an on-line exhibit by the Center for Public History
State University of West Georgia
and funded by the Georgia Humanities Council
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Southern baking is not only a way of survival: it is an expression of love, empathy, and celebration. Food brings families together at mealtime, celebrates the gathering of communities at traditional "dinner on the grounds," consoles friends when a loved one dies, and offers topic for conversation at holidays. It represents the resourcefullness and ties that bind southern families and communities together.

Almost every family boasts its own special baking traditions, from the daily fare of biscuits and cornbread to favorite baked goods made for holidays or other special occasions. Even today, southerners bake cherished recipes and use the prized baking pans that we remember from our childhood. The nourishment of these traditional baked goods, passed down from generation to generation, represents a nourishment of the soul.

"Can't remember
never bakin'!"