Table Service, from Charles Ranhofer’s The Epicurean (1894)

Occasionally I hear from people looking to start a historic cookbook library and want recommendations. With the new year being the time for lists, here’s my list of the top twelve most influential historic American cookbooks that help to document the way we ate. As all lists of its kind, it is imperfect and incomplete, but attempts to capture highlights from American history. It is subjective, and to limit it somewhat, I’m only including books published before 1950. But anyone interested in American foodways will undoubtedly learn a great deal and eat well from these selections. Happy reading & eating!

Hannah Glasse’s The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy (1747) Technically, this is not an American cookbook. But Hannah Glasse’s Art of Cookery was the bestselling English-language cookbook for over a century, and its import and influence on early American cooking can’t be overstated. It could be found in homes from all thirteen colonies including many of the Founding Fathers, and sales of the book continued well after the Revolution. We can see its influence on Martha Washington’s cookbook, and we know she had a copy of Glasse’s Art of Cookery at Mount Vernon. The popularity of the book came, in large part, from the way Glasse wrote the recipes so that an untrained cook would likely understand. The recipes are plentiful and can be made economically, and dispute the belief that early American cuisine was bland or uninteresting. Any of the early printings will be of interest to the food historian, but American food historians will particularly be interested in the first edition specifically targeting American readers. Published in 1805, it included recipes for such things as Cranberry Tarts, Indian Pudding, and Maple Sugar. Online Editions: PDF, 1747 Edition; Ebook/PDF, 1774 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Amelia Simmons’ American Cookery (1796) Believed to be the first cookbook printed in America, by an American for an American audience, this is one of the most significant early cookbooks ever written. Other cookbooks had been printed in the colonies and the new republic, but they were largely reprints of English cookbooks like that of Hannah Glasse. Simmons turned her attention to uniquely American ingredients, and her cookbook was the first to include recipes that used cornmeal, and was the first to suggest pearlash as a leavening agent in baking. American Table Recipes: Pound Cake Online Editions: PDF, HTML, 1798 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Mary Randolph’s The Virginia Housewife (1824) To this day, Randolph’s cookbook is referenced by chefs and cookbook writers as an inspiration for authentic southern cuisine. Considered the first regional American cookbook, it offers the first printed recipes for barbecued pork, okra soup, and a host of other traditional southern recipes. She doesn’t stick exclusively to the south, however. Her recipes include Italian, Spanish, French and Caribbean dishes that reflect the cosmopolitan palates of a growing nation. American Table Recipes: Scolloped Tomatoes Online Editions: PDF, HTML, 1838 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Lydia Marie Child’s The Frugal Housewife (1829) The Mark Bittman of her day, Lydia Marie Child’s The Frugal Housewife was a slim volume that made it popular amongst pioneers and light travelers. Her emphasis on frugality extended beyond the kitchen, offering numerous tips on budgeting at home. She also recognizes the impact that diet has on health and recovery from illness, which would be a popular theme in cookbooks for the next century. Child’s book came out of the major economic depression that occurred in the 1820s, and her cookbook receives renewed interest whenever, as a nation, we turn our attentions back to our budgets. American Table Recipes: Fish Chowder Online Editions: PDF, HTML, 1830 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Eliza Leslie’s Directions for Cookery, In Its Various Branches (1837) Eliza Leslie was among the most prolific cookbook writers of the early 19th century, and this was among her most popular books – by 1870, it had gone through its 60th printing. Leslie’s culinary fame began in 1828 with the publication of Seventy-Five Receipts for Pastry, Cakes, and Sweetmeats, an equally important cookbook documenting early 19th century American baking. The recipes largely come from the cooking school of Mrs. Goodfellow – the most celebrated baker in turn-of-the-century Philadelphia (you can read more about Mrs. Goodfellow in the book by Becky Diamond). Leslie’s Directions for Cookery expanded her recipe collection beyond baking, and was written to appeal to cooks across social and economic classes. The precursor to Fannie Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, this book is particularly notable for its fairly consistent use of measurements and clarity in writing. American Table Recipes: Ginger Crackers Online Edition: PDF, HTML, 1840 Edition Print Edition: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Jerry Thomas’ How to Mix Drinks, Or, The Bon-Vivant’s Companion (1862) As the first major recipe book exclusively on cocktails published in the United States, this volume has achieved mythic status for modern-day mixologists. Also known as The Bar-Tender’s Guide, this book offers the basic approaches to making cocktails that is still used today. Thomas made his career largely in California as a bartender, gold prospector, and manager of minstrel shows. He was business-savvy, and a showman – the practice of preparing the drink was just as much a part of the experience as drinking it. His popularity and fame grew, and by the time he published this book, he was earning over $100 a week – an incredible sum of money at the time. Thomas is credited with inventing some of the most well-known cocktails, and the many editions of his book include the first recipes for many famous drinks including the Tom Collins, the Brandy Daisy, sours, and the Martinez. For those interested in reading more about Thomas and the growth of America’s cocktail culture, check out David Wondrich’s excellently written study Imbibe!. American Table Recipes: Tom Collins Online Editions: EBook, 1862 Edition; HTML, 1887 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

The Confederate Receipt Book: A Compilation of Over One Hundred Receipts, Adapted to the Times (1863) Even the most frugal cooks found it difficult to put food on the table under the Confederacy. Naval blockades prevented most foods from reaching the South, who was more used to growing cotton and tobacco than food. Cooks needed to adapt their recipes to what was readily available, and this booklet offered suggestions such as adding starchy rice or potatoes to breads to reduce the amount of flour needed. It was printed in Richmond, Virgina on polka-dot wallpaper since regular paper was in short supply. Only five copies of the cookbook are known to exist, but it has had a long life in reprint, and many of the recipes and adaptations re-emerged during the Great Depression. American Table Recipes: Republican Pudding Online Editions: HTML, PDF, 1863 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Charles Ranhofer’s The Epicurean (1894) If you wanted the epitome of fine dining in the United States, for over a century Delmonico’s Restaurant in New York City was where you went. During the late Victorian period, Delmonico’s hosted dinners for presidents like Ulysses S. Grant, and writers like Charles Dickens. Known for their unique and ornate presentations, the most elaborate of dishes was prepared under the masterful eye of chef Charles Ranhofer. This massive, heavily-illustrated tome, contains mostly classic French recipes, reflecting the impact of French cuisine among the upper class at the turn of the century. Its publication was unparalleled at its time. Ranhofer is credited with inventing dishes such as Lobster Newberg, and popularizing others like Baked Alaska. Online Editions: HTML: Part 1, Part 2; PDF: Part 1, Part 2; 1894 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Fannie Merritt Farmer’s Boston Cooking-School Cook Book (1896) It is thanks to Fannie Farmer that we have detailed, step-by-step instructions in cookbooks that use standardized measurements for ingredients. Emerging at the height of the domestic science movement in the United States that sought consistency and uniformity in cooking practices, Farmer revolutionized the cookbook industry. Just as later writers such as Julia Child or Harold McGee, Fannie Farmer didn’t just explain how to do something, she explained why – describing in some cases the chemical processes that make a recipe work. Her lesser-known book, Food and Cookery for the Sick and Convalescent, was a groundbreaking work on diet and nutrition widely used in hospitals and institutions for decades to come. The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book has remained in print since its first publication, though revised and retitled over the years to reflect the changing tastes in American palates (itself an interesting study). Today, it is simply called the Fannie Farmer Cookbook. American Table Recipes: Election Cake Online Editions: HTML, PDF, 1896 Edition Print Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Rufus Estes’ Good Things To Eat (1911) Estes’ cookbook was not the first to be published by an African American – that would be Robert Roberts’ The House Servant’s Directory from 1827. But where Roberts publishes recipes for the wealthy New England families he’s accustomed to working for, Estes offers the recipes for foods he’s been eating his whole life. And what a life he had – born into slavery in 1857, a train porter with the Pullman Company, and eventually a chef. The incredible range of recipes includes everything from Southern Corncakes, Apple Slump and Rib Roast, to Candied Violets, Kedgeree, and Sheep’s Brains with Small Onions. An important insight into turn-of-the-century African American cuisine and its association with labor (read up on the Pullman strikes in America), the book nearly fell into obscurity before being republished by Dover Editions. Online Editions: HTML, PDF, 1911 Edition Printed Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Irma Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking (1931) Among the best-selling cookbooks in American publishing history, the Joy of Cooking was originally self-published by Rombauer as an attempt to keep busy after her husband died. After its initial success, she entered into a contract with Bobbs-Merrill to expand its publication. Unaccustomed to contracts, Rombauer received little compensation for the popular cookbook, and the early printings were poorly edited and indexed (the publisher being unused to publishing cookbooks). The layout for the recipes was narrative, offering ingredients and amounts as they appeared in the instructions instead of as a list at the beginning of the recipe. Bobbs-Merrill’s aggressive marketing campaign contributed to its huge success. Despite the infamous battle between author and publisher over the next decades, it has had over eight revised and expanded editions. A facsimile of the original 1931 edition was published in 1998. Overall, the recipes of any of the early editions capture classic American cuisine in the post-Depression period. Rombauer uses canned foods when appropriate, and offers simple recipes with ingredients easily available to any home cook at the time. American Table Recipes: Deviled Crackers Printed Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

Buwei Yang Chao’s How to Cook and Eat in Chinese (1945) I’ve written about this cookbook before, but it’s worth mentioning it again as the first to offer authentic Chinese recipes to English-speaking American cooks. Adaptable to ingredients and cookware in the post-war American kitchen, this is the book that introduced the word “stir-fry” into the English language. You won’t find the bright red sweet & sour sauce here. Instead, you’ll find an incredible collection of simple and delicious recipes that still hold up after over 70 years. American Table Recipes: Stir-Fried Chicken with Mushrooms Printed Editions: AbeBooks: New / Collectible

For my interview with Chad Bouchard on the history and recipes of early Memorial Day picnics, visit Earth Eats at Indiana Public Media.

Memorial Day is one of the earliest days in the year where the vast majority of the continental United States is warm enough to have a picnic.

The history of Memorial Day is a bit obscure. For millennia, many cultures have at least one time of year set aside to honor their fallen soldiers. In the wake of the Civil War, this custom took on new importance in the United States with Decoration Day.

Decoration Day brought the entire community out to cemeteries to clear away the debris from winter and to decorate gravesites with flowers and ribbons. In both the North and South, Decoration Day included speeches meant to stir patriotism and nostalgia. Local school bands would perform music, and there would be poetry recitations. And with the entire community gathered together, festivities would often conclude with pot luck picnics.

By the turn of the 20th century, in the wake of the Spanish-American War, Decoration Day had morphed into Memorial Day – a time to remember the fallen dead from all wars. Families increasingly went on picnics alone, and the large community events were mainly only celebrated in rural towns.

But what did a turn-of-the-century spring picnic look like? Remember, not a lot of produce could be harvested this early in the season, so spring picnics depended heavily on roasted meats, biscuits and breads, and pickles and preserves. This would be the time of year you head down into your root cellar or pantry, see what canned provisions you have on your shelves, and start making room for the coming season’s bounty.

Picnics were immensely popular by the turn of the century. The progressive-era in America emphasized fresh air as part of a healthy lifestyle. First-hand reports early in the Civil War often noted that families would come to battlefields from nearby towns, pick a hill with a good view, and feast on a picnic while soldiers fired at one another below.

Indeed, picnics were so popular that the vast majority of cookbooks at the time had entire sections devoted to instructions on how to put together the perfect picnic basket, suggestions on what foods to bring, and a variety of recipes to choose from.

One of my favorites is from Buckeye Cookery by Estelle Woods Wilcox. Here are her recommendations for the perfect picnic, published in 1877.

FOR THE PICNIC

In the “Sunny South,” picnics are in order as early as April, but in the more northern latitudes should never be attempted before the latter part of May, or June, and September and October are the crowning months for them around the northern lakes, where hunting and fishing give zest to the sports. First, be up “at five o’clock in the morning,” in order to have the chicken, biscuit, etc., freshly baked. Provide two baskets, one for the provisions, and the other for dishes and utensils, which should include the following: Table-cloth and an oil-cloth to put under it, napkins, towels, plates, cups, forks, a few knives and table-spoons, tea-spoons, sauce dishes, tin cups (or tumblers, if the picnickers are of the over-fastidious variety); a tin bucket, for water, in which a bottle of cream, lemons, oranges, or other fruit, may be carried to the scene of action; another with an extra-close cover, partly filled with made chocolate, which may be readily reheated by setting in an old tin pail or pan in which water is kept boiling a la custard-kettle; a frying-pan; a coffee-pot, with the amount of prepared coffee needed tied in a coarse, white flannel bag; a tea-pot, with tea in a neat paper package; tin boxes of salt, pepper, and sugar; a tin box for butter (if carried) placed next to block of ice, which should be well wrapped with a blanket and put in a shady corner of the picnic wagon. For extra occasions, add a freezer filled with frozen cream, with ice well packed around it, and heavily wrapped with carpeting. To pack the basket, first put in plates, cups, and sauce dishes carefully with the towels and napkins, and paper if needed; then add the rest, fitting them in tightly, and covering all with the table-cloth, and over it the oil-cloth. Tie the coffee and tea-pots, well wrapped up, and the frying-pan to the handles. Pack provision basket as full as the law allows, or as the nature of the occasion and the elasticity of the appetites demand. One piece of good advice to picnickers is to try to get under the wing of some good farm-house, where coffee may be boiled, and nice rich cream, green corn, good water, etc., may be readily foraged; and for a Fourth of July picnic, nothing will taste better than a dish of new potatoes, nicely prepared at the farm-house. But if not so fortunate, a good fire may be built, where all things may be merrily prepared. In fact, in the spring and fall, the fire is a necessity for roasting or broiling game, ham, clams, fish, corn and potatoes, etc.

A delicious way to roast potatoes, birds, or poultry, or even fish, is to encase them in a paste made of flour and water, and bake in the embers of a camp-fire; or build a fire over a flat stone, and when burnt down to coals, clear the stone, lay on the potatoes, birds, etc., wrapped in wet, heavy brown paper, cover with dry earth, sand, or ashes, and place the hot coals over these, adding more fuel. The Gypsies and Indians roast their poultry in mud molds or cases, covering feathers and all.

The following bills of fare may be picked to pieces and recombined to suit tastes and occasions:

SPRING PICNICS.–Cold roast chicken; ham broiled on coals; fish fried or broiled; sardines; tongue; hard-boiled eggs; eggs to be fried or scrambled; Boston corn bread; buttered rolls; ham sandwiches prepared with grated ham; orange marmalade; canned peaches; watermelon and beet sweet-pickles; euchered plums; variety or bottled pickles; chow-chow; quince or plum jelly; raspberry or other jams; Scotch fruit, rolled jelly, chocolate, Minnehaha, old-fashioned loaf, and marble cake; coffee, chocolate, tea; cream and sugar; salt and pepper; oranges.

SUMMER PICNICS.–Cold baked or broiled chicken; cold boiled ham; pickled salmon; cold veal loaf; Parker House rolls; light bread; box of butter; green corn boiled or roasted; new potatoes; sliced tomatoes; sliced cucumbers; French and Spanish pickles; peach and pear sweet-pickles; lemon or orange jelly; strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries; lemonade; soda-beer or raspberry vinegar; coffee and tea; ice-cream; lemon or strawberry-ice; sponge, white, Buckeye, or lemon cake; watermelon, muskmelon, nutmeg-melon.

FALL PICNICS.–Broiled prairie chicken; fish chowder; clam chowder; clams roasted or fried; beef omelet; cold veal roast; sardines; cold roast chicken; pot of pork and beans; rusk, Minnesota rolls, Boston brown bread; potatoes, Irish or sweet, roasted in ashes; egg sandwiches (hard-boiled eggs, sliced, sprinkled with pepper and salt, and put between buttered bread); mangoes; piccalilli; Chili sauce; quince marmalade; baked apples; musk and nutmeg-melon; crab apple jelly; grape jelly; black, orange, velvet, sponge, and three-ply cake; combination pie.

It’s hard to believe I haven’t posted in a few months. Back in August, I was unexpectedly offered a visiting professorship at Macalester College while I continue my work toward finishing my dissertation. Between teaching and the dissertation, updates to the American Table have largely been on hold.

But I haven’t been far.

I’ve had several recipes on the back burner, so to speak, that I’ve just needed to write up and format. I love this blog, and even in the busiest of times, I find it remarkably relaxing – the research, the cooking, the writing, the sharing, the community. Despite the lack of posting, I’ve always been a few clicks away, keeping tabs on the digital life of the American Table. I’m thrilled that people stumble upon the site and find inspiration in it. Without any concerted effort behind advertising or publicity, the blog still gets over a hundred visitors a day. The article on ‘How Bacon and Eggs Became the American Breakfast‘ remains the most popular, but the recipe for Beef Tongue Sandwiches and the retro recipe posts like the Hot Doggities and Jell-o Pineapple in a Can are growing in popularity. The retro recipe for Ham and Banana Rolls was even featured in Australia’s DailyLife slideshow on “12 Revolting Recipes”.

With winter break on the horizon and a new plan for my spring semester schedule that includes time for the American Table, I’m eager to return. What’s in store? Several publishers have been sending along copies of fascinating new food history books, so stay tuned for reviews and give-aways! Two classic recipes from San Francisco’s Plaza Hotel provide inspiration for fancy dinner party appetizers and what to do with all that leftover holiday turkey. And as Congress returns their attention to the long-stalled Farm Bill, you can count on me to provide you with the latest updates on this critical legislation that does more to shape American foodways than any other.

So stay tuned. Follow on Facebook and Twitter for the very latest, and don’t forget that you can subscribe to updates by e-mail in the lower-left corner of any page. Thanks so much to everyone for their encouragement and continued readership! You all are amazing.

A very happy holidays from my table to yours,

Eric

“We could not possibly do better than try pot-luck at the Try Pots,” says Moby Dick narrator Ishmael. The chapter is rife with dark and ominous imagery, foreshadowing the dangerous adventures that lay ahead. But before Ishmael and his companion Queequeg depart, they fortify themselves with chowder. Melville’s description of the chowder house Try Pots is one of the great novelistic descriptions of food, and the mouth can’t help but salivate.

Chowders, as I’ve written before, were more of a layered stew than the soups we are accustomed to today. Clam and cod were both popular options, but any non-fatty fish or shellfish could be used. The “ship biscuits” Melville refers to are another name for Hardtack.

***

Chapter XV – Chowder

It was quite late in the evening when the little Moss came snugly to anchor, and Queequeg and I went ashore; so we could attend to no business that day, at least none but a supper and a bed. The landlord of the Spouter-Inn had recommended us to his cousin Hosea Hussey of the Try Pots, whom he asserted to be the proprietor of one of the best kept hotels in all Nantucket, and moreover he had assured us that Cousin Hosea, as he called him, was famous for his chowders. In short, he plainly hinted that we could not possibly do better than try pot-luck at the Try Pots. But the directions he had given us about keeping a yellow warehouse on our starboard hand till we opened a white church to the larboard, and then keeping that on the larboard hand till we made a corner three points to the starboard, and that done, then ask the first man we met where the place was; these crooked directions of his very much puzzled us at first, especially as, at the outset, Queequeg insisted that the yellow warehouse- our first point of departure- must be left on the larboard hand, whereas I had understood Peter Coffin to say it was on the starboard. However, by dint of beating about a little in the dark, and now and then knocking up a peaceful inhabitant to inquire the way, we at last came to something which there was no mistaking.

Two enormous wooden pots painted black, and suspended by asses’ ears, swung from the cross-trees of an old top-mast, planted in front of an old doorway. The horns of the cross-trees were sawed off on the other side, so that this old top-mast looked not a little like a gallows. Perhaps I was over sensitive to such impressions at the time, but I could not help staring at this gallows with a vague misgiving. A sort of crick was in my neck as I gazed up to the two remaining horns; yes, two of them, one for Queequeg, and one for me. It’s ominous, thinks I. A Coffin my Innkeeper upon landing in my first whaling port; tombstones staring at me in the whalemen’s chapel, and here a gallows! and a pair of prodigious black pots too! Are these last throwing out oblique hints touching Tophet?

I was called from these reflections by the sight of a freckled woman with yellow hair and a yellow gown, standing in the porch of the inn, under a dull red lamp swinging there, that looked much like an injured eye, and carrying on a brisk scolding with a man in a purple woollen shirt.

“Get along with ye,” said she to the man, “or I’ll be combing ye!”

“Come on, Queequeg,” said I, “all right. There’s Mrs. Hussey.”

And so it turned out; Mr. Hosea Hussey being from home, but leaving Mrs. Hussey entirely competent to attend to all his affairs. Upon making known our desires for a supper and a bed, Mrs. Hussey, postponing further scolding for the present, ushered us into a little room, and seating us at a table spread with the relics of a recently concluded repast, turned round to us and said- “Clam or Cod?”

“What’s that about Cods, ma’am?” said I, with much politeness.

“Clam or Cod?” she repeated.

“A clam for supper? a cold clam; is that what you mean, Mrs. Hussey?” says I, “but that’s a rather cold and clammy reception in the winter time, ain’t it, Mrs. Hussey?”

But being in a great hurry to resume scolding the man in the purple shirt who was waiting for it in the entry, and seeming to hear nothing but the word “clam,” Mrs. Hussey hurried towards an open door leading to the kitchen, and bawling out “clam for two,” disappeared.

“Queequeg,” said I, “do you think that we can make a supper for us both on one clam?”

However, a warm savory steam from the kitchen served to belie the apparently cheerless prospect before us. But when that smoking chowder came in, the mystery was delightfully explained. Oh! sweet friends, hearken to me. It was made of small juicy clams, scarcely bigger than hazel nuts, mixed with pounded ship biscuits, and salted pork cut up into little flakes; the whole enriched with butter, and plentifully seasoned with pepper and salt. Our appetites being sharpened by the frosty voyage, and in particular, Queequeg seeing his favourite fishing food before him, and the chowder being surpassingly excellent, we despatched it with great expedition: when leaning back a moment and bethinking me of Mrs. Hussey’s clam and cod announcement, I thought I would try a little experiment. Stepping to the kitchen door, I uttered the word “cod” with great emphasis, and resumed my seat. In a few moments the savoury steam came forth again, but with a different flavor, and in good time a fine cod-chowder was placed before us.

We resumed business; and while plying our spoons in the bowl, thinks I to myself, I wonder now if this here has any effect on the head? What’s that stultifying saying about chowder-headed people? “But look, Queequeg, ain’t that a live eel in your bowl? Where’s your harpoon?”

Fishiest of all fishy places was the Try Pots, which well deserved its name; for the pots there were always boiling chowders. Chowder for breakfast, and chowder for dinner, and chowder for supper, till you began to look for fish-bones coming through your clothes. The area before the house was paved with clam-shells. Mrs. Hussey wore a polished necklace of codfish vertebra; and Hosea Hussey had his account books bound in superior old shark-skin. There was a fishy flavor to the milk, too, which I could not at all account for, till one morning happening to take a stroll along the beach among some fishermen’s boats, I saw Hosea’s brindled cow feeding on fish remnants, and marching along the sand with each foot in a cod’s decapitated head, looking very slipshod, I assure ye.

Supper concluded, we received a lamp, and directions from Mrs. Hussey concerning the nearest way to bed; but, as Queequeg was about to precede me up the stairs, the lady reached forth her arm, and demanded his harpoon; she allowed no harpoon in her chambers. “Why not? said I; “every true whaleman sleeps with his harpoon- but why not?” “Because it’s dangerous,” says she. “Ever since young Stiggs coming from that unfort’nt v’y’ge of his, when he was gone four years and a half, with only three barrels of ile, was found dead in my first floor back, with his harpoon in his side; ever since then I allow no boarders to take sich dangerous weapons in their rooms at night. So, Mr. Queequeg” (for she had learned his name), “I will just take this here iron, and keep it for you till morning. But the chowder; clam or cod to-morrow for breakfast, men?”

“Both,” says I; “and let’s have a couple of smoked herring by way of variety.”

Making History Mondays is a digest of American food news from the around the web. These are the stories that are changing American foodways and impacting the way we eat.

• FREE TO ROAM?: In an effort to prevent reduce the risk of salmonella, the FDA is attempting to ban the sale of eggs from free-range chickens.
• ARSENIC AND APPLE JUICE: In a more sensible demonstration of their abilities, the FDA has reduced the amount of arsenic allowed in apple juice to match that of drinking water. This comes after over two years of public outcry.
• FIGHTING TO FILM: Animal-rights activists are fighting to overturn a Utah law that prohibits undercover filming of industrial meat complexes.
• ORANGE BLIGHT: A blight affecting orange crops in Florida is costing the industry millions of dollars as farmers quickly attempt to change the orange’s DNA to make it resistant to the disease.
• TOAST: After largely being killed off by Prohibition, New York distilleries are making a comeback and are producing everything from whiskies to rum.

Few in this country were left untouched by the horrors of the Civil War. American poet Walt Whitman wrote extensively about the impact on the nation. His brother, George Washington Whitman, was a soldier in the Union army. One day, Walt read in the New York Herald that one of the wounded at the Battle of Fredericksburg was a “First Lieutenant G. W. Whitmore.” Believing this to be his brother, Whitman immediately left New York for the south to find his brother.

After great struggles, he finally located his brother in an encampment with only a scratch on his face from an exploding shell. While relieved to find his brother alive, he was also horrified to see the impact of the war first-hand and vowed to be of some use. Instead of returning to New York, he made his way to Washington, D.C. where he got a job in the Army Paymaster’s office copying records.

Whitman spent a significant amount of free time volunteering at local military hospitals through the remainder of the war. He helped move patients between beds, pushed wheelchairs, playing games or simply having a conversation. Many letters from soldiers home to their families were written by the great poet’s hand. Whitman found that one of the greatest needs in the hospital was simply paying attention to the individual soldiers being cared for, many of whom were very young.

On June 3, 1864, Whitman wrote this letter home to his mother, Louisa Van Velsor Whitman, explaining how a gift of ice cream boosted morale. How he was able to get so much ice cream in the first place is unknown, but it was clearly appreciated – particularly in the dark and gloomy context Whitman describes.

Washington | June 3 1864

Dearest mother

Your letter came yesterday — I have not heard the least thing from the 51st since — no doubt they are down there with the Army near Richmond — I have not written to George lately — I think the news from the Army is very good — Mother, you know of course that it is now very near Richmond indeed, from five to ten miles —

Mother, if this campaign was not in progress I should not stop here, as it is now beginning to tell a little upon me, so many bad wounds, many putrified, & all kinds of dreadful ones, I have been rather too much with — but as it is I shall certainly remain here while the thing remains undecided — it is impossible for me to abstain from going to see & minister to certain cases, & that draws me into others, & so on — I have just left Oscar Cunningham, the Ohio boy — he is in a dying condition — there is no hope for him — it would draw tears from the hardest heart to look at him — he is all wasted away to a skeleton, & looks like some one fifty years old — you remember I told you a year ago, when he was first brought in, I thought him the noblest specimen of a young western man I had seen, a real giant in size, & always with a smile on his face — O what a change, he has long been very irritable, to every one but me, & his frame is all wasted away — the young Massachusetts 1st artillery boy, Cutter, I wrote about is dead — he is the one that was brought in a week ago last Sunday, badly wounded in breast — the deaths in the principal hospital I visit, Armory Square, average one an hour — I saw Capt Baldwin of the 14th this morning, he has lost his left arm — is going home soon—

Mr Kalbfleisch & Anson Herrick, (M C from New York) came in one of the wards where I was sitting writing a letter this morning, in the midst of the wounded — Kalbfleisch was so much affected by the sight that he burst into tears — O I must tell you I gave the boys in Carver hospital a great treat of ice cream a couple of days ago, went round myself through about 15 large wards, (I bought some ten gallons, very nice) — you would have cried & been amused too, many of the men had to be fed, several of them I saw cannot probably live, yet they quite enjoyed it, I gave everybody some — quite a number western country boys had never tasted ice cream before — they relish such things, oranges, lemons, &c — Mother, I feel a little blue this morning, as two young men I knew very well have just died, one died last night, & the other about half an hour before I went to the hospital, I did not anticipate the death of either of them, each was a very, very sad case, so young — well, mother, I see I have written you another gloomy sort of letter — I do not feel as first rate as usual —

—Walt

[Postscript] You don’t know how I want to come home & see you all, you, dear Mother, & Jeff & Mat & all — I believe I am homesick, something new for me — then I have seen all the horrors of soldier’s life & not been kept up by its excitement — it is awful to see so much, & not be able to relieve it —

Dan Brown, owner of Gravelwood Farm in Blue Hill, speaks to a crowd of more than 150 people gathered Friday, Nov. 18, 2011, in front of the Blue Hill Town Hall. The Maine Department of Agriculture has filed a suit against Brown, alleging that he is illegally selling unpasteurized milk without a license. Brown, meanwhile, insists he is doing nothing wrong and that a local food ordinance adopted by Blue Hill residents protects the rights of farmers to sell directly to consumers without a license.
(Photo: Kevin Miller / Bangor Daily News)

Making History Mondays is a weekly digest of American food news from the around the web. These are the stories that are changing American foodways and impacting the way we eat.

• Maine Food Revolution: Small towns across the state of Maine are passing “food sovereignty” ordinances allowing smaller food producers to bypass costly state and federal regulations. The state has begun suing individual farmers to prevent this, though they say they are legally allowed to manufacture products like raw milk or to slaughter chickens on a farm, rather than having to send it to a centralized processing facility.
• GMO Wheat Scare: The USDA is continuing to investigate how unapproved genetically modified wheat planted in Idaho fields by Monsanto ended up in Eastern Oregon, causing Japan and other countries to halt US wheat imports to their countries.
• NO SNACKS: The Department of Agriculture has effectively banned the sale of junk food in public schools, including candy, sports drinks and sugary sodas. The new rules were implemented after bipartisan legislation passed Congress in 2010 to improve school meals.
• MOONSHINE: Tennessee is turning to moonshine to help boost the state’s economy, by increasing the number of legal distilleries in the mountain region. The move is also expected to benefit local farmers.
• TWINKIES RETURN: After disappearing from stores following the bankruptcy of snack food giant Hostess in November, 2012, Twinkies will be returning to the shelves on July 15.

Your Produce Choices Without Bees, Source: Whole Foods Markets

Making History Mondays is a weekly digest of American food news from the around the web. These are the stories that are changing American foodways and impacting the way we eat.

• CAUSE AND EFFECT: A Whole Foods store demonstrates what the produce section of your grocery store will look like if bees continue to disappear.
• WHICH WHEAT: A class action lawsuit has been filed against mega agricultural corporation Monsanto by a group of farmers in Idaho. Monsanto has been testing Genetically Modified Wheat in Idaho, which isn’t approved for consumption or growing in the United States. It has been found to be taking over non-GMO wheat in fields in Eastern Oregon that weren’t planted with the new wheat, causing panic in the wheat markets. Japan has temporarily suspended wheat imports until the matter has been resolved.
• OL’ McDONALD WAS A LADY?: According to a recently released report from the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the number of women taking up farming as a career has tripled since 1978, making up 14% of the population of farmers in this country.
• MEAT ALTERNATIVES: Why is Bill Gates Investing in Chicken-Less Eggs? Scientists and investors are concerned that the ecosystem will not be able to sustain the current and growing demand for animal-based foods. The global demand for eggs, for example, was 14 million tons in 2000, and is expected to grow to 38 million tons by 2030. High profile investors like Gates are supporting research into alternatives like Beyond Eggs, an egg substitute made of ground peas, sorghum and other ingredients.
• FAD OF 2013: The official food fad of the summer of 2013 has been declared. The winner is the cronut – part donut, part croissant, all good. They can’t make them fast enough in New York, where bags of them are appearing on Craigslist for upwards of $40. We’ve had them here in Minneapolis for a little while, thanks to Angel Food Bakery, who is currently hostin a competition to find a new name since cronut has recently been trademarked.
• MORE CULINARY REVAMPS: Last week I reported that the National Park Service was rolling out new local and sustainable concession menus throughout the park system. Now Amtrak has also hired a culinary team to revamp their onboard dining experience.