Become a Recipe Tester for the First African American Cookbook written and published by Mrs. Malinda Russell in 1866.

In 1866, Malinda Russell published her “A Domestic Cook Book: Containing a Careful Selection of Useful Receipts for the Kitchen.” Born free, probably around 1812, Malinda Russell escaped the lawless south for Paw Paw Michigan. Unfortunately, there was a big fire in downtown Paw Paw shortly after her book was printed. Most of the run seems to have been destroyed by the fire. Only one copy of the book is known to have survived. 

While PDFs of the book are now easy to locate and download, the book will benefit from recipe testing, plus the kind of research appropriate to a critical edition. If you would like to help create a critical edition of Malinda Russell, then please contact me: williamrubel@gmail.com. You can also get in touch by joining the Facebook Malinda Russell Recipe Testing Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/217083383429696.