Research Guides: Arkansas Foodways and Cookbooks: Home

About this guide

Photo of a group of people eating watermelon. Photo: Mabelvale Home Demonstrations Club Records (MC 1640), box 5 folder 1. Special Collections, University of Arkansas Libraries, Fayetteville.

This is a guide to the Arkansas foodways materials and cookbooks of the Special Collections division of the University of Arkansas Libraries. Special Collections supports research and writing in Arkansas studies through the ongoing development of a comprehensive collection of Arkansas print material. The Arkansas Collection includes more than 70,000 titles across the spectrum of knowledge, from history and religion to arts and sciences and beyond. Special Collections aims to represent every aspect of Arkansas print culture and history. It includes non-fiction, fiction, poetry, and cookbooks.

This guide is intended to give researchers an introduction to Arkansas regional foodways, cookbooks and other food-based cultural material housed in Special Collections. There are more than 1,800 cookbooks in the Arkansas Collection, almost all of which were compiled by local communities within the state as a part of fundraising efforts; a tradition dating back to the civil war.All of these materials and more are available for viewing in the Special Collections Reading Room.

Published sources for background information on Foodways

An Arkansas Folklore Sourcebook
Call Number: GR110.A8 A75 1992
ISBN: 1557282544
This book illustrates that because Arkansas wasn’t settled by just one ethnic group, establishing commonalties for the entire state is difficult. Compounding the issue is that the state is comprised of more than one topographic region. The agricultural, plantation culture of the Arkansas delta is quite a different culture than the mountainous, frontiersman culture of the Ozark region. Wild game was an important part of 19th century Arkansans all over the state, and pork was the primary domesticated meat source. Corn was the main agricultural crop for early settlers, with molasses taking the place of sugar, which was scarce.
Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating in the Natural State
Call Number: TX715.2.S68 R635 2018
ISBN: 9780999873427
Fun facts about the origins of many different foods that one will experience in Arkansas, such as the invention of cheese dip in the state and the ubiquity of biscuits with chocolate gravy are collected here.
Arkansauce
Call Number: TX715 .A759
ISSN: 2158-723X
Arkansauce is a yearly publication of the Special Collections Division of the University of Arkansas libraries, and offers articles from Arkansas’ most distinguished historians on Arkansas cuisine, past and present. Reminisces of childhood memories in the kitchen and of famous Arkansas eateries are collected in this journal.
Classic Eateries of the Arkansas Delta
Call Number: TX907.3.A8 R62 2014
ISBN:1626197563
Bobby Gardner's Sno-White's in Pine Bluff, Craig's Bar-B-Q in DeVall's Bluff, and Cotham's Mercantile in Scott are some of the iconic Arkansas eateries memorialized here.
Colonial Arkansas, 1686-1804: A Social and Cultural History
Call Number: F411 .A788 1991
ISBN:1557282226
In 1673, the French came to Arkansas by way of the Mississippi river, with the intention to establish a base for fur trade with the Quapaw, and in 1686, Arkansas Post was established. Later, the Spanish arrived, and the traditions off all three groups began to intermingle.
An Ozark Culinary History: Northwest Arkansas Traditions from Corn Dodgers to Squirrel Meatloaf
Until a blight came and destroyed the industry, Northwest Arkansas dominated the apple industry. Wineries and chicken farming are a few of the agricultural industries that define the region today. This book includes historic recipes collected by Arkansas Chef, Erin Rowe.
Sisters, Seeds and Cedars: Rediscovering 19th century Life though correspondence from rural Arkansas and Alabama
Call Number: F411 .S58 1995
ISBN: 0944436145
The United States of America is composed of many different cultures and societies, that over time have become interwoven with each other to create traditions as unique as the ones they were founded upon. This book presents the letters of 19th and early 20th century families that moved from Alabama to Arkansas, and through these letters, recipes are exchanged between friends and family.
Southern Foodways and Culture: Local Considerations and Beyond
Call Number: GN2 .S9243
ISBN:9780984644544
Written from an anthropological perspective, this book resulted from the annual meeting of the Southern Anthropological Society in Oxford Mississippi. The Southern Foodways Alliance, housed in the University of Mississippi’s Center for the Study of Southern Culture, documents southern culture and food. Food is more than just nutrition; it also has spiritual and medicinal value to a community, and it is closely intertwined with history. This is a collection of selected papers with an ethnographic focus on topics such as foraging, obesity in the Arkansas Delta, and how indigenous groups used medicinal plants.
Food Habits and Meal Planning Strategies in a Rural Community in the Arkansas Ozarks
Call Number: GN2 .S9243 no.41
SBN:9780984644544
A dissertation compiled from detailed interviews and data from 65 rural households in the Ozarks about their decisions in food choices and meal planning practices. Community food habits include holidays, eating out, food exchange, sharing, hunting, gathering, preservation, and gardening.

A Selection of Arkansas Cookbooks

The Rest Room and Library Cook Book
Call Number: TX715 .R47 1924
Produced by the Sorosis (sister) club in 1924, for the benefit of the Drew County Library and the Women's Rest Room of Monticello. The "Rest Room" in the title refers to rooms where women would rest while waiting for their husbands to transact business.
The recipes in this book are unique and unusual. Included are recipes for pickling 100 pounds of beef, pepper sauce that requires 100 peppers, a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich, brains and spaghetti, and hog head pie.
Putting the Big Pot in the Little One
Call Number: TX715 .D85 1988
"Good Times, Good Food in an Arkansas Hill County (Saline) Between the two World Wars."
The expression, "Putting the big pot in the little one" refers to a southern phrase having to do with hospitality, meaning that the host would do their best to show the guest a good time. Everyone was meant to enjoy themselves to the fullest.
Featuring 200 heirloom recipes and collected memories to go with them.
Recipes from Arkansas
Call Number: TX715 .B66127 1976
Compiled by the Food Service Association in 1976, this cookbook includes a considerable amount of uncommon recipes such as: Tomato Jelly Mold, Coca-Cola salad, Plantation Chicken, Dixie Slaw, Corn Pone Pie, Ozark Pie, Jefferson Davis Pie, Apple Crumble Pizza Pie, Pig Pickin' Cake, and Scripture Cake. Many of the most creative ones come from employees of the Arkansas School for the Deaf.
The Best of Ruby Jones
Call Number: TX714 .J653 1988
Ruby Pierce Jones was born in 1902 and for over 72 years, was a professional cook in the Pine Bluff area. She even served troops during WWll.
Her restaurant became one of the most popular in the state, and throughout the years the Jones Cafe won many awards, and hosted nationally and internationally famous visitors.
Cecilia Tu's Cooking Class Recipes
Call Number: TX724.5.C5 T773 1986
Cecilia Tu has been teaching cooking classes at the Adult Education Department of Fayetteville Public Schools since 1969. Her cookbooks include an introduction to Chinese food styles and ingredients. Additionally, it features illustrated instructions and Hanzi.
Arkansas Favorites: Recipes, Parks, and Places.
Call Number: TX715 .G52 1991
This cookbook is an attempt to capture the spirit of Arkansas food. Recipes were collected from families, friends and restaurants.
Contributions from local restaurants and their managers throughout Arkansas are marked with a star. A "favorite memories" section of vintage recipes as well as illustrations of historic places are interspersed throughout.
Huckton Notimmelch (Good Eating)
Call Number: TX715 .H83 1981
"Recipes from the Land of Saracen- Chief of the Quapaws." Although Saracen was not actually a Chief of the Quapaws, he was an important figure in Arkansas History. This cookbook was compiled by the American Business Women's Association of Pine Bluff, a city historically occupied by the Quapaw people.
Our Best Home Cooking
Call Number: TX721 .O87 1996
Formed in 1988, the Northwest Arkansas German- American Club began with only 6 members. By 1996, the group had grown to 150 members.
Traditional German recipes like Spitz Buben and Spaetzle are included as well as well-known Southern favorites.
Cotton Country Cooking. Vol 3. (Dedicated to my family, all gluttons)
Call Number: TX715.2.S68 S82 1972
Besides the illustrations of farm houses, ads, and personal stories, one of the most notable things in this cook book is that it contains a section on Soul Food. The recipes include Crackling Bread, Spareribs, Souse, and Poke Sallet. The author collected these recipes from the black workers who lived on her daughter's farm. It is noted that the first thing to have on hand when making soul food is black pepper, as it used copiously.
Down Beside the Garden Fence
Call Number: TX715.2.S68 M25 1978
This cookbook also serves as something of a memoir for one Arkansas woman. In it she includes her family photos, recipes, and she recounts her childhood and her family's way of life.
Great Flavors of Arkansas
Call Number: TX715.2.S68 G75 1992
150 "best recipes" from around Arkansas along with interesting facts and tidbits about the state, quotes, opinions, and information about Arkansas food festivals on every page.
Arkansas Cooking, Somehow, Somewhat, Somewhere
Call Number:TX715 .A8
Presented by the Washington County Unit of the American Cancer Society, Arkansas Division. Sections include Desserts, Eggs and cheese, Preserves, and "Foods with a Foreign Accent." A few recipes are titles as follows: Old Fashioned Brown Sugar Cake, Cannibal Balls, Watergate Cake, Northwest Arkansas Deviled Chicken, Desperation Casserole, and Watermelon Preserves.
Arkansas Cooking 1836-1986
Call Number: TX715 .A666 1985
A souvenir cookbook for the Sesquicentennial, this volume includes facts about Arkansas, and recipes such as: Cheese Dip, Southern Baked Wild Rabbit, and Ozark-Style Venison Stroganoff.
Favorite Recipes of Exchange Students at the University of Arkansas
Call Number: TX725.A1 W6
Compiled by the World Affairs Group in 1955, documents recipes from exchange students studying at the U of A in the early 1950s. The cookbook includes favorite recipes from students from 17 countries.
Arts Center of the Grand Prairie Cookbook
Call Number: TX715 .A788 1985
The Arts Center of Grand Prairie published this small community cookbook in 1985. Like many community cookbooks, it includes favorite recipes tested in home kitchens. Somewhat more unconventionally, it also includes a recipe for DIY kitty formula (which doubles as rabbit formula, according to the recipe notes).
Gregory's Elko-Ozark Brand Recipe Book
Call Number: TX819.V5 G74 1920z
An Arkansas cookbook designed to promote the use Arkansas-grown and developed products in the home kitchen. Inside this cookbook, you can also find a range of household and medicinal uses for vinegar, ranging from furniture polish to hand softener to paint remover.