Conference turris::cooks

    I understand that in colonial times, lobsters were so plentiful that
    they were a staple food of the lower classes.  Your son and his
    classmates might not appreciate it, but if you sent him in with a pile
    of boiled lobsters, the teacher will probably give him an A.

    Yeah, but according to a document I read from one of the earliest
    "governors" of this area (NH), the government apologized for having
    primarily lobster and bear meat as the staples, because both were so
    tough!  I read that lobsters grew quite large then, and it was far from
    the delicacy it is now!
    
    Bear stew would probably suffice!  ;-)  Seriously, I'll see if I have
    anything at home, but don't think so.  Maybe mom and dad have
    something.

    Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet) has a Cookbook that's been out for several
    years that's about Colonial cooking. I forget the exact name - but it's
    something like " The Frugal Gourmet cooks Colonial".  The recipes are
    sorted by region.
    
    You could probably find it in a library or bookstore. I'll try to
    remember to check the correct name when I get home tonight.
    
    Some recipes I do remember - Corn meal mush (I think it's also called
    indian pudding) and johnny cakes (or journey cakes). There's a neat
    dessert called Syllubub, but since it has a high alchoholic content
    that probably wouldn't be appropriate for school  :^) .  There's always
    venison or rabbit meat.
    
    When I was teaching high school history, we had a day where the kids
    brought in "colonial" food or crafts. It was fun for everyone.
    
    janetb.

    Clam or fish chowder, or Indian pudding, or the very classic `hasty'
    pudding.
    
    							Ann B.

re: .3

>    Jeff Smith (Frugal Gourmet) has a Cookbook that's been out for several
>    years that's about Colonial cooking. I forget the exact name - but it's
>    something like " The Frugal Gourmet cooks Colonial".  The recipes are
>    sorted by region.
    
Just be careful to take any history passed out by Jeff Smith with a grain
of salt.  He has a tendency to not worry much about accuracy if it would
get in the way of a good story.

-Hal

    Indian pudding is a good (as in authentic) one!  It's not really
    cornmeal mush - it's sweet cornmeal mush! ;-)  I never liked it, but my
    family mostly does.  It's molasses and cornmeal, and has to cook
    forever, I think!  I'll see if mom has the recipe.  --S

    Don't know where you live, but you might try a visit to the book shop
    at the Old North Bridge, the Louisa May Alcott House in Concord, or any
    of the historic taverns in Concord or Lexington, where they will have
    books with "authentic" colonial recipes.  Johnny cakes come to mind
    too, as I believe there was an article relating to a "battle" between
    the taverns about who has the authentic recipe.
    
    Chris
    

    .0 lives in Phoenix, so he won't be able to drop by any of the "local"
    (i.e. New England) bookstores.
    
    Hi AZ! :*)
    
    Deb
    

>
>    .0 lives in Phoenix, so he won't be able to drop by any of the "local"
>    (i.e. New England) bookstores.
>    
>    Hi AZ! :*)
>    
>    Deb
    
Gee Deb - I was gonna say that but you beat me to it.....

az

    The Jeff Smith Book is called "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American". It's
    actually dealing with the idea that America has contributed a lot to
    the world of food. It goes through regional and some ethnic recipes.
    One section has the title: The Colonies. It seems to have more "upper
    class" recipes, from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson's table,
    but there are some other recipes that might work for a school project.
    
    And yes, sometimes Jeff Smithprobably does tend to tell a good story
    andnot worry as much about facts. Some of his recipes even say that
    "I've changed this ingrediant" or "I've added these because I like the
    flavor". There are various recipes in the book that seem to be
    mentioned in other references (both here in the notes files and other
    places) and he does reference a cook book that some of the colonists
    would have brought with them from england and also a cookbook from
    Jefferson's plantation.
    
    If you are interested in the following recipes let me know and I can
    either send them off line or post them here if there is interest, but
    these are a few from his book that might be pretty close to authentic:
            corn bread
            hasty pudding (basically corn meal)
            johnnycake
            fried corn meal
            indian pudding
            Sally Lunn Bread (Colonial Williamsburg)
    		milk,butter, sugar, salt,yeast, eggs, flour
    	   scrapple
    	   ragoo of onions (ragoo, rather than ragout, was the colonial
    			   spelling - according to book)
    		bread crumbs, butter, onions, flour,salt, brown gravy,
    		mustard - from the George Washington table
    	   spoon bread - very think corn bread, cornmeal, salt, milk, eggs
    	   boston baked beans
    	   boston brown bread
    	   baked whole pumpkin
    
    If you need more info - let me know!  Good luck and happy cooking!
    
    janetb.

The following partial list of items were developed by Native Americans of 
North, Central, and South Americas.  These were unknown to the `Old World' 
before the discovery of the Americas so I imagine alot of these foods may
have been eaten or drunk around the colonial table.

	Mate' (tea)			Cocoa
	Arrowroot			Tapioca
	Maple sugar and syrup		Sunflower seeds
	Vanilla				Chicle (gum)
	Tobacco				Tomato
	Avocados			Strawberries
	Chili Peppers			Pineapple
	Beans (Lima, Kidney, Tepary, Scarlet Runner, Yarn)
	Black Walnuts			Cashews
	Pecans				Peanuts
	Squash				Jerusalem Artichokes
	Irish Potatoes			Sweet Potatoes
	Corn (all varieties)		Popcorn

This came from a display located at Mesa Verde National Park, near Cortez, CO.

Judy

RE: .11

By "corn", of course, you mean what is known in Europe as maize.  
"Corn" in England is a general term for various grain crops and 
usually means wheat or barley.

--PSW

    re:  .11  Judy
    
    Native to the Americas:  Irish potatos and Jerusalem artichokes?  I'm
    not doubting you; it just cracks me up.
    
    
    Steve

RE: .13 
    
>>    Native to the Americas:  Irish potatos and Jerusalem artichokes?  I'm
>>    not doubting you; it just cracks me up.
    
Steve, just remember these are anglo names for these foods/plants.  :-)

Judy

    Another thought - just saw this in the bookstore yesterday. There are a
    series of dolls for sale that are specific to a time period, 1774,
    1844, 1864, 1928? and 1944. Don't remember the manufacturer. Each doll
    has a name: Felicity, Molly, Samantha, Addie, etc. 
    
    Besides selling the doll, there are other accessories, like a cookbook, a
    crafts book and a "play" script for you and your doll. I saw all these
    books in the bookstore. All paperback, rather thin, smaller than 8 1/2"
    by 11", but not regular paperback size. They were in a stand-alone
    display near the front of the store.
    
    The doll - Felicity - is from Colonial Williamsburg, circa 1744. I
    looked through the cookbook. It is geared towards kids. Has some
    interesting period info (can't vouch for authenticity, but it looked
    good) about cooking implements, who would have done what, types of food
    and recipes for a breakfast and dinner. From what I remember, the
    breakfast has fried ham with gravy, johnny cakes, a type of fried egg,
    and applebutter, maybe something else. The dinner was more complicated.
    
    Might be another resource for ideas.
    
    janetb.