On December 1, 2022 the Folger’s virtual book club discussed Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. To prepare for the discussion, we pulled together a list of Folger resources related to food and food pathways.
- EXPERIMENT in the kitchen with recipes from the Folger collection
- Early modern recipe combinations to get you through the winter
- Taffety Tarts: How Folger manuscript recipes helped a 17th-century pastry make it into the Oxford English Dictionary
- Mince pies and mirth: Transcribed 17th-century recipes
- LEARN about food pathways
- Making rum in unexpected places
- A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
- Before ‘Farm to Table’: Early Modern Foodways and Cultures
- EXPLORE the connections between black cake and Emily Dickinson
- The Messy History of Emily Dickinson’s Black Cake Recipe
- Make Emily Dickinson’s Black Birthday Cake with The SugaChef
- CONTINUE the conversation with this year’s Emily Dickinson Birthday Tribute
We would like to thank the following organization for its generous support of this program

Join us for a future event
How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition

How to Be a Power Player: Tudor Edition
Social climbing was a competitive sport in Tudor England, requiring a complex range of skills, strategies, and techniques. This exhibition explores what it takes to become an early modern mover and shaker.
Fri, Feb 21 – Sun, Aug 10, 2025
Virtual Folger Salon with Charmaine Cordero, Esteban Crespo, and Toby Yuen-Gen Liang

Virtual Folger Salon with Charmaine Cordero, Esteban Crespo, and Toby Yuen-Gen Liang
Learn about research happening at the Folger in real time! Each month, Folger Institute scholar and artist fellows will share their most exciting finds and thought-provoking challenges, followed by casual open conversation.
Fri, Jun 27, 2025, at 12pm ET
On demand: The 2025 Eudora Welty Lecture with Amor Towles

On demand: The 2025 Eudora Welty Lecture with Amor Towles
The Folger and the Eudora Welty Foundation welcome Amor Towles to deliver the 2025 Welty Lecture, inspired by the writing and life of famed author Eudora Welty.
Available through Mon, Jun 30, 2025
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