Notable for their early dates and historical significance, these manuals afford previously unavailable insights into lifestyles and foodways during the evolution of Chesapeake society." "One cookbook is an anonymous work dating from 1700; the other is the 1739-1743 cookbook of Jane Bolling Randolph, a descendant of Pocahontas and John Rolfe. In addition to her textual analysis that establishes the relationship between these two early manuscripts, Harbury links them to the 1824 classic The Virginia House-wife by Mary Randolph."--Jacket.

"Discusses the everyday life, family roles, cooking methods, most important foods, and celebrations of the colonial period in American history. Includes recipes and sidebars"--

Ranging from the simple to the sumptuous, here are over 200 recipes for modern Americans inspired by dishes and beverages the authors discovered in cookbooks, family journals, and notebooks of 150 to 250 years ago. Did you know that breakfast in the eighteenth century was typically a mug of beer and some mush and molasses, invariably taken on the run? That settlers enjoyed highly spiced foods and the taste of slightly spoiled meat? Or that, at first, Colonists didn’t understand how to make tea and instead stewed the tea leaves in butter, threw out what liquid collected, and munched on the leaves? These peculiar facts precede tried and tested recipes, some of which include: · Cold grapefruit soup · Tweedy family steak and kidney pie · Madras artichokes · Sour rabbit and potato dumplings · Apple-shrimp curry · Pumpkin chiffon pie · Lemon flummery · And much more Each chapter of recipes is introduced with accounts of how early Americans breakfasted, dined, drank, and entertained. The illustrations of utensils, tankards, porringers, and pots used in the early days are drawn from actual objects in major private and public collections of early Americana and make Colonial Cooking a great resource for American history enthusiasts.

The success of the new settlements in what is now the United States depended on food. This book tells about the bounty that was here and how Europeans forged a society and culture, beginning with help from the Indians and eventually incorporating influences from African slaves. They developed regional food habits with the food they brought with them, what they found here, and what they traded for all around the globe. Their daily life is illuminated through descriptions of the typical meals, holidays, and special occasions, as well as their kitchens, cooking utensils, and cooking methods over an open hearth. Readers will also learn how they kept healthy and how their food choices reflected their spiritual beliefs. This thorough overview endeavors to cover all the regions settled during the Colonial and Federal. It also discusses each immigrant group in turn, with attention also given to Indian and slave contributions. The content is integral for U.S. history standards in many ways, such as illuminating the settlement and adaptation of the European settlers, the European struggle for control of North America, relations between the settlers from different European countries, and changes in Native American society resulting from settlements.