Colonial American Foods and Diets
Meat, Fish, and a Variety of Vegatables & Fruits in the 13 Colonies
Colonial diets were varied and healthy, introducing colonists to foods not available in Europe. Colonists tended to be healthier than new arrivals from Europe and lived longer. Due to the abundance of native animals, meat became an important part of many meals, something unheard of in England where hunting was restricted to the aristocracy. Many contemporary foods such as chowders and Brunswick stew, which originally contained squirrel, date from the Colonial period.
The Pilgrims and the First Thanksgiving
Unlike the invention of tradition that places turkey at the focus of the Thanksgiving meal, the early New England settlers left no evidence that the wild turkey was a staple. At the “first” Thanksgiving, Wampanoag Indians supplied five deer that were prepared as a stew. The base of the stew would have been boiled maize corn and beans. There were no sweet potatoes.
Potatoes first found their way to Europe with Christopher Columbus. Returning to Spain on his first voyage, he carried back a local sweet potato, one of hundreds of potato varieties developed by the Indians of the southern hemisphere. English colonists, however, never adopted the potato although Thomas Jefferson cultivated them on his plantation in Virginia.
Varieties of Food Used by the Colonists
Vegetables unknown in Europe became a regular part of colonial diets. This included peppers, various types of beans, cranberries, corn, and peanuts. Colonists brought fruits and vegetables from England to cultivate, like the apple. Many small communities featured vegetable and herb gardens and some wealthier colonists had their own gardens. As settlers began to move west beyond the original fringes of settlement, they established independent farms that featured complex gardens. Visitors to colonial era communities like Old Salem and Bethabara in North Carolina can see authentically recreated gardens.
Meat and fish were also plentiful. Colonists ate venison, something only available to the noble classes of Europe. Game birds like pheasant were hunted as were raccoon, opossum, and other small animals. Sturgeon, cod, oysters, clams, crabs, and salmon were common fish entrees. In New England, poorer settlers tended to rely more on oysters.
Since many homes contained only one cooking pot, stews were a regular part of the mid-day meal. Meat was either boiled or roasted. Pot roasts and meat pies were favorites. Today, some restaurant menus still feature “Yankee Pot Roast” and in Virginia and South Carolina chicken pies are made from recipes taken from colonial era cookbooks. In Boston, the famous chowders, influenced by French Huguenot settlers and baked beans can be traced to the colonial period.
Food Preparation by the Poor and the Rich
Wealthy colonists employed trained cooks and their kitchens were spacious. Elaborate and diverse meals made up the standard fare including exotic fruits imported from the Caribbean. Today, many old stately homes in Virginia and the Carolinas feature pineapple statuary at the front door or on the porches, a colonial symbol of hospitality and status. In Virginia, Royal governors employed professional cooks trained in Europe. Thomas Jefferson’s cook had trained, in part, in Paris.
Less well-off colonists had to slaughter their own animals and usually had one-pot meals, although members of the gentry frequently employed highly skilled slave cooks. The lower classes generally subsisted on soups and porridges prepared in a hominy base (corn) flavored with vegetables or meat.
On the Eve of the American Revolution
It is little wonder that, according to historian Oliver M. Dickerson, on the eve of the war for independence the thirteen colonies represented the most affluent society of any on the planet, better housed, better fed, and better dressed. Colonial diets played a significant role in shaping a prosperous and healthy society in contrast to their European counterparts.
Sources:
- Colonial Williamsburg Journal, archives, “Foodways.”
- David Freemn Hawke, Everyday Life in Early America (New York: Harper and Row, 1988)
- Godfrey Hodgson, A Great and Godly Adventure: The Pilgrims and the Myth of the First Thanksgiving (New York:Public Affairs/Perseus Books, 2006)
- Dale Taylor, The Writer’s Guide to Everyday Life in Colonial America From 1607-1783 (Cincinnati: Writers Digest Books, 1997)
- Jack Weatherford, Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World (New York: Fawcett Books, 1988)
Colonial Diets were Healthy and Simple
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Bethabara Park Colonial Gardens
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