From the Big House to the White House: Dr. Martha Bireda on Foodways of the Enslaved

Here at The Zest, we love to explore the foodways of Floridians past and present—including the people who weren’t treated like people.This week we learn about the food customs of enslaved workers who labored on Florida’s plantations, growing cotton, tobacco, sugar and other cash crops. Many of their culinary traditions are alive and well today, although they rarely get credit.“It is a marker of our cultural identity,” says Martha Bireda, PhD, director of the Blanchard House Museum of African American History and Culture in Punta Gorda. (The museum suffered damage from Hurricane Ian and was closed at the time of our recording. Check the museum’s website for updates.)Related episodes:Dr. Fred Opie on the “Fascinating” African Roots of Florida FoodsToni Tipton-Martin Celebrates African-American Chefs in ‘Jubilee’Two USF Professors Offer a Crash Course in American Food History