106 The Waning of Vegetables and Variety as America is on the Move

This might be one of my only, and definitely the most forceful hot take I've had so far:

The variety of food depends almost entirely on the vegetables - well the plant foods. After all, there are only so many ways to cook meat - roast, boil, fry, braise... all the interesting flavors come from the plant additions.

But also - going on the move, and the "hurry up" of American culture made our food bland.
Not everyone in new America had bland food, but note, they stayed in place!

Pawpaw & sweet corn pudding vs. baked beans. I ask you...


Books by William Woys Weaver:
The Christmas Cook: Three Centuries of American Yuletide Sweets
Pennsylvania Dutch Country Cooking
American Eats: Forms of Edible Folk Art
Sauerkraut Yankees
Country Scrapple: An American Tradition

Videos on Typical Early American Diets via Townsends:
The Poor Hunter
The Poor Fronteirsman
The Poor Farmer
The Poor Sailor
The Poor Soldier


Also check out:
Prizefighters, Circus Freaks & Gangsters! There's Fighting, Food, Fashion & Fraud (we swear... we laugh, we tease, it's fun)

Music Credit: Fingerlympics by Doctor Turtle
Show Notes: https://thehistoryofamericanfood.blogspot.com/
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