which hardly qualify as african: roast beef, for example.
When it was first published, the author's changes were no doubt welcomed by timid american cooks. now that our palates have become more sophisticated, we must demand more authenticity from "ethnic" cookbooks. Other african cookbooks deliver. This does not.
Customer Rating:
Review Summary: Absolutely brilliiant!
Review: Simple recipes that include chicken stews, fried cheese, coffee desserts, and entire buffet menus. As a teacher of African American Studies, I use this book to teach to my students. It's very helpful, resourceful, easy, and fun.