We love home cooking around here and we like it even more when there’s a story or some history behind it. So, we’ve rounded up 6 recipes that date all the way to the Civil War (or earlier) and each one is truly delicious. If you enjoy dishes with flair then feast your eyes on these historical recipes that you can easily make today.
Election Cake
This hearty cake was first made as a snack that would travel well for newly called up soldiers in the British-controlled American colonies. After the US won independence the cake was still made and became known as instead as election cake. And, rather than being the last good thing soldiers would be handed on their way towards training Americans throughout the 19th century made this type of yeasted cake to celebrate that citizens could now vote. Find out more about this cake and get the recipe right here.
Mac & cheese has been a hit in the US for centuries, though pasta was a bit of a wild card when Americans first tried it. In any case this Civil War era recipe for the now classic dish (which was spelled “maccaroni”) was very simple- as many recipes were back then. It read: “Boil the maccaroni in milk; put in the stewpan butter, cheese, and seasoning; when melted, pour into the maccaroni, putting breadcrums over, which brown before the fire all together.” We adapted this 1863 recipe for use in a modern kitchen since most people today find exact measurements pretty helpful. Plus, I’m not sure anyone still cooks over an open fire anymore. Get the full recipe here.
Sally Lunn Rolls
These delicious rolls became famous for their delicate interior spiced with vanilla and lemon zest surrounded in a golden exterior with a little bit of crunch from the golden crust. These famous rolls have a complicated backstory as it’s unknown if they originated in France or in England, but in any case the recipe was brought to the New World with the colonists. These slightly sweet rolls were said to be George Washington’s favorite breakfast treat. Get the recipe here.
This old fashioned pie was once made with a brand of molasses called Shoe Fly, hence the name. The dark color of the molasses gives this pie its chocolatey hue. But, the flavor is more sweet, tangy, and spicy once the cinnamon streusel topping is placed on top. This recipe hails from the Amish of Pennsylvania where it was created in the years following the Civil War. Get the recipe here.
Amish Oatmeal Pie
During the Civil War many ingredients were in short supply due to the conflict that gripped the nation. During this time nuts and dried fruit were in short supply and creative home cooks used oats to make a scrumptious pie that hit the spit without any of those hard-to-get ingredients. The flavor profile is not unlike pecan pie so it’s a familiar taste sensation that is a real crowd pleaser. You can find the recipe here.
Southern Tea Cake Cookies
In the years following the Civil War this simple recipe was widely spread through word of mouth among newly-freed African Americans because it was not only very tasty, but easy to remember. These cookies have a cake-like interior and a wonderful flavor thanks to the addition of vanilla and nutmeg. Southern tea cake cookies became traditional at Juneteenth celebrations ever after. Get the recipe for these wonderful cookies here.
The foods served varied, changing with the customs of each region, but in the North some common foods were chowder, beef, clam soup, baked beans, roasted pork, custards, oxen, turtles, mutton and salmon.
During the 19th century people used open flames for cooking or stoves. Stoves were gaining popularity in the 1800s, but they were not electric or gas like ours are now. Instead, they had either a wood fire or a coal fire inside. The stove allowed the heat to more uniformly cook and bake food than an open flame.
Like most Americans today, people around in the 1800s ate three meals a day. Their primary meal, however was their second. In one region of the mid-Atlantic in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a typical breakfast would be eaten after several hours of work.
In the 18th and 19th century, while upper-class parents indulged in all manner of culinary delights, their children were subjected to a succession of bland unappetising dishes believed more suitable for children. Nursery menus typically consisted of porridge, bread and butter, boiled mutton and milk puddings.
Gilded Age dinners were elaborate, often with five or six courses. Soups, oysters, and game meat were common in fall dinners, often accompanied with sweet pudding for dessert.
Several hundred years ago, people didn't follow the three meals a day rule. In fact, Native Americans employed a practical approach to food. They ate when they were hungry. The three meals per day concept originated with Englanders who achieved financial prosperity.
For example: A wealthy person's dinner party would commence anywhere from 6-8PM, while a mid-western farm family might be sitting down to dinner (their main meal of the day) at noon. The wealthier you were, the later (and longer) the breakfast. Lunch cut across all social classes at this time.
Tea, coffee, bacon, eggs and haddock were some of the key features to a good breakfast and one of the dishes served during the ETW week was inspired by the famous British cookery writer of the 1800s, Mrs Beeton.
Originating in 6000 BCE, England; it is the oldest dish of the world that's rich in nutrients. Nettle pudding is made with stinging nettles (wild leafy plant), breadcrumbs, suet, onions, and other herbs and spices. This dish is steam cooked until it attains a mousse-like consistency.
One of the oldest meals ever eaten may have been discovered in a fossil over half a billion years old. A mollusc-like animal known as Kimberella appears to have enjoyed a meal of green algae and bacteria shortly before its death 558 million years ago.
The mainstays of a pioneer diet were simple fare like potatoes, beans and rice, hardtack (which is simply flour, water, 1 teaspoon each of salt and sugar, then baked), soda biscuits (flour, milk, one t.
1800 Meat, fish, and fowl are the principal offerings of eating places, and an establishment's quality is measured by the amount and assortment of animal protein set out on the table.
Meals often consisted of beef, eggs, hot biscuits, corn bread, hot cakes, porridge and seasonal vegetables and fruits. Coffee, tea, water or cocoa were consumed in “large quantities.” Whiskey, inexpensive and readily available, was the most popular alcoholic beverage, Cooper recorded, especially in the South and West.
Introduction: My name is Annamae Dooley, I am a witty, quaint, lovely, clever, rich, sparkling, powerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
