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Each February, Black History Month celebrates the history, culture, and achievements of African Americans. This year BHM100 is marking "One Century of Honoring Black History" with an invitation to not only honor the past, but to also carry that legacy forward. In keeping with this theme, the University of Michigan Press is excited to highlight the oldest known cookbook published by a Black American woman. A Domestic Cook Book: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen by Malinda Russell was originally published in 1866 and finally republished for modern readers with a new edition in 2025.

While we know little about Russell’s life beyond what she recorded in the introduction to her cookbook, she reveals quite a bit about her successes and challenges. Despite facing multiple robberies, including one where they threatened her life, she spent years running a successful boarding house and a pastry shop. Born to freemen, she lived in Tennessee, Virginia, and Michigan, where she published A Domestic Cook Book to support herself and her son.

Since the book was first rediscovered in the early 2000s by historian Janice Bluestein Longone and digitized by the University of Michigan Library's Special Collections Research Center, many people have engaged with the book. It was featured in Eater and Atlas Obscura, and inspired a book of poetry called Grimoire by Charlene Sherrard (Autumn House Press, 2020).

In 2021, the Malinda Russell Testing Project was developed to “make every recipe in her ‘Domestic Cookbook’ (1866) accessible to today’s bakers.” According to William Rubel, these culinary historians have “baked over 100 of her recipes, most of which are desserts.” He added, “Malinda Russell’s 1866 cookbook is a jewel. A gifted cook with a passion for desserts, Russell drew on her sense of the latest trends in baking, along with her familiarity with the cookbooks of her time to create this brilliantly curated collection.”

Honoring Russell’s legacy, the 2025 edition aimed to make this book more accessible for readers. Not only is it the first time the book has been widely available across the country, but the open access edition was made accessible for readers who may have visual disabilities and allows anyone with an internet connection to engage in the historic cookbook for free.

In the past year, we have been excited to see stories of the book shared with the listeners of NPR’s Morning Edition, readers of Southern Living, and fans of Chef Sara Moulton. We hope readers will continue to enjoy the cookbook and honor the life of Malinda Russell for years to come!