Jessica B. Harris wrote the 2011 book High on the Hog, which traces African American foodways through American history.
Harris is a food historian and author whose work explores the connections between West African culinary traditions, slavery, the African diaspora, and American cooking. High on the Hog follows ingredients, techniques, and food customs from Africa through the United States.
The book helped introduce a wide audience to the historical foundations behind foods often grouped under the label soul food. Its discussion reaches beyond individual recipes, considering migration, forced labor, regional identity, and cultural survival.
High on the Hog is also the title of a four-part Netflix documentary series released in 2021. The series was hosted by Stephen Satterfield and based on Harris’s book, but Harris herself is the book’s author.