-
Historical Cooking
Posted on May 3, 2011 by historyladies in Archives, New RecruitsRecently the Living History Podcast posted a podcast all about creating meals as a way to engage the public. Reenactors Gazette has been to several living history events where food demos have been the source of educating people, but lately many of the events we’ve gone to; the reenactors are loosing that interaction and seem to have a difficult time engaging and interacting with the public.
Question: How does your group interact with the public? Do you agree or disagree with our observation? If you agree how can the living history community change the way we are perceived by the public?
In continuing with this week’s subject. The following podcast Alena will discuss…. • Food is relatable to wide audiences • Raw ingredient choices • Historical cooking methods • Cooking tools • Recipes and food presentation • what food can tell us about culture * click here to listen!
If cooking is one of your interests or favorite past times here are a few books you may be interested in…
The Virginia Housewife => by: Mary Randolph
The Carolina Housewife => by: Sarah Rutledge
The Williamsburg Art of Cookery => by: Helen Bullock
Recipes from the Raleigh Tavern Bake Shop => by: Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Martha Washington’s Booke of Cookery and Booke of Sweetmeats => by: Karen Hess
Log Cabin Cooking: Pioneer Recipes & Food Lore => by: Barbara Swell
Civil War Recipes: Receipts from the Pages of Godey’s Lady’s Book => by: by John Spaulding
A Taste of Ancient Rome => by: Ilaria Gozzini Giacosa
Around the Roman Table: Food and Feasting in Ancient Rome => by: Patrick Faas
Meals and Recipes from Ancient Greece => by: Eugenia Ricotti
Cooking Apicius: Roman Recipes for Today => by: Sally Grainger
Medieval Cookbook => by: Maggie Black
Eat, Drink, and Be Merry in Maryland => by: Frederick Philip Stieff
Cooking is a great way to connect to the public. Many rare or rarely seen foods come to mind. it is very important, however, to use the proper equipment for the era. Enamelware was not used until the 1870-80 period. cast iron is good for most things and fairly cheap. When we do a thing a simple as coffee, we grind the beans before we make it. We use either tinware or enamelware coffee pots, depending on era. At Bent’s Old Fort, cooking is essential for showing how it was done in a fireplace and, of course, for us who eat it! We serve many local foods, buffalo, fish caught in the river, berries etc. My wife and I dried buffalo meat from a drying rack at our camp.