Shot deer
40 Cal
What was the most popular food/meat among soldiers and (completely different) "households" of the 1700's?
Apples grew well in America and were real popular. However eating raw foods was considered dangerous and apples were mostly used cooked. They could go into pies but could just be covered with dough and boiled or baked. Sugar was expensive and sweets were often not as sweet as we use today. Berries of all sort were used both candied and fresh.Correct me if I am wrong but apples were used a lot. I seem to recall that recipes called for apples.
Where?
People ate local, so what grew well in an area was what’s on the plate. Corn in America of course, European grains. The bulk of wheat was exported so from Georgia to New Hampshire most breads were mixed grain. Pigs were the primary meat animal.
Salted rations were the bulk of soldiers ration but in season they got local veggies and fruits.
Families, many even in town kept gardens.
Small game was sold in the street.
Ovens were expensive to run, so boiled puddings were common and quick mushes. Stewing was common. Lots of fish as most people lived close to the coast. Most people didn’t eat much food from more then fifty miles away. Rice grown in the south and sold in new England was a treat. Lobster were considered low food, As was deer. Beef was more of a specialty meat as only male would be butchered.
Townsend on you tube offer a bunch of vids on eighteenth century foods and cooking.
You could try hasty pudding.
Chicken was popular as a meat source, like cattle eggs were more important then meat, so capons were mostly what hit the plate.
North was different from south for eating and middle different too.
Hanna Glass is a good resource on American cooking. Duck and geese were common to for eggs and meat.
Chickens weren’t breed as well for egg laying, so they didn’t match today’s factory chickens. However a few birds could produce a healthy addition to a families needs. Looking at old recipes they were egg heavy. Most eggs were closer in size to medium today, and eggs can be kept fresh for a long time, and of course pickled was common.
They didn’t have ‘breakfast foods’ back then. Breakfast was often left over dinner. Eggs were often dinner or part of the daily big meal.
They didn’t use much chemical levening then, but whipped eggs and flour could make a fluffy quick bread. Pancakes, were a real popular staple, and depended on eggs to be fluffy.
Ovens were expensive to run, so boiled puddings were common and quick mushes.
Sugar was expensive and sweets were often not as sweet as we use today. Berries of all sort were used both candied and fresh.
I'm not sure "popular" is applied to soldier's rations in the 18th century, as it was often more of "whatever we can get" situation. There were standardized rations (on paper) for what the enlisted men would eat per week.What was the most popular food/meat among soldiers and (completely different) "households" of the 1700's?
I really wouldn't have thought pancakes would be that common, because I thought flour would be special, you know, rare occasions. Could you verify or correct me?
That's still the law today, under maritime law.
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