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Dietary Patterns In The Early Midwest

It is one thing to talk about all the possible foods available in central Indian in the 1830s and quite another to discuss the typical family eating patterns which would have developed over a period of time. Table preparations would depend upon the time it took for food growth, preparation, and storage. To completely discuss the dietary habits of the early Hoosiers in our settlement at Conner Prairie, an understanding of how and at what points food items came to the table is critical to give an accurate picture of typical family life.

Certain foods were found by the settler upon arrival to the Indiana lands. The varieties of nuts found in hardwood areas were hickory nuts, black walnuts, chestnuts, and beechnuts along with hazelnuts and pecans in some areas. Other wild foods were the paw paws, wild cherries, persimmons, wild grapes, plums and crab apples. Berries were found in many wooded areas, especially the wild strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries. Herbs and roots found wild in the woods were gathered for teas, medicines and seasonings. Lastly, wild game, such as venison, wild turkey or squirrel, and fresh fish could round out the settler's meals.

While such foods were known to be available, this does not necessarily indicate that they were always found on the table during meal times. The fact must not be forgotten that the newcomer was faced immediately with the need to provide shelter for his family and animals, the job of clearing fields for gardens and larger crops such as corn and beans, and the building of tools and household furniture. With such tasks all taking up portions of the daily work pattern, there would not have been an extremely large amount of time left to gather foods for the table. Children would often fish or pick wild fruits, but their aid in the rest of the household work load was critical, especially for the family's survival during the early settlement years.

Corn was the most commonly used dietary ingredient, out of personal preference as much as economic practicality. Before it could be planted, it was traded for by the settler, and then became the major crop for the newly cleared fields. Corn meal in varying forms was the basis of many meals well into the first half of the 19th century. A stiff dough made from meal, water and salt was cooked in a covered pan over coals to produce "corn dodgers." "Corn pone" used these basic ingredients plus the addition of mild and yeast, thus producing a richer mixture. "Johnny-cake" or "hoe-cake" consisted of meal plus a shortening of bear grease, lard or butter, baked flat on a board. Often meal was boiled in salted water to make mush which was eaten with mild, sweetened water, bear's oil, or meat gravy. Once cold, mush was then fried and eaten with syrup or honey. "Hominy" was made by soaking whole corn grains in water and then pounding the outer shells off or treating them in lye water. This hominy was then either boiled or fried and became a staple of many early diets. In times of crop failure or inability to properly care for plants due to severe disease in the community, these fundamental dishes again took major roles in daily eating patterns.

Once settled on the land, the family's diet could expand to include the domesticated crops of pumpkin, potatoes, squash, beans, peas, cucumbers, cabbages, carrots, onions, rhubarb, radishes, lettuce, turnips, melons, and grains for flour. Seasoning herbs were planted in gardens near the house and included sage, thyme, mint, mustard, horse-radish, tansy, parsley, rosemary, and salsify.

Wild game could soon be supplemented by pork. Other meats, including lamb, domesticated chicken, and beef were added but never came close to the popularity and commonness of pork dishes. Cows provided a source for milk and cheese. Chickens provided a source of occasional eating eggs once they were added to the farm's livestock.

By 1836, a wide range of additional cooking aids were available from stores in Indianapolis along with imported fruits and vegetables. But the major question is not what was conceivably available, but rather what would have appeared most commonly for meals.

Even with the variety of foods that the family normally planted in their gardens, the time necessary for preparation and preservation of foods must be taken into account. Bread was a well known substance accompanying meals, but the extent to which yeast bread replaces corn bread or non-yeast, hearth-baked breads was conditional upon the factors: 1) that yeast had to be made at home, 2) the bread had to rise a good many hours, 3) oven baking required substantial amounts of time to pre-heat the ovens, and 4) settlers preferred corn bread in many cases. A typical receipt for yeast, published in The Freeman's Almanac in 1833 read as follows:

To Make Yeast. Boil one pound of flour, a quarter of a pound of brown sugar, and a little salt, in two gallons water for one hour. When milk warm, bottle it and cork it close. It will be fit for use in 24 hours. One pint of it will make eighteen pounds of bread.

Alternatives to yeast breads were smaller batches of rolls or biscuits, or corn bread, which could be mixed up quickly and cooked in spider pans. Even here, however, the need to watch coals and replace cool ones with hot pieces must not be overlooked as a time factor.

Aside from breads, other food types found on typical family tables were the meat or fish main dishes, vegetables, fruits, and baked desserts. Certain times of the year were definitely more advantageous for the woman who wished to vary her menu. Mutton and veal were in their prime during the spring, lamb during July or August, pork and pork products during the fall butchering and winter, and beef during the first three months of the year. The most common meat for the 1830's is central Indiana would have been pork. After the hog butchering, considerable time would have been spent in preserving meat for the winter months ahead. Jars or barrels would be stocked with sausage, headcheese and pickled pork, and hams, bacon and sidemeat were cured and hung from rafters for future use. This entire curing process took up much of the time in the fall or early winter and was a skill that took many years to perfect. A brine cure was the easiest and cheapest method used, since salt was rather expensive and used only once in contrast to the possibility of using brine more than once. Often saltpetre and a little sugar were added to the brine. The meat was weighted down in the mixture for roughly three days per pound in the piece. Repacking had to be done at intervals and a watch was kept to be sure the brine did not sour.

For a dry cure, salt and other ingredients were rubbed over the outside of the piece, repeated after a week and then the meat was packed. Brine would form at the bottom of the cask and so the top and bottom pieces were reversed from time to time. The time span for a dry cure was just about equivalent to that needed for the brine cure. Poorly cured meat was identified by meat souring, which usually began at the center of the meat and was caused either by faulty bleeding, bruised flesh, or decomposition before the salt reached the center.

Cured meat was fine for rather immediate use, but the chore was not complete without smoking if the meat was to be used later in the year. This smoking was done in a smokehouse if available, or simply done in the fireplace or corners of the chimney. The standard color was usually reached after thirty or forty hours of smoke, supplemented by a few hours on the following days. All totaled, the preservation of meat was a considerable task and did not in the end leave much time for elaborate daily meal preparations.

Likewise, the preservation of fruits and vegetables took up much of the daylight time from mid-summer until late fall. R. Carlyle Buley summarizes the tasks to be done in his The Old Northwest - Pioneer Period 1815-1840:

Earliest vegetables were hardly ready for eager appetites before strawberries and cherries were ripe, to be picked and preserved or sun-dried. There were berries and currants to be put into jellies and preserves: cucumbers into the brine or vinegar barrels: cabbages to be cut fine, salted down under weights in big stone jars, stuffed into mango peppers or let sour into kraut: hops to pick: peppers and horse-radish to dry and grind. Then the fruits: quinces for jelly and preserves: apples and pears to be picked, peeled, cored, and dried carefully on the racks prepared: plums and wild grapes for jellies: domestic grapes for jellies and wines: pumpkins and squashes to be dried and mixed with crab apples or saved for stews, butter and pies.

After these preparations came the apple butter making and the cider production Other apples were barreled, some choice ones were shelved individually, and the rest, with cabbages, potatoes, and turnips were buried to prevent freezing. The fruits of the woods were gathered - paw paws to be eaten fresh, persimmons to be dried for puddings, walnuts, hickory nuts, pecans, and chestnuts to be hulled and stored.

Fall issues of Almanacs as well as the general housekeeper's guides abounded with hints and suggestions for food preservation for the winter months ahead. One such source is The American Frugal Housewife by Mrs. Child, which was published in 1835 in Boston. Some of her suggestions were:

Cabbages put into a hole in the ground will keep well during the winter ....Many farmers keep potatoes in the same way. Squashes should never be kept down cellar when it is possible to prevent it. Dampness injures them.

Some people cut pumpkin, string it, and dry it like apples. It is a much better way to boil and sift the pumpkin, then spread it out thin in tin plates, and dry hard in a warm oven. It will keep good all the year round, and a little piece boiled up in milk will make a batch of pies.

The Family Magazine had this to offer to readers in 1836:

Preserving Vegetables Green for Winter: Take green corn either in the ears or carefully shelled, peas, beans in pods and dip them into boiling water and them carefully dry them in a room where there is a free circulation of air. Thus preserved they will keep until winter and retain all their freshness and agreeable flavour.

To Preserve Potatoes in a dried state: Wash them, cut them in pieces, steep them forty-eight hours in fresh water, and dry them in an oven. One hundred parts of fresh potatoes, will give thirty or so pared and dried. In this state they may be kept for years, or ground into flour, which mixed with one third rye will make excellent bread.

The Housekeeper's Book in 1837 suggested various other kinds of preservation and the vegetables which suited various methods. French beans were salted in layers and kept in wooden kegs or similar containers. Carrots, parsnips, and beet roots would keep well if packed in layers of dry sand. Onions were hung to dry in a cool, dry room. Parsley might be preserved well if cut close to the stalks and them dried in a warm room or in a cool oven upon tins.

When the daily living situation of 1836 is seriously considered, it becomes obvious that the greatest proportion of one's daytime hours would be devoted to insuring that some kind of provisions would be available for yearly consumption. Little time could really be devoted to planning variety and unusualness in the menus for average meals. Preservation techniques were critical to sustaining the family. R. Carlyle Buley sums this up by stating:

Were the family not to be restricted to a monotonous diet of meal and meat in the winter, it was as necessary to store and keep fruits and vegetables as pork, and the perfection attained in this phase of domestic economy was the result of an accumulation of knowledge gained by trial and error and handed down through the generations of pioneers. Canning as yet was an undeveloped art...

Preserving food for winter consumption was a considerable chore for all families during our time period of 1836. Another activity was that of providing sweeteners for prepared dishes. White sugar was quite dear and most families substituted tree sugar whenever possible. In 1836 The Family Magazine from Cincinnati directed its readers' attention to the yearly sugar-making task:

...The sugar season commences usually about the middle of March, though not infrequently a favourable time arrives toward the latter part of February. It should be commenced before the frost is out of the ground, or at least, before the sap begins to return to the branches and buds, for the development of the leaves. The most favourable season is when the nights are frosty, and days moderately warm, with sun just sufficient to thaw the sap.

Gathering and preparing tree sugar was possibly the single, most important task of the settlers during March. Land clearing and implement repairs, which had been occupying the men's winter hours, were put aside along with the women's spinning and sewing chores. At times the sugaring became a community-wide event and was viewed as a welcome break in the monotony of the winter months. Even without the festive aspect however, sugaring was a critical part of the yearly cycle of the 1830's. It was done by family members alone whenever necessary and was a traditional part of life in a settlement such as we are depicting.

Wild honey might be used by some settlers along with the tree sugar that had been produced. Most of the work was provided by the bees themselves and the primary task was locating the hives. The honey bee itself was not native to the woods and had to be introduced to an area from domestic hives. Because of its swarming and migrating habits however the honey bee was usually found a good hundred miles or so in advance of frontier settlement lines. The woods near prairie regions were especially good for honey sources because of the great variety of flowers. By 1836, it was not uncommon to hear of people with domestic hives on their property in more settled communities, but by far the most unusual situation would be to use natural wood hives whenever possible.

Beverages generally consisted of homemade concoctions, especially in the case of coffee or tea, which were rare and expensive if made from store provisions. Tea could be made locally from sassafras roots, a certain kind of wild bohea plant and from various herbs. A coffee-like substance could be made from brewing parched corn, wheat, barley, rye or even browned bread crumbs. Other kinds of drinks were cider and various wines or liquors.

In summary, it is necessary to point up several key items about the 1836 diet that was typical for central Indiana. By far, the most common meal items were corn bread, pork, and beans (green). This is reflective of two important factors:

1. Items most readily available, over an extensive time period. Variety such as we find today was not economical or even possible for 3/4 of the year in 1836 and well into the early 20th century.
2. Personal preference - Most early settlers in Indiana came from Southern localities. When they came, they brought along with them a particular cultural world view which was adapted to fit into their new environment. Food and preparation methods were generally changed only when necessary. It was only after the gradual addition of northern U.S. and European settlers that a few new foods might be adopted in an area. Even relative wealth would not alter the fact that, in general, Hoosiers liked corn bread and pork, and it is this concept that must transmitted through our tour interpretation.

It is necessary on the one hand to get across to visitors the many things that were available for use by 1836 in central Indiana. In so doing, however, we must not lose sight of our time period and locality in the country. Basic, typical lifestyles must be our primary target for actual role interpretation. Verbal reference to some dietary innovations could be a fruitful part of our educational message, but in actuality, moderation and repetition were the general rule as far as dietary habits are concerned in central Indiana c. 1836.

It should be remembered that there was great individual variety in food customs, preferences, and techniques of preparation. There are many ways to cure pork (personal variations on the basic salt-cure method), and different ethnic groups (with different ethnic, cultural traditions and background) preferred different pork byproducts and levels of seasoning. True, there was continual repetition of food types - corn and hog products dominated - but there was individual preference expressed in the personal methods of preparation, treatment and use. For example, most American farmers of British stock do not use the blood collected at hog-killing time: nearly all German-Americans carefully collected the draining blood in pans and made "blood pudding," "blood sausage," etc. from it; "Americans" usually packed sausage in home-made cloth sacks tightly sewn around the meat (or "fried it down" and packed it in stone jars) while the Germans preferred packing sausage tightly in the hog's "casings" (entrails, cleaned and turned inside-out). Eastern and New England farmers generally liked to brine-cure pork; Southern and Midwestern farmers generally preferred the salt-cure method (followed by smoking).

Seasonal Foods

I. Fresh Vegetables

• Mushrooms - last week of April, most of May
• Green: Dandelion, mustard, turnip & wild - spring and early summer
• Asparagus - early to mid-May
• Onions - early June
• Peas - early June through the summer
• Beets - early June through early September
• Spinach - mid-June
• New, small potatoes - mid-June
• Green beans - late June to mid-August
• Cabbage - early July through fall
• Lettuce - July
• Kale - July
• Celery - mid-summer
• Cucumbers - mid-July to mid-September
• Summer squash - mid-July
• Corn - August and September
• Turnips - August
• Carrots - mid-August
• Puff ball mushrooms - early fall
• Full grown potatoes - late September
• Squash - fall and winter
• Pumpkin - fall and winter
• Sweet potatoes - fall and winter

These were preserved throughout most of the entire summer and fall, as each particular vegetables reached its ripened state. Most of the above vegetables were either dried or packed in root cellars, as explained in the reference materials on food and diet.

II. Fresh Fruits

• Rhubarb - May to July
• Strawberries - late May to June
• Cherries - mid-June to July
• Pears - mid-June to late September or October
• Apples - June to October or late fall
• Blackberries - July
• Raspberries - July
• Gooseberries - July and August
• Huckleberries - July and August
• Muskmelons - mid-July to mid-September
• Watermelon - mid to late July to late summer
• Peaches - late July to late August
• Crabapples - August through September
• Grapes - mid-August through mid-September
• Persimmons - late fall
• Plums - fall
• Currants - fall

Preservation again would be started as soon as the fruit was ripe. Fruits were made into jams or jellies in the case of berries, sliced or cubed for drying, or put into wines and stored in spring houses. Thus food preservation would begin as early as the middle of May and continued until September or October.

III. Herbs Basil

• Horseradish
• Nasturtium
• Salsify
• Borage
• Lavender
• Parsley
• Summer savory
• Coriander
• Marigold
• Parsnips
• Tansy
• Dill
• Marjoram
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Garlic
• Mint
• Sage