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“The currency of proper food was so important that the teaching of basic reading became essential to guarantee culinary delight. It can be presumed that this skill was valuable to the larger enslaved community as well, for they could rely on the cook to read and write for those who could not. in addition to reading, enslaved cooks learned basic math. Counting, fractions, and knowing how to double or triple a recipe was mandatory for large-scale plantation cooking.” — Kelley Fanto Deetz
The currency of proper food was so important that the teaching of basic reading became essential to guarantee culinary delight. It can be presumed that this skill was valuable to the larger enslaved community as well, for they could rely on the cook to read and write for those who could not. in addition to reading, enslaved cooks learned basic math. Counting, fractions, and knowing how to double or triple a recipe was mandatory for large-scale plantation cooking.