Picture yourself being dropped in the middle of the woods in a foreign country, with nothing but some salt, a couple of pots, and a few dishes. There is no Wi-Fi, everyone is sick, and you and your family have lived on nothing but rotting cardboard (or rather a substance that tastes like cardboard) for the past few months. Sounds like a reality horror show. Actually, it was a reality horror show.
Also throw in the fact that there are no grocery stores, you have no money, there’s some very strange people lurking around the outskirts watching what you do, and you don’t know how to hunt. When you really consider the circumstances the first settlers encountered once they reached the land we now know as America in 1620, it is amazing how any of them survived.
The land in Plimoth was plentiful, however. Chock full of native fruits and nuts, game birds filling the skies and forest, deer and game frolicking about, and the fish—oh, all the fish and clams and mussels and oysters! The problem was, no one knew how to hunt, fish, garden, or cook. The available ingredients were so foreign that no one knew if any of it was edible or how to prepare it, if it was.
Cooking a meal was incredibly taxing under these circumstances. Settlers would have to hunt, trap, pluck, farm, chop wood, harvest, etc., all while trying to build their village. Sure, things got better over the next thirty years with supplies coming in through the ports, but then after that you had the pesky Revolutionary War, the Salem witch trials, plagues, and religious turmoil.
Logistics and Lug Poles
In those first couple years, all the cooking was done in the hearth, which also served as the main source of light and heat in the house. Hearths were originally made of fieldstones, but they were eventually replaced by bricks. A lug pole was set over the fire to hang pots. At first, these poles were made of wood, but of course that caused them to burn easily, and they had to be replaced by iron rods. Most of the meals were a one-pot concoction—broth, meat, some vegetables, and herbs. This enabled the settlers to walk away from the hearth while it cooked to perform other household chores.
The Pilgrims who came over on the Mayflower were only allowed to bring minimal supplies due to storage space on the ship. This included one pot, one kettle, and a few platters/dishes/spoons. As a result, methods such as frying or poaching were very uncommon.
Dry goods were stored in baskets made of pine needles and corn husks and placed in the ground to keep cool. In fact, the settlers stole this technique from the Native Americans when they found a bunch of buried corn.
Farming was critical, but the settlers were not farmers. They had brought seeds with them, but it was difficult to clear land for crops. There was so much to be done. If they could have spent the entire day weeding, pruning, and caring for those crops, they would have certainly been more successful—the soil was rich, the conditions were manageable, and there was plenty of space. However, these people also needed to hunt, build their houses, make tools, and negotiate with the Native Americans, among many other tasks necessary for survival. Meals were merely a necessary break for fuel.
Influence and Influenza
The Columbian Exchange (named after the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus) was one of the most influential and significant events in the history of food. As settlers arrived in America and discovered new ways to sustain themselves, Europeans were experiencing the benefits as well of the cultural exchange as goods and supplies traveled between both continents. This resulted in a flourishing of new cuisines and dishes worldwide. Staples such as squash, pumpkins, turkeys, peanuts, potatoes, tomatoes, and corn made their way from their native America to Europe, Africa, and Asia; while grapes, bananas, coffee beans, olives, and livestock made their way to the Americas.
However, food was not the only thing that was exchanged. Unfortunately, this new ease of access resulted in the movement of deadly diseases and illnesses, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, from the Old World to the New World, ultimately wiping out thousands of Native Americans. We might love our coffee, but a terrible price was paid for the cup of joe we drink today.
The colonial period is defined as the period from the arrival of the Europeans in 1492 up to the incorporation of the United States in 1776. That is a lot of time to cover during a period of radical change and population growth, which increased rapidly, practically at the speed of light! With this in mind, we have organized the history and recipes of the early Americans along a timeline, accompanied with mini chapters of interesting facts and information. We have researched historical recipes, available ingredients at the time, and old cooking methods, tools, and preparation techniques to create modern meals that you can cook and eat today. (We’ve done this to save you from going out into the woods and hunting, plucking, gathering, roasting, and potentially setting yourself on fire at a spit with a lug pole!) The recipes in this book are our interpretations of the information we have gathered.
Although we’ve included recipes inspired by Spanish settlers, Quakers, and Southern settlements, the majority of this book focuses on the New England area and its history. Perhaps it is because, as locals, we both grew up visiting Plimoth Plantation on every school field trip, or perhaps it is that we have great access to Boston, Newport, Plimoth, Sturbridge, and Cape Cod. Either way, we have tried to include a little something for everyone. This book is not a boring history lesson. Throughout the book, you will find bits and pieces of fascinating and funny facts about our American ancestors’ cooking and eating habits that you can recite at the family dinner table or during a dinner party. For example, when serving our Fish House Punch (page 125), you’ll be able to accuse your guests of being “halfway to Concord” after a few glasses; or perhaps you’ll tell the story of “All Hail, Sarah Hale” at your next Thanksgiving feast (pages 34–35), giving thanks to her that you have the day off.
Enjoy!
The Mayflower made its first voyage in 1609, carrying a cargo from London to Norway. Along with several other trips to France, Germany, and Spain, it was primarily used for trade. In 1621, Master Christopher Jones was hired to take the ship on its first trip overseas to the New World. After its return in May of 1621, it was only used for a few more trips before being declared as in ruins in 1624. It is believed that it was dismantled and sold in pieces.
