Russell, Malinda
c.1812-unknown · Contribution: 1866
Author of the first known cookbook by an African American
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Impact on the world
Her 1866 'A Domestic Cook Book' is the earliest known complete cookbook authored by an African American, predating the previously credited Abby Fisher by 15 years; the only surviving copy was rediscovered in a box of books in the early 2000s and now resides at the University of Michigan.
Life & background
Born free in Tennessee around 1812 to a mother who had been emancipated, Russell worked as a cook, companion, and laundress before opening a pastry shop. After being robbed twice, including once by an armed group during the Civil War who threatened her life, she relocated to Paw Paw, Michigan, where she self-published 'A Domestic Cook Book: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen' in 1866, a 39-page collection of 250 recipes that stands as the earliest known complete cookbook by an African American.
Sources
- NPR (First known cookbook by a Black American woman); Detroit News
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