The African Cookbook [Paperback]

Bea Sandler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2001

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Citadel (February 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806513985
• ISBN-13: 978-0806513980
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,210,486 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Outdated but Interesting, November 17, 2004

By 

Westley (Stuck in my head) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: The African Cookbook (Paperback)

"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.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars ok for the timid, but..., July 2, 2004

By 

erik swanson (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The African Cookbook (Paperback)

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.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely brilliiant!, November 28, 2002

By 

Mariangela Buch (Miami, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The African Cookbook (Paperback)

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.