Revolutionary Eats

A country's cuisine has always been one of a country's most influential and sought after elements no matter the country and its culture. Given the opportunity to visit any country, chances are you will want to and be encouraged to try that country's food. The U.S. is no different.

With millions of Americans celebrating Independence Day with picnics, grilling and celebratory fireworks, it can be easy to forget the many challenges the US. has undergone to get where we are today.

While we enjoy the luxury of a burger or hot dog grilled to our perfection in the company of family and friends, those who lived during the revolutionary era - a pivotal time in U.S. history, didn't have that luxury.

At the same time, quite a few of these colonial era dishes were, in fact, quite tasty and wholesome.

Here is a glimpse of what could be found on the dinner table during the time of the American Revolution

What people ate greatly depended on what was in season and available to harvest or hunt at that time. The region you lived in within the 13 colonies also had a significant factor of what dishes would be on your dinner table. Social status and wealth also played a key factor on what sorts of dishes could be found on the dinner table.

Wild game

Colonists enjoyed a variety of tasty dishes made from a variety of wild game such as venison, turkey, duck, and rabbit. Since the surrounding woods at that time were full of deer, turkey, and other wild game, dishes made with them were unsurprisingly quite common.

Pickles

Today, many enjoy a dill pickle on top a burger or as is right out of the jar. With refrigeration non existent at the time, colonists relied heavily on pickling to preserve meats and vegetables.

The pickled vegetables back then were quite different from the pickles we're familiar with today.

Like the pickles we eat today, pickled vegetables were a common and loved side dish.

Hasty pudding

Somewhat similar to the grits we have today, hasty pudding or sometimes called mush was a popular breakfast dish.

Hasty pudding consisted of mixing considerable spoonfuls of cornmeal into a pot of boiling milk until the hasty pudding reached the desired consistency.

The result was a thick and filling breakfast dish. Those who could afford to do so, added butter or cream, even sweeteners to give the hasty pudding more flavor. Otherwise, hasty pudding was eaten plain as is.

Pepper pot soup

Most similar to the vegetable soup or stew we have today, this dish was well seasoned and flavorful making it a hearty and satisfying meal of choice especially during the long winters the 13 colonies endured. The soup was heavily seasoned with black pepper (hence the name) and other seasonings and contained a variety of vegetables. The meat often used for pepper pot soup was tripe (the edible lining of a cow's stomach).

And for dessert 🍰 ...

Pepper cake

Black pepper, as in the pepper we use to season and spice up vegetables, meats, and other dishes was just as an important element to dishes back then as it is today. However, back then, the spice was used in a not so common way today - a key ingredient for a dish called pepper cake.

Pepper cake which was most similar to gingerbread, consisted of black pepper and molasses. It was then topped with candied fruits. The thought of candied fruits adorning this loaf of bread makes it sound like quite an extravagant dessert just for the eyes alone.

Apple pan dowdy

Most similar to the apple pie or cobbler we have today, apple pan dowdy was brought over by German immigrants and grew to be a well received and popular dessert. It most resembles an apple pie that was turned upside down haphazardly. Hence the name of the dessert!

Apple pan dowdy was First Lady Abigail Adam's favorite dessert, even serving it in the white house.

Syllabub

This was a popular dessert at the time and with the inclusion of alcohol and whipped cream, it's no surprise why. Syllabub was dessert you drank and was reserved for parties, holidays, or other special occasions. It was a very popular party drink.

It had a frothy texture and was made by mixing sugar, citrus, whipped cream, and alcohol. The alcohol of choice was usually either wine, sherry, cider, or brandy. Amusingly, some recipes even called for the cow to be milked directly into the liquor mix.

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