Cooking in the 1700's

What did Revolutionary Soldiers Eat? A soldier’s ration, or food issued everyday, was a pound of bread, a pound of meat, about a half-pint of dry beans and peas, and a half-pint of ale. Yet soldiers were lucky to have even a half of that! Food was made so that it would be preserved longer. That’s why the food was usually dried or salted. The bread was made with flour and water so it wouldn’t spoil. But this made it very hard and unappetizing. Soldiers were sometimes rewarded with rum if they did a lot of work that day. They also were issued it for celebrations and victories.

What kind of ovens did people use in the 1700’s? The brick oven was used to cook many foods during the 18th century. It used two sources of heat, directly from the fire and using radiant heat. The bricks had to be heated evenly, so it constantly had to be monitored.

Breakfast, Dinner, and Supper For farming families, they usually ate a bowl of porridge and a cup of cider or beer. Families living in towns ate cornmeal and molasses with cider or beer. Dinner (Lunch)- For dinner, or commonly known now as lunch, a family ate meat pies, stews, and puddings. They also ate pancakes, fritters, pickles, and catsups as side dishes. Supper- Supper was a very light meal. It was usually just leftovers from previous meals with cornmeal accompanied by beer. Some suppers consisted of potatoes or eggs.

Baking in the 18th century Bakers learned their skills through apprenticeship. Bakers used huge brick ovens to prepare their food. Some dishes that were commonly made were the traditional white bread, brown bread, hot biscuits, and corn bread as well as many others depending on what colony they were in.

Food Preservation The most common use for food preservation was for the army. The most common food preservation methods in the 18th century were dehydrating, salting, canning, and drying. Some wealthy people had cellars to keep foods fresh. There are different methods of preserving for different items.

Credits http://www.vancortlandthouse.org/Soldier%20in%20the%20Revolutionary%20War.htm http://www.ehow.com/list_7582973_brick-ovens-18th-century.html http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodcolonial.html