Period foods in PA

[Angel of Mercy]

I am preparing to pack for High Tide next weekend.
I was wondering where I can find out what types of foods were around in June of '63 in the Gettysburg area. Any ideas?

Thanks!!!

[Emmanuel Dabney]

Re: Period foods in PA

I highly recommend going to check out Valley of the Shadow (you can Google search) and look up Rachel Cormany's diary. She has scattered references to food stolen by Confederate troops and foods she made.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period foods in PA

I asked in threads here and at http://www.cwreenactors.com/forum/showthread.php?t=8872 about Confederate surgeon's foods at Gettysburg, and since officers were foraging from the countryside even more than the men, some of the information applies. Also, I recently ran across this, from an artilleryman's memoirs:

This is near Greencastle, PA:

A walk of a mile brought us to the house of a widow with three pretty daughters. They told us they had been feeding many of our soldiers and could give us only some milk, which they served, as seemed to be the custom of the country, in large bowls. They said they did not dislike rebels, and if we would go on to Washington and kill Lincoln, and end the war, they would rejoice. Proceeding farther, we stopped at a substantial brick house and were silently ushered into a large room, in the far end of which sat the head of the house, in clean white shirt-sleeves but otherwise dressed for company, his hat on and his feet as high as his head against the wall, smoking a cigar. At the other end of the room the rest of the family were at supper, of which we were perfunctorily asked by the mistress to partake. A very aged lady, at a corner of the table, without speaking or raising her eyes, chewed apparently the same mouthful during our stay—one of our party suggested, "perhaps her tongue." The table was thickly covered with saucers of preserves, pickles, radishes, onions, cheese, etc.

Closer to Gettysburg:

To give an idea of the change in our diet since leaving Dixie, I give the bill-of-fare of a breakfast my mess enjoyed while on this road: Real coffee and sugar, light bread, biscuits with lard in them, butter, apple-butter, a fine dish of fried chicken, and a quarter of roast lamb!

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[BobDenton37thVA]

Re: Period foods in PA

There are a number of accounts from the Confederates regarding the rations (or lack of same) during the Gettysburg Campaign. The army was depending to a great degree on "foraging", however, as they were forbidden to simply take what they needed, the men were actually purchasing supplies from the locals. A captain from a Georgia regiment complained that,
"..these Pennsylvania folk will not take script, and when we ask them what they might give us, they claim to be impoverished...but, should a few greenbacks be produced, and there suddenly appears an abundance of wheat flour, bread, eggs, butter, coffee, fine hams, milk, cheese, and all the good things one could want."

George Pyle of the 37th Virginia Infantry regiment related that after the attack on Culp's Hill (the action at Pardee's Field) finding an "...abandoned farmhouse with the wood stove burning, and buckwheat batter ready to be cooked...". He griddled up several haversacks worth of cakes, and brought them out to the hungry and exhausted men of his company.

Cherries were in abundance during this campaign, and the officers tried in vain to keep the men from eating too many, as overindulgence gave them "the runs".

It is probably a good bet that the Confederates were not above raiding an unguarded spring house or root cellar where they would have found the last year's potatoes, turnips and apples, along with the current season's spring onions. Stray chickens and hogs were fair game as well. Nevertheless, the Confederates were under strict orders not to steal from the locals, and men who disobeyed and were subject to disciplinary action.

Regards,
Bob D.

[Becky Morgan]

Re: Period foods in PA

I'm in eastern Ohio. Our climate is a bit cooler in the winter than Gettysburg's, summers about the same. Cherries are indeed ripe this week, mulberries are uncommonly plentiful, raspberries will be ripe within a few days, blackberries not till early next month. We have all sorts of fresh greens. I reckon just about anybody could get a mess of dandelions (if they found them young enough) and lamb's quarter. Most farm ponds have bluegills and sunfish. Most streams have catfish around. Spring chickens aren't worth stealing yet.

[Horace]

Re: Period foods in PA

Can anyone refine what types of cheese would be available?

[Angel of Mercy]

Re: Period foods in PA

I usually do teh traditional potatoes, onions, bread and carrots...but wanted something different. and you ALL certainly helped!!

Mr. Dabney- her diary is amazing!! Helps me tremendously with the foods!

Mr. Trent- Thank you for sharing that passage! Do you know a type of cheese that does not need to be kept cold? I'll have to get a jar of apple butter or my grandfather's preserves.

Thank you again!

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period foods in PA

The standard description for making cheese, that shows up in period instructions and in county fair affidavits about how cheese was actually made, is generally for a simple cheese made of whole milk. The curds are cut and drained, and not cooked before putting in the press. I'm not sure what the modern equivalent name(s) would be, anyone know?

There's a typical description in Directions for Cookery by Eliza Leslie, a Philadelphian, which I believe is available at google books. There were of course many variations including the addition of annatto for coloring, but it's surprising how often one can find the one kind described.

I usually buy what's called "farmer's cheese," but would like to know more about what the actual modern equivalent would be. Chedder, also around in the period, requires the curd to be cooked, I believe.

However, the biggest lack today, in the average grocery store cheese, is the rind. Period cheeses were allowed to develop a natural rind, rather than being coated with parafin, and if they were cut, the face was rubbed with butter or lard to prevent it from drying out. I imagine gourmet cheese places may still sell cheese with a rind, but most grocery store cheese can really only represent the inside of a period cheese. I haven't seen any period evidence for wax coating.

Hard cheeses generally don't require refrigeration to keep a short while, but they do get slimy quickly in the heat. We had some last weekend, and it was not so appetizing the second day, though fortunately we'd eaten most of it by then.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[MrsArmstrong]

Re: Period foods in PA

However, the biggest lack today, in the average grocery store cheese, is the rind. Period cheeses were allowed to develop a natural rind, rather than being coated with parafin, and if they were cut, the face was rubbed with butter or lard to prevent it from drying out. I imagine gourmet cheese places may still sell cheese with a rind, but most grocery store cheese can really only represent the inside of a period cheese. I haven't seen any period evidence for wax coating.


Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net[/QUOTE]

I found this site when I googled cheese with natural rind if anyone is interested.

http://www.vtcheese.com/type/natural-rind.htm

Susan Armstrong

[Elaine Kessinger]

Re: Period foods in PA

Or you could bring along an apropriate jar or crock and purchase apple butter from local farm market vendors... Maryland was, and still is, known for it's orchards. Local farmer's markets and road-side vendors are offering cherries (but they're "looking peeked", I take this to mean get them soon :) ), plums, peaches, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, tomatos, and recently added corn. They almost always have "soft" ciders and preserves/pickles/relishes/butters/jellies available. It's not quite as good, but "Too Afraid to Cry" and "Days of Darkness" also cover foodstuffs.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period foods in PA

Local farmer's markets and road-side vendors are offering cherries (but they're "looking peeked", I take this to mean get them soon :) )

I'm actually coming up through Hagerstown. Can you recommend a good farmer's market in that area close to the interstate that would be open Friday and be pretty certain to have cherries? I can call 'em to double check right before I leave, of course.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Virginia Mescher]

Re: Period foods in PA

Can anyone refine what types of cheese would be available?

The following list of cheese is not specific to the PA area but will give you an idea on the types of cheese available all around.

Below is a post I did sometime ago on cheeses.

The following cheeses were listed in Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy by T. Webster and Mrs. Parks (1847) and the reprint called, The American Family Encyclopedia (1856).

Cheshire, Gloucester, Stilton, Cottenham, Sage, Cheddar, Brickbat, Dunlop, Parmesean, Dutch (Gouda), Swiss (Gruyere, Neufchatel), Westphalia, and Cream cheese. (Brickbat cheese was described as, "There is nothing remarkable in this except its form. It is made by turning with rennet a mixture of cream and new milk. The curd is put into a wooden vessel the shape of a brick, and then it is pressed and dried in the usual way. It is best made in September, and is ready in six months.") Most of these cheeses are available today.

I encountered two types of cheese in the VA ledger, English Dairy Cheese and Pineapple cheese. Both were imported. Other mentions of cheese just stated "cheese" with no indication of type.

From my research, most cheese was made at home and the first cheese factory was established in 1850 in Oneida County, New York and most of the cheese manufactures were in the North, since the heat of the summer quickly spoiled milk in the South. The largest cheese producers were New York, Vermont, Ohio, Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

After the Revolution, cheese production increased in the United States, due to the high duty on imported cheese. Most imported cheeses were successfully imitated in the US.

"The Grocer's Encyclopedia" by Artemus Ward (1911) listed 51 types of cheese sold in grocers. Each was describe and most just had the hard rind, created by curing rather than a paraffin coating.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period foods in PA

Cheshire, Gloucester, Stilton, Cottenham, Sage, Cheddar, Brickbat, Dunlop, Parmesean, Dutch (Gouda), Swiss (Gruyere, Neufchatel), Westphalia, and Cream cheese.

Lee's The Cook's Own Book 1832 also mentions Brie, though generally just specifies "cheese."

Do you have any information on the context of those cheeses or how common they were? For example, would the average family have or make Swiss cheese or Parmesean cheese, or would those be rare, ethnic, regional, purchased vs homemade, used for certain purposes, etc.? For what it's worth, it seems some cookbooks, after describing the basic cheese, will toss in a sage cheese recipe, though I don't know whether it was actually that common to make, and cream cheese also shows up.

What surprised me was how overwhelmingly common the same instructions and reports were for how to make cheese, as if most homemade cheese would be made with a similar process, though with its own variations in flavor of course due to the natural bacteria and such. Have you also noticed that similarity, and also, do you know what we'd call that kind of cheese today?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Virginia Mescher]

Re: Period foods in PA

Lee's The Cook's Own Book 1832 also mentions Brie, though generally just specifies "cheese."

Do you have any information on the context of those cheeses or how common they were? For example, would the average family have or make Swiss cheese or Parmesean cheese, or would those be rare, ethnic, regional, purchased vs homemade, used for certain purposes, etc.? For what it's worth, it seems some cookbooks, after describing the basic cheese, will toss in a sage cheese recipe, though I don't know whether it was actually that common to make, and cream cheese also shows up.

What surprised me was how overwhelmingly common the same instructions and reports were for how to make cheese, as if most homemade cheese would be made with a similar process, though with its own variations in flavor of course due to the natural bacteria and such. Have you also noticed that similarity, and also, do you know what we'd call that kind of cheese today?

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

I really can't answer you question completely but some the cheese mentioned in the Encyclopedia of Domestic Economy did show up in recipes (Parmesan, cheddar, Stilton (Beecher tells how this was made), Cheshire, Gloucester, Pineapple cheese, and cream cheese, (instructions on how to make it.) Cheese showed up fairly regularly in store ledger but less often in rural ledgers than it did in city store ledgers. If you didn't have a cow you would have had to purchase your cheese so someone had to be making the cheese to sell to the stores. Hard cheeses like cheddar, Gloucester, Pineapple cheese and Parmesan would have shipped and kept longer than the softer cheeses.

People on farms who had several cows would have been making butter and cheese for extra since it was a way to preserve the milk. I have not researched the cheese making process but have observed it at several historical villages and it seemed that they were making hard, aged cheeses for the most part but I don't recall them giving it a specific name. I would expect that the individual farmers made their cheese and when the cheese was finished the farmer would take it to market or the nearest store and it would be sold as "cheese."

Some soft cheeses were made at home and some were distinctively from PA. "Shmear kase" or cup cheese (a strongly flavored spreadable cheese was common in some households. Cottage cheese or farmer's cheese was also made at home and used when fresh.

The fancier imported cheeses were probably have been sold in stores by their distinctive names.

[Hank Trent]

Re: Period foods in PA

I would expect that the individual farmers made their cheese and when the cheese was finished the farmer would take it to market or the nearest store and it would be sold as "cheese."

I agree. I was curious if anyone knows the modern name for something that most closely resembles that generic cheese. Like if you want the equivalent of just "ham" in the period you need to ask for "country ham" at the store today.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net